Revolutionary Democracy: Lesson 1

Desta Berhe

05/17/08

It would have been helpful to contain oneself and come up with convincing rebuttal instead of barking aimlessly. Alula wrote the following [Revolutionary Democrats – Going deaf again?] at AIGA in response to my reaction to his previous post. I believe that the best remedy to help people who lost traction of reality is to pull them into the center of the issue so that they know the boundaries of the contention. I found it important to remind wild geese chasers that the central theme of Revolutionary Democracy, according to Western political theorists is this.

Democracy can only be genuinely and quickly ensured in smaller unit of sovereignty. And the best way to do it is through Revolutionary Democracy.

For those who seek Western remedy for their supposedly African problems, this could be good news. Once they learn the source of the theory is Western, the choice between Revolutionary Democracy and other forms of democracies will be like the choice between chickens of favorable and unfavorable colors (likeability). They ask for yeqih dehro. They don’t even properly say it as qeyih derho.

Nonetheless, to Afrocentric politicians and sages, that would be mediocre. Such kind of democracy was in Africa long before it became a theory in the West. Watch this. African communities have councils like that of ours, namely Bayto, Shengo, Geda, etc. that safeguard the rights of peoples for thousands of years. As centralized undemocratic governments eroded those institutions, we witnessed revolutions. Am not talking about the Jacobians and Girondins. I am talking about those who revolt in Bale, Gojjam, and Tigrai. They revolt, though less successfully, to reclaim their authentic democracies.

Thus, the futile attempt to confuse people to believe that Revolutionary Democracy is alien is utterly stupid. It is authentic and African with no hidden agenda. Moreover, the Ethiopian socio-political reality is suitably tried and true for such kind of political ideology and practice.

In societies that are infested with little souls who satiate with having a dollar worth sandwich irrespective of the fact that there are others who unjustly have double whopper, or worst there are others who dig dumpsters to stay breathing, democracy will remain a fantasy.