Some program details of the first London Social Forum: http://www.londonsocialforum.org/oct4

Democracy
chair: Jeremy Gilbert
speakers: Teresea Hoskyns, Chantal Mouffe, Daniele Archibugi, Toni Prug

'The crisis of representative democracy has led many ideologues of the
'movement of movements' to abandon any engagement with established
institutions of political representation, but such a move may run the
risk of unnecessarily conceding the entire terrain of  the state to the
forces of neo-liberalism or new forms of authoritarian populism.
                                                                                                                                                                            
The 'anti-globalization' movement and the World Social Forum's charter
of principles stress the value of consensus decision-making, but such
'consensus' can only easily be achieved at the level of small,
homogenous groups working together on a continuous basis. It may be
true that 'we are all Zaptistas now', but we are not all inhabitants of
coherent, localised communities with ancient traditions of communal
consultation and collective action. How do we manage difference and
dissent  in political contexts characterised by cultural and political
complexity?  As the experience of the WSF and the ESF shows, at the
level of international co-ordination, the lack of accountable
democratic structures can produce a situation in which, decision-making
is opaque, bureaucratic and highly centralised.
                                                                                                                                                                            
Under these circumstances, how should democratic resistance to
neo-liberalism be organised? At what geographical and institutional
levels must it operate, and what kinds of relationship are appropriate
between the individuals, groups and institutions which constitute it?
                                                                                                                                                                            
Each speaker is asked to address these issues from their own
perspective for approx. 10 minutes, after which we will open the
discussion to all participants. '