Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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The EU – all Kratos, no demos
Doug Nicholls warns that the fear of the Brexit by both left and right represents a new retreat from democratic vitality and confidence in progressive change
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
KRATOS was the ancient Greek god of war and of all domineering state authority beyond human recall.
The demos were the common people, us, the majority, the good bit of the word democracy, which means, in essence, the power of the people.
The EU is all Kratos and no demos. Members of the European Parliament represent on average around 500,000 “constituents” which is probably why so few of us vote for them, or know their names.
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