THE DĒMOS IN DĒMOKRATIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Cammack
Keyword(s):  
Political Society ◽  
Political Equality ◽  
The People ◽  
Leaders And Followers ◽  
Governing Principle ◽  
Human Autonomy ◽  
Self Rule ◽  
City State ◽  
The Right ◽  
Individual Human

The meaning of dēmokratia is widely agreed: ‘rule by the people’ (less often ‘people-power’), where dēmos, ‘people’, implies ‘entire citizen body’, synonymous with polis, ‘city-state’, or πάντες πολίται, ‘all citizens’. Dēmos, on this understanding, comprised rich and poor, leaders and followers, mass and elite alike. As such, dēmokratia is interpreted as constituting a sharp rupture from previous political regimes. Rule by one man or by a few had meant the domination of one part of the community over the rest, but dēmokratia, it is said, implied self-rule, and with it the dissolution of the very distinction between ruler and ruled. Its governing principle was the formal political equality of all citizens. In the words of W.G. Forrest, between 750 and 450 b.c. there had developed ‘the idea of individual human autonomy … the idea that all members of a political society are free and equal, that everyone had the right to an equal say in determining the structure and the activities of his society’.

Constitutional Rights and Democracy: A Reply to Professor Bellamy

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1039-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.J. Waluchow
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Social Cooperation ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Political Equality ◽  
Constitutional Review ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic Character ◽  
Self Rule ◽  
Elected Representatives

In his rich and thoughtful paper, Richard Bellamy sketches a theory of individual rights that ascribes to them an inherently democratic character that “is best captured by a republican view of liberty as non-domination, rather than the standard liberal account of liberty as non-interference.” According to this view, “rights involve an implicit appeal to democratic forms of reasoning.” That is, the only justifiable “foundation of rights must be some form of ongoing democratic decision making that allows rights to be claimed under conditions of political equality.” Bellamy uses this particular model of rights to defend a somewhat unique thesis concerning the legitimacy of judicial review under a constitutional charter or bill of rights (henceforth constitutional review). Many legal theorists question whether constitutional review can ever be rendered consistent with the theoretical and practical demands of democracy. According to these theorists, democracy embodies a form of self-rule whereby the members of a society establish and exercise legitimate authority over themselves. But self-rule seems seriously compromised once constitutional review enters the picture. Instead of having the people and their elected representatives setting the basic terms of social cooperation, we have instead a small group of elite, unelected, and unaccountable judges performing this vital task. Constitutional review empowers these individuals, in constitutional review cases, to substitute their own contestable views and preferences with respect to the basic terms of social cooperation for the duly considered views and preferences of the people and those whom they have duly elected to represent them. This is something one simply cannot tolerate in a democracy.

scholarly journals Brexit, the Election of Donald Trump and Activism in South Africa, Lessons for Democracy: The Contribution of Justice Sandile Ngcobo

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1&2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziyad Motala
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Karl Marx ◽  
Political Equality ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
The People ◽  
Fresh Perspective ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Government ◽  
City State ◽  
Elected Representatives

Ngcobo J’s conception of democracy is more in keeping with the ancient understanding, found in the Athenian city-state, traditional African societies and in the writings of Karl Marx. The traditional conception, affirmed by Rousseau, requires the direct participation of the population in the decision-making processes that affect their lives. The Athenian notion of the participation of the population in a town hall meeting is not practical in a large nation state. Ngcobo J developed a hybrid model that combines elected representatives and participatory democracy. Under this model, the lawmaker is required to provide for meaningful modes of participation by bringing the opportunity for participation to the people through provincial participation. In the annals of comparative constitutional law, Ngcobo J’s opinion is an outlier, which represents a unique and fresh perspective of democracy much like the Constitutional Court’s development of socio-economic rights and the use of the reasonableness standard to determine the legality of government conduct. Ngcobo J does not equate political equality with equality of opportunity. Apart from requiring the government to provide for citizen participation in the polity, he imposes a further duty on the government to take affirmative steps like educational programs road shows, workshops, media programs and publications to make citizen participation a reality for the historically disadvantaged and those with unequal education. His perspective offers a cogent instruction to the rest of the world, in this period where democracy is under serious strain.

