Debating Democracy

A review essay on a book by John Burnheim, Is Democracy Possible? (Polity Press, 1985 [see listing in IRPS No. 48]). Burnheim argues that the state & democracy are incompatible, & that the state & state system are dangerous liabilities in modern conditions. He urges the adoption of a conception of world political & social organization called "demarchy." Such a polity is functionally decentralized; functional bodies are manned by persons selected by lot from those concerned enough to self-nominate for the selection lottery. Here, Burnheim's claim that demarchy avoids statist modes of organization & operation is disputed. Burnheim's account is also criticized for its lack of the core notion of a legitimate material interest. The demarchy concept is situated in the socialist utopian tradition, & the twin presuppositions of this tradition are critiqued: ie, the idea of an entirely consensual moral & political world, & the idea that morality is only externally connected with traditional centralist logics of political organization. The bearing of the threat of total nuclear disaster on political theory is discussed. In opposition to Burnheim, it is argued that the threat of such disaster does not render the system of sovereign states dysfunctional. 24 References. Modified AA