Democracy
& Nature, Vol. 9,
No. 3
Beyond Social Democracy? Takis
Fotopoulos’ Vision of an Inclusive Democracy as a New Liberatory Project
Arran Gare
Abstract: Towards an Inclusive Democracy, it is argued, offers a powerful
new interpretation of the history and destructive dynamics of the market and
provides an inspiring new vision of the future in place of both neo-liberalism
and existing forms of socialism. It is shown how this work synthesizes and
develops Karl Polanyi’s characterization of the relationship between society and
the market and Cornelius Castoriadis’ philosophy of autonomy. A central
component of Fotopoulos’ argument is that social democracy can provide no answer
to neo-liberalism, so the only viable alternative to neo-liberalism is the form
of inclusive democracy he elaborates. Reviewing Castoriadis’ concept of
autonomy, it is argued that while Fotopoulos is certainly correct given the
present deformed nature of social democracy, there is no reason to exclude
social democracy as such from what Fotopoulos calls the tradition of autonomy.
It is suggested that if the working class movement could free itself from the
capitalist imaginary and return to its quest for autonomy, a synthesis of a
radically reformed social democracy and inclusive democracy could greatly
improve the prospects of each to successfully challenge not only neo-liberalism,
but also the emerging liberal fascism of USA, Britain and Australia.
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