BREAK THE CHAINS OF OPPRESION AND THE YOKE OF ...

DEMoc rAcy system should be: is it the self-determination of the people and the conscious
structuring of the political community, or is it, ultimately, the effective control
of those in government?
Is it all over now for democracy?
Too complicated? Too obscure? Too ponderous? Too boring?
In all discourses on political systems and processes it is evident that among different
models of government the democratic system is still appreciated, not uncritically
but it still meets with the greatest amount of approval. Whether classic democracy
as we live it and wish to preserve in Europe and North America can be the appropriate
export model for all other countries and societies is, however, not absolutely
clear. At any rate, self-aware European democracies should be cautious
with promises of salvation and suggestions of complete democratic prototypes as
the solution for complex problems in cultures whose political structures they have
recognised only in (very small) part, to say nothing of really understanding them.
High time for preservation of democracy
Global structures – if they exist – are chaotic and conflict-ridden. Over against
the interconnectedness and scale of global society stands the lack, the absence of
a close chain of transnational global institutions. The current lack of transparency
also leads to problems of legitimation. Politicians do not help by keeping quiet
about the fact that the modernisation of the world urgently requires the modernisation
of society too. 15
Politicians furthermore make a mistake in countering the spectre of globalisation
simply with �comforting � words � such as “We �can �do
it!” Apart from the fact
that this immediately reveals a virtually paternalistic attitude to the decisionmakers
their countries, namely their citizens, it is also simply not true. To obtain
a balance between rights and regulations, between directing by the government
and economic expectation – so that each complements the other and
does so for the good of the global community – more is needed than to “whistle
in the dark”.
At the level of international organisations it must be made clear in what way exactly
the powerful positions of mighty nations and the lobbyists of international
capital stand a priori in the way of democratisation – and must this be changed.
The path to democratisation can by no means pass the international institutions
by and bases on which this can be prevented must be clarified without delay. It
makes little sense to radically question international organisations. They are in
most cases already attempts to achieve something in cooperation with others.
15 Christoph Möller, Demokratie: Zumutungen und Versprechen, Berlin: Klaus Wagenbach
Verlag, 2008, 122ff.
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– DEMOCRACY – A MATTER OF CHOICE!? – 47