Democratic Values

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Below are groups and resources (books, articles, websites, etc.) related to this topic. Click on an item’s title to go its resource page with author, publisher, description/abstract and other details, a link to the full text if available, as well as links to related topics in the Subject Index. You can also browse the Title, Author, Subject, Chronological, Dewey, LoC, and Format indexes, or use the Search box.
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Connexions Library

The Abolition of the State: Anarchist & Marxist Perspectives
Price, Wayne
Book
2007
Both Anarchists and Marxists believe that it will be possible to do away with the state. But what do they mean by that? What is the state, after all? What institutions, if any, would be necessary ...
Arundhati Roy on Obama's Wars, India and Why Democracy Is "The Biggest Scam in the World"
Roy, Arundhati
Film/Video
2010
Indian writer and activist Arundhati Roy on President Obama, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, India and Kashmir and much more. Roy also talks about her journey deep into the forests of central India ...
Beyond the Abdication of Power
Becker, Norma
Book
1978
Presents an argument against the views expressed by Kokopeli and Lakey in Leadership For Change. Raises thought provoking issues it raises and demonstrates situations and assumptions under which conse...
Blocking Progress: Consensus Decision Making In The Anti-Nuclear Movement
Ryan, Howard
Article
1983
Howard Ryan maintains that consensus is wrong in principle and in practice: "The problem is not so much that individuals are being irresponsible or somehow abusing the consensus process. The problem l...
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
Putnam, Robert D.
Book
2000
Bowling Alone documents the rise and fall of community activity in the twentieth century in the United States and the social changes this reflects. It offers all the evidence, the confirmatory and the...
Canada After Harper: His Ideology-fuelled Attack on Canadian Society and Values, and How We Can Resist and Create the Country We Want
Finn, Ed (editor)
Book
2015
Essays documenting the breadth and depth of the Harper government's attack on institutions, policies, and programs that embody values and principles shared by most Canadians: education, health care, w...
Changing The Cogs: Activists and the Politics of Technology
Martin, Brian
Book
1979
What are the best ways to achieve beneficial change in society? Will widespread use of solar energy and other renewable energy sources bring about a good society? What technologies will be promoted by...
Chomsky on MisEducation
Chomsky, Noam; edited and introduced by Donald Macedo
Book
2000
Chomsky critiques the education system and discusses what education could be like in a democratic society.
Chomsky.Info
Chomsky, Noam
Website
The Noam Chomsky Web site.
A Citizen Legislature
Callenbach, Ernest; Phillips, Michael
Book
1985
Arguing from the premise that the present electoral system is unrepresentative and promotes corruption, the authors propose going back to the Athenian system of choosing representatives: by lottery.
Communication for and Against Democracy
Raboy, Marc and Bruck, Peter A. (ed.)
Book
1989
This anthology explores the circumstances in which communication serves at times as an instrument of repression and domination, and at others as a support for human emancipation.
Connexions: Volume 3, Number 5 - September 1978
Serial Publication (Periodical)
1978
Consensus decision-making: Connexipedia Article
Article
2010
Article about the group decision making process known as consensus decision-making.
Co-ops, Communes and Collectives: Experiments In Social Change in the 1960's and 1970's
Case, John; Taylor, Rosemary (Editors)
Book
1979
Contains case studies of alternative organizations and articles addressing issues relevant to how such organizations function. Particularly good is Jane J. Mansbridge's paper, "The Agony of Inequality...
The Decline of the Democratic Ideal
Chomsky, Noam
Article
1990
Noam Chomsky contemplates the disappearance of democratic ideals by examining the American reactions to the outcome of the 1990 elections in Nicaragua.
Democracy Against Capitalism
Wood, Ellen Meiksins
Book
1995
Wood provides a brilliant explication and defense of the key theoretical concepts relevant to socialism, understood to be the most radical social and economic democracy.
Destroying the Commons: How the Magna Carta Became a Minor Carta
Chomsky, Noam
Article
2012
Our rights and liberties are under ever-increasing attack.
A Different Sort of Democracy
Glaberman, Martin
Article
1997
We do not want to suggest that the democracy of ancient Greece was perfect or that it can be easily be copied in the modern world. Greece was burdened by the dual crimes of slavery and the inferior st...
Direct Action for Democracy
Tatchell, Peter
Article
1999
Direct action protests are about people taking power for themselves, instead of leaving politics to professional politicians.
Direct democracy: Connexipedia Article
Article
A form of democracy wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate.
Drawing the Line: A pamphlet
Goodman, Paul
Book
1946
Educating for a Change
Arnold, Rick, Burke, Bev, James, Carl, Martin, D'Arcy, Thomas, Barb
Book
1991
For the authors of Ecuating for a Change, genuine democracy does not happen solely through our political and educational work. Democratic processes and practices are essential elements in achieving a ...
The End of Politics: Corporate Power and the Decline of the Public Sphere
Boggs, Carl
Book
2000
From the events of privatization, economic globalization, spread of violence and gun culture, and the end of the cold war, Boggs explores the depoliticization process in the United States.
Everything under control, Life in a managed society: New Internationalist April 1985
Serial Publication (Periodical)
1985
A deluge of commercial messages are subtly undermining the consumer's ability to make autonomous decisions. Discussion of why, and how, social control is becoming the norm in Western societies.
The Expo Files: Articles by the Crusading Journalist
Larsson, Stieg
Book
2012
Collected here for the first time are Stieg Larsson's essays and articles on right-wing extremism and racism, on violence against women and women's rights, on homophobia and honour killings.
'Free speech' - as long as it doesn't offend anyone
Diemer, Ulli
Article
2009
On the issue of free speech most of the right and much of the left are in agreement, and so too are many liberals, activists, and human rights apparatchiks. They hold essentially the same position on ...
Funeral Oration for the Athenian War Dead
Pericles
Article
0
Speech was given by the Athenian leader Pericles after the first battles of the Peloponnesian war.
Global Showdown: How the New Activists are Fighting Global Corporate Rule
Barlow, Maude; Clarke, Tony
Book
2001
Documents the new forces of resistance and invitates readers to join the struggle for alternatives.
The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation
Roper, Brian S.
Book
2013
Roper traces the history of democracy from ancient Athens to the emergence of liberal representative and socialist participatory democracy. He argues that democracy cannot be understood separately fro...
In Defence of Democracy
Malik, Kenan
Article
2012
On Jacques Berlinerblau's book How to Be Secular.
Inventing the People: The Rise of Popular Sovereignity in England and America
Morgan, Edmund S.
Book
1989
The author makes the case that the United States has remained politically stable because the Founding Fathers invented the idea of the American people and used it to impose a government on the new nat...
