| dc.description | The very legitimacy of a democratic system depends, nonetheless, on the widely held
conviction that its arrangements are representative, that representation takes place
through essentially fair and equitable mechanisms open to broad participation, and that
those elected do a fair and impartial job of representing those who did cast their vote,
those who voted for other candidates, and those who could not be bothered to go to the
polls (Habermas 1975). The claim that each of these principles is fulfilled by really
existing democracies is questionable and rightfully under challenge by the global justice
movement and others (left, right, center, and out in front). If “politics” is present within
democratic states only in a pale, washedout form, how much less is it in evidence among
states, in international forums and activities, where representative links are highly
attenuated and capital has been gaining an ever-stronger hand? It is this lack of
legitimacy, and the absence of the political, that are being protested by the global justice
movement and addressed by campaigns for global social policy and regulation. | en_US |
