spoon-fed democracy

a "democratic" society that was implemented by colonial government and not gain from organic grassroots revolutionary movement of the proletariat

hong kong in the late era of colonization is an example of a spoon-fed democracy by the imperial british empire

by soundchecked123 January 27, 2026

Democracy of the Proletariat

A Marxist-Leninist concept where state power is wielded directly by the working class (the proletariat), typically through a revolutionary vanguard party, to suppress the former ruling class (the bourgeoisie) and transition society toward communism. This isn't "democracy" in the liberal, multi-party sense; it's a class dictatorship framed as democracy for the vast majority. It often manifests as a one-party state where the party claims to be the sole legitimate representative of the workers' will. Critics see it as the ideological fig leaf for totalitarianism, while proponents argue it's the only true democracy because it excludes the exploitative class from power.

Example: The early Soviet Union under Lenin was the classic attempt at a Democracy of the Proletariat. Workers' councils (soviets) existed, but ultimate authority rested with the Bolshevik Party, which claimed to act in the workers' name while systematically dismantling rival parties, independent unions, and dissent, arguing this was necessary to prevent a bourgeois counter-revolution.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Council Democracy

A model where sovereign political power rests with a network of directly elected, recallable, and grassroots councils (like workers' councils in factories or community councils in neighborhoods), which federate upward to larger coordinating bodies. It rejects both liberal parliamentarism and vanguard party dictatorship, aiming for a bottom-up, delegate-based system. It’s the political structure championed by libertarian socialists and council communists, who saw it in the brief flowering of the Paris Commune or the early Soviet councils before Bolshevik centralization.

*Example: The short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic (1919) attempted to implement Council Democracy. Factories and city districts elected councils that sent recallable delegates to a central congress, aiming to administer society without a separate, professional bureaucracy or party hierarchy. It was crushed by Freikorps and central government forces.*

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

People's Democracy

A term historically used by 20th-century communist states, particularly in Eastern Europe and Asia, to describe their political system. It signified a transitional stage between a bourgeois revolution and full socialism, often involving a multi-party "popular front" dominated by the communist party. In practice, "People's Democracy" was a euphemism for a single-party dictatorship where non-communist parties were either puppets or suppressed, and "the people" was a monolithic construct defined by the ruling party.

Example: The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was a People's Democracy. Other parties existed in the National Front, but they were subservient to the Socialist Unity Party (SED). Elections were uncontested, and the state claimed this system represented the democratic will of "the people" more authentically than the "bourgeois" pluralism of West Germany.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Socialist Democracy

A broad term for democratic models that aim to combine political democracy with social ownership of the economy. It ranges from reformist visions (like democratic socialism, which seeks to electorally transition to socialism) to more radical participatory models. The core idea is extending democracy from the narrowly political sphere into the economic realm (workplaces, investment). It’s defined by its opposition to both Stalinist authoritarianism and unregulated capitalism.

Example: Kerala, India, with its long history of elected communist governments, strong public sector, land reforms, and high social indicators within a federal democratic system, is often cited as a real-world experiment in Socialist Democracy, emphasizing social welfare and participatory planning alongside multi-party elections.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Communist Democracy

The theoretical end-goal of Marxist thought: a stateless, classless society where true, direct democracy flourishes because the coercive apparatus of the state has "withered away." Administration of things would replace government over people, with decisions made by free associations of producers. No large-scale society has ever achieved this; it remains a utopian ideal. References to it in existing states are usually considered propaganda to legitimize authoritarian party rule.

Example: In the sci-fi culture of Iain M. Banks' The Culture, a post-scarcity anarchist society managed by benevolent AIs, you see a fictional approximation of Communist Democracy. There is no state, money, or hierarchy, and decisions are made through continuous, nuanced plebiscites and AI mediation—a vision of direct democracy made possible by abundance and technology.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026

Neighborhood Democracy

A hyper-local model where the primary unit of political power is the neighborhood or block. Residents in a small, geographically bounded area meet in regular assemblies to make decisions on local issues (parks, traffic, zoning) and elect recallable delegates for city-wide coordination. It’s a building block for municipalist movements, aiming to reclaim the city street-by-street from impersonal bureaucracy and developer capital.

Example: The Zapatista communities in Chiapas, Mexico, organize their governance around autonomous municipalities where villages (neighborhoods in a rural sense) hold assemblies to make decisions. While part of a larger revolutionary structure, this foundation in direct, local decision-making is a form of Neighborhood Democracy.

by Dumu The Void February 5, 2026