36 Questions
What are some key ideas with which democracy is concerned, according to Roux's description?
Collectives, decision-making, exercise of power
What is most commonly associated with democracy from the perspective of constitutional law or political theory?
Exercise of formal state power
How is the statist approach to democracy typically oriented?
Top-down
What is often missing in statist conceptions of democracy beyond civil and political rights?
Substantive justice claims relating to social, economic, and cultural goods
Who are the authors of 'Decolonising and Re-Theorising the Meaning of Democracy: A South African Perspective'?
Heidi Brooks, Trevor Ngwane, Carin Runciman
What is the focus of the Centre for Social Change mentioned in the text?
Study of social change from below
What type of societies are the authors of the document interested in building?
Socially just and democratic societies
What are some examples of social, economic, and cultural goods mentioned in relation to democracy?
Healthcare, education, housing, water, clean air
What are the key characteristics that the author aspires to in arrangements?
Just, sustainable, democratic, and free
Why is achieving and sustaining arrangements that are just, sustainable, democratic, and free difficult?
They are vastly more difficult to achieve and sustain than other systems like capitalism combined with liberalism, plutocracy, or authoritarianism.
What was Tocqueville's key insight into sustaining democracy?
The deliberate construction of a democratic culture alongside laws and institutions.
Why does the text mention that establishing the conditions for democracy historically has never been easy?
Because it has never come naturally.
What does Brown suggest are the key challenges that democracy must find answers to in order to be realized for all?
Certain substantive concerns
What are not the most difficult challenges to surmount for democracy to be realized for all?
Political will and economic modeling
What is the key to sustaining democracy according to Tocqueville?
Deliberate construction of a democratic culture alongside laws and institutions
What does the text suggest is particularly challenging about arrangements that are just, sustainable, democratic, and free?
Their achievement and sustainability are vastly more difficult than other systems like capitalism combined with liberalism, plutocracy, or authoritarianism.
What is the focus of the article in relation to democracy in post-apartheid South Africa?
Examines conceptions of democracy in post-apartheid South Africa from perspective of ordinary people and how these conceptions are influenced by grassroots mobilization in community protests.
What is the foundational premise regarding democracy in post-apartheid South Africa?
There exists a crisis of meaning and content as far as democracy is concerned.
How does the article respond to the decolonisation movement?
By seeking to 'de-centre' normative understandings of democracy often constructed on the basis of Western histories.
What is emphasized as important despite the dominance of Western theory in the article?
It is important to relate understandings of democracy to lived experiences of struggle for democracy.
How are conceptions of democracy in post-apartheid South Africa influenced by grassroots mobilization?
They are influenced in community protests.
What tensions does the article draw attention to regarding democracy in post-apartheid South Africa?
Tensions between grassroots understandings and visions of democracy and those of elites, particularly the governing African National Congress (ANC).
What crisis does the article illuminate regarding democracy in post-apartheid South Africa?
A substantive crisis of democracy.
What alternative imaginations of democracy are proffered in the article?
Alternative imaginations of democracy 'from below'.
What is democracy conceptualized as according to the text?
Democracy is conceptualized as related to civil and political rights, socioeconomic freedoms, and collective decision-making.
How is freedom described in the context of democracy from below?
Freedom is described as a reclaimed and decolonized meaning, in contrast to the post-apartheid neoliberal reality.
What is the ongoing fight in democracy from below about?
The ongoing fight is against inequality and for the attainment of socio-economic goods and rights.
What is the contrast between democracy from below and post-apartheid neoliberal reality?
Democracy from below represents a reclaimed and decolonized meaning of freedom, while post-apartheid neoliberal reality is described as a thin form of freedom.
How does the individual in the text perceive democracy after 20 years?
The individual feels that democracy has not benefited them, as they are still struggling for basic needs like decent housing, sanitation, and education.
What are some examples of socio-economic goods the individual in the text mentions should be provided in a democracy?
The individual mentions better housing, elimination of the bucket system, improved infrastructure like roads, and access to quality education as goods that should be available in a democracy.
How does the individual describe their living conditions as evidence of the lack of democracy?
The individual describes living with their family in two rooms, despite the struggle for better conditions in a democratic society.
What is the overall sentiment expressed by the individual regarding the state of democracy?
The individual expresses skepticism and disbelief in the existence of democracy, highlighting the persistent struggles faced despite the notion of democracy.
What is meant by the phrase 'the continuous practice of shaping our common existence in common'?
Continuous engagement in shaping our shared life together
What is one of the minimum requirements for ecological social democracy?
Political equality
How does the text suggest balancing the need to address global powers and predicaments with local participation and control?
By pursuing a balance between global and local concerns
What does the text describe as 'unnatural, nonautomatic, and nontechnical' about democracy as a political form?
Each required element must be intentionally crafted, supported, protected, and renewed
This quiz is based on critical reading strategies adapted from a document posted by Salisbury University Counseling Center. It discusses the contested meaning of democracy, key ideas associated with democracy according to Roux's description, and aspects related to collectives, decision-making, and the exercise of power.
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