Direct Democracy's Attraction

DIRECT DEMOCRACY'S ATTRACTION

"All political systems in the world today are the product for the struggle for power between instruments of governing. The struggle may be peaceful or armed... The result is always the victory of an instrument of governing - be it an individual, group, party or class and the defeat of the people i.e. the defeat of genuine democracy."

-- From Part One of The GREEN BOOK.

The Third Universal Theory's approach to the problem of democracy as contained within part one of The Green Book, has many attractions. One of these is the fact that this approach holds out the possibility of an end to the fratricidal struggles between instruments of governing which are so characteristic of contemporary politics all over the world.

The Green Book examines the problem of democracy and of the lack of real popular political power on the basis of an understanding that it is the state, bureaucratic and party political monopoly of power which is the key to the whole problem. 

Thus although Muammar Qadhafi considers the failings of each aspect of contemporary political structures, from parliaments to political parties, he ties this consideration into a whole which adds up to a rejection of the very notion of instruments of governing which are separate from the people. The practical result of this in the Libyan Jamahiriya has been not only the creation of the People's Conferences where decisions on the administration of the Jamahiriya are taken, but also in the creation of a popular administrative structure, the People's Committees, which puts government in the people's hands.

Had the Third Universal Theory stopped at simply affirming the people's right to determine policy, then the mechanism of the state would have continued to exist, if only to execute the people's decisions. The result would have been the survival of the concept of political and administrative representation. Popular political power would thus have been meaningless, because the people would have been separated from the actual execution of popular decisions. 

Thus the political structure outlined in The Green Book provides for the People's Committees which are the administrative compliment to the People's Conferences. This is one of the main attractions of direct democracy, because under this system it is not only decision-making which is in the hands of the people, but also the administration of the popular will. 

The other main attraction of the Third Universal Theory is its rejection of the notion that the people need the structure of the state in order to regulate their lives. Since People's Conferences and People's Committees exist to both take the decisions which affect people's lives and then put them into practice, there is no need for a superfluous state structure which, however well monitored by the people, may threaten the revolutionary achievement of direct democracy.

Since, as The Green Book says, there must be "no representation in lieu of the people", the state thus becomes unnecessary under the system of direct democracy outlined by the Third Universal Theory. The same goes for all the institutions related to the state, including the armed forces. The practical implementation of the aphorism "Power, Wealth and Arms in the hands of the People" has made it inevitable that the people of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya should take direct responsibility for national defence. If political power is not to be monopolized under the direct democratic system, then the same must go for military power. 

The practical application of the Third Universal Theory's dicta in the Libyan Jamahiriya has highlighted the attractions of a democracy in which political power is the sole preserve of the people. The Libyan people have thus conclusively demonstrated that it is possible for a people to take over the reins of power and dismantle unnecessary and repressive state institutions. 

Another of the Third Universal Theory's attractions is the fact that there is a political flexibility inherent in its approach which would allow for modifications to the basic approach making the theory's implementation easier in other countries. The respect the theory accords the particular cultural and religious traditions of different countries implies an understanding of the fact that the establishment of direct democracy elsewhere may take different forms. But the essence of direct democracy is the same everywhere and it can be understood and appreciated by all peoples. 

It is because of this that it would be incorrect to assert that the Third Universal Theory is in some way more applicable to Arab or developing countries. The theory can be applied anywhere, because it offers people the opportunity to take direct control of their countries' affairs. The Green Book's rejection of the concept of political and administrative representation is something which everyone, all over the world, can understand and appreciate.

That is why Muammar Qadhafi's theory is truly universal, because it is based on a longing for direct democracy which has existed since the dawn of man. The Third Universal Theory only expresses what man has always sought and that is the root of its attraction.