For Real Democracy Now! Draft Manifesto, Ireland

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

No good claiming everything a government does is legitimate after an election. Divorce is granted to a wife (or husband) even though they may have said 'love, honour and obey' in a wedding ceremony and signed an official document in front of witnesses.

If one partner becomes abusive by any measure then a divorce can be granted on those grounds.

People have a right to divorce their government on the grounds of flagrant abuse of power.

That is older than democracy itself.

[Seán Ryan]

I love the idea behind all of this. Indeed the designer of that lovely poster Cactus printed earlier is a close friend (that I don't get to see often enough). But I have misgivings.

I think that making a charter with goals is a major mistake. The more folks who sign up, the more goals will be added. At some point, when enough goals are added, the disagreements will start and the splitting will commence. A critical mass no less!

In my view, there should only be one goal that allows for a proper polarisation to manifest and it would allow for the largest critical mass possible.

"Bring it all to a stop!"

When that goal is achieved. The discussions and the splits can commence. But at least that'll happen in an atmosphere of achievement.

[Apjp]

I love the idea behind all of this. Indeed the designer of that lovely poster Cactus printed earlier is a close friend (that I don't get to see often enough). But I have misgivings.

I think that making a charter with goals is a major mistake. The more folks who sign up, the more goals will be added. At some point, when enough goals are added, the disagreements will start and the splitting will commence. A critical mass no less!

In my view, there should only be one goal that allows for a proper polarisation to manifest and it would allow for the largest critical mass possible.

"Bring it all to a stop!"

When that goal is achieved. The discussions and the splits can commence. But at least that'll happen in an atmosphere of achievement.

Totally agree.

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[C. Flower]

Totally agree.

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I agree too. One demand, that everyone can agree is worth coming out for, is what is needed.

[C. Flower]

The Draft Manifesto has been posted on the Real Democracy Now blog for comment.

http://realdemocracynowireland.wordpress.com/manifesto/

We are ordinary people. We are like you. We are citizens of different ages, nationalities and social backgrounds. We get up every morning to study, to look after our homes, to go to work, or to look for work. We all work hard every day at building a better future for ourselves and for the people around us. But all of us are worried and angry about what is unfolding, politically and economically, in our society.

We want REAL DEMOCRACY NOW! Not the pretense of democracy that presently exists in Ireland. The present system silences the voices of those who want a meaningful role in shaping our society and concentrates power in the hands of a minority. Our political system does not represent us but instead administers on behalf of unaccountable elites. It is time for us all to start a movement for a better society.

We want a society based on equality, solidarity, respect, ecological sustainability, and the development and well-being of all people.
We want a society that guarantees the following: housing, work, culture, health care, education, political participation and a fulfilled life. Our political and economic system places these things under attack.
We therefore reject a political system that exists simply to allow others to rob us of our living standards, our public services, and our political voice.

The politicians do not represent us. Their promises are nothing more than a way of gaining power to administer on behalf of their powerful masters.

The trade unions do not represent us, because the agreements made by their leadership consent to the robbery of the people.

State-owned and corporate media do not represent us: we can represent ourselves. We do not need experts to define our needs or shape our thoughts in advance.

No entity, national or international, has the right to burden the people with illegitimate debt. We will not spend our future working to pay off illegitimate bankers’ debt through lower wages, longer hours, and a tax regime that benefits wealth and power and impoverishes everyone else. We must put an end to this.

We want total transparency in the management of the country, zero tolerance to corruption, and prosecution of those responsible for major economic crimes.
We will no longer be cogs in a machine designed to enrich a small minority through the toil of the vast majority and the destruction of the environment.

We are not commodities. We are more than consumers. We are citizens.
Real Democracy NOW! means every one’s voice, participation and welfare is given equal importance in deciding how our society should be run. We can do this ourselves.

The problems we face are local, but they are also global. We want this movement to grow, and we offer total solidarity to any group or collective elsewhere that shares our desire for direct and real democracy.

This situation harms us every day. As a consequence of all the above, WE ARE OUTRAGED!

We can change this.

We can all play our part.

Together we can create a new reality.

This is just the beginning.

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A number of people active in the Dublin Real Democracy Now movement were delegated / volunteered to produce this manifesto.

I'm supportive of this movement, which in Europe has been driven by young middle class people who are experiencing great frustration, with very limited prospects for the future, falling wages, high unemployment and decreased services. The people in this group are going to have to decide which side they are on - the side that says that with a few tweaks the system can be salvaged, we can all share the blame and the suffering, until it at some stage "comes good" - or the side that says that we have a system that needs be ended, as it inevitably prone to boom and crash and that can't and won't ever provide well, and reliably for the people as a whole, and in which a small minority are enriched at the expense of the rest. Third ways have a habit of turning out to be not third ways at all, but old ways in new clothing to keep us supine and afraid of real change.


The manifesto seems to me essentially to be a call for active citizenship, and for political reform and an end to corruption.

It only seems to call for political reform, not economic - but more transparency is surely only going to show us in greater detail what we know already - that the system is running on empty and that some people nevertheless continue to become richer, while the majority in Europe become poorer ?

Also, it says that the Trade Unions, which are impaired by turncoat and corrupt leadership, but which are still essential organisations of the working class, don't represent us. It is one thing to point out that the leaders have sold out, but another to reject Trade Unions themselves. The first port of call of any fascist dictator is to crush the Trade Unions, so that there is no organised opposition from people in their work places. Public services, welfare, improved working conditions and wages, have all in their time come out of trade union organisation. There's a movement not so different to RDN in the US that is marching and protesting to defend the right to free collective bargaining and to union membership. I would like to see these movements working with each other, and RDN making a call to union members to support their protests, as was the case in Egypt, where Democracy activists and union members have worked together for years before the protests appeared on Tahrir Square.