The Rhetoric of Rebellion in Hume's Constitutional Thought

2005 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Merrill
Keyword(s):  
David Hume ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Society ◽  
Rhetorical Strategy ◽  
Important Principle ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Constitutional Thought ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

In hisHistory of England, David Hume suggests that the doctrine of resistance should be concealed from the populace. But this suggestion in the very public location of theHistoryhas the effect of revealing this doctrine as much as concealing it. How should we understand this perplexing rhetorical strategy? Hume's paradoxical rhetoric is a symptom of the problem that the right of rebellion poses for every political society. On the one hand, the right of rebellion undeniably exists; on the other, no regime can recognize that right fully. The problem of rebellion thus reveals the simultaneous necessity and limitations of law. Hume's playful, transparent rhetoric is intended to compel us to reflect upon the deeper tension between liberty and authority in every political society and to furnish us with an example of how that tension might be prudently and honestly handled.At a pivotal moment in theHistory of England, Hume writes: “If ever, on any occasion, it were laudable to hide truth from the populace, it must be confessed, that the doctrine of resistance affords such an example; and that all speculative reasoners ought to observe, with regard to this principle, the same cautious silence which the laws, in every species of government, have ever prescribed to themselves.” On its face, this is a recommendation that the “doctrine of resistance,” perhaps the most important principle of modern liberalism, be kept a secret, hidden away from the people at large.

11 Republicity

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Günter Zöller
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Political Society ◽  
Greek City ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Tradition ◽  
Self Rule ◽  
City State

AbstractThe essay places the modern Euro-American (“Atlantic”) conception of publicity (Öffentlichkeit) into the historical and systematic context of the Western political tradition of republicanism. Section 1 features the state as the public realm of political deliberation and decision in the twin traditions of the Greek city state (polis) and the Roman republic (res publica). Section 2 analyzes the redrawing of the boundaries between the public and the private in early modern political thought. Section 3 examines the transformation of the distinction between the public and the private in politico-philosophical reflection on high modern commercial and civil society. The focus throughout is on the republican requisites of the rule of law and of self-rule in political society

Analytical Study of Violence Theme in Victoria Schwab’s This Savage Song

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Study ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Vicious Cycle ◽  
Aggressive Approach ◽  
Research Article ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Right

This research article focuses on the theme of violence and its representation by the characters of the novel “This Savage Song” by Victoria Schwab. How violence is transmitted through genes to next generations and to what extent socio- psycho factors are involved in it, has also been discussed. Similarly, in what manner violent events and deeds by the parents affect the psychology of children and how it inculcates aggressive behaviour in their minds has been studied. What role is played by the parents in grooming the personality of children and ultimately their decisions to choose the right or wrong way has been argued. In the light of the theory of Judith Harris, this research paper highlights all the phenomena involved: How the social hierarchy controls the behaviour. In addition, the aggressive approach of the people in their lives has been analyzed in the light of the study of second theorist Thomas W Blume. As the novel is a unique representation of supernatural characters, the monsters, which are the products of some cruel deeds, this research paper brings out different dimensions of human sufferings with respect to these supernatural beings. Moreover, the researcher also discusses that, in what manner the curse of violence creates an inevitable vicious cycle of cruel monsters that makes the life of the characters turbulent and miserable.

