“ … Government by the people; a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system … In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is government “of the people, by the people, and for the
people.” (Democracy: a Dictionary Definition)
“ … Democracy lives on movement, change, on contractual agreements, flexible time frames, enduring dynamics, dialectical interplay. It creates itself and thrives at the behest of a will that stems from living forces. It relies on the use of reason, on dialogue among the parties concerned, on active use of communication, on diplomacy and negotiation … “ (Michel Onfray: Atheist Manifesto P. 205)
“ … Humanism supports democracy and human rights. Humanism aims at the fullest possible development of every human being. It holds that democracy and human development are matters of right. The principles of democracy and human rights can be applied to many human relationships and are not restricted to methods of government … ” (Amsterdam Humanist Declaration of 2002)
“ … Sitting round a table is so important. It’s where we teach our children the manners they need to get along in society. We teach them how to share. To take turns. To argue without fighting and insulting other people. They learn the art of adult conversation. The family meal is the nursery of democracy… ” (Michael Pollen: Guardian Interview)
“ … Sovereignty of the people • Government based upon consent of the governed • Majority rule • Minority rights • Guarantee of basic human rights • Free and fair elections • Equality before the law • Due process of law • Constitutional limits on government • Social, economic, and political pluralism • Values of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation, and compromise … “ (The Pillars of Democracy from What is democracy?)
• Humans are social individuals
• All humans are born and remain equal: equally subject to the laws of the communities (hereinafter: the Demos) to which they belong, equally deserving of respect for their dignity as human beings, and equally entitled to a say in the organisation and management of their collective affairs
• Humans are moral beings possessed of agency: all are to some extent free to choose what they do and to that extent are responsible for the consequences of what they do
• The sole source of political power is the Demos whose individual members act together in organising and managing the collective life of the communities to which they belong
• All humans, having reached the age of maturity and in full possession of their mental faculties, are deemed moral beings with agency and as such fully-fledged members of the Demos
• The Demos decides rationally and, wherever possible and to the extent possible, by consensus the shape and manner of its democratic organisation
• The Demos decides rationally and by consensus or by simple or qualified majority the shape and manner of the management of its collective affairs
• The Demos, in deciding the shape and manner of its democratic organisation, establishes by consensus the principles upon which such organisation is based and articulates the latter into a Democratic Charter or Constitution which remains accessible and intelligible at all times to all its members. All subsequent amendments, removals and additions to said Charter or Constitution are decided by direct referendum
• Said Democratic Charter or Constitution inter alia:
• stipulates the intrinsically secular status of the Demos
• determines the main democratic modes – direct democracy through referenda, representative
democracy through delegation, participative democracy through the articulated expression of “grass- roots” public opinion, etc – and stipulates their appropriate use
• determines the regularity and manner of elections to representative bodies responsible for the management (through executive, legislative and judicial functions) of the Demos’ collective life – for example, the frequency of “general” or government elections, and the need for the latter to be “free” (by secret ballot) and “fair” (one person, one vote), etc
• determines the election or selection of members, and the functioning, of the Constitutional Council (or Supreme Court) responsible for, where appropriate, interpretation of the provisions of the Charter or Constitution and for referring proposed changes to the Demos for decision by direct referendum
• determines the age of political maturity
• stipulates the equal submission to the law of all members of the Demos, including those mandated with democratic representation and other public functions who shall be bound by the principles of good governance (inter alia, defence of the public interest and freedom from corruption)
• stipulates the equal entitlement of all members of the demos to basic human rights which shall include freedom to hold and express opinion and belief
• stipulates the separateness of the executive and legislative functions of representative bodies and the independence of the judiciary
• stipulates the essential role (as providers of reliable information and arenas for debate) of the media in promoting democracy, and determines media-ownership rules which propagate and sustain diversity by limiting concentration of influence
• stipulates the essential role of educational institutions in promoting democracy, and the indispensable need for “education for democracy” in all primary and secondary educational establishments
• stipulates the need for a free and dynamic opposition to elected government and for stringent public oversight of the funding provided to contending parties in the run-up to government and other elections
• stipulates the need for balance as between the inputs of employee organisations (NGOs, unions, etc) on the one hand and employer associations (business and industrial federations, corporate lobbies, chambers of commerce, etc) on the other, and the need for procedures within such representative (of respectively labour and capital) institutions to be fully democratic, i.e. fair and free
• stipulates the essential part played by democratic half-way houses (clubs, think-tanks, university institutions, church groupings, the Internet, and all manner of other associative entities of a voluntary, benevolent and charitable nature, etc) in distilling public opinion, and the need for functions articulative of opinion within such half-way institutions to be fully democratic i.e. fair and free and equally accessible to all members
• stipulates the need for free access by the Demos to a balanced “bigger-picture” via public information and statistical services, the reports and findings of advisory expert bodies and regulatory watchdogs, and the need for all of the foregoing to be publically-funded and independent
• stipulates that all natural resources are owned by the Demos which has a duty of stewardship to succeeding generations in respect of such resources
• determines emergency and national-security situations (enemy aggression, natural disasters, etc.) where, temporarily and specifically, constitutionally stipulated democratic processes and on-going public accountability may need to be suspended
• indicates that the overall purpose of the foregoing stipulations and determinations is to ensure that participation by the members of the Demos in the organisation and management of the latter’s collective affairs shall reflect not ownership of property or vested interest, not wealth or social status but solely their desire and capacity as human beings to participate by exercising rational judgement
•… MBM