Natural and Epistemological Pragmatism: Democracy and Environmental Problems

In this analysis, a pragmatic model of the human relationship to nature is presented. Parallels are drawn between the epistemological pragmatism used by humans to experience large-scale environmental problems and the natural pragmatism by which all species evolve to meet the challenges of their environment. It is argued that powerful stakeholders have the ability to shift the short-term consequences of environmental problems to less powerful political entities, thus delaying the pragmatic recognition and remediation of these issues. A synthesis of the phenomenology of Alfred Schutz provides the foundation for a reappraisal of solutions to environmental problems and suggests that rational humanism does not provide realistic solutions to environmental threats.     

Ecological Democracy

The term “ecological democracy”, is used here to indicate an alternative democratic model, critical towards laissez-faire, but not anti-liberal. The foundations of this model are in the common capital of the knowledge of social sciences. The paradox of collective action, the existence of entitlements to resources before market trading and of externalities. Ecological democracy is utilized as metaphor to analyze two politically relevant problems of contemporary society: the uncertain legitimacy of the international institutions and the lack of institutionalization of the social movements.     

The Political Economy of Employee Ownership in the United States: From Economic Democracy to Industrial Democracy?

This study examines the development of economic democracy in the United States since the 1700s with particular emphasis on the last 30 years. The particular focus is on employee ownership, although the phenomenon of profit sharing receives some attention. The nature of research and documentation on the subject is reviewed. The study concludes that research in the area has emphasized narrative studies of particular companies and sectors until the 1980s. At that time the support for the concept by the US Federal Government created reporting requirements for companies to the US Department of Labor and the US Internal Revenue Service (the taxation authority) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. These data-sets have made systematic research on the phenomenon possible. Results of the first national random sample of employed individuals and work sites on the incidence of employee ownership and profit sharing are presented. Finally, we conduct a political economic analysis of the phenomenon. We demonstrate that, despite the growth of employee ownership in particular, a form of employee ownership has developed which encourages workers to use their savings to buy stock in their companies. This form dominates employee ownership in terms of the number of workers, firms, and dollar assets involved. Nevertheless, there is significant employee ownership in a group of closely held firms that use traditional ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) and in a group of publicly traded high technology companies that use broad-based stock options. These two sectors offer fertile territory for the development of both economic democracy and nascent forms of industrial democracy.     

Civil Society and Democracy: The Israeli Experience

Civil society has been considered pivotal to democracy, but the causes of its performance have remained controversial. According to one view the political context is a critical factor in shaping the contours of civil society. Another suggests that whether democracy prevails is contingent on society itself and the associations comprising it. In a test of these views it was assumed that if society prevails associations would vary by type. If the state is more important, then associations would be expected to score similarly on the democratic scale. It was also expected that variation among the types of performance would cut across group categories, reflecting general attributes of the polity. Data were derived from a survey conducted among voluntary associations in Israel (n = 360). Findings showed that (a) associations scored similarly on the democratic scale, (b) the scores for the democratic performance were not influenced by group category, and (c) the least performed function was integration.     

刍议中学体育教学中民主和谐师生关系的构建

民主和谐的师生关系,有利于学生体育兴趣的激发,有利于学生主体性的弘扬,有利于学生创新精神和实践能力的培养,有利于体育的顺利实施。以身立教,为人师表;以诚相待,尊重学生;发扬民主,改变教风;注重沟通,营造和谐是发挥体育学科特点,构建民主和谐师生关系的有效手段。     

Engendering Global Democracy

The inadequacies of hegemonic liberal democratic ideas and institutions have been exposed by feminist theorists focusing on the marginalisation of women and by global theorists examining the impact of globalisation. These theorists have developed two distinct sets of reconstructive strategies that, until very recently, have remained in ignorance of each other. Further, both feminist and global democratic schemes have been dogged by problems in terms of their theorisation of power, politics, agency and change. Recent feminist arguments about citizenship and governance go some way to bringing together concerns about gender inequality and globalisation, but they remain centred on states and the states-system as vehicles for democratic representation and participation. This article argues that a more radical reconstructive strategy can be derived from debates about the democratisation of feminism itself. Drawing on the responses of black and third world feminists to racism in the white-dominated feminist movement, and examining their influence on efforts to organise transnationally, the article points to innovative ways of thinking about power, politics, agency and change. Together these amount to a democratic framework which has applicability beyond feminist organising and which confronts the marginalisations of both gender and globalisation.     

The NGOs and the Grand Illusions of Development and Democracy

The role of civil society in the improvement of equitable development and the stimulation of democratic culture has been notably recognised by international development agencies. In the new policy of ‘good governance’ that proposes progress regarding development and democracy in parallel in the developing countries, civil society is often represented by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This paper bases its arguments primarily on theories in relation to the role of civil society with regard to development and democracy to raise concerns about current policy trends of ‘good governance’ in the general context of developing countries with the main focus on Africa. The concerns are substantiated by empirical verification through a review of literature. The paper concludes that NGOs are unlikely to have the strength to either promote development or foster democracy.