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Democracy

United States Doesn’t Even Make Top 20 On Global Democracy Index

January 14, 2019 By Andrea Germanos, Commondreams.org ,
A new index released this week offers a sobering look at how democracy is faring in the United States. According to the 2018 edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, the U.S. doesn't even make the list of top 20—its demonstrably "flawed democracy" notching it the 25th spot. The ranking is based on 60 indicators spanning five interrelated categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Each category gets a 0-10 score, with the final score being the average of those five.

The New Congress and the Rolling Catastrophe of the US Body Politic

December 31, 2018 Roger Harris, Popular Resistance , , , ,
The American body politic is in a deep malaise with the current administration. But Trump is the symptom, not the disease, which is the neoliberal rule. The conditions that allowed the ascendency of Trump were the result of the neoliberal policies of Obama/Bush and of their predecessors. Trump does not so much represent a break or reversal of Obama era policies. Rather, we are suffering a continuation and intensification of those policies as the body politic lurches to the right.

The Decline Of Empire And Rise Of Trumps

November 27, 2018 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Clearing the FOG. , , ,
In his new book, "America: The Farewell Tour," based on his travels around the United States, Chris Hedges describes the decline of society and how that brought President Trump into power. Trump is a symptom of failing systems, and there will be more Trumps until things change. We speak with Hedges in depth about the basis for what is happening, what he has learned while covering other countries that went through similar transitions and what we must do if we are to weather the current crises. 

The Man From The North Commentary On The Elections

November 15, 2018 Rivera Sun, Essays Man From the North , ,
The Vote - the beloved, abused, scorned, corrupted, stolen, hijacked, pointless, profound, hopeful, depressing, hard-won, cherished vote - is not the only way to take action for meaningful change. Currently, the elections operate in our nation like a cattle chute, all too often forcing us back into the deadly, no-win tracks of the two- party duopoly that serves only the moneyed class. It becomes a handy device for siphoning off the demand for revolutionary change by giving false hope that elected officials will actually enact their campaign promises once in office.

Lessons On Building Democracy After Nonviolent Revolutions

November 15, 2018 Jonathan Pinckney, Wagingnonviolence.org , ,
In 2011, Egypt began a political transition following a nonviolent revolution. There was tremendous optimism both from within the country and abroad that the transition was likely to lead to a democratic outcome. In 2014, Burkina Faso also began a political transition after a nonviolent revolution overthrew longtime authoritarian President Blaise Compaoré. While many admired the revolution, its unfavorable conditions — low levels of economic development and a region that was less conducive to democracy — made the prospects for democratic advancement less optimistic. Yet, today, Egypt is once again under autocratic rule, following a 2013 coup by General Abdel-Fatah al-Sissi.

The Contradictions Of The #Resistance

November 11, 2018 By Branko Marcetic, Jacobin , , , ,
Trump’s bizarre vendetta against Sessions has apparently disguised for some the fact that the president couldn’t have asked for a more loyal underling than Sessions, his recusal aside. One need only do a quick survey of Sessions’ handiwork over the last two years to see why. In other words, Sessions’ continued occupancy of the attorney general’s office was vastly more detrimental to democracy and the rule of law than the closing of Mueller’s investigation ever could be. No one should be nostalgic for his tenure.

Election Rigging And The Decline Of American Democracy

October 27, 2018 Dan Sisken, Occupy.com , , ,
In the mid 1990s, scholars of politics in the Arab world published a book titled “Democracy without Democrats?” It appeared in the midst of a period of liberalization in some Arab countries that included competitive elections for parliaments and a loosening of state control over the media. The premise was that if democratic institutions such as elections, political parties and a partially free press could be established, they might entrench a more open and liberal system of government that could evolve into a more fully democratic regime. Many of the contributors to the volume were skeptical and as matters developed in places like Jordan, Egypt and Algeria, the skeptics were proven right...

Communities Use Direct Democracy To Save Democracy

October 22, 2018 Wisconsin United to Amend, Popular Resistance. , , ,
Madison, WI  – On Tuesday, November 6th, Wisconsin residents in nine communities will vote on whether to amend the U.S. Constitution to clarify that only humans should have constitutional rights and that money is not the same as speech and political spending can be limited to allow all Americans to participate in the democratic process. Voters will cast ballots in Jackson, Sauk and Wood counties, the villages of Readstown, Westfield and Weston, and the towns of Kickapoo, Rib Mountain and Vermont. If all vote in favor, 142 Wisconsin communities will have called for the We The People amendment.

