Krytyka Polityczna
Eurozine
Krytyka Polityczna
2013-10-16
Summary of Krytyka Polityczna 33 (2013)
That American democracy is inefficient -- and not only in the form of "exported goods", as in Iraq and Afghanistan, but as a whole -- is common knowledge nowadays. This diagnosis is also present in popular culture -- thanks to series like Newsroom or House of Cards.
The scrutiny in both of the series is similar: the government, huge corporations and the media are running their errands, serving the interests of wealthy elites and taming social unrest. Public debate is subject to TV ratings and held in an iron grasp by boards of trustees, while Washington, DC is a jungle with lobbyists, leaders of partisan interest groups and their puppets [mid-level congressmen, CEOs, ambitious media-workers and those deterred by the idea of "civil society"] running wild. Where, in the midst of all that, is there space for agency, subjectivity, sovereignty or willpower?
25 years ago, it was a popular belief that Eastern Europe would be able to "import" democracy from America. 10 years ago one might have been able to hear some critical voices in regard to the idea of "exporting" democracy to the Middle East. Today we're asking if democracy in America even exists. This matter is worth looking into, because, in most cases, the faulty blueprint hurts those trying to reproduce it.
In the latest issue of Political Critique we're talking to American political scientists and artists, asking them about the crisis of the political system in America. We're publishing part of Howard Zinn's unique account of American history and Perry Anderson's sketch on the turbulent last 50 years in US politics. Moreover, we're shedding some light on American escapism and their inclination for improvisation, as well as asking about the position of Hollywood. On the top of all that we're rethinking the past and the future of the social-democratic project, printing correspondence on the recent protests in Brazil and publishing an award-winning series of photographs portraying Polish politicians by Marcin Kalinski.
Among the authors: Benjamin Barber, Marshall Berman, Sheri Berman, Wendy Brown, Nancy Fraser, Jacob Hacker, Bell Hooks, Jennifer Klein, Dani Rodrik.