Interest Groups and Communist Politics

1966 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Gordon Skilling
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
The West ◽  
The Real ◽  
Autonomous Behavior ◽  
The People ◽  
Ruling Party

The idea that interest groups may play a significant role in Communist politics has, until recently, not been seriously entertained either by Western political scientists or by Soviet legal specialists. The concept of “totalitarianism” that has dominated the analysis of communism in the West has seemed to preclude the possibility that interest groups could challenge or affect the single ruling party as the fount of all power. The uniqueness of a totalitarian system has been deemed to lie in the very totality of its political power, excluding, as it were by definition, any area of autonomous behavior by groups other than the state or party, and still more, preventing serious influence by them on the process of decision-making. Marxist theorists, starting from different presuppositions, have assumed that the single ruling party, the organization of the working class, best knew the “real” interests of the people as a whole, and have denied the possibility of fundamental conflicts of interest within the working class, or between it and associated friendly classes such as the peasantry. Within the ruling party itself, groups or factions opposing the leadership have not been admitted in theory or permitted in practice.

scholarly journals The Emergence of the Campaign to Open Up the West: Ideological Formation, Central Decision-making and the Role of the Provinces

2004 ◽  
Vol 178 ◽  
pp. 335-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Holbig
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Western Region ◽  
The West ◽  
The People ◽  
Ancient City ◽  
Amorphous Nature ◽  
The Western Region ◽  
Party State ◽  
Great Development

This article examines the formation of the Open Up the West policy from the 1980s to the present. Focusing on the dynamic interaction between central party-state and provincial-level players, it analyses the various ideological and pragmatic factors that have shaped the policy over time. The campaign to Open Up the West is decribed as a “soft policy” to highlight a very diffuse decision-making process which has produced a highly diverse set of agendas and instruments. Due to the amorphous nature of the policy, the article finds, its realization depends to a great extent on the specific interpretations and arrangements of the provincial jurisdictions involved.In June 1999 in the ancient city of Xi'an, Comrade Jiang Zemin made the appeal to the whole party and the people of the whole country on the great development of the western region. Three years have gone by, and the roads have become passable, the lights have become lit, the mountains have become green, the rivers have become clear and the travelling traders have become abundant. One after another, wonderful stories about the homeland of the western region have been circulated and sung.

scholarly journals Idea contemptus mundi u Eucheriusza z Lyonu

Vox Patrum ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 793-805
Author(s):  
Dariusz Zalewski
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Christian Spirituality ◽  
The West ◽  
The Real ◽  
The World ◽  
Spiritual Tradition

The striving after abandoning the world was constantly accompanied by the ancient Christian spirituality. In monasticism the real abandonment of society is becoming one of the most important factors. Among the great monastic centers the monastery in Lérins plays a significant role in the formation of the spiritual tradition of the „separation” on the West. Eucherius, as one of the Lérins’ monks, makes the doctrine of rejection of the world one of the most significant points of his spirituality. One of his works was De contemptu mundi, where the Lérins writer represents an organic conception of the world and puts forward arguments against the world. In this article Eucherius of Lyons idea of contemptus mundi and reasons that could affect his thinking have been analyzed.

1. Creating “the Maya”

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Matthew Restall ◽  
Amara Solari
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Maya ◽  
The West ◽  
The Real ◽  
The People

“Creating ‘the Maya’” begins with the paradox that the people we call Maya never thought of themselves as such. There was no unified Maya state, empire, or language. Historically, scholars have divided ancient Maya history into three periods: Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic. The ancient Maya were repeatedly “discovered” by the West since Columbus in 1502, and despite widespread beliefs about the decline of the Maya at the end of the Classic era and the real impact on population wrought by disease and invasions, Maya communities and cultures persisted. The recent disaster film 2012 rekindled interest in the belief attributed to the Maya that the apocalypse would happen in that year.

scholarly journals Democracy in the face of disagreement: Environmentalist opposition to Escarpment Mine on the Denniston Plateau

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lillian Fougère
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
The West ◽  
The People ◽  
The Face ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Open Cast

