The transitional strategy of the Inclusive Democracy project

Starting point is that the world, at the beginning of the new millennium, faces a multi-dimensional crisis (economic, ecological, social, cultural and political) which is caused by the concentration of power in the hands of various elites, as a result of the establishment, in the last couple of centuries, of the system of market economy, representative ¿democracy¿ and the related forms of hierarchical structure. If we accept this premise, then the obvious way out of this crisis is the abolition of power structures and relations, i.e. the creation of conditions of equal distribution of power among citizens. One way that could bring about this sort of society is strategy proposed by the Inclusive Democracy project, which involves the creation of political, economic and social structures that secure direct democracy, economic democracy, ecological democracy and democracy in the social realm. It also involves the creation of a new social paradigm, which, for the reproduction of inclusive democracy to be secured, has to become dominant

Globalisation and the Multi-Dimensional Crisis: The Inclusive Democracy Approach

The aim of this paper is to examine, through a discussion of the main theoretical approaches to globalisation, the various aspects of the present multidimensional crisis (economic, political, social, cultural and ecological) in order to draw some conclusions on the conditions under which a way out of the crisis can be found. The thesis supported by this article is that the ultimate cause of this crisis is the huge and growing concentration of power that the present institutional framework of the internationalised market economy creates. ?his implies that a way out of it can only be found through a process of creating a democratic and sustainable globalisation based on a new democratic world order. Democratic, in the sense that it is founded on a comprehensive political, economic and ecological democracy, what I call an inclusive democracy, and sustainable, in the sense that it re-integrates society with natur

Postmodern Myths

The aim of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework on postmodernism from the viewpoint of the Inclusive Democracy project. In the first part of the paper, the crucial issue will be examined whether there has really been a break with modernity, as postmodernists assume, in the political, economic, scientific and cultural spheres. In the second part, the post-modern theoretical paradigm and politics will be assessed and in the final part the Inclusive Democracy approach on the issues raised by postmodernists will be discussed. The conclusion drawn from this paper is that a new form of neoliberal modernity has emerged in the last quarter of a century or so rather than a new era of postmodernit

Presentation: the contours of Inclusive Democracy

Inclusive democracy is a new conception of democracy, which, using as a starting point the classical definition of it, expresses democracy in terms of direct political democracy, economic democracy (beyond the confines of the market economy and state planning), as well as democracy in the social realm and ecological democracy. In short, inclusive democracy is a form of social organisation which re-integrates society with economy, polity and nature. The concept of inclusive democracy is derived from a synthesis of two major historical traditions, the classical democratic and the socialist, although it also encompasses radical green, feminist, and liberation movements in the South. Within the problematique of the inclusive democracy project, it is assumed that the world, at the beginning of the new millennium, faces a multi-dimensional crisis (economic, ecological, social, cultural and political) which is caused by the concentration of power in the hands of various elites, as a result of the establishment, in the last few centuries, of the system of market economy, representative democracy and the related forms of hierarchical structure. In this sense, an inclusive democracy, which involves the equal distribution of power at all levels, is seen not as a utopia (in the negative sense of the word) but as perhaps the only way out of the present crisi

Cultures of Rioting and Anti-Systemic Politics in Southern Europe

The article investigates why, despite similar background conditions, Greece has been the site of frequent, highly visible, fringe, anti-system politics and street riots, while similar phenomena are rare in Spain. Although the article's focal point is the eruption of the December 2008 riots in Athens, it sheds light on the two countries' diverse social reactions to the sovereign debt crisis. Deploying the tool of media framing, it argues that historical legacies and political cultures matter. In the Greek case, the transition to democracy shaped a political 'culture of sympathy' towards acts of resistance to the state, a culture that has been institutionalised since the mid-1970s