popular democracy

Some figures, like TV documentary producer, director and writer Colin Thomas, see the Levellers, resistance of groups to both the Stuart monarchy and Oliver Cromwell's English Republic as early popular democracy advocacy groups. Thomas sees the line of this early popular democracy going through the dissenting church, to the American Revolutionaries and later British trade unionism.[http://www.brh.org.uk/site/events/regicide-and-the-english-revolution/ Off With Their Heads – Bristol Radical History Week 2008], Bristol Radical History Group, section The Levellers Are Dead – Long Live The Levellers! – Colin Thomas

Thomas Paine's Common Sense is sometimes considered to defend a form of popular democracy.[http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=721 Common Sense: The Rhetoric of Popular Democracy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511180215/http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=721 |date=11 May 2009 }}, A We The People Resource, EDSITEment!.neh.org Andrew Jackson was considered a defender of popular democracy as a politician and president,[http://americanhistory.about.com/od/ageofjackson/Jacksonian_Era.htm Jacksonian Era] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106062158/http://americanhistory.about.com/od/ageofjackson/Jacksonian_Era.htm |date=6 January 2011 }}, American History.About.com[http://www.sagehistory.net/jeffersonjackson/topics/Jackson.htm JACKSON COMES TO POWER: THE ELECTION OF 1828]The Reader's Companion to American History, ed. Eric Foner, John Arthur Garraty, Society of American Historians, Houghton-Mifflin, 1991, section "JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY" and his presidency is considered as having made the transition from republic (Jeffersonian democracy) to popular democracy (Jacksonian democracy) in the United States[http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9781400063253-0 American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, by Jon Meacham], Powell's.com

Walt Whitman uses the word in Democratic Vistas as description of the vague notion of masse democracy with universal suffrage of a more or less direct and participatory type he defended. He admitted that the system had some dangers, but it "practically justifies itself beyond the proudest claims and wildest hopes of its enthusiasts".[https://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/05/brooks.htm What Whitman Knew], David Brooks, fourteenth paragraph William Jennings Bryan may be considered a popular democrat for his support of a democracy based on popular sovereignty.[https://books.google.com/books?id=vslA7TGpgdwC&dq=%22William+Jennings+Bryan+Popular+Democracy%22&pg=PA161 Where Did the Party Go?: William Jennings Bryan, Hubert Humphrey, and the Jeffersonian Legacy], Jeff Taylor, University of Missouri Press, 2006

Theodore Roosevelt is considered a defender of a popular democrat insurgency against big business and elitism.[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-36227219_ITM Insurgency campaigns and the quest for popular democracy: Theodore Roosevelt, Eugene McCarthy, and party monopolies]

In the end of the first half of the 20th century, the Christian democratic parties preferred the term "popular democrats" to Christian democrats.[https://books.google.com/books?id=9O7IqAINzo4C&dq=%22Christian+Democrat+International%22+%2B+%22popular+democrats%22&pg=PA32 The Christian Democrat International], Roberto Papini, page 32

In post-independence India, popular democracy, together with economic and social liberalism and hindu nationalism, is considered one of the main currents that tried to define Indian politics since 1947.[http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0745620779.html Reinventing India: Liberalization, Hindu Nationalism and Popular Democracy], eu.Wiley.com

Iran is sometimes referred as having a history of popular democracy in parallel with the Pahlevi Monarchy before the overthrowing of Mossadeq and reinstating of the Shah.[http://blogs.smh.com.au/whitehouse08/archives/2008/05/obama_hillary_and_full_circle.html Obama, Hillary and full circle on Iowa], Sidney Morning Herald, Sidney Morning Herald Blog, third comment

Eugene McCarthy was seen as a popular democrat presidential campaigner in 1968.

In 1969 Muammar al-Gaddafi overthrew the pro-western monarchy and created a system he claimed to be a popular democracy.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dQHvIwJrF0 Libya: Popular Democracy Or Police State?], Youtube.com

Similarly to Gaddafi, Hafez al-Assad, officially ended the one party state of Ba'ath Syria created by the 1963 coup d'état in 1970, declaring the creation of a multi-party popular democracy.[http://www.presidentassad.net/HAFEZ_AL_ASSAD/President_Hafez_Al_Assad_CV.htm President Hafez Assad] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801085415/http://www.presidentassad.net/HAFEZ_AL_ASSAD/President_Hafez_Al_Assad_CV.htm |date=1 August 2012 }}, official Bashar al-Assad website

In 1975 Al Gaddafi wrote The Green Book, where he defends his political system as a form of "direct and popular democracy" based on the will of the people instead of representative parliaments.

After the fall of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, a research and advocacy centre called the Institute for Popular Democracy was created who frequently criticizes "elite politics" and defends reformist local social movements.

