Thursday, April 3, 1997
DEMOCRACY:
Flaws in system leave struggling culture in need of changeBy
Dave Stratman
As we near the end of the 20th century, many people have lost
hope in the future. The fundamental reason for this loss of hope is
that there seems to be no alternative to the capitalist system.
Communism and socialism have failed. The idea of fundamental change
 the idea of revolution  has been defeated by the
reality of it.
Without an alternative to capitalism, we seem doomed to live
always in the grip of a system, which defines human life in terms
of profit and loss, competition and inequality.
Hope in the future and belief in the possibility of revolution
 the belief that human beings have the capacity to create a
humane world  are inextricably linked.
I have come to believe that revolutionary change to create
society on a new basis is possible, but only on a basis quite
different from received ideology. In my book, "We CAN Change the
World: The Real Meaning of Everyday Life," I show that revolution
to create a society based on equality, solidarity and democracy is
both necessary and possible.
NEEDED: A NEW WAY OF SEEING
Capitalism, communism and socialism have all led to societies in
which a small elite holds the money and the cards. The elite,
whether capitalist or Marxist, see themselves as the source of the
good in society, and see ordinary people as a passive mass or a
dangerous problem. We are all taught to see people this way.
To change the world, we must first see it in a new way. Contrary
to the elite vision, ordinary working people are the source of
whatever good exists in this society; the elite are the source of
the problems. Far from being a passive mass, most people in their
everyday lives struggle to shape the world with better values than
the values of the system.
THE REAL MEANING OF EVERYDAY LIFE
To see that most people strive to create a new world, look at
the reality of our everyday lives.
We live in a capitalist culture based on competition, inequality
and selfishness. This culture attacks our self-confidence and our
relations with others, making us feel isolated and powerless. The
education system attacks the self-confidence of our children, so
that they will accept their place in a society over which they will
have no control. We compete to get a job, only to find that it
fulfills little of our real aspirations. If we are unemployed, we
are made to feel like failures. Advertising tells us to judge our
worth by the car we drive or the clothes we wear. The media
systematically misinform us. Instead they fill us with fear of
other people  men are brutes, whites are racists, blacks are
criminals, women are mindless. The message is: Trust no one.
The logic of this "dog-eat-dog" culture is that this world
should be a loveless and savage place. But in fact most people, in
important parts of their lives with their wife or husband or
children, their friends or co-workers struggle against the culture
of competition and inequality to create relationships based on love
and trust and solidarity. Most people try to shape the little piece
of the world that they think they can control into a better
world.
This struggle often may not get very far: capitalism has
devastating effects. But to the extent that people have any
positive relationships, they have created them by a struggle
against capitalist culture.
The crucial element for people to succeed in their struggle to
create a better world is to be aware that they  not political
or business elites or experts  are the source of the good in
society, and that other people share their goal of creating a new
society.
When people see how much others share their values, their idea
of how much of the world they can change grows. When they gain
enough awareness, they build movements. When people’s faith in each
other grows large enough, they make revolutions.
REAL DEMOCRACY IS REVOLUTIONARY
Capitalism concentrates money and power in the hands of the few.
Like communism, it is undemocratic to the core. We live in a fake
democracy, in which the government, the large corporations and the
media are controlled by a ruling class. "Democracy" has been
reduced to pulling a lever every four years for some politician
promising that he or she will really change things.
The painful realities which working people face Â
unemployment, welfare cuts, medical care priced out of reach Â
are not problems which the ruling elite are trying to solve but
weapons they use to make people frightened and controllable and
strengthen elite power. Elite control is the problem in society.
Democracy is the solution.
We need a democratic revolution to achieve what most people
really want: a society shaped by equality, solidarity and
commitment to future generations.
Why must the movement be revolutionary?
*The problems we face are rooted in a system of inequality and
exploitation; they cannot be solved one by one or without creating
a new society.
*Only a new society can fulfill the values of equality and
solidarity which are fundamental to people’s lives.
*Only a revolutionary movement can express the goals which in
fact unite working people, men and women, of all races and
nationalities, and mobilize sufficient forces to win.
Revolution means sweeping away elite power and setting up
democratic institutions in every workplace and neighborhood, where
the voices and votes of working people can determine the direction
of society. It means unleashing the creativity and power for good
in people, to fulfill together our potential as human beings.
Revolution is not a leap into the unknown. Rather, it means
changing all of society to reflect the best values already present
in people’s lives. We will learn how to create new, democratic
structures for society in the struggle to overturn existing
structures of exploitation and inequality.
BUILDING A MOVEMENT
In the past two years a handful of people in Boston and Chicago
calling ourselves New Democracy have begun publishing a free
newsletter and other literature every two months, to link people in
a discussion of the need and possibility of creating a new society.
We also have a website at http://users.aol.com/Newdem.
We’d like to have you join the discussion.Revolutions are built
on hope. Our goal in New Democracy is to help create new confidence
in ordinary people everywhere that together we can change the
world.