9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Does this title appeal to you? 0:00:01.360,0:00:05.600 You are listening to Radio Here and Now 95.2 FM and online at icietmaintenant.com. You just 0:00:05.600,0:00:10.480 heard the four seasons of Vivaldi, the beginning of autumn because seasons change, 0:00:10.480,0:00:13.760 but unfortunately, the same can't be said about the political systems. 0:00:13.760,0:00:16.320 And to discuss this, we are joined by Etienne Chouard, Hello Etienne. 0:00:16.320,0:00:17.400 Hello 0:00:17.400,0:00:21.160 Etienne, hello, I am going to briefly introduce you ... So you are an independent researcher, 0:00:21.160,0:00:25.480 I saw recently a video entitled: Etienne Chouard, researcher of the cause of causes, 0:00:29.120,0:00:29.800 Yes... 0:00:29.800,0:00:32.960 Yes? Alright then we will say Etienne Chouard, researcher of the cause of causes, you are working on the idea 0:00:38.760,0:00:44.000 of democracy, fake democracy compared to genuine democracy, so I am going to try and summarize 0:00:44.000,0:00:49.840 in a few sentences your arguments and you can correct me if need be. So in short, 0:00:49.840,0:00:54.480 You think that we are living today in a fake democracy, 0:00:54.480,0:01:00.200 which is based on the wrong choice, on the illusion of choice, when in reality the accurate name of the system 0:01:00.200,0:01:04.800 in which we live, is the representational government. Because real democracy (genuine democracy) 0:01:04.800,0:01:08.640 is not based on elections, but on lottery. Does this sound like a good introduction? 0:01:11.240,0:01:17.920 Yes, but in fact for someone who has never heard of this subject, it will be somewhat brutal 0:01:17.920,0:01:21.200 you are right, I used this short intro because we had you as a guest several times and our listeners 0:01:21.200,0:01:25.320 are for the majority familiar with your thoughts. So, for the listeners who in fact 0:01:27.880,0:01:33.600 are discovering this for the first time, I have here a book you talked about on this radio 0:01:33.600,0:01:36.800 during your first appearance, anyways with me, and the book is called "Principes du Gouvernement Representatif" 0:01:36.800,0:01:42.280 It is a book by Bernard Manin, and I want to thank Benjamin for 0:01:42.280,0:01:48.960 lending it to me, he borrowed it from his local library, and I will read 0:01:48.960,0:01:54.120 I think reading from Bernard Manin is better than my introduction 0:01:56.760,0:02:02.560 So I will read these few sentences: " From Athenians democrats to Montesquieu, 0:02:02.560,0:02:06.720 from Aristotle to Rousseau, no one thought of turning the election into THE democratic instrument of choice. 0:02:10.200,0:02:13.840 Democracy was not equivalent to a representational government. It was the lottery system that seemed better fit 0:02:13.840,0:02:18.000 to respect strict equality of the candidates. What happened at the turn of the eighteenth century 0:02:18.000,0:02:22.840 in Europe and the United States, for this multi-secular concept to be reversed, and lose ground to the idea 0:02:28.680,0:02:32.200 that a democracy is, in essence, a representational government? Is this change an accurate reflection? 0:02:32.200,0:02:36.760 This book represents a theory of representational government 0:02:36.760,0:02:41.520 that fits both the European tradition and the American debate. Bernard Manin argues that 0:02:41.520,0:02:44.760 the representational system does not have the unique function to allow citizens to self-govern.