Time, Poverty, and Global Democracy

Abstract

Contrary to the naysayers contending that mass participatory democracy in the world is unrealistic & impractical, it is argued that with material (political & economic) equality & time to participate in governance processes, this type of democracy can be achieved. However, at this point, the many poor of the world are excluded from participation precisely because of lack of time & money. This is as true among the poor of the US as in the rest of the world. The differences between pluralism, representation, & direct democracy for the poor are discussed, citing ideas from Samuel Huntington (1996) & F. A. Hayek (1944 & 1948) on global capitalism & poverty. It is clear that for democracy to succeed, global poverty must be reduced if not eradicated in its extreme form. M. Pflum