Something We Can Learn from our Southern Neighbors

Once upon a time – a long, long time ago – American communities were democratic. At least New England towns were.  Residents exercised their power over government officials and in all matters that affected them, practiced the art of self-governance, and enjoyed social equality. At least this is how Alexis de Tocqueville described small town democracy in early America. There were public hearings, forums, and always discussions at the town square, bars and cafes.

 

The democracy that Tocqueville described is now called “participatory democracy,” or at least elsewhere in the world. In the United States, participatory democracy is a theory, the topic of scholarly articles and even a few books, but its practical significance is zilch.

 

I went to vote last Tuesday. I had searched out some North Carolina candidates’ websites, newspapers, and blogs. All of them were bland and virtually undistinguishable. I am a registered Democrat. (There are only two parties in this off-year election.)  The one thing I knew was that I didn’t want to vote for Democratic candidate, Lindy Pendergrass for County Sheriff since he implemented 287(g), a law that deputizes local law enforcement to ensnare and entraps undocumented Latinos. So I voted for the person running against Pendergrass, What about the other races? Their platforms did not distinguish them, nor did their personal statements. I admit that if an African American, Latino or a woman was running for a particular office, I voted for that person. Diversity, I justified to myself, is a social and political good. Still, that is not the best way to go about voting.  

 

Let’s face it. Local elections are as banal as county elections. Setting aside national politics because of their greater scale and complexity, there are many reasons --in this age of the Internet, to have participatory democracy -- at the local level. Participatory democracy ensures that all have a voice in decisions that affect their communities, that the powerless are empowered and those now marginalized are included. In communities with participatory democracy people vote on substantive issues, such as making decisions about the budget. Participatory budgeting was first introduced in Porto Alegre, spread to hundreds of Latin American cities, and recently, amazingly, introduced in Chicago’s 49 Ward. Direct democracy, long practiced in Switzerland, is a variant of participatory democracy. It is voting by referendum.

 

What appeared to be a pathway for national discussions leading to substantive democracy, Obama announced on his first day in office, on January 20. 2009: the Open Government Initiative. It implies more than it can actually deliver.  It’s about accountability, not participatory democracy.  I am aching to vote to end the wars, to dismantle the U.S.’s nuclear arsenal, to grant amnesty to immigrants, and to tax the rich at high rates. According to opinion polls most Americans support most of these policies.

 

If our government is now more “open,” why don’t we have referendums? As Abraham Lincoln famously proclaimed in 1863 that America is by, for and of the people. Why then are we still stuck with such an undemocratic government?  At the national level, we could vote electronically on priorities, vote on individual bills, or citizens could write their own referendum and vote on them. We could eliminate political parties. There is no end of possibilities.

 

Local participatory democracy brings even more possibilities. The reason, as New Englanders long ago recognized and as those who participate in any social movement recognize, democracy best takes root in social formations. Just to mention some current hot button issues that could be engaged by local participatory democracies:  fair trade, solidarity with immigrants, local food, green jobs, energy efficient cars and homes, GLBT rights, eliminating racial disparities in income,  and so forth. Unless proved otherwise, political parties are probably a hindrance to participatory democracy. Yes,  we need experts. But do we need as many politicians as we have now? Probably not.

 

Judith Blau is Director of the Human Rights Center of Chapel Hill & Carrboro. Her email address is jrblau@email.unc.edu

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