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An ecological design for democracy
by Boff ·
Democracy is surely the highest ideal that has historically developed social life. The underlying principle of democracy is: “what concerns all should be able to be considered and decided by all.”
It has many forms: direct, as it is lived in Switzerland, where all people participate in decisions via referendum.
The representative, in which more complex societies elect delegates, on behalf of all, discuss and make decisions. The big problem now is that representative democracy is unable to rally the forces of a complex society with its social movements. In societies of high inequality, such as Brazil, representative democracy assumes characteristics of unreality, if not farce. Every four or five years, citizens have the possibility to choose their “dictator” who, once elected, is more concerned with making a palatial policy to establish an organic relationship with the social forces.
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