Democratic extremism in theory and practice : all power to the people

Resource Information

The work Democratic extremism in theory and practice : all power to the people represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in European University Institute Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Democratic extremism in theory and practice : all power to the people

Title remainder

all power to the people

Statement of responsibility

Paul Lucardie

Creator

• Lucardie, Paul, 1946-

Subject

• Democracy -- History
• Radicalism -- History

Language

eng

Summary

• "Democracy and extremism are usually considered opposites. We assume our system (in the UK, the USA, The Netherlands etc.) is democratic and extremists try to destroy our system and introduce some kind of dictatorship, if not chaos and anarchy. Yet in many cases, the extremists seem sincere in their attempt to construct a more democratic polity. Hence, they can be called democrats and yet also extremists, in so far as they strive for a regime with characteristics that are more extreme in a significant sense.This book analyses radical and extreme democratic theories and ideas in their historical context, interlocked with a critical description of historical institutions and experiments that help to evaluate the theories. Cases vary from ancient Athens to recent experiments with citizen juries and citizen assemblies, from the time-honoured Swiss Landsgemeinde to contemporary (and controversial) workers councils in Venezuela and participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre. Among the theorists discussed here are familiar names as well as relatively unknown persons: Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx, Murray Bookchin and John Burnheim, William Godwin and Barbara Goodwin, Anton Pannekoek and Heinz Dieterich. Whereas the extreme ideas do not seem to work very well in practice, they do indicate ways we could make existing political systems more democratic.This book will be of interest to students of Politics and Current Affairs as well as inspiration for political activists and reformists".--
• "This book analyses radical and extreme democratic theories and ideas in their historical context, interlocked with a critical description of historical institutions and experiments that help to evaluate the theories".--

Member of

• Routledge studies in extremism and democracy, Routledge research in extremism and democracy

Assigning source

• Provided by publisher
• Provided by publisher

Cataloging source

AU@

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography