Thank you, Sally, for posting this Conference. I haven't time myself to take part in it (if indeed non-Canadians would be welcome), but the whole business of participatory democracy is vitally important in all the developed countries. As I often comment on FW list, voting figures are declining in all developed countries. Since full adult suffrage in the UK at the beginning of the last century, we've had 18 General elections and, almost without fail, the percentage of voters has steadily declined from the 80s to the 60s. Generally it's been the poor who have been dropping out. More recently there has been a perceptible cynicism on the part of the young. Today, only two-thirds of people under 24 years old say they are going to vote in our current Election (in June) so the final figure will probably be around 50%. Besides the steadily growing apathy of the poor and the recent surge of non-voting by the young there is also a new contingent of more thoughtful non-voters. People like me, for example. I just do not know which party to vote for. I see merits in the manifestos of all three main parties -- but also many points in all of them which bother me. For the first time in my life I might not vote this time, unless I toss a coin. The politicians are becoming seriously worried (particularly the Labour Party because the traditional left-voters are more inclined not to vote -- particularly if the weather is inclement). I think the reason for the growing cynicism about the present electoral/governmental set-up is mainly two-fold: 1. Many issues are becoming more complex, so voters haven't the time, or expertise to come to any definite opinion on them; 2. There are far more issues than ever before so that a Party's political programme will contain items with which voters will both strongly agree and disagree. I don't believe that universal suffrage will do any longer. It has become a-democratic. Somehow, we need to have a system which will offer more direct opportunity for democratic participation in policy-making and, at the same time, be able to tap into the best expert knowledge for each subject. Neither is happening at present. Politicians are seen to be more distant than they've ever been; and a constitutency politician is far too busy to have more than a superficial acquaintance with more than one or two issues. The huge growth in specialised pressure groups of all sorts in recent decades has meant that the political system has been slowly adapting. But the politicians are the slowest to change. Our Parliamentary system in the UK is almost identical to what it was a century ago -- the age of the steam engine, not the computer or biogenetics. The complexities are growing faster than the politicians are able to change. In the UK we are being daily harangued by the politicians to get out and vote on the day. But the real problem is not voter apathy or cynicism; it is the stubbornness of the politicians to change quickly enough. As they say in the army: "There are no bad soldiers, only bad officers." Keith H At 10:13 18/05/01 +0100, you wrote: >>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) >>Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:52:48 -0400 >>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>From: Straight Goods <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>Subject: EXTRA: Broadbent/Morton conference on the Future of Social >> Democracy now on-line >>Mime-Version: 1.0 >>Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>Precedence: bulk >>Status: >> >>EXTRA: Broadbent/Morton conference on the Future of Social Democracy now >>on-line >> >>A special Straight Goods Bulletin from Canada's independent on-line source >>of news you can use: http://www.StraightGoods.com [To get on or off this >>list, please see end of file] >> >>May 18, 2001: >> >>Ed Broadbent and Desmond Morton announce conference on the Future of Social >>Democracy in Canada >> >>Features new venture in E-democracy in concert with Straight Goods to >>enable Canadians everywhere to join the discussion >> >>OTTAWA, MAY 17: At a Parliament Hill news conference, former NDP leader Ed >>Broadbent announced a major conference in Montreal. It will be available >>for participation everywhere via a new kind of Internet conference site >>developed by Straight Goods. >> >>The Future of Social Democracy conference, organized by the McGill >>Institute for the Study of Canada, and co-hosted by Canadian historian >>Desmond Morton and Broadbent, will take place May 25-26, 2001 in the Moot >>Court at the McGill Faculty of Law, 3644, Peel Street, Montreal. Its aim is >>to show the relevance of new social democratic policies for Canada�s future. >> >>The website, developed by Straight Goods, enables Web users to read >>conference papers and reports on the event, contribute to on-line debates, >>and cast their votes on critical survey questions regarding the future of >>social democracy. >> >>"We were determined to make the conference highly representative in terms >>of age, gender, and regions of Canada," says Broadbent. "That's why we felt >>it was essential that anyone be able join in the discussion via the >>Internet." In addition, conference proceedings will be broadcast on cable >>TV via CPAC. >> >>"I'm pleased that our future-oriented conference should include this >>simple, but significant exercise in electronic democracy.� >> >>The conference's main web site is >>http://www.arts.mcgill.ca/programs/misc/socdem. It includes the conference >>program, registration information, conference papers, media information, >>and administrative details. The Debates webpage is >>http://goods.perfectvision.ca/SocDem/McGill.cfm. That's the starting point >>for discussions and forums organized around four conference themes. It >>includes on-line, instantly-tallied survey questions enabling visitors to >>vote - once only - on major questions of the day. >> >>Both sites can be accessed directly from the front page of Straight Goods >>at www.StraightGoods.com. >> >>Straight Goods� publisher Ish Theilheimer told the news conference that in >>planning the site, organizers deliberately chose a design that most people >>will be capable of using. �We didn�t want fancy features like streaming >>video that would have many people would not be able to view on their >>systems.� Instead, they chose a simple forum format plus the surveys. New >>surveys may be added as the debate unfolds. >> >>Conference panelists include Warren Allmand, Joel Bakan, Kathy Brock, Diana >>Bronson, Carol Allison Bura, Becky Barrett, Ross Finnie, Andrew Jackson, >>Jane Jenson, Ed John, Tom Kent, Naomi Klein, Pierre Lalibert�, Margie >>Mendell, Lars Osberg, Andrew Petter, Judy Rebick, John Richards, Daniel >>Turp and Armine Yalnizyan. >> >>"We hope for lively debate," says Morton, "and we expect it, with the >>diversity of views represented by our panelists and with contributions from >>all over Canada via the Internet." >> >>Organizers are encouraging unions, citizens groups, NDP provincial sections >>and activist citizens to spread word on the conference, encourage >>participation, and post links to the conference on their websites or send >>their links to other relevant sites >> >>For information, contact >> >>Ish Theilheimer, Straight Goods, (613) 625 1555, >>[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >>Lynne Darroch, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. (514) >>398-2658, [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> >>Straight Goods - Canada's independent on-line source of news you use >>Box 2000, Killaloe, ON K0J 2A0 CANADA >>613 625 1555 >>[EMAIL PROTECTED] >>http://www.StraightGoods.com >> >>To join this list send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the >>body of the memo: subscribe straight-goods-l >> >>To remove yourself from this list, please send mail to: >>[EMAIL PROTECTED] >>with nothing in the subject line, with this message (and no other text): >>unsubscribe straight-goods-l >> > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________________ Keith Hudson, General Editor, Calus <http://www.calus.org> 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________________
