George Monbiot wholly kills that economic democracy project

Not that George will realise this - because, you know, George - but what we’ve got here is an insistence that we cannot have a purely democratically directed economy. That fantasy that so many on the left keep telling us that we really must have - everyone voting all the time on what is to happen.

The reason is that the voters cannot be trusted:

What parliamentary sovereignty means is that parliament can do whatever the hell it likes to us, as long as a majority is achieved. There are no effective limits on its actions. In a true democracy, by contrast, the people are sovereign, with fundamental rights that cannot be cancelled.

The complaint is that the voters cannot be trusted - they might vote in the wrong people - so therefore there needs to be a system of protecting the rights of the people from, erm, the people.

OK, fair enough, we agree. Those fundamental rights are more important than the passing whims of the demos.

Which rather kills that idea of total economic democracy, doesn’t it? There are fundamental rights - such as to one’s own labour, one’s own property - that cannot be violated by the mere passing whims of the demos.

Which is rather checkmate, no?

We also thought this was amusing:

The shift could begin with a citizens’ constitutional convention, like Iceland’s perhaps, and participatory events all over the country. Imagine: a thoughtful, deliberative process that treats us as active and intelligent citizens, rather than political consumers!

If you’ve already got to the point where you’re worried about who the demos might vote for then you’re being very, very, hopeful about the sort of constitution you’re going to get from asking the demos now, aren’t you?

Tim Worstall