Word: consensus
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...Consensus Democracy...
...could remain truly democratic. In a large country, one big faction might blot out the rights of a slightly smaller faction by means of a simple majority. The New Leftists, accordingly, believe that the United States has grown too large to rely on the simple majority alone and that consensus politics must return if justice is to be maintained...
...theory, an SDS education supplies the common viewpoint which makes such a consensus possible, but the theory clearly breaks down in practice. At a two day regional meeting of SDS last December, the large assembly failed to take a position on a proposal to carry the war protest to groups off campus. The program did take place during the spring semester, but not in the organized fashion the leaders had envisioned...
...then, real power resides not with the people, but with interest groups far outside the increasingly angry and nationalistic consensus. The largest landowners and old-family capitalists still hold the balance of domestic economic power. The American exporters and AID maintain overall control of the economy, and of any government seeking to avoid utter poverty and bankruptcy. Finally, the reactionary and fabulously oversized military presents any elected government with a virtually unmovable obstacle to genuine social change...
...state, Brooke twice won election as attorney general against weak opposition. In the current race for the Senate, with polls giving him as much as a 55 per cent majority over Democratic hopefuls John Collins and Endicott Peabody, Brooke will again be content to sit safely on his consensus policies, successful public record, and personal image. "With my law background, I believe in thinking issues out through research and then publishing a statement, rather than jumping into debate," explains Brooke, who would risk his clear lead by discussing specific issues...