<p>Despite New Zealand’s Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) being lauded as offering democratic decision-making processes, those in opposition to consent applications often feel their input has minimal influence on the decisions made. This research explores how democracy is actualised or constrained through environmentalist opposition to decisions made about coal-mining on conservation land, including both informal and formal participation.  Escarpment Mine is a proposal for an open cast coal mine on the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast of New Zealand. The mine was granted resource consents in 2011 by the two local councils. Environmental activists engaged with these decisions through the formal council led submission process, a requirement under the RMA, and informally through activism, protest and campaigning. Their opposition was founded on concerns about the mine’s effects on conservation and climate change.  Drawing on theories of deliberative democracy and radical democracy, I create a framework for democracy that includes agonism and antagonism, situated within the overarching democratic principles of equality, justice and the rule of the people. Through interviewing environmentalists opposed to Escarpment Mine and the council officials involved, my research discusses the way environmentalists were constrained from participating meaningfully in the formal process due to perceived bias and the privileging of neoliberal discourses. I suggest that this case reflects a lack of agonism in most areas, and a delegitimising of antagonistic activism despite such activism working towards equality and justice. Thus, the case does not fulfil the democratic ideals of working with disagreement.</p>

scholarly journals Democracy in the face of disagreement: Environmentalist opposition to Escarpment Mine on the Denniston Plateau

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lillian Fougère
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Radical Democracy ◽  
The West ◽  
The People ◽  
The Face ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Open Cast

<p>Despite New Zealand’s Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) being lauded as offering democratic decision-making processes, those in opposition to consent applications often feel their input has minimal influence on the decisions made. This research explores how democracy is actualised or constrained through environmentalist opposition to decisions made about coal-mining on conservation land, including both informal and formal participation.  Escarpment Mine is a proposal for an open cast coal mine on the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast of New Zealand. The mine was granted resource consents in 2011 by the two local councils. Environmental activists engaged with these decisions through the formal council led submission process, a requirement under the RMA, and informally through activism, protest and campaigning. Their opposition was founded on concerns about the mine’s effects on conservation and climate change.  Drawing on theories of deliberative democracy and radical democracy, I create a framework for democracy that includes agonism and antagonism, situated within the overarching democratic principles of equality, justice and the rule of the people. Through interviewing environmentalists opposed to Escarpment Mine and the council officials involved, my research discusses the way environmentalists were constrained from participating meaningfully in the formal process due to perceived bias and the privileging of neoliberal discourses. I suggest that this case reflects a lack of agonism in most areas, and a delegitimising of antagonistic activism despite such activism working towards equality and justice. Thus, the case does not fulfil the democratic ideals of working with disagreement.</p>

Aesthetic Dilemmas of Adaptation and the Politics of Subjectivity: Animating the Chinese ClassicJourney to the West

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengcheng You
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Modern China ◽  
Historical Time ◽  
The West ◽  
The Real ◽  
Quest For Meaning ◽  
National Allegory ◽  
Canonical Text ◽  
The Fantastic ◽  
Monkey King

This article reviews four major Chinese animated adaptations based on the classic Journey to the West. It shows how these adaptations, spanning four historical phases of modern China, encapsulate changes in Chinese national identity. Close readings underpin a developmental narrative about how Chinese animated adaptations of this canonical text strive to negotiate the multimodal expressions of homegrown folklore traditions, technical influences of western animation, and domestic political situations across time. This process has identified aesthetic dilemmas around adaptations that oscillate between national allegory and individual destiny, verisimilitude and the fantastic quest for meaning. In particular, the subjectivisation of Monkey King on the screen, embodying the transition from primitivistic impulse, youthful idealism and mature practicality up to responsible stewardship, presents how an iconic national figure encapsulates the real historical time of China.

The origins of the Catholic Social Guild in Scotland: ‘We have not attacked the Socialists professedly’

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Potocki
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Social Reform ◽  
Socialist Society ◽  
The West ◽  
Main Activity ◽  
Social Message ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
The Catholic Church

The activities of John Wheatley's Catholic Socialist Society have been analysed in terms of liberating Catholics from clerical dictation in political matters. Yet, beyond the much-discussed clerical backlash against Wheatley, there has been little scholarly attention paid to a more constructive response offered by progressive elements within the Catholic Church. The discussion that follows explores the development of the Catholic social movement from 1906, when the Catholic Socialist Society was formed, up until 1918 when the Catholic Social Guild, an organisation founded by the English Jesuit Charles Plater, had firmly established its local presence in the west of Scotland. This organisation played an important role in the realignment of Catholic politics in this period, and its main activity was the dissemination of the Church's social message among the working-class laity. The Scottish Catholic Church, meanwhile, thanks in large part to Archbishop John Aloysius Maguire of Glasgow, became more amenable to social reform and democracy.