Jewish Canadians Concerned About Suppression of Criticism of Israel
Article
2009
We are Jewish Canadians concerned about all expressions of racism, anti-Semitism, and social injustice. We believe that the Holocaust legacy "Never again" means never again for all peoples. It is a tr...
The Joy of Revolution
Knabb, Ken
Book
1997
Knabb says "What is needed, I believe, is a worldwide participatory-democracy revolution that would abolish both capitalism and the state. This is admittedly a big order, but I'm afraid that nothing l...
Karl Marx's Theory of Revolution: Volume III: The Dictatorship of the Proletariat
Draper, Hal
Book
1986
Hal Draper examines how Marx and Marxism dealt with the issue of dictatorship in relation to the revolutionary use of force and repression, particularly as this debate has centered on the use of the t...
Kenya's Opposition Party: Against The Current vol. 133
Ngugi, Mukoma Wa
Article
2008
That the elections in Kenya were rigged is no longer in question. And for most people that the culprit is the sitting president, sworn in so quickly that the ceremony has been jokingly likened to a li...
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Herman, Edward S.; Chomsky, Noam
Book
1988
Contrary to the usual image of the press and cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitious in its search for truth, Herman and Chomsky depict how an underlying elite consensus largely structures all facets...
The Meaning of Democracy
Diemer, Ulli
Article
1996
Our democratic system: a safe election every four years or so in which voters choose between corporate-dominated parties whose policies are virtually indistinguishable on all fundamental issues.
No Platform Won't Work
Tripathi, Sali
Article
2009
It is ridiculous for anyone to think that you can defeat the BNP by silencing them. A sinister thought, when silenced, only gets wider currency in the subterranean world where everything 'establishmen...
On Democracy As A Good
Malik, Kenan
Article
2013
Is democracy good in itself? Exploring the impact of democracy during and after the Arab Spring.
On Organization
Wetzel, Tom
Article
Discusses the democratic organizational forms appropriate to libertarian socialist organizations.
On Revolution
Arendt, Hannah
Book
1963
Arendt examines the American, French, and Russian revolutions and draws conclusions about the meaning of revolution.
One Vote for Democracy: Consensus vs. democracy
Diemer, Ulli
Article
1986
Makes the case that the democratic model is better than the consensus model for activist group decision-making.
Other Voices: The Connexions Newsletter - July 2, 2016: Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn, and Contempt for Democracy
Diemer, Ulli (ed.)
Article
2016
Brexit, the British vote to leave the European Union, has thrown the political elites into turmoil and confusion. The referendum was supposed to be a safe political manoeuvre, a way to produce an appe...
Our Generation: Volume 6 Number 4
Serial Publication (Periodical)
1969
Our Generation: Volume 7 Number 3
Serial Publication (Periodical)
1970
Palestinian Democracy: Against The Current vol. 121
Warschawski, Michael
Article
2006
Few elections throughout the world have been perceived by the local population, as well as international observers, as democratic and transparent as the Palestinian ones. At first glance, Palestine se...
Participatory Democracy: Prospects for Democratizing Democracy
Roussopoulos, Dimitrios; Benello, C. George
Book
2008
Twenty or more arguments for participatory democracy written contributors including Goerge Woodcock, Murray Bookchin, Gerry Hunnius, Colin Ward, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and Don Calhoun.
Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and Justice
Zinn, Howard
Book
1990
Essays looking at American political ideology.
People or Personnel and Like a Conquered Province
Goodman, Paul
Book
1968
Goodman offers his analysis of what is wrong with American society, and what could be done about it.
Planning As Learning: The Education of Citizen Activists
Alexander, Donald Hayley Morrow
Book
1994
Phd thesis focusing on the learning undertaken by members of citizens' groups involved in land use planning.
Pragmatics of Community Organization: First Edition
Lee, Bill
Book
1986
Information on how to plan action, how to organize meetings, how to train participants for action, how to negotiate, and how to end a particular exercise in community organization.
Que se vayan todos! Krise und Widerstand in Argentinien
Situaciones, Colectivo
Book
2003
A collection of essays studying noncapitalist collectivism.
Radical Democracy
Lummis, C. Douglas
Book
1997
Lummis revives the meaning of democratic struggle and critques the economic and technological processes that have hindered its growth.
Radical Digressions
Diemer, Ulli
Website
2006
Ulli Diemer's website/blog featuring comment from a radical left-libertarian Marxist perspective.
The Real World of Democracy
Macpherson, C.B.
Book
1965
Macpherson examines the rival ideas of democracy — the communist, Third World, and Western-liberal variants — and their impacts on one another.
Reveille for Radicals
Alinksy, Saul D.
Book
1946
Alinksy connects his theoretical notions on radicalism to practical movements and events.
Rights and Liberties: Introduction to Volume 9, Number 2, of the Connexions Digest (Rights & Liberties issue)
Diemer, Ulli
Article
1984
Civil liberties and human rights appear as a key dimension in almost every other field of social justice and social change, but those who seek a freer and more just society cannot rely on the state to...
A Short Course in Intellectual Self-Defense: Find Your Inner Chomsky
Baillargeon, Normand
Book
2005
What must a citizen in a democracy know to make the word democracy meaningful? Baillargeon provides readers with the tools to see through everyday spin and jargon -- from politics to advertising, from...
Socialism.ca
Website
2016
A gateway to resources about socialism, socialist history, and socialist ideas, compiled by Connexions.
Sustaining Democracy?: Journalism and the Politics of Objectivity
Hackett, Robert A.; Zhao, Yuezhi
Book
1998
Tthe authors argue that "the regime of objectivity" should give way to a journalism aimed at sustaining democracy.
Taking the Risk Out of Democracy: Corporate Propaganda versus Freedom and Liberty
Carey, Alex
Book
1995
The twentieth-century history of corporate propaganda practiced by U.S. businesses and the ways in which such corporate propaganda was exported to, and adopted by, other western democracies especially...
The Two Souls of Socialism: Socialism from Above vs. Socialism from Below
Draper, Hal
Article
1960
It was Marx who finally brought the two ideas of socialism and democracy together, because he developed a theory which made the synthesis possible for the first time. The heart of the theory is this p...
The Tyranny of Structurelessness
Freeman, Jo
Article
1970
Contrary to what we would like to believe, there is no such thing as a "structureless" group. Any group of people of whatever nature that comes together for any length of time for any purpose will ine...
Untying the Knot
Freeman, Jo; Levine, Cathy
Book
We Make the Road By Walking: Conversations on education and social change
Horton, Myles; Freire, Paulo
Book
1990
Horton, the founder of the Highlander Folk School, and Freire, a Brazilian education leader, are from two different backgrounds, but their shared views on the use of participatory education in bringin...
What Do We Do Now? Building a Social Movement in the Aftermath of Free Trade
Diemer, Ulli
Article
1989
We have the potential to create a social movement in this country that goes beyond single-issue organizing to work toward an integrated vision of a more just and caring society.

