We publish the interesting article by Natale Salvo, on the concept of
inclusive democracy by the Greek philosopher Takis Fotopoulos, not so
much for the originality of this economist-philosopher, but for the
evident function of attraction that the anarchist communist perspective
also exercises in academic and philosophical. ---- Many of Fotopoulos'
references refer to the elaborations of the fathers of the socialist
tradition and in particular to the elaborations of the theorists of
anarchist communism. Although Takis uses a very different language, in
his elaboration when he addresses what he calls political or direct
democracy, economic democracy and ecological democracy we cannot fail to
find the founding axes of anarchist thought. Political or direct
democracy immediately refers to the happy intuitions of the anarchist
communists who from Bakunin onwards have demystified every form of
power, in clear contrast with Marx and even more so with their own
followers, identifying the self-government and self-management of free
communities - community the "institutional" tools for managing the
future social structure; just as on the economic field the overcoming of
private ownership of the means of production, the collective management
of produced goods, the satisfaction of primary needs and equal access to
goods exceeding simple reproduction, find wide echo in the work of
Kropotkin, Malatesta and Fabbri, without forgetting the achievements
that Mahkno in Ukraine and the anarchists of the CNT in Spain were able
to put into practice in those unfortunately brief experiences cut short
by Bolshevik repression in the first case and by fascist ferocity and
Stalinist betrayal in the second. In the same vision of ecological
democracy we feel the resonance of Elisée Reclus's subversive geography
and Kropotkin's scientific studies on mutual support.
A stimulating author of whom it is not necessary to share everything,
but useful for reflecting on the nature of power, capitalism and the
need to overcome them. Ed
Takis Fotopoulos: democracy is incompatible with freedom
«During the twentieth century the word "democracy" was abused. Its
meaning has been distorted, generally by confusing the oligarchic system
of liberal "democracy" that currently predominates with democracy
itself"[1]. Takis Fotopoulos thus responds - in his essay "For a global
democracy" - to the many who from the heights of their own wisdom
pontificate on the quality of "our" democracy (to be "exported",
naturally) completely incomparable to other "regimes" (Iran , Russia,
China, for example).
"The modern concept of democracy not only has almost no connection with
the classical Greek conception but also has no connection with a concept
of democracy understood as self-government of the people", adds the
Greek philosopher and economist.
Fotopoulos then explains in his fundamental work: «on the political
level there can only be one form of democracy: the direct exercise of
sovereignty by the people themselves, a form of social institution that
rejects any form of "government" and which institutionalizes the
equitable distribution of political power among all citizens."
Therefore, «the other forms of so-called democracy ("representative",
"parliamentary", etc.) are nothing other than different forms of
"oligarchy", of government of the few». With elections, the philosopher
recalls, "the elected representative is considered an independent
creator of the laws and not an agent of his constituents"; that is, he
is free «to manage public affairs in the way he deems appropriate»[in
Italy see article 67 of the Constitution[2], Editor's note].
On the other hand, "we are witnessing the end of the sovereignty of the
nation-state and, in particular, its economic sovereignty, a decline
directly connected to the current phase of globalization". It follows
that, Fotopoulos always writes, «political and economic power are
concentrated at a supranational level: in interstate institutions
("group of seven"[G7, Editor's note], European Commission) and in
international organizations (WTO, IMF, World Bank )".
"Such concentration of power at the top has led to pure administration"
by national state "governments." Not a few people today find it clear
that "the most notable political characteristic is that of being
governed by an 'invisible hand'".
Takis Fotopoulos in his reflection focuses on the definition of the
terms autonomy and freedom. As a useful starting point for arriving at
the definition of freedom, the Greek philosopher refers to the
distinction introduced by Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997): between what is
called the "negative" concept of freedom and the "positive" one: "the
"negative" concept refers to the absence of restrictions, i.e. the
individual's freedom to do whatever he wants ("freedom from"), while the
"positive" concept refers to the freedom "to do things", to engage in
self-development or to participate to the government of one's own
society ("freedom to")".
In this regard, the author reports the thoughts of the anarchist Emma
Goldman who supports a positive concept of freedom: "true freedom is not
the negative freedom of being free from something... authentic freedom,
true freedom, is positive: it is freedom to act, it is the freedom to
be, to do."
However, according to Fotopoulos, «the best way to define freedom is to
express it in terms of individual and collective autonomy».
He therefore explains: «the term with which the word "autonomy" is
translated into English is used to indicate personal freedom or
self-government. However, the original Greek meaning of the word was
characterized by a precise political dimension, in which personal
autonomy was inseparable from collective autonomy. The term autonomy
derives from the Greek word autos-nomos which means to give oneself
one's own law."
For Takis Fotopoulos, "an autonomous society is a society capable of
questioning its own institutions and the dominant social paradigm, i.e.
that system of beliefs, ideas and values that derive from it".
