democracy

Socialist Alliance welcomes the success of Sri Lanka’s mass protest movement in forcing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's removal and calls on the federal government to provide humanitarian, not military, aid to Sri Lanka.

There is little analysis of the electoral system plays in Australian politics, nor much exploration of alternatives, argues Anne McMenamin. Most of us have no direct voice in government, even though we are told we do — every three or four years.

YES campaign to demerge Inner West

With more than 88% of the votes counted, 63% of Sydney's Inner West residents voted “Yes” to demerge and re-establish the former councils of Ashfield, Marrickville and Leichhardt, reports Andrew Chuter.

Rob Pyne supporting anti-nuclear activists campaigning against nuclear-powered submarines.

Defamation laws favour those who have the funds to threaten and launch suits. Jonathan Strauss reports on a defamation suit against anti-corruption campaigners Lyn O’Connor and Rob Pyne.

Led by Rodrigo Acuña and Adriana Navarro, Chilean-Australian community members are campaigning for the federal government to give an “unreserved apology” for Australia's covert support to the US-backed coup against Dr Salvador Allende in 1973.

 

For eight months in 2018-19, Sudan was gripped by an unprecedented mass movement to overthrow the 30-year dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir. Green Left spoke to Khalid Hassan about the achievements of the Sudanese people and the difficult challenges ahead.

Members of the Thai community and supporters organised a solidarity action as another huge democracy protest gathered in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, reports Peter Boyle.

Adem Somyurek's deplorable conduct exposed a deeply cynical attitude to democracy. Moreland Council's socialist councillor Sue Bolton explains to Darren Saffin why his local government reforms must be reversed.

Left-wing parties in Chile are pushing a plebiscite for a Constituent Assembly to address the main social issues affecting young people, workers and communities.

Activist Cristian Cuevas from the New Democracy Party, which forms part of the Broad Front (FA) alliance, said they are seeking a strong showing in the November 19 presidential and parliamentary elections to push forward on their proposal.

Blowing The Roof Off The Twenty-First Century: Media, Politics, and the Struggle for Post-Capitalist Democracy Robert W McChesney Monthly Review Press 272 pages Published November 2014 www.blowingtheroofoff.com The work of renowned media critic Robert McChesney “has been of extraordinary importance”, says the “world's top public intellectual”, Noam Chomsky. Green Left Weekly's Mat Ward spoke to McChesney about his new book, Blowing The Roof Off The Twenty-First Century. * * *
The word “socialist” first appeared in print in Italy in 1803. In the early 19th century there appeared to be two alternative roads to socialism: violent revolution or establishing cooperative communities separate from the state and capitalist social relations. Towards the latter part of the century, a third possibility opened up: the working class could take control of the state through the ballot-box and reconstruct it on a socialist basis.
Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet Against Democracy Robert W McChesney Spring 2013 www.thenewpress.com When award-winning author Robert McChesney wrote a much-needed political and economic analysis of the internet, the reaction from his peers was not quite what he expected.