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.GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY " 91Toward Responsible Global Capitalism: A Plea forNormative DemocracyIt will not be possible to attain a responsible global capitalism unless there is a moretransparent and supportive form of global governance than what currently exists;and this will not be achieved without continuous and robust pressure exerted byglobal civil society, reinforced by a coherent and feasible sense of alternativepolicy options and worldview.For this reason, I place great emphasis and investmy hopes on efforts to overcome the current global democratic deficit.As earlierindicated, this quest would have been simpler and more easily attainable withoutthe disruptive effects of September 11, the ensuing war on global terror, and themenace of largescale regional warfare.Whether these disruptions are temporaryis difficult to assess at present, but however long they do last, the importance ofdemocratizing global governance structures remains a political imperative that islinked directly to the presence or absence of a responsible global capitalism.To introduce the idea of  normative democracy is to put forward a proposalfor a unifying ideology capable of both mobilizing and giving coherence to thedisparate social forces that constitute global civil society, and providing thepolitical energy necessary to advance the quest for a greater moralresponsiveness within the wide orbit of global market activities.Thespecification of normative democracy adopted here is influenced strongly byDavid Held s work on democratic theory and practice, particularly hisformulations of  cosmopolitan democracy (Held, 1995).However, it offers aslightly different terminology so as to emphasize the agency role of global civilsociety with its range of engagements that go from the local and grassroots to themost encompassing arenas of decision (Held, 1995; Archibugi and Held, 1995).Normative democracy as an outlook also draws upon Walden Bello s call for substantive democracy, set forth as a more progressive movement alternativeto the more limited embrace of  constitutional democracy (Bello, 1997).Iprefer the concept of normative to that of substantive democracy because ithighlights ethical and legal norms, and in so doing, reconnects politics withmoral purpose and values, and underscores the moral emptiness ofneoliberalism, consumerism, and most forms of secularism.There is also apractical reason: to create alternatives to the current appeal of religiousextremists as the sole politically relevant source of an ethical response to theinequities and materialism of contemporary global capitalism.At the same time,it is important to recognize the indispensable role of moral purpose and spiritualconcerns in the renewal of progressive politics (Falk, 2001).Contrary to widespread claims in the West, there is no empirical basis for theargument that the economic performance of a country is necessarily tied toconstitutional democracy and human rights.Several countries in the Asia/Pacificregion, most significantly China, have combined an outstanding macroeconomicrecord with harsh authoritarian rule.Globalization-from-above is not an assuredvehicle for the achievement of Western-style constitutional democracy, including92 " THE DECLINING WORLD ORDERthe protection of individual and group rights.But democracy, as such, is theessence of a meaningful form of political action on the part of global civilsociety, especially to the extent that such action, even when radical in its goals,refrains from and repudiates violent means.In this regard, there is an emergent,as yet implicit, convergence of ends and means on the part of several distincttendencies in civil society: these include issue-oriented movements, nonviolentdemocracy movements, and the emergence of governmental elites that minimizetheir links to geopolitical structures.This convergence presents several intriguingopportunities for coalition building and a greater ideological coherence amongthe various institutions and interest groups seeking to achieve a responsibleglobal capitalism.Against this background, normative democracy seems like anattractive umbrella for theorizing, not dogmatically, but to exhibit affinities.Normative democracy adopts a comprehensive view of the fundamental ideasassociated with the secular modern state.Security is conceived as extending toenvironmental protection and to the defense of economic viability (Malaysia,1997; but see Soros, 2002) [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]