counterfire.org —   The crisis of the British regime: democracy, protest and the unions       The British political regime faces a crisis of confidence. This report presents empirical evidence for the democratic deficit, growing protest, the state of the trade unions and the strategic implications for the left.       Contents       The democratic deficit and a crisis of institutional confidence The crisis of confidence in political institutions. Political parties. Voting. A decline in confidence in other key institutions. Why the decline? The rise of protest politics. The number of people who consider themselves to be ‘left wing’ has increased since the 1980s. This is what democracy looks like. The state of the trade unions. Strikes and union density. Young workers, low pay and precarious employment. Shop stewards. Workplace tensions. The prospect for social unrest. The shape of resistance. Political struggle and class consciousness. Conclusions. Download The Crisis of the British Regime as PDF (924Kb)       Main findings   There has been an unprecedented fall in public trust in government, the media, corporations and other central institutions in British society – with less than a quarter of Britons trusting national government, less than a fifth trusting parliament and fewer than 15% having any confidence in the press. There has been a marked and significant rise in protest movements – twice as many of us are taking part in demonstrations compared to the 1970s and the proportion of the population describing themselves as ‘left wing’ has grown by over 2 million since the 1980s. Trade unions retain greater public trust than other institutions but are facing a crisis of membership and confidence: 77% of private sector workplaces have no union members at all. That a viable strategy for the left involves focussing on the politics of protest and utilising this energy to rebuild the unions along ‘social unionism’ lines.     http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/theory/37-theory/14906-the-crisis-of-the-british-regime-democracy-protest-and-the-unions

libertytreefoundation.org —  Our Vision The Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution is a nonprofit organization rooted in the belief that the American Revolution is a living tradition whose greatest promise is democracy. In order to help achieve that promise, Liberty Tree works to create a society in which communities and individuals have the desire, skills, and capacity to participate in the vital decisions that affect their lives. Such a society, we believe, is most likely to emerge from a genuine democratic revolution -- one that focuses on deep structural, legal, and institutional change, dismantles oppression in all its forms, and is organized through the transformation of communities, institutions and local governments into conscious agents of democratic change. Our Mission Liberty Tree collaborates with organizations and individuals to build strategic pro-democracy campaigns that directly challenge illegitimate power, dismantle oppression, and develop the skills necessary to lay the foundation for a democratic revolution. Our Values At Liberty Tree, our work is guided by the following values: Feminist, democratic principles of collective and individual accountability, mutual responsibility, active power sharing, and non-hierarchical organizing. Effective movement building grounded in the real needs and experiences of people and communities struggling for democratic power and liberation. American internationalism in the traditions of Thomas Paine, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, and the Seattle WTO protests. Nurturing relationships and an organizing culture that is joyful, hopeful and celebratory. The concepts of Sankofa and the Seventh Generation: Sankofa reaches back into our history and carries it into the present; the commitment to the Seventh Generation means that decisions we make today must be evaluated by their impact on generations to come.