The transformation of democracy

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The Transformation of Democracy is a political science monograph by Johannes Agnoli . He advocates the thesis that parliament has regressed to pre- or anti-democratic forms ( involution ). Instead of representing the will of the people , the parties that have become part of the state transform the directives of the state apparatus dominated by an economic oligarchy into public opinion . With the help of the backdrop of a popular will, the conflicting interests of capital and labor are harmonized and pacified , thus stabilizing the system of rule.

The article appeared in 1967 under the same title together with the essay The Transformation of Democratic Consciousness by Peter Brückner for the first time in print by Voltaire Verlag. The influence and recognition of the script, which is considered to be Agnoli's first major work, went beyond the circle of the extra-parliamentary opposition, to which the text was repeatedly misunderstood as the "Bible". It is considered to be the most important anti-parliamentary foundation font of the post-war period.

content

With his 80-page essay, Agnoli attempts to analyze modern techniques of rule and maintenance of power in western democracies , especially in the Federal Republic of Germany at a time of heated discussion about the emergency laws .

The basis of his analysis is the assumption of the existence of a class society in which there is an antagonism between capital and labor , between the rulers and the ruled. The possibilities of parliamentary democracy are ambivalent . By the parliamentary representation of the demands of the governed antagonism could officially be expressed, whereby the social class struggle for political domination conflict would.

According to Agnoli, parliamentary democracy also offers opportunities to pacify and suppress social conflict, which guarantees undisturbed capitalist rule. The parliamentary system of government in Germany in particular reverted to such a pacification mechanism after the Second World War . In contrast to evolution , Agnoli describes this process as involution , a regression to pre- or anti-democratic forms, such as in feudalism or in authoritarian forms of government . In this change in the function of parliamentary operations, the principle of representation and the political parties play the main role:

The parliamentary principle of representation , the core of parliamentarism, was “conceived, wanted and implemented as a constitutional norm with a precise, repressive task that had the character of pacification right from the start. The aim was to peacefully but effectively keep the majority of the population away from the power centers of the state. ”The power of parliamentarians is also only fiction, the German Bundestag acts more as an instrument for the publication of resolutions that come about in the interaction of the state apparatus and social power groups came. It thus functions as a transmission belt for the decisions of oligarchic groups.

In the course of the transformation process, the parliamentary parties forego representing specific group or class-related interests, become a general settlement body and are, as it were, nationalized . They are interested in maintaining the conditions that enable their own nationalization and permanent establishment in power . That is why the domestication of the left through parliamentarization is necessary for the system. Agnoli concludes: "Only fundamental opposition is interested in relentlessly exposing political and social grievances."

The main criterion for the transformation is the nationalization of the parties represented in parliament. "The leaderships of the parliamentary groups are actually already at the government level. Since they are closer to each other than to the respective" backbenchers ", this actually also applies to the opposition parties."

Critical recourse to Italian theorists

In his analysis, Agnoli refers to the work of the Italian theorists Vilfredo Pareto , Gaetano Mosca and Robert Michels and explains: “What is scientifically striking is the reflection on the experience of the immediate past and the possibilities of applying their 'teaching' in the reform of the state, that it reproduces categories, schemes, and proposals that have already been put forward by anti-democratic sociologists and philosophers on the threshold between the old liberal and the fascist state . This is at least true for the political and social scientists who have placed themselves in the service of the constitutional state and many of whom are certainly not by chance based on Pareto's analyzes and theses. Of course, they do not seem to know that Pareto (the ' Marx of the bourgeoisie ') was looking for a strictly elitist-authoritarian system that was only to be decorated with the ornamentation of parliamentary-democratic institutions and customs. "

Wolfgang Durner works out that Agnoli's basic position can already be found in Marx, in whose work The 18th Brumaire by Louis Bonaparte, and in a particularly clear form also in Helmut Wagner / Rudolf Sprenger.

The Marxist historian Arthur Rosenberg had also analyzed the democracy of the Weimar Republic in a similar way.

Difference from fascism

Measured against fascism, according to Agnoli, the transformation of democracy into a rule of law security system for capitalism, which he diagnoses, is based "on the humanitarian idea of avoiding the need for open terror in times of crisis by dissolving the ambivalence of the representative bodies and the representative parties." It is, however, questionable for him whether fascism can be made completely superfluous.