On the Will of the People: Notes on the Political “Theory” of Populism

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Offe
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Political ◽  
The People ◽  
National People ◽  
The Will

The “will of the (national) people” is the ubiquitously invoked reference unit of populist politics. The essay tries to demystify the notion that such will can be conceived of as a unique and unified substance deriving from collective ethnic identity. Arguably, all political theory is concerned with arguing for ways by which citizens can make e pluribus unum—for example, by coming to agree on procedures and institutions by which conflicts of interest and ideas can be settled according to standards of fairness. It is argued that populists in their political rhetoric and practice typically try to circumvent the burden of such argument and proof. Instead, they appeal to the notion of some preexisting existential unity of the people’s will, which they can redeem only through practices of repression and exclusion.

PEMBENAHAN TERHADAP LEMBAGA PEMASYARAKATAN DAPAT MENIADAKAN OPSI HUKUMAN MATI BAGI NARAPIDANA DI INDONESIA (THE IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF PENITENTIARY CAN ELIMINATE THE DEATH PENALTY OPTIONS OF CONVICTED CRIMINALS IN INDONESIA)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Nomensen Freddy Siahaan
Keyword(s):  
Death Penalty ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Psychological Burden ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Public ◽  
Good Citizen ◽  
The People ◽  
Long Time

After a long time was not heard to the public area, lately death penalty toward the criminal cases that classified as extraordinary crime are appear. The author discovers electronic article about the execution of the death penalty which is the prosecutor prepares to execute death penalty toward the drugs dealer. The president of Republic of Indonesia stated that it is necessary to give a deterrent effect to the convicted  criminal and keep the morality of Indonesian teenagers. According to my opinion, the author argues that it will be better and wiser if we discuss about renovating all of the Penitentiary in Indonesia than debating whether death penalty could be done in Indonesia or not, because it will be displeasure many parties, death penalty infringed the human rights of the convicted criminals and cause psychological burden to them, families, the executor of the death penalty, and other parties. Because if we have to improve the quality of the Penitentiary, if the function of Penitentiary for fostering moralily has been optimal or properly enough to the convicted criminals, Indonesia will be no longer need the death penalty option as sanction to the convicted crimanals including for the extraordinary crime (especially for drugs trafficking in our country). Penitentiary is one of the public services which aims for fostering the people that initially have bad habits (commited to the crime), so that they will have the awareness to change their bad attitude into the be better ones, will not harm others, and positively contributed to the society. Already Penitentiary’s conditions should be designed in such a way and as good as possible, so that the inmates feels like at their own home (like having a second home after his own home), and feel humaner to spend their days in the Penitentiary. The author believes that if the Penitentiary has been improved and optimized its function well, then the real purpose of Penitentiary will definitely achieved. As stated in Law Number 12 Year 1995 regarding to Penitentiary Article 2 which states "sanction system are organized in order to fostering the convicted criminals in order to be the real man, aware of their fault, improve themselves, and not to repeat the criminal act so that they can be friendly received by the community, can actively participated in the development of our country, and can socialize themselves as good citizen."Article 3 on this regulation also intensifies the function of Penitentiary "the function of Penitentiary is to prepare convicted criminals to be able to properly integrated to the society, so they can be accepted again as members of the public who are free and responsible ones." 

In our society, the proportion of youth is higher than any other society. They are important in this regard. But the real question is whether his views, trends and likes and dislikes are different from other generations of society in political terms. What

Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 680-686
Author(s):  
Azad Pratap Singh
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Fundamental Difference ◽  
The West ◽  
Green Party ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Third ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Education And Employment ◽  
Political Understanding ◽  
Separate Class

In our society, the proportion of youth is higher than any other society. They are important in this regard. But the real question is whether his views, trends and likes and dislikes are different from other generations of society in political terms. What is the reason for the tendency to see youth as a separate class. That we borrow the principles of politics from the West, where the distinction of generations is more important factor in politics than the distinction of community or class. At one time, parties like the Labor Party and the Green Party have been standing mainly on the vote of the youth for some time. The second reason is that the image of the youth is based on the English-speaking youths living somewhere in the metros. We often consider him to be a symbol of youth. While in reality they are a very small part of our youth. And the third reason is that the part of change, revolution and the politics of change that had set the hopes of the youth are still there in our political understanding. The fact is that the youth class is not very different from the elderly or any other generation in terms of participation in politics, if different then it means that its participation is less than the other class because it is more concerned about education and employment. There is no fundamental difference between the vote of the youth and other generations in terms of voting or political choice. If there is a difference, then only in the sense that the parties who have come in the last 25-30 years have heard more about the youth, hence their choice is more. Older parties usually get little support from the youth. However, it is not related to its youth, because the information about that party is limited to certain people.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document