Social Structures of Direct Democracy

On the Political Economy of Equality
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-90-04-26272-0
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 68, 208 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 239 mm, Gewicht: 499 g

Reihe: Studies in Critical Social Sciences

Neoliberalism has pushed capitalism to its limits, hollowing out global economies and lives in the process, while people have no voice. John Asimakopoulos addresses the problem with a theory to practice model that reconciles Marxism, with its diverse radical currents, and democratic theory. Social Structures of Direct Democracy develops a political economy of structural equality in large-scale society making strong empirical arguments for radical transformation. Key concepts include filling positions of political and economic authority (e.g., legislatures and corporate boards) with randomly selected citizens leaving the demos as the executive. Asimakopoulos shows that an egalitarian society leads to greater innovation, sustainable economic growth, and positive social benefits in contrast to economies based on individualism, competition, and inequality.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Asimakopoulos, John

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Demokratie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Staats- und Regierungsformen, Staatslehre
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Politische Kommunikation und Partizipation

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword by Mark Zepezauer
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. Theory, Praxis, and Change
The Ragged Edge of Anarchy: Direct Democracy
Mutualism
Collectivism
Communist Anarchism
Conflict Theory
Why Capitalism Must Always Collapse
The Relationship between Change and Radicalism
Structural Limitations to Change
Insurrection versus Revolution
Does Direct Democracy Require Small-scale Societies
McDonald’s Iron Cage

2. Relations of Authority
The Fraud of Representative Democracy
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Stealing Democracy Old School
Political Parties
A Path to Direct Democracy
Economic Authority
Political Authority
Constitution

3. Material Relations
Economic Utilities of Direct Democracy
Relations of Consumption
Resource Use
What to Produce
How to Produce
Can the System Adapt?

4. Social Structure
Culture and Social Integration
Organizing Principles of Social Structure
Institutions and Socialization
Compulsion and Discipline
Journalism
The Social Network: The Future that Can be Now

Conclusion: No Islands of Egalitarianism in a Sea of Inequality
Afterword by Richard Gilman-Opalsky: What Can Grow in the Graveyard for Orthodoxies?
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

John Asimakopoulos, Ph.D., is Full Professor of Sociology at the City University of New York and executive director of the Transformative Studies Institute (TSI), an educational think tank. He has advanced degrees in and has taught sociology, political science, and economics resulting in a unique interdisciplinary perspective. His students include undergraduates and graduates from diverse ethnic, economic, and educational backgrounds who have honored him for over 20 years with the highest teaching evaluations. His research is focused on social movements, critical theory, and international political economy. Asimakopoulos is author of Revolt! and The Accumulation of Freedom. He has published many journal articles, book chapters, and is editor in chief of Theory in Action, an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal focusing on scholar-activism. He is currently working with his colleagues at TSI to establish a new free and progressive university for working class students operated by scholar-activists.