In connection with the emergency laws, Agnoli recognizes: “Since the boom usually creates a basis of trust for the ruling group, it can take the necessary legal and ideological precautions for the crisis. This is where the political ability to recognize the favor of the moment and the chance of manipulation is most evident . "

Position in the left-wing socialist state discussion

From a theoretical perspective, the publication of the Agnoli study marks a turning point in left-wing socialism in Germany . For many years, Wolfgang Abendroth was the only Marxist on a political science chair to be the mentor for leftists in the labor movement . He had analyzed the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention and the Parliamentary Council and came to the conclusion that the Basic Law was based on a historic class compromise and that a liberal-capitalist economic order was not enshrined in it. The future design of the economic order would thus be left to a later decision by the sovereign . According to Abendroth, the constitutionally fixed combination of the democratic and social constitutional state enables the peaceful implementation of socialism . According to Agnoli, such a democracy no longer existed. If Abendroth was the mastermind of a traditionalist trade union left, Agnoli now became the key word for the Extra-Parliamentary Opposition (APO) .

reception

In one of the first reviews, Sebastian Haffner called the Agnoli text a “little masterpiece” and said: “The cause of democracy is already a revolutionary thing again today, hardly less than in 1848 and 1918. ” The gap between rulers and ruled is not less than in the empire: "Nominally we live in a democracy, that means: The people govern themselves. In fact, as everyone knows, the people do not have the slightest influence on the government, neither in big politics nor in politics everyday administrative issues such as VAT and fare increases. " "The disempowered people not only accepted their disempowerment, they actually grew to love them."

Dieter Senghaas praised: "In the past few years , critical theory of democracy aimed at political emancipation has seldom been presented with comparable sophistication."

By the theorists of the APO, the study was "absolutely the justification of extra-parliamentary opposition as rezipiert and in some ways canonized ." Klaus bitter man she described as "the Bible of the APO ". In fact, the text was written as early as 1965, it was part of a habilitation project. Its drafting was not intended to influence current political events. The central text of the APO was instead of Agnoli

It was not until many years later that it was harshly criticized by representatives of this group of people. Wolfgang Kraushaar wrote that Agnoli's criticism of parliamentarism “is inherent in an illiberal and anti-pluralism that has contributed to mislead an extra-parliamentary movement and many of the groups that have emerged from it. "that Kraushaar, however, the transformation of democracy , as many times in the literature hawked a" left fascist parliamentary criticism "have called, is denied by this.

Joachim Hirsch called the transformation of democracy in 1990 a “theoretical milestone ”, but diagnosed its largely ineffective: “In view of what has become of this new left, this criticism did not have too great an effect. Ironically , the political development since the '68 protest movement seems like a brilliant confirmation of what Agnoli has so brilliantly worked out as the institutional 'rules of the game' of parliamentary and party-like politics. The prophet was right because he was not heard. "

The last edition of the typeface appeared in 2004. 50 years after it was first published, some reviews of the typeface appeared in left-wing publications, emphasizing its ongoing relevance.

involution

Agnoli's definition of involution (regression), perhaps the best-known term in his analysis, reads: "In the countries involution is characterized by the fact that it does not want to assert itself against the old constitutional norms and forms, but rather tries to make use of them Transforming democracy changes the function of traditional institutions and shifts the balance within the traditional structure. " He meant the dismantling and dissolution of the institutions, but also the disciplining of political groups and the strengthening of the state's security measures, which continue to restrict freedom, apparently to protect people.

Difference from Colin Crouch

In contrast to Colin Crouch's concept of post-democracy , Agnoli does not believe in democracy's ability to regenerate. Both agree on the diagnosis of the symptoms of deterioration and the internal mechanics of power. Agnoli, however, believes that parliament per se is nothing more than a pillar of power because it only gives the appearance of representation. He therefore advocates a council system .

Quotes

"It does not serve any system of rule if the techniques of ruling are brought to the consciousness of the ruled."

“Masses who lean towards democratic feelings (are) best neutralized by an organ that gives them the illusion of participating in state power. Not the complete abolition of parliament (makes) the new state strong, but the transfer of decision-making powers from parliament to the narrower circle of elites who do not meet in public. "

literature

expenditure

  • Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The Transformation of Democracy , Berlin: Voltaire-Verlag, 1967
  • Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The Transformation of Democracy , Frankfurt am Main: European Publishing House, 1968
  • Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The transformation of democracy , Mainz: Verlag Sonnerschlag, 1970, pirated printing
  • Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: La transformación de la democracia , México: Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 1971
  • Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: De transformatie van de Demokratie , Nijmegen: Uitgave SUN, 1971
  • Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The Transformation of Democracy , Unchanged New Edition, Frankfurt am Main: European Publishing House, 1974, ISBN 3-434-45038-6
  • Johannes Agnoli: The Transformation of Democracy , Klagenfurt: Austria Press, 1978
  • Johannes Agnoli: The transformation of democracy and other writings on the critique of politics , Freiburg im Breisgau: Ça-Ira-Verlag, 1990, ISBN 3-924627-20-7
  • Johannes Agnoli: The transformation of democracy and related writings (edited by Barbara Görres Agnoli), Hamburg, Konkret-Literatur-Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-89458-232-4 .

