Democracy in theory more than in practice
Direct democracy existed in ancient Greece for about 300 years before
it was stamped out. Since then the western world had a watered-down
version called representative democracy. (The people vote for someone
to represent them and the chosen ones make the decisions.)
Our leaders, whether they are politicians, union leaders or the condo
industry have a deep distrust of direct democracy; that is why we have
so little of it.
When I was in the UAW, our local president would say: "In our union, we
have guided democracy" and "The local unions gets the quality of
leadership they deserve."
These two statements, which were common in the UAW, showed a contempt
that the leadership had for the union members and for democracy itself.
This attitude has not diminished in the last forty years as this e-mail written in January 2016 clears shows.
I see the same attitude played out at some of the condo AGMs I attend
and in the e-mails I get from condo owners. The managers game the
election results and the corporation lawyers write by-laws that best
serve the board and then steamrolls all opposition when they chair the
owner meetings.
Are you surprised that many owners do not attend the AGMs after attending their first?
We have to look at how condo owners can purge that type of behaviour from their condo communities.
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