«The Greek word for freedom (eleutheria) had a broader meaning than that
of autonomy. Eleutheria contrasted freedom with slavery, it was
associated with political participation in the public sphere and
personal freedom in the private sphere, it indicated the freedom of the
polis which is something different from freedom in the polis". However,
"an autonomous society cannot be conceived without single individuals
endowed with autonomy, and vice versa".
The concept is not as simple as it might appear and our Greek
philosopher tries to explain further. «Single individuals are absolutely
not free to create their own world, just as the world does not create
the single individual. As long as individuals live in a society, they
are not merely individuals but social individuals." In other words, "if
we presuppose the concept of freedom as individual and collective
autonomy, neither liberal individualism nor collectivism, particularly
in the form of statist socialism, are compatible with freedom". In fact,
for example, "individualism conceives individual autonomy as a means to
pursue selfish and competitive interests".
Therefore, in his book, Takis Fotopoulos concludes that «a statutory
form of democracy is incompatible with any concept of freedom, whether
positive or negative, given its fundamental incompatibility with both
self-determination and autonomy (individual and collective )".
Fotopoulos then proposes "a new liberation project" which, among other
things, is based on "a democratic concept of active citizenship,
according to which individual well-being is not ensured by the exercise
of certain rights recognized by the state, but by participation of the
citizen in public affairs (i.e. the exercise of power by the citizen)".
Sources and Notes:
[1]Takis Fotopoulos, "For a global democracy", Ed. Elèuthera, trans. and
red. Italian of "Towards an Inclusive Democracy" (1997).
[2]Italian Constitution, article 67: "Each member of Parliament
represents the Nation and exercises his functions without mandate
constraints".
Takis Fotopoulos: Chio, 14 October 1940, is a Greek economist,
philosopher, essayist and activist, theorist of the political-economic
system of Inclusive Democracy.
This system presents itself as an original synthesis of libertarian
socialism, formulated, more precisely, in a hybrid model of a
democratically planned economy, strongly decentralised and
municipalised, from a macroeconomic point of view, and semi-mutualistic,
characterized by a form of "artificial market " for the allocation of
consumer goods, from the microeconomic one, which involves the use,
instead of conventional money, of vouchers and personal credits that can
be accumulated as currency. The system embraces Athenian-style direct
democracy, social ecology and contemporary currents of thought of new
radical social movements. (Wikipedia)
https://alternativalibertaria.fdca.it/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
inclusive democracy by the Greek philosopher Takis Fotopoulos, not so
much for the originality of this economist-philosopher, but for the
evident function of attraction that the anarchist communist perspective
also exercises in academic and philosophical. ---- Many of Fotopoulos'
references refer to the elaborations of the fathers of the socialist
tradition and in particular to the elaborations of the theorists of
anarchist communism. Although Takis uses a very different language, in
his elaboration when he addresses what he calls political or direct
democracy, economic democracy and ecological democracy we cannot fail to
find the founding axes of anarchist thought. Political or direct
democracy immediately refers to the happy intuitions of the anarchist
communists who from Bakunin onwards have demystified every form of
power, in clear contrast with Marx and even more so with their own
followers, identifying the self-government and self-management of free
communities - community the "institutional" tools for managing the
future social structure; just as on the economic field the overcoming of
private ownership of the means of production, the collective management
of produced goods, the satisfaction of primary needs and equal access to
goods exceeding simple reproduction, find wide echo in the work of
Kropotkin, Malatesta and Fabbri, without forgetting the achievements
that Mahkno in Ukraine and the anarchists of the CNT in Spain were able
to put into practice in those unfortunately brief experiences cut short
by Bolshevik repression in the first case and by fascist ferocity and
Stalinist betrayal in the second. In the same vision of ecological
democracy we feel the resonance of Elisée Reclus's subversive geography
and Kropotkin's scientific studies on mutual support.
A stimulating author of whom it is not necessary to share everything,
but useful for reflecting on the nature of power, capitalism and the
need to overcome them. Ed
Takis Fotopoulos: democracy is incompatible with freedom
«During the twentieth century the word "democracy" was abused. Its
meaning has been distorted, generally by confusing the oligarchic system
of liberal "democracy" that currently predominates with democracy
itself"[1]. Takis Fotopoulos thus responds - in his essay "For a global
democracy" - to the many who from the heights of their own wisdom
pontificate on the quality of "our" democracy (to be "exported",
naturally) completely incomparable to other "regimes" (Iran , Russia,
China, for example).
"The modern concept of democracy not only has almost no connection with
the classical Greek conception but also has no connection with a concept
of democracy understood as self-government of the people", adds the
Greek philosopher and economist.
Fotopoulos then explains in his fundamental work: «on the political
level there can only be one form of democracy: the direct exercise of
sovereignty by the people themselves, a form of social institution that
rejects any form of "government" and which institutionalizes the
equitable distribution of political power among all citizens."
