The conscious youth yearned for a more favorable democracy. It is the manifesto of the american activist movement students for a democratic society, which was written in port huron, michigan, at a meeting of students for a democratic society. When we were kids the united states was the wealthiest and strongest country in the world. Published and distributed by students for a democratic society 112 east 19 street new york 3, new york gramercy 32181 introduction. Such fundamental problems with democracy continue today in the. We are people of this generation, bred in at least modest comfort, housed now in universities, looking uncomfortably to the world we inherit. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read inspiring participatory democracy.
Such fundamental problems with democracy continue today. The port huron statement was the most important manifesto of the new left student movement of the 1960s. Port huron statement june 15, 1962 excerpts from the original electronic text at the web site of the sixties project. The port huron statement was written in port huron, michigan, at a meeting of students for a democratic society. The port