John Keane: The Life and Death of Democracy

John Keane: The Life and Death of Democracy
At the Byron Bay Writers Festival, in conversation with Griffith Review Editor Julianne Schultz, Professor John Keane talks us through the rise and fall of democracies and empires, from a primarily historical perspective.

From the very first Platonic democracy of Ancient Greece, Keane argues, through the ages of the civil rights movement, apartheid, the women's vote, through to the world's first black president, the institution of Democracy has aided civilization in avoiding hubris. It has also helped to humble power and, as Churchill liked to say, democracy is still "the best weapon we have against stupidity."

Keane argues that democracy is not only practiced in the parliament but, since 1945, has become increasingly involved at the grass roots, whereby the citizen is more inclined to have her say via diverse power-scrutinizing, problem-solving groups, such as online monitoring agencies.

The flipside of all this monitoring, he argues, is that politicians are more fearful of their public.
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700
Location: Byron Bay, NSW, Byron Bay Writers Festival, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Program and discussion: http://fora.tv/2010/08/07/John_Keane_The_Life_and_Death_of_Democracy

Source: http://fora.tv/2010/08/07/John_Keane_The_Life_and_Death_of_Democracy

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