Managing Democracy, Managing Dissent: Capitalism, Democracy and the Organisation of Consent

by Rebecca Fisher

Managing Democracy, Managing Dissent comprises of twenty essays – written by writers, academics and activists and edited by Corporate Watch researcher Rebecca Fisher – which collectively argue that in today's 'democracy' elite interests are served by the limitations placed upon popular participation in decision-making, by the manipulation of public opinion through propaganda, and from the attempts to co-opt, marginalise and/or repress oppositional politics. This ground-breaking book reveals how despite its inherently anti-democratic nature, global capitalism is dependent upon the manipulation of the concept of democracy to survive. It thus exposes a potential weakness at the heart of capitalism, which activists and campaigners can usefully target in their struggle against oppression and environmental destruction.

The volume includes examinations of the inherent contradiction between genuine democracy and corporate capitalism, the use of corporate media, the entertainment industry, and celebrity activists as propaganda vehicles, the attempts to co-opt and neutralise NGOs and social movements, the demonisation and repression of unco-opted dissent, and the imperialist agendas behind so-called 'democracy promotion' interventions. These essays have been written by academics, activists and researchers, including David Cromwell and David Edwards from Media Lens, independent researchers Michael Barker and Edmund Berger, researchers at Corporate Watch and academics such as William I. Robinson and James Petras.

379 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Stefan Szczelkun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an ambitious book that considers the ways in which we are managed politically. In particular it looks are the paradox of the type of liberal democracy that has been promoted as the ideal form of government. This democracy, in which 'we' are represented in some kind of national chamber of discussion, is shown to give the population represented a very limited control of the economic order of capitalism.
As the editor Rebecca Fisher says: "The struggles over the meanings and definitions of democracy form a fundamental battleground in the struggle for a just and equitable world."
One of the most fascinating things about the book is the story it tells of the NGO's that are dedicated to 'democracy promotion'. That is to promoting a corporate friendly form of government. The agencies have a lot of cash and use it to intervene in liberation struggles in the guise of supporting the struggles against oppressors.
"The disconnection between the promise and suppression of democracy will only intensify as capitalism becomes more and more coercive and its claims to 'democracy' become increasingly spurious." RF
In the four years since this book was published her prediction of an increase in authoritarianism has become frighteningly evident. The new cybernetic threats to management of consent make this book's message urgent and demand our attention.
"By virtue of its multiple and contradictory meanings, democracy is both a mask to legitimate capitalist coercion, and a direct threat to those coercive forces." RF p.39
This books discusses in some detail aspects of the situation I live in that need to be brought into focus if we are to survive capitalism. It brings together a lot of analysis that I have read in a fractured way in the last decade or so. Brought together with such clarity of expression it has a lot more power. In the end it provides many of the essential problems that need to be solved by the thinking and praxis of peoples movements everywhere.