Clipmarks | pascual's 'democracy' clips

western democracy or rule of law

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:07:44 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: globalist

Pan Wei berates Westerners for misunderstanding their own political systems. We assume, he says, that our countries are stable and prosperous because of democracy. But we confuse the benefits we get from democracy with those that we get from the rule of law.

Pan Wei argues that democracy and the rule of law do not need to go together — in fact, like "Ying" and "Yang," they are in constant conflict with one another. Democracy is about giving power to the people, but the rule of law is about putting limits on that power.

Tags: china, politics

on politics

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:21:09 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: soros

Clip Source: www.project-syndicate.org

We need to introduce new ground rules for political discourse. These cannot be identical to scientific method, but they should be similar in character, enshrining the pursuit of truth as the criteria on which political views are to be judged. Politicians will respect, rather than manipulate, reality only if the public cares about the truth and punishes politicians when it catches them in deliberate deception. And the public should care about the truth because deception misleads people in choosing their representatives, distorts policy choices, undermines accountability, and destroys trust in democracy.

Tags: democracy

chomsky on the media

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 02:59:15 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: lemonde

Clip Source: mondediplo.com

On all these topics, White House policy is completely at odds with what public opinion wants. But the media rarely publish the polls that highlight this persistent public opposition. Not only are citizens excluded from political power, they are also kept in a state of ignorance as to the true state of public opinion. There is growing international concern about the massive US double deficit affecting trade and the budget. But both are closely linked to a third deficit, the democratic deficit that is constantly growing, not only in the US but all over the western world.

Tags: opinion, democracy

on democracy

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 02:20:50 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: newvyorker

Clip Source: www.newyorker.com

He thinks, in fact, that the present level of voter participation—about fifty per cent of the electorate votes in Presidential elections, a much lower percentage than in most democracies, as Americans are frequently reminded—is a bad thing.

Tags: government, democracy

global citizen

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:44:55 GMT

clipped by: pascual
clipper's remarks: open democracy

Clip Source: www.opendemocracy.net

Perhaps we could update this for the liberal 21st century: is feeling an obligation to engage in peaceful battle with a recalcitrant nation-state now the core requirement of a prospective global citizen?

Tags: society, globalization