Therefore, «the other forms of so-called democracy ("representative",
"parliamentary", etc.) are nothing other than different forms of
"oligarchy", of government of the few». With elections, the philosopher
recalls, "the elected representative is considered an independent
creator of the laws and not an agent of his constituents"; that is, he
is free «to manage public affairs in the way he deems appropriate»[in
Italy see article 67 of the Constitution[2], Editor's note].
On the other hand, "we are witnessing the end of the sovereignty of the
nation-state and, in particular, its economic sovereignty, a decline
directly connected to the current phase of globalization". It follows
that, Fotopoulos always writes, «political and economic power are
concentrated at a supranational level: in interstate institutions
("group of seven"[G7, Editor's note], European Commission) and in
international organizations (WTO, IMF, World Bank )".
"Such concentration of power at the top has led to pure administration"
by national state "governments." Not a few people today find it clear
that "the most notable political characteristic is that of being
governed by an 'invisible hand'".
Takis Fotopoulos in his reflection focuses on the definition of the
terms autonomy and freedom. As a useful starting point for arriving at
the definition of freedom, the Greek philosopher refers to the
distinction introduced by Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997): between what is
called the "negative" concept of freedom and the "positive" one: "the
"negative" concept refers to the absence of restrictions, i.e. the
individual's freedom to do whatever he wants ("freedom from"), while the
"positive" concept refers to the freedom "to do things", to engage in
self-development or to participate to the government of one's own
society ("freedom to")".
In this regard, the author reports the thoughts of the anarchist Emma
Goldman who supports a positive concept of freedom: "true freedom is not
the negative freedom of being free from something... authentic freedom,
true freedom, is positive: it is freedom to act, it is the freedom to
be, to do."
However, according to Fotopoulos, «the best way to define freedom is to
express it in terms of individual and collective autonomy».
He therefore explains: «the term with which the word "autonomy" is
translated into English is used to indicate personal freedom or
self-government. However, the original Greek meaning of the word was
characterized by a precise political dimension, in which personal
autonomy was inseparable from collective autonomy. The term autonomy
derives from the Greek word autos-nomos which means to give oneself
one's own law."
For Takis Fotopoulos, "an autonomous society is a society capable of
questioning its own institutions and the dominant social paradigm, i.e.
that system of beliefs, ideas and values that derive from it".
«The Greek word for freedom (eleutheria) had a broader meaning than that
of autonomy. Eleutheria contrasted freedom with slavery, it was
associated with political participation in the public sphere and
personal freedom in the private sphere, it indicated the freedom of the
polis which is something different from freedom in the polis". However,
"an autonomous society cannot be conceived without single individuals
endowed with autonomy, and vice versa".
The concept is not as simple as it might appear and our Greek
philosopher tries to explain further. «Single individuals are absolutely
not free to create their own world, just as the world does not create
the single individual. As long as individuals live in a society, they
are not merely individuals but social individuals." In other words, "if
we presuppose the concept of freedom as individual and collective
autonomy, neither liberal individualism nor collectivism, particularly
in the form of statist socialism, are compatible with freedom". In fact,
for example, "individualism conceives individual autonomy as a means to
pursue selfish and competitive interests".
Therefore, in his book, Takis Fotopoulos concludes that «a statutory
form of democracy is incompatible with any concept of freedom, whether
positive or negative, given its fundamental incompatibility with both
self-determination and autonomy (individual and collective )".
Fotopoulos then proposes "a new liberation project" which, among other
things, is based on "a democratic concept of active citizenship,
according to which individual well-being is not ensured by the exercise
of certain rights recognized by the state, but by participation of the
citizen in public affairs (i.e. the exercise of power by the citizen)".
Sources and Notes:
[1]Takis Fotopoulos, "For a global democracy", Ed. Elèuthera, trans. and
red. Italian of "Towards an Inclusive Democracy" (1997).
[2]Italian Constitution, article 67: "Each member of Parliament
represents the Nation and exercises his functions without mandate
constraints".
Takis Fotopoulos: Chio, 14 October 1940, is a Greek economist,
philosopher, essayist and activist, theorist of the political-economic
system of Inclusive Democracy.
This system presents itself as an original synthesis of libertarian
socialism, formulated, more precisely, in a hybrid model of a
democratically planned economy, strongly decentralised and
municipalised, from a macroeconomic point of view, and semi-mutualistic,
characterized by a form of "artificial market " for the allocation of
consumer goods, from the microeconomic one, which involves the use,
instead of conventional money, of vouchers and personal credits that can
be accumulated as currency. The system embraces Athenian-style direct
democracy, social ecology and contemporary currents of thought of new
radical social movements. (Wikipedia)
https://alternativalibertaria.fdca.it/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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