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Reaching Consensus: Democracy and Rules of Order
Robert’s Rules of Order probably seem to many, especially the younger of us, to be ancient and nearly irrelevant. But these rules are comparatively recent, and far more modern and adaptable than you may realize. Henry Martyn Robert published his pamphlet of “Rules” in 1876, a mere 145 years ago, and almost 100 years after the adoption of the US Constitution. (Read the Wikipedia entry on him to see what sort of chap he was. You may be surprised.) I’ll get back to Robert’s Rules in due time, but first let’s zoom out on the subject of democracy itself.
Our organization is called Democratic Socialists of America (“DSA”). Most of us concentrate harder on understanding what socialism is than we do on understanding what democracy is. Some of us don’t think all that much of “democracy” anyway, considering it an overrated system. Or even if we profess to revere democracy, we may assume we know all about it, like fish know water, and not inquire into it very deeply.
I have to confess, I’m just the opposite. I feel like, once I broke the chains of ignorance about socialism forged in my youthful years at the height of the Cold War, I pretty much understood socialism intuitively. But, to me, democracy is a bigger subject, one that’s less understood, or taken for granted, or both(!) and then unfairly maligned on top of that. Maligned for being…