Secondary literature

  • Johannes Agnoli: Twenty years later. Commemorative treatise on the transformation of democracy , in: PROKLA Volume 16, Issue 1 1986, pp. 7–40, online (PDF), accessed on November 23, 2017.
  • Richard Heigl: The discomfort with the state. State criticism with Wolfgang Abendroth and Johannes Agnoli , in: Christoph Jünke (Ed.): Left Socialism in Germany. Beyond social democracy and communism? VSA-Verlag, Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-89965-413-4 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Th Greven: System Opposition: Contingency, Ideology and Utopia in Political Thought of the 1960s . Verlag Barbara Budrich, 2011, ISBN 978-3-86649-655-2 ( com.ph [accessed March 17, 2019]).
  2. ^ Wolfgang Durner: Anti-parliamentarianism in Germany . Königshausen & Neumann, 1997, ISBN 978-3-8260-1270-9 ( com.ph [accessed March 17, 2019]).
  3. ↑ Silja Behre: Moving memory: Struggles for interpretation around "1968" in a German-French perspective . Mohr Siebeck, 2016, ISBN 978-3-16-154166-7 ( com.ph [accessed March 17, 2019]).
  4. ^ Wolfgang Durner: Anti-parliamentarianism in Germany . Königshausen & Neumann, 1997, ISBN 978-3-8260-1270-9 ( com.ph [accessed March 17, 2019]).
  5. ↑ Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The Transformation of Democracy , 1974, p. 25.
  6. ↑ Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The Transformation of Democracy , 1974, p. 81.
  7. ↑ Johannes Agnoli - He laughs. Retrieved March 17, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Pareto has an almost identical title in Italian: Trasformazione della democrazia (1921), which Agnoli does not mention in his writing.
  9. ↑ Critical Wolfgang Kraushaar : Agnoli, the APO and the constitutive illiberalism of his critique of parliamentarism (PDF; 997 kB), in: ZParl , 38th year 2007, issue 1, pp. 160–179.
  10. ↑ Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The Transformation of Democracy , 1974, p. 11.
  11. ^ Wolfgang Durner: Anti-parliamentarianism in Germany . Königshausen & Neumann, 1997, ISBN 978-3-8260-1270-9 ( com.ph [accessed March 17, 2019]).
  12. ↑ https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/sonst_publikationen/Demirovic_Transformation.pdf p. 234
  13. ↑ Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The Transformation of Democracy , 1974, p. 27.
  14. ↑ Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: Die Transformation der Demokratie , 1974, p. 27, second footnote.
  15. ↑ Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The Transformation of Democracy , 1974, p. 27.
  16. ↑ Richard Heigl: The discomfort at the state. State criticism with Wolfgang Abendroth and Johannes Agnoli , in: Christoph Jünke (Ed.): Left Socialism in Germany. Beyond social democracy and communism? VSA-Verlag, Hamburg 2010, pp. 171–185, here p. 172.
  17. ^ Sebastian Haffner: Haffner's monthly reading, Konkret 3/1968, review by Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brücker, Die Transformation der Demokratie, reprinted in: Johannes Agnoli, Die Transformation der Demokratie und related writings (edited by Barbara Görres Agnoli), Hamburg, Konkret- Literatur-Verlag, 2004, pp. 213-218.
  18. ↑ Dieter Senghaas: Subtiler Jargon , in: The time of May 24, 1968, p. 11.
  19. ↑ Wolfgang Kraushaar : Agnoli, the APO and the constitutive illiberalism of his parliamentary criticism (PDF; 997 kB), p. 164.
  20. ↑ Klaus Bittermann: The Bible of the APO . In: the daily newspaper of May 4, 1990.
  21. ↑ The discomfort in democracy. Retrieved March 22, 2019 .
  22. ↑ https://www.ca-ira.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/agnoli-transformation_rez-bittermann.pdf
  23. ↑ Wolfgang Kraushaar : Agnoli, the APO and the constitutive illiberalism of his criticism of parliamentarism (PDF; 997 kB), p. 178.
  24. ↑ It is noteworthy that Agnoli himself was probably the first to use this label , which then adhered to him and his main work, see: Johannes Agnoli: Twenty Years After. Commemorative treatise on the transformation of democracy , in: PROKLA, 16th year 1986, issue 1, pp. 7–40, here p. 15.
  25. ↑ Wolfgang Kraushaar : Agnoli, the APO and the constitutive illiberalism of his criticism of parliamentarism (PDF; 997 kB), p. 174.
  26. ↑ Joachim Hirsch: A radical critique of politics , in: lists. Magazine for readers, No. 19/1990.
  27. ↑ Hansgeorg Hermann: ritual empty of content , young world of September 22, 2017.
  28. ↑ Christopher Wimmer: Agnoli's State Criticism as Evergreen , Neues Deutschland from December 13, 2017.
  29. ↑ Felix Klopotek: The Uneasiness in Democracy , Jungle World, December 21, 2017.
  30. ↑ Guido Speckmann: Democracy in reverse , Neues Deutschland from June 9, 2018.
  31. ↑ The discomfort in democracy. Retrieved March 22, 2019 .
  32. ↑ Rudolf Walther: Political book: From Mussolini's admirer to the apo spokesman . In: The time . December 31, 2004, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed on March 22, 2019]).
  33. ↑ Guido Speckmann: Democracy in reverse (new Germany). Retrieved March 22, 2019 .
  34. ↑ Johannes Agnoli / Peter Brückner: The Transformation of Democracy , Unchanged new edition, Frankfurt am Main: Europäische Verlagsanstalt , 1974, p. 12, the following content is also based on this edition.