Exclusion Of Candidates Violates Rights Of Voters

October 15, 2018 The Green Party US. , , ,
Green Party candidates have been excluded from debates and polls across the country by news media and polling criteria that favor Democratic and Republican candidates. Exclusion means Green Party candidates cannot make their case to undecided voters or try to sway decided ones, which is especially crucial in races that determine ballot status. High numbers of undecided voters are a wild card in many races this year and may lead to some “Green” surprises on election day. Constance Gadell-Newton, candidate for Governor of Ohio, was excluded from three Ohio Debate Commission debates cosponsored by the League of Women Voters...

Future Of Western Democracy Being Played Out In Brazil

October 10, 2018 Pepe Escobar, Consortiumnews.com , ,
Nothing less than the future of politics across the West – and across the Global South – is being played out in Brazil. Stripped to its essence, the Brazilian presidential elections represent a direct clash between democracy and an early 21st Century, neofascism, indeed between civilization and barbarism. Geopolitical and global economic reverberations will be immense. The Brazilian dilemma illuminates all the contradictions surrounding the Right populist offensive across the West, juxtaposed to the inexorable collapse of the Left. The stakes could not be higher. Jair Bolsonaro, an outright supporter of Brazilian military dictatorships of last century, who has been normalized as the “extreme-right candidate,” won the first round of the presidential elections on Sunday with more than 49 million votes.

A Case For Giving Everyone A Share Of Public Wealth

September 30, 2018 Jim Pugh, In These Times. , , ,
In late August, the People’s Policy Project, a left-wing think tank run by economist and writer Matt Bruenig, released a proposal for the creation of a social wealth fund in the United States. Dubbed the American Solidarity Fund, the idea behind the proposal is to establish a pool of shared, public wealth that would be invested in the same way that private wealth is. Under this plan, every American adult would own a single “share” of the fund, and while no single person would be able to withdraw their share, they would receive regular universal dividend payments from returns on investments.

A Glimmer Of Hope In Brazil

September 26, 2018 Bryan McCann, Dissentmagazine.org , , ,
Renata Souza, candidate for Rio de Janeiro State Chamber of Deputies from Brazil’s Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), knows she has big shoes to fill and a difficult path to walk. Souza was the chief of staff—and a close friend—to Marielle Franco, the Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman gunned down in a drive-by shooting in March 2018. In the wake of Franco’s assassination, Souza pledged to run for office herself, to carry on Franco’s commitment to fighting for the rights of Rio’s disenfranchised—particularly the poor and predominantly black residents of the city’s favelas, for women of color more generally, and for LGBT citizens, especially those from poor communities. These positions make Souza vulnerable to the same backlash, vitriol...

Labor Day Reflection: Time For Americans To Participate In Power

September 2, 2018 Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance , ,
The Roman philosopher and statesman, Marcus Tullius Cicero said: “Freedom is participation in power.”  By that standard Americans are not free.  We do not participate in power. We do not even have power over our own economic lives, our elected “representatives” ignore us and listen to the moneyed interests sending the United States in the wrong direction on issue after issue.  The American people know better, would govern better and need to participate in power. When you dispassionately review the reality of the U.S. economy, it is a depressing state of affairs that screams out for Americans to get up, stand up and shout: “we can do better than the political and economic elites.”

Midterm Congressional Elections: You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had

August 27, 2018 Roger Harris, Popular Resistance , , ,
The buzz is that “we” have to “take back” the House and Senate in the November midterm elections. Legendary bluesman Muddy Waters said it best: “you can’t lose what you ain’t never had.” What the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is really telling us to do is to give them Congress, which is a whole other story. The truth is “We” never had Congress. Trump has an abysmal 38% approval rating. The Democratic Party in the same independent national poll is even deeper in the abyss with only a 31% approval rating…for at least a dozen reasons:

American Society Would Collapse If It Weren’t For These 8 Myths

July 26, 2018 By Lee Camp, Truthdig.com , ,
Our society should’ve collapsed by now. You know that, right? No society should function with this level of inequality (with the possible exception of one of those prison planets in a “Star Wars” movie). Sixty-three percent of Americans can’t afford a $500 emergency. Yet Amazon head Jeff Bezos is now worth a record $141 billion. He could literally end world hunger for multiple years and still have more money left over than he could ever spend on himself. Worldwide, one in 10 people only make $2 a day. Do you know how long it would take one of those people to make the same amount as Jeff Bezos has? 193 million years. (If they only buy single-ply toilet paper.) Put simply, you cannot comprehend the level of inequality in our current world or even just our nation. So … shouldn’t there be riots in the streets every day? Shouldn’t it all be collapsing? Look outside. The streets aren’t on fire. No one is running naked and screaming (usually). Does it look like everyone’s going to work at gunpoint? No.
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