Social structures of direct democracy : on the political economy of equality
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Social structures of direct democracy : on the political economy of equality
(Studies in critical social sciences, v. 68)
Brill, c2014
- : hardback
Available at 4 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [189]-200) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Neoliberalism has pushed capitalism to its limits, hollowing out global economies and lives in the process, while people have no voice. John Asimakopoulos addresses the problem with a theory to practice model that reconciles Marxism, with its diverse radical currents, and democratic theory. Social Structures of Direct Democracy develops a political economy of structural equality in large-scale society making strong empirical arguments for radical transformation. Key concepts include filling positions of political and economic authority (e.g., legislatures and corporate boards) with randomly selected citizens leaving the demos as the executive. Asimakopoulos shows that an egalitarian society leads to greater innovation, sustainable economic growth, and positive social benefits in contrast to economies based on individualism, competition, and inequality.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Mark Zepezauer
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Theory, Praxis, and Change
The Ragged Edge of Anarchy: Direct Democracy
Mutualism
Collectivism
Communist Anarchism
Conflict Theory
Why Capitalism Must Always Collapse
The Relationship between Change and Radicalism
Structural Limitations to Change
Insurrection versus Revolution
Does Direct Democracy Require Small-scale Societies
McDonald's Iron Cage
2. Relations of Authority
The Fraud of Representative Democracy
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Stealing Democracy Old School
Political Parties
A Path to Direct Democracy
Economic Authority
Political Authority
Constitution
3. Material Relations
Economic Utilities of Direct Democracy
Relations of Consumption
Resource Use
What to Produce
How to Produce
Can the System Adapt?
4. Social Structure
Culture and Social Integration
Organizing Principles of Social Structure
Institutions and Socialization
Compulsion and Discipline
Journalism
The Social Network: The Future that Can be Now
Conclusion: No Islands of Egalitarianism in a Sea of Inequality
Afterword by Richard Gilman-Opalsky: What Can Grow in the Graveyard for Orthodoxies?
Bibliography
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"