Hi Chris
Just a few further clarifications on this;
By "real democracy" I mean the chance to continually choose your
(govt/ecomony/whatever) - so politically a real democracy would in
theory be one where all govt decisions were subject before
implementation to some kind of referendum, possibly electronic - but
almost certainly impracticable even if we all did have electronic
voting machines in our homes, say. But this "continuous choice" is
ours in the economic sphere - albeit grossly distorted by the
influence, often baleful, of advertising, mass marketing and price
cutting power and marketing position and prominence.
Hopefully this explains why I think economics cpould from a certain
perspective be regarded as more democratic than politics - especially
as one could regard the UK, and many other countries, under
globalisation, as more ruled by the econ and the big co'ys than by
their elected govts!
Mainly though, I agree that my "manifesto" was concentrating on the
local whilst not addressing major global concerns like 3rd world
poverty and pollution. But I do think there is only one language, in
fact one line of a language that the big coy's understand - the
bottom line! We can demonstrate all we like, and the head of
Monsanto, or McDonalds, or the WTO will not be Forced to change a
line of their company policies. And the more we demonstrate the
worse, possibly, the media image of the demonstratiors becomes.
To end on an illustration; imagine a prisoner. To escape s/he can try
and invent a cunning plan, but the system is smarter, more
entrenched, more powerful than they are. Failed escape attempts this
way, like banging ines head against the cell walls, merely damage the
prisoner's health and access to areas, priveliges etc, and make
further escape attempts harder. Just as more demos create a more
hostile media image of the anti WTO demonstrators. The alternative?
Spend weeks, perhapds months, digging an escape tunnel or filing down
the cell window bars. Slower, much less spectacular - and for the
very reason that it is less spectacular it is more likely to succeed.
As in the "language" of the bottom line, you often only win wars
when you speak the enemy's language - because you then understand the
enemy and canwork out how they think.
Hillary Shaw, P/G Geography, University of Leeds
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