DEMOCRACY AND THE COMMON GOOD D A W S O N C O L L E G E 2 0 1 2 / 1 1 / 1 3 B Y R O B E R T R O Y
PRESENTATION PLAN 1 Context 2 Democracy s Challenges 3 Democracy and the Common Good 4 Hints for Solutions
1. CONTEXT The different faces of the CSQ 11 Federations 240 Local unions 350 Different jobs Complexity 190 000 Members Original community = Education 68% : a small society Majority Size Diversity 75% Women 25% Men 30% 35 years Many faiths and nationalities
1.CONTEXT CSQ different faces : a services business Labour relations Legal services Negotiation Field action service Women s issues Group insurance Provides Support Social security Union organizing Communication Administrative services Union education and facilitation Professional affairs and research
1. CONTEXT CSQ different faces : a political organisation Declaration of principles Involved with and taking stands on Unions of Quebec and Canada International organisations Economic issues Political issues Social issues Cultural issues Bilateral relations : Europe, Africa, Latin America International cooperation International solidarity
1. CONTEXT Democratic issues link to the CSQ s picture Since 2006, leading events of CSQ s life and many General Council s and Congress discussions are linked to democratic issues : Relations between majority and minorities Relations between autonomy and solidarity «virtual votes», weak presences to general assemblies (± 15%) and uneasiness raised by some of CSQ s political stands are raising questions about the mode of representation
1. CONTEXT Democratic issues link to this CSQ picture As we will see, these problems are those of democratic life in general. However, the present situation has exacerbated them: employment s vulnerability gave rise to conflicts of interests among individuals and groups; cohabitation of a wide range of cultures (changing according to gender, age, professions, regions, nationalities, faiths ); constitutional protection of many of the preceding; cohabitation of different conceptions of democracy.
PRESENTATION PLAN 1 Context 2 Democracy s Challenges 3 Democracy and the Common Good 4 Hints for Solutions
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES Key concepts Blaug et Scharzmental1 present democracy as a political system and, more broadly, as a society aiming to respect three major principles : 1. people s sovereignty; 2. liberty, understood as individual s autonomy; 3. and equality. 1. Ricardo Blaug, John J. Schwarzmantel, Democracy: A Reader, Columbia University Press, 2001-06-01-571 pages
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES People s sovereignty (grass roots) Who s part of the people? Modern history shows the question isn t obvious. Ask any member of a minority population about this. How about CSQ? At local level, no problems, all members of the union constitute the people. At the federation and Centrale level, a specific set of local unions constitutes the people. Members are not voting, local unions are.
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES People s sovereignty (grass roots) How does it works? Direct democracy Representative democracy GA of local unions CSQ s EC, GC, GNC and congress Federations EC, FC and congress Légende EC and other instances then GA at local level Direct democracy : every member speaks and decides by himself. Representative democracy : some members speaks and decides for a group of members.
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES People s sovereignty (grass roots) Necessary conditions to people s sovereignty in a representative democracy : 1. A significant members participation to important and fundamental discussions and decisions; 2. A delegation on the same wave length of those whom they represent. Delegation isn t signing a blank cheque; 3. Delegation must have sufficient autonomy to decide for those whom they represent.
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES People s sovereignty (grass roots) Necessary conditions for people s sovereignty in a representative democracy : 4. Creation of control mechanism of delegates (election, length of mandate, number of consecutive mandates for a same delegate); 5. Setting conditions permitting an informed decision of members or delegates; 6. Setting conditions to avoid majority s tyranny.
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES People s sovereignty (grass roots) Commentaries on sovereignty and representative democracy : 1. It s impossible to maintain constant mobilisation of members; members work, have families, need rest. Syndical involvement is extra curricular. At local level, executive s members don t always benefit from a reduced workload without loss of pay. Syndical activism is secondary and is mainly devoted to essential basic services.
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES People s sovereignty (grass roots) Commentaries on sovereignty and representative democracy : 2. Distribution of well prepared documents is not sufficient to guarantee an informed decision. To make an informed decision, one must first understand the nature of the problem to solve. One most also have time to consider a variety of solutions, seeing advantages and disadvantages of each.
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES People s sovereignty (grass roots) Commentaries on sovereignty and representative democracy : 3. An informed decision requires time All problems cannot be put to collective deliberation. It would paralyse an organisation or lead to a false and strictly formal democracy. 4. An informed decision requires appropriate referral to experts. Experts should not analyze problems and solutions on behalf of members. They should help members conduct the analysis.
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES People s sovereignty (grass roots) Commentaries on sovereignty and representative democracy : 5. Concern for efficiency and feeling of emergency can both harm people s sovereignty. Urgencies exist and efficiency is a necessity. But, when experts and delegates lose track of people s sovereignty, expected gains may, most likely, be revealed to be losses. Chances of losing contact with grass roots members grows exponentially.
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES Liberty and Equality Democracy isn t an ideal society where liberty and equality live side by side quietly. Democracy in an institutional system trying to harness for the best; as time goes by and according to contexts; in the best interest of all and each one; those two horses heading exactly opposites ways and dragging with them a set of contradictions we have to live with.
