Demokrazia parte-hartzailea: ezkerraren helburu berria?

Abstract

Western Democracy, as we know it today, is said to have been born at the end of the 18th century, with the dawning of the American and French Revolutions to be exact. Nevertheless, it took shape in the 19th and first part of the 20th century as we know it today. In those days, women and workers had no right to take part in elections in those restricted representative “democracies” while rich men had a free hand at choosing their political representatives in many Western countries. Nowadays, however, in rich Western countries where people work fewer hours, models for living have changed while leisure time has increased. In face of this, the democratic system has undergone few fitting changes and institutions basically have remained the same. However, after the fall of the Berin Wall, democratic optimism has spread across the world. “Democracy” was declared to be the winner at the end of the Cold War. Nevertheless, what democratic models have been imposed? All of them are based on representation and, furthermore, in manners of institutionalization that are over 150 years old. Have our societies not changed since then?