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Global Capitalism and the Demise of the Left: Renewing Radicalism Through Inclusive Democracy

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Global Capitalism and the Demise of the Left: Renewing Radicalism Through Inclusive Democracy THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY A quarterly journal published by the International Network for Inclusive Democracy Vol. 5, No. 1, special issue winter 2009 global capitalism and the demise of the left: renewing radicalism through inclusive democracy edited by steve best ISSN 1753-240X iv This IJID publication is an English translation of the book with the same title published in Athens in 2008 (Koukkida) ISBN 978- 960-98038-5-4 Copyright (C) reserved for the International Journal of Inclusive Democracy, 2009. We welcome requests for translations and/or printed publications into any language (except Greek), which will not be charged for “copyright law rights” provided that we are informed about them in advance and the source is fully mentioned. v Contents the authors...........................................................1 INTRODUCTION Crisis Culture and the Waning of Revolutionary Politics steven best ......................................................... 11 Our Aims international network for inclusive democracy ......... 41 PART I GROWTH, MARKET, SOCIETY AND DEMOCRACY Market and Society takis nikolopoulos ............................................... 49 The Market Economy and the Biological Crisis dr. panayotis koumentakis ..................................... 53 Towards a New Vision for Global Society rafael spósito ..................................................... 77 vi Social Movements, Conflicts and a Perspective of Inclusive Democracy in Argentina guido galafassi ................................................... 91 PART II INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY AND THE LEFT Inclusive Democracy and its Prospects david freeman .................................................... 105 Beyond Social Democracy? arran gare ........................................................ 129 Can Democracy Solve All Problems? serge latouche ................................................... 155 Inclusive Democracy and Left Libertarianism michael levin .................................................... 165 Recent Theoretical Developments on the Inclusive Democracy Project takis fotopoulos ................................................ 189 vii PART III EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY The Democratic Paideia Project: Beginnings of an Emancipatory Paideia for Today david gabbard and karen anijar appleton .................315 Education, Paideia and Democracy: Experiences of the U.S. Educational System john sargis ........................................................331 DIALOGUE-EPILOGUE Is Inclusive Democracy Feasible and Desirable? takis fotopoulos .................................................373 APPENDICES Democracia Incluyente jorge camil ........................................................457 Vers Une Démocratie Générale? jean-claude richard ............................................461 THE AUTHORS Steven Best (editor) is Associate Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Texas, El Paso. He is a mem- ber of the International Advisory Board of The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy. He is the co-author with Douglas Kellner of Postmodern Theory: Critical Interrogations, The Postmodern Turn, and The Postmodern Adventure, as well as The Politics of Historical Vision. He recently published (to- gether with Anthony J. Nocella II) the books: Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Reflections on the Liberation of Animals, and Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth. Karen Anijar Appleton is an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Cultural Studies at Arizona State University. She is the co-editor of the Journal of Public Resistance (with David Gabbard). Her most recent books include Culture and the Condom (edited by Thuy Dao-Jensen –Lang 2005). Science Fiction Curriculum, Cyborg Teachers, and Youth Cultures (edited by John Weaver and Toby Daspit –Lang 2003), and Teaching towards the twenty forth century the so- cial curriculum of Star Trek (Taylor and Francis 2001). Takis Fotopoulos is a political philosopher, editor of Society & Nature/Democracy and Nature/The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy. He is also a columnist for the Athens Daily Eleftherotypia. He was previously (1969–1989) Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of North London. 2 He is the author of Towards An Inclusive Democracy (London & New York: Cassell, 1997) which has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Greek and very recently Chinese. He is also the author of numerous books in Greek on development, the Gulf War, the neo-liberal consensus, the New World Order, the drug culture, the New Order in the Balkans, the new irrationalism, globalisation and the Left, the war against ‘terrorism’, Chomsky and Albert, and the present multi-dimensional crisis. He is also the author of over 700 articles in British, American and Greek theoreti- cal journals, magazines and newspapers, several of which have been translated into over twenty languages (see http:// www.inclusivedemocracy.org/fotopoulos/). His latest book is The Multidimensional Crisis and Inclusive Democracy, published by the International Journal of Inclusive Democracy, (2005) http://www.inclusivedemocracy.org/journal/ss/ss.htm. David Freeman works in the School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Australia. He frequently writes in Thesis Eleven. His research interests include empirical and con- ceptual developments in citizenship, democracy, social inclusion and the public sphere. David Gabbard is a professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at East Carolina University’s College of Education. He has authored or edited five books in the areas of critical education policy studies and the his- tory of educational thought. He is a member of International THE AUTHORS 3 Advisory Board of The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy. His most recent books include Michel Foucault & Power Today: International Multidisciplinary Studies on the History of Our Present, (edited with Alain Beaulieu), (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2005); Defending Public Schools, Vol. I: Education Under the Security State (edited with E. Wayne Ross), (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2004); Education As Enforcement: The Militarization and Corporatization of Schools, (New York: Routledge, 2003); and Knowledge & Power in the Global Economy: Politics and the Rhetoric of School Reform, (Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishing, 2000). Guido Galafassi is teaching Social Theory at the University of Quilmes, Argentina, and works as a researcher at CONICET (National Council of Scientific and Techniques Research). He is the co-ordinator of an International Research Network on Development, Nature and Society, and the editor of Theomai Journal, Society, Nature and Development Studies. He is also member of the International Advisory Board of The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy and Problemas del Desarrollo. He has published numerous articles and two books (in Spanish) on the ecological and social problems in Latin America and on Social Theory. He is currently deepening his critique of the social and eco- nomic thought in a book on the ideas of progress,nature and social movements in modernity. 4 Arran Gare is the author of a number of books on en- vironmental philosophy, including Postmodernism and the Environmental Crisis, (London: Routledge, 1995) and Nihilism Inc.: Environmental Destruction and the Metaphysics of Sustainability”, (Sydney: Eco-Logical Press, 1996). His research focuses on the problem of how to transform cul- ture to create a radically new, environmentally sustain- able, social order. He has published widely on Bogdanov, Needham, the metaphysical foundations of the sciences, the tradition of process philosophy, complexity theory, human ecology, the emergent theory of mind, social and cultural theory and political philosophy. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy. At present he is Reader in Philosophy and Cultural Inquiry, Swinburne University, Australia. Dr. P. Koumentakis is a natural nutritional doctor, member of the Board of the «International Association of Hygienic Physicians» (USA). He has studied Political Sciences in Athens and Natural Nutritional Medicine in Seattle (USA). He took his practical training in a health school clinic in San Antonio, Texas. He is the author of many books on health issues, nutrition, nutritional therapy and preven- tion. For the last ten years he has also been the editor of the bi-montlhy journal Health for All published in Athens. He is also a member of the Editorial Committee of The THE AUTHORS 5 International Journal of Inclusive Democracy and of the Greek journal Inclusive Democracy. Serge Latouche is Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Paris–Sud (XI Sceaux/Orsay). He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the journals Ecologia politica (Rome), L’homme et la société (Paris), la Revue du MAUSS (Paris) and Democracy and Nature/The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy. He is the author of many books and articles some of which have been translated into foreign languages: Justice sans limites. Le défi de l’éthique dans une économie mondialisée, (Fayard, 2003); La déraison de la raison économique, (Albin Michel, 2001); La planète uniforme, (Climats, 2000); L’autre Afrique. Entre don et marche, (Paris: Albin Michel, 1998); Les dangers du marche planétaire, (Presses de sciences po, 1997); La mega- machine, (La Découverte, 1995); La Planète des Naufrages, (La Découverte, 1991); L’occidentalisation
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