Connexions Directory of Groups & Websites

Chomsky.info
The Noam Chomsky Web site.
Common Cause
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970 by John Gardner as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected l...
Communitarian Network
A coalition of individuals and organizations who have come together to shore up the moral, social, and political environment.
Connexions Information Sharing Services
Connexions provides information and services for advocacy groups, voluntary and non-profit organizations, and individuals, who are working for social and economic justice, environmental responsibility...
Marxism.ca
A gateway to resources about Marxism compiled by Connexions.
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, was established in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1977 as an independent political/social organization of Afghan women fighting for human right...
Peter Tatchell
Articles and actions related to human rights, democracy, and global justice.

Sources Experts & Spokespersons

Sources Library

Curiouser and curiouser
Tea Party members aren't foaming at the mouth racist bigots
Raban, Jonathan
2010
A journalist travels to the first National Tea Party Convention in Tennessee as a delegate and finds the other delegates privately share his disdain for the racism and conspiracy theories the group f...
Where Hope Takes Root
His Highness The Aga Khan
2008
A collection of talks given by the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims.

From the Connexions Archives

Center for Democracy and Technology
Website
Addresses issues of Internet censorhip and privacy.
New Democracy Internet site
Website
Supports a democratic revolution to overthrow corporate capitalism, but opposes socialism. Features short articles on labour issues, the deficit, education.