WEBVTT 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Does this title appeal to you? 00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:05.600 You are listening to Radio Here and Now 95.2 FM and online at icietmaintenant.com. You just 00:00:05.600 --> 00:00:10.480 heard the four seasons of Vivaldi, the beginning of autumn because seasons change, 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:13.760 but unfortunately, the same can't be said about the political systems. 00:00:13.760 --> 00:00:16.320 And to discuss this, we are joined by Etienne Chouard, Hello Etienne. 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:17.400 Hello 00:00:17.400 --> 00:00:21.160 Etienne, hello, I am going to briefly introduce you ... So you are an independent researcher, 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:25.480 I saw recently a video entitled: Etienne Chouard, researcher of the cause of causes, 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:29.800 Yes... 00:00:29.800 --> 00:00:32.960 Yes? Alright then we will say Etienne Chouard, researcher of the cause of causes, you are working on the idea 00:00:38.760 --> 00:00:44.000 of democracy, fake democracy compared to genuine democracy, so I am going to try and summarize 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:49.840 in a few sentences your arguments and you can correct me if need be. So in short, 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:54.480 You think that we are living today in a fake democracy, 00:00:54.480 --> 00:01:00.200 which is based on the wrong choice, on the illusion of choice, when in reality the accurate name of the system 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:04.800 in which we live, is the representational government. Because real democracy (genuine democracy) 00:01:04.800 --> 00:01:08.640 is not based on elections, but on lottery. Does this sound like a good introduction? 00:01:11.240 --> 00:01:17.920 Yes, but in fact for someone who has never heard of this subject, it will be somewhat brutal 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:21.200 you are right, I used this short intro because we had you as a guest several times and our listeners 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:25.320 are for the majority familiar with your thoughts. So, for the listeners who in fact 00:01:27.880 --> 00:01:33.600 are discovering this for the first time, I have here a book you talked about on this radio 00:01:33.600 --> 00:01:36.800 during your first appearance, anyways with me, and the book is called "Principes du Gouvernement Representatif" 00:01:36.800 --> 00:01:42.280 It is a book by Bernard Manin, and I want to thank Benjamin for 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:48.960 lending it to me, he borrowed it from his local library, and I will read 00:01:48.960 --> 00:01:54.120 I think reading from Bernard Manin is better than my introduction 00:01:56.760 --> 00:02:02.560 So I will read these few sentences: " From Athenians democrats to Montesquieu, 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:06.720 from Aristotle to Rousseau, no one thought of turning the election into THE democratic instrument of choice. 00:02:10.200 --> 00:02:13.840 Democracy was not equivalent to a representational government. It was the lottery system that seemed better fit 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:18.000 to respect strict equality of the candidates. What happened at the turn of the eighteenth century 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:22.840 in Europe and the United States, for this multi-secular concept to be reversed, and lose ground to the idea 00:02:28.680 --> 00:02:32.200 that a democracy is, in essence, a representational government? Is this change an accurate reflection? 00:02:32.200 --> 00:02:36.760 This book represents a theory of representational government 00:02:36.760 --> 00:02:41.520 that fits both the European tradition and the American debate. Bernard Manin argues that 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:44.760 the representational system does not have the unique function to allow citizens to self-govern.