Confucian Perfectionism

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Chan
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Moral Rights ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Political Equality ◽  
Philosophical Foundations ◽  
Liberal Conception ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Conception Of The Good ◽  
The Right

Since the very beginning, Confucianism has been troubled by a serious gap between its political ideals and the reality of societal circumstances. Contemporary Confucians must develop a viable method of governance that can retain the spirit of the Confucian ideal while tackling problems arising from nonideal modern situations. The best way to meet this challenge, this book argues, is to adopt liberal democratic institutions that are shaped by the Confucian conception of the good rather than the liberal conception of the right. The book examines and reconstructs both Confucian political thought and liberal democratic institutions, blending them to form a new Confucian political philosophy. The book decouples liberal democratic institutions from their popular liberal philosophical foundations in fundamental moral rights, such as popular sovereignty, political equality, and individual sovereignty. Instead, it grounds them on Confucian principles and redefines their roles and functions, thus mixing Confucianism with liberal democratic institutions in a way that strengthens both. The book then explores the implications of this new yet traditional political philosophy for fundamental issues in modern politics, including authority, democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and social justice. The book critically reconfigures the Confucian political philosophy of the classical period for the contemporary era.

Sleepwalking into a New World

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Wickham
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Civic Culture ◽  
Old Order ◽  
The People ◽  
Medieval Europe ◽  
Italian City ◽  
New Form ◽  
City States ◽  
City State

Amid the disintegration of the Kingdom of Italy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a new form of collective government—the commune—arose in the cities of northern and central Italy. This book takes a bold new look at how these autonomous city-states came about, and fundamentally alters our understanding of one of the most important political and cultural innovations of the medieval world. The book provides richly textured portraits of three cities—Milan, Pisa, and Rome—and sets them against a vibrant backcloth of other towns. It argues that, in all but a few cases, the élite of these cities and towns developed one of the first nonmonarchical forms of government in medieval Europe, unaware that they were creating something altogether new. The book makes clear that the Italian city commune was by no means a democracy in the modern sense, but that it was so novel that outsiders did not know what to make of it. It describes how, as the old order unraveled, the communes emerged, governed by consular elites “chosen by the people,” and subject to neither emperor nor king. They regularly fought each other, yet they grew organized and confident enough to ally together to defeat Frederick Barbarossa, the German emperor, at the Battle of Legnano in 1176. This book reveals how the development of the autonomous city-state took place, which would in the end make possible the robust civic culture of the Renaissance.

Main Forms of Propagandistic Activities of the Right-Wing Parties (1904–1914)

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 656-676
Author(s):  
Igor V. Omeliyanchuk
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Periodical Press ◽  
Political Movement ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Right ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The 19Th Century

The article examines the main forms and methods of agitation and propagandistic activities of monarchic parties in Russia in the beginning of the 20th century. Among them the author singles out such ones as periodical press, publication of books, brochures and flyers, organization of manifestations, religious processions, public prayers and funeral services, sending deputations to the monarch, organization of public lectures and readings for the people, as well as various philanthropic events. Using various forms of propagandistic activities the monarchists aspired to embrace all social groups and classes of the population in order to organize all-class and all-estate political movement in support of the autocracy. While they gained certain success in promoting their ideology, the Rights, nevertheless, lost to their adversaries from the radical opposition camp, as the monarchists constrained by their conservative ideology, could not promise immediate social and political changes to the population, and that fact was excessively used by their opponents. Moreover, the ideological paradigm of the Right camp expressed in the “Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality” formula no longer agreed with the social and economic realities of Russia due to modernization processes that were underway in the country from the middle of the 19th century.

Paradigma Pembangunan Desa dalam Pengelolaan Keuangan Desa Berdasarkan Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun 2014 Tentang Desa

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-132
Author(s):  
Betha Rahmasari
Keyword(s):  
Regional Development ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Economic Potential ◽  
Village Community ◽  
Development Organizations ◽  
The People ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Village

This article aims to find out the developmentidea or paradigm through village financial management based on Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages. In this study, the researcher used a normative research methodby examining the village regulations in depth. Primary legal materials are authoritatuve legal materials in the form of laws and regulations. Village dependence is the most obvious violence against village income or financial sources. Various financial assistance from the government has made the village dependent on financial sources from the government. The use of regional development funds is intended to support activities in the management of Regional Development organizations. Therefore, development funds should be managed properly and smoothly, as well as can be used effectively to increase the people economy in the regions. This research shows that the law was made to regulate and support the development of local economic potential as well as the sustainable use of natural resources and the environment, and that the village community has the right to obtain information and monitor the planning and implementation of village development.

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