2. DEMOCRACY S CHALLENGES Liberty and Equality Autonomy Constraints Individual Differences Liberty Equality Collectivity Similarities Minorities Majority Specific General
PRESENTATION PLAN 1 Context 2 Democracy s Challenges 3 Democracy and the Common Good 4 Hints for Solutions
3. DEMOCRACY AND THE COMMON GOOD Common good conception changes according to conceptions of democracy Two main conceptions of democracy are ruling occidental societies : liberalism and republicanism. In political philosophy, these words do not refer to the American Republican party or to Canadian and Quebec Liberal partys.
3. DEMOCRACY AND THE COMMON GOOD Common good conception changes according to conceptions of democracy These are ideal theoretic models. Societies and individuals may be more or less Liberal or Republican, according to subjects and contexts. But one conception will overshadow the other, when looking at an individual or specific society as an whole. France is a good example of republicanism. United States is an example of liberalism.
3. DEMOCRACY AND Society State School Liberty Rights MP Common good THE COMMON GOOD Liberalism Collection of individuals Arbitration instance of private interests No precedence of a culture over an other Protection against State and other individual intrusions Individual ones prevail over collective ones Delegate Peaceful coexistence of private interests + market law Republicanism Community & it s culture Protection and reproduction of this culture Ensure propagation of common culture Freedom of speech and political involvement Collective rights prevail over individual rights Authorised representation Results directly from common culture conception
3. DEMOCRACY AND THE COMMON GOOD Common good conception changes according to conceptions of democracy The multiplication of cultures and interests, combined with the Charters of Rights and Freedoms, revealed the weaknesses of Liberalism and Republicanism Republican State s efforts to have a majority culture prevail gave rise to conflicts between State and minorities and undermined individual liberties. Liberal State efforts to seclude cultures to private lives was supposed to generate peaceful coexistence. It was revealed to be an illusion. It instead gave rise to community conflicts within society.
3. DEMOCRACY AND THE COMMON GOOD Common good conception changes according to conceptions of democracy At a seminar in 2011, I submitted the following hypothesis : CSQ Recruits unions based on promise of local autonomy and services available (mini society) Low participation Virtual votes Takes stands, based on Declaration of Principles (DP) (Political organisation) Grass roots members focus mostly on local and individual interests (Liberals) Uneasiness with some CSQ s positions Syndical activists supporting common good as defined by DP. (Republicans)
PRESENTATION PLAN 1 Context 2 Democracy s Challenges 3 Democracy and the Common Good 4 Hints for Solutions
4. HINTS FOR SOLUTIONS Adopt a more deliberative and participative conception of democracy Liberalism Precedence: individual Protects individuals and minorities rights Cares for local and specific interests Encourages involvement in political collective life Decisions cautious of common good Legend = Strength = Weakness Republicanism Precedence: collectivity
4. HINTS FOR SOLUTIONS Adopt a more deliberative and participative conception of democracy Republicanism Liberalism Deal with individual and collectivity Decentralize what may be Delegate what must be A more deliberative and participative democracy Common good: A constant work in progress Less education, more dialogue and collaboration
4. HINTS FOR SOLUTIONS Deliberation allows informed decisions, but is time consuming Goals are not always practically possible. Make choices Distribute Tasks Decentralise decisions which can be made at local level Leave some decisions to executive Consult and mobilize all members only on important questions
4. HINTS FOR SOLUTIONS Deliberation allows informed decisions, but is time consuming Be part of the process leading to problem identification A good preparation and appropriate process Be part of the process leading to solution identification Before voting, leave time to see advantages and disadvantages Seek legitimate bases to opponents opinions
4. HINTS FOR SOLUTIONS Central role of delegate Delegate represents He makes present 1.Grass roots members in decisional bodies (he is not tied up as an authorised representative, no more is he speaking only for himself.) He must find time and means to know positions of those he represents. He must submit their views, interests and evaluations to decision bodies he s sitting on. In the light of presentations and collective deliberations, he must put local positions in perspective with global ones. He then decides, as grass roots members would, if they had the chance to hear presentations and deliberations.
4. HINTS FOR SOLUTIONS Central role of delegate Delegate represents He makes present 2.Direction to grass roots members (as member of a decision body, delegate is a leader of the CSQ or of a federation) He must explain to grass roots members how and why he voted the way he did. He must present to grass roots members motives underlying a majority s decision, and, if case occurs, explain why he set aside local position to vote differently. He must try to rally members to majority s decision.
4. HINTS FOR SOLUTIONS Increase participation Think publically and collectively 1 (involve and consult non-activists members) Citizen juries (members experts witnesses deliberation 1 or + advice) Deliberative surveys (experts members questions discussion votes) Consensual conferences (members questions experts answers consensus publication of position ) 1. John Stewart «Thinking Collectively in the Public Domain», in Ricardo Blaug, John J. Schwarzmantel, Democracy: A Reader, Columbia University Press, 2001-06-01 pp. 542-550.
AS A CONCLUSION Thanks! Questions? Comments?