Associative Democracy: New Forms of Economic and Social GovernanceThis work advocates associative democracy as an alternative to traditional ideologies of the Left and Right. Far from being a utopian idea, the author suggests, associative democracy offers new forms of economic and social governance as supplements to representative democracy and market economies. Associative democracy addresses the problems of the overload of big government by democratizing and empowering civil society. It transfers social provision to self-governing voluntary associations, whilst retaining public funding and political accountability. It publicises civil society, placing political responsibility and governmental tasks in the hands of citizens. Accountable government becomes possible because service performance and public control are separated. In the economic sphere it advocates regional economic regulation through public-private partnerships, the promotion of self-governing industrial districts and the democratisation of the firm. |