Some Burkinabé Communists founded a group who supported a Marxist-Leninist People's Democracy (though with a free-market economic plan) in 1989, the Organization for Popular Democracy - Labour Movement. In 1991 they renounced Marxism-Leninism and transformed their Marxism-Leninism into a form of popular democrat philosophy.Political Parties of the World (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 96.

Václav Havel's civil-society-centered democratic Czechoslovakia was considered another form of popular democracy by some.[http://archive.peacemagazine.org/v06n4p24.htm Popular Democracy in Prague after the Velvet Revolution], Metta Spencer, Peace Magazine, Aug-Sep 1990

In 1996 the popular democratic Organization for Popular Democracy - Labour Movement created the Congress for Democracy and Progress, being the current ruling party in Burkina Faso.

The internet is sometimes considered as a vital part or an example of modern popular democratic practices.[http://www.tc.umn.edu/~gabriel1/thesis.htm The Impact of the Internet on Popular Democracy in the United States] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014141014/http://www.tc.umn.edu/~gabriel1/thesis.htm |date=14 October 2016 }}, Gabriel J. Gubash, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May, 1997

Some Marxist groups consider that the current Middle East is currently prepared for and wishes popular democracy (which in this context may be referring to Marxist People's Democracy) but that the "neoconservative design upon the region" and American power prevents this.[http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/marxism/2005w11/msg00079.html Marxism mailing list archive, re: The growing striving for popular democracy in the MiddleEast – striving where?] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121215200753/http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/marxism/2005w11/msg00079.html |date=15 December 2012 }}, Marxism mailing list, 16 May 2005

There are some signs interpreted by analysts as possibilities of popular democracy, in Nigeria,[http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/prince-charles-dickson/good-governance-a-desiderata-for-popular-democracy-in-ni.html Good Governance, A Desiderata For Popular Democracy In Nigeria], Prince Charles Dickson, Nigeria Village Square, 22 March 2008 Abkhazia and Georgia.[http://www.caucaz.com/home/breve_contenu.php?id=34 Abkhazie-Géorgie : essai de démocratie populaire], Mathilde Damoisel, Caucaz Europenews, 1 June 2003, (in French)

Former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez was sometimes considered to either be practicing[http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/chandra230406.html Monthly Review, Nepal and Venezuela: For Popular Democracy, against Ceremonial Democracy], Pratyush Chandra Monthly Review magazine, 23 April 2006 or simulating[http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/969.html Travel to Venezuela: Popular Democracy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217122202/http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/969.html |date=17 February 2009 }} popular democracy.

In 2003 it was published one of the main book-length appraisals of popular democracy, Hilary Wainwright's [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1859846890 Reclaim the State: Experiments in Popular Democracy], a criticism of both social democracy and big government and neoliberalism and big business.

As popular democracy is an ideal of direct and participatory democracy based on grassroots, there aren't exactly very defined values beyond support of this kind of democracy over more representative types. But some attempts have been made to define popular democrat ideals based around the idea that this direct democracy is just a step for a full democracy. Some proposals of popular democratic common values have been:

• Civil rights (freedom of speech, debate and enquiry){{cite web | last = McConnachie | first = Alistair | title = The five principles of democracy (blog) | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150524063513/http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/articles/fivedem.html | archive-date = 24 May 2015 | url = http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/articles/fivedem.html | website = sovereignty.org.uk | publisher = Sovereignty (online magazine by Alistair McConnachie) | date = March 2005 }}
• Direct democracy
• respectable, bias-free mass media
• Economic democracy
• Equality before the law
• Popular sovereignty{{cite web | last = McConnachie | first = Alistair | title = The sovereignty strategy to regain control of our government (blog) | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120617194041/http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/articles/sovstrat1.html | archive-date = 17 June 2012 | url = http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/articles/sovstrat1.html | website = sovereignty.org.uk | publisher = Sovereignty (online magazine by Alistair McConnachie) | date = February 2002 }}
• Anti-partisanship

Participatory budget and the policies of the Porto Alegre Forum are also associated with popular democracy by some left-wing authors.{{cite web | last1 = Menser | first1 = Mike | last2 = Robinson | first2 = Juscha | title = Participatory Budgeting: from Porto Alegre, Brazil to the U.S. | url = http://www.populareconomics.org/ussen/webfm_send/18 | website = populareconomics.org | publisher = Popular Economics | access-date = 20 April 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721093648/http://www.populareconomics.org/ussen/webfm_send/18 | archive-date = 21 July 2011 | url-status = dead }}

As the ideal of popular democracy came out of prepositions of Populism (ex: popular rule in democracy is fairer than elitist parliaments; decisions by general referendums are fairer than decisions by limited groups like parliaments and governments), and as platforms of certain groups claiming to be popular democratic are very similar to those of various democratic and undemocratic populist movements, there is discussion on the relation between both political philosophies.{{cite book | last = Howarth | first = David | contribution = Populism or Popular Democracy? The UDF, Workerism and the Struggle for Radical Democracy in South Africa | editor-last = Panizza | editor-first = Francisco | title = Populism and the Mirror of Democracy | url = https://archive.org/details/populismmirrorde00pani | url-access = limited | pages = [https://archive.org/details/populismmirrorde00pani/page/n206 202]–223 | publisher = Verso | year = 2005 | isbn = 9781859844892 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=XbbJRDXtwHIC&q=%22Popular+Democracy%22&pg=PA202 Preview.]{{Cite journal | last = Hall | first = Stuart | author-link = Stuart Hall (cultural theorist) | title = Authoritarian Populism: A Reply to Jessop et al | journal = New Left Review | volume = I | issue = 151 | publisher = New Left Review | date = May–June 1985 | url = http://newleftreview.org/I/151/stuart-hall-authoritarian-populism-a-reply }}{{cite web | last = Simons | first = Jon | title = Democratically Aestheticized Politics | url = http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/1/2/0/1/p212015_index.html | publisher = American Political Science Association | date = 30 August 2007 | access-date = 9 October 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233858/http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/1/2/0/1/p212015_index.html | archive-date = 3 March 2016 | url-status = dead }} Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, Chicago, Illinois.

This ideal is currently supported by Glenn Smith{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080505234957/http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5408 The Promise of Popular Democracy, Part II: Solidarity of the Shaken]}}, Glenn W. Smith, Rockridge Institute, Sun 27 Apr 2008 (who was connected to the Rockridge Institute,The support of the Rockridge Institute to popular democracy can be seen in their website's [http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/democracy.html The Promise of Popular Democracy series] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080919160619/http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/democracy.html |date=19 September 2008 }} a now defunct organization) and many other Progressive, Liberal and Populist Democrats.

Taking advantage of the vagueness of the concept many parties in a wide range of ideologies call themselves Popular Democratic Party, Popular Democrat Party or People's Democratic Party, or even Democratic Popular Party or Democratic People's Party and support or claim to support popular sovereignty in some form of popular democracy.

Alistair McConnachie writes frequent articles supporting popular democracy for the think tank [http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/ Sovereignty], which he directs.

Self-described Populist Harry C. Boyte adopts some popular democrat themes in his support of grassroots democracy.

The Nepalese Maoists also support a socialist, non-elitist, form of popular democracy,[http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/chandra230406.html Nepal and Venezuela: For Popular Democracy, against Ceremonial Democracy, by Pratyush Chandra] which may be understood as a form of Maoist people's democracy but based more on popular participation and less on Vanguard parties.

Whitman wrote Democratic Vistas in answer to criticism of universal suffrage and full democracy of Thomas Carlyle in Latter-Day Pamphlets, who considered the popular democratic system to be too many rights given to uneducated masses of the people, as rule should be kept in the hands of highly educated people and aristocrats.[https://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/05/brooks.htm What Whitman Knew], David Brooks, ninth paragraph. These criticisms have been repeated numerous times as a way of showing popular democracy as just another word for mob rule.

The idea of majoritarian, popular-will based democracy has been accused of facilitating the persecution of Sri Lankan Tamils.[http://www.zimbio.com/Sri+Lanka/articles/102/Specter+Popular+Democracy+How+Majoritarianism The Specter of Popular Democracy: How Majoritarianism is Facilitating Genocide in Sri Lanka] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317231543/http://www.zimbio.com/Sri+Lanka/articles/102/Specter+Popular+Democracy+How+Majoritarianism |date=17 March 2012 }}, Moggy on 8 March, Zimbio, 2009

Other limitations of popular democracy have been indicated in its relation to other social movements (as feminism and trade unionism).[http://www.history.ukzn.ac.za/ojs/index.php/transformation/article/viewFile/871/686 The limits of popular Democracy: women's organisations, feminism and the UDF]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Shireen Hassim, in Transformation 51, 2003

• Populism
• Popular Democratic Party (disambiguation)
• People's Democratic Party (disambiguation)
• Democratic Popular Party (disambiguation)
• Democratic People's Party (disambiguation)

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite web | url = http://www.globaljusticecenter.org/papers/durand1.htm | title = Democracy and Struggles for Social Justice | author = Cliff Durand, Morgan University | publisher = Center for Global Justice | access-date = 2010-07-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100703213623/http://www.globaljusticecenter.org/papers/durand1.htm | archive-date = 3 July 2010 | url-status = dead }} – a text defending Popular democracy
• [http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/index.html Sovereignty, an Advocacy group, Think Tank and Democracy watchdog who supports Popular democracy in the UK]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121003032405/http://www.ipd.org.ph/ Institute for Popular Democracy website]
• [https://www.amazon.com/Popular-Democracy/lm/R10PKW7NDW124A List of books on Popular democracy at Amazon]

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Category:Direct democracy

Category:Populism

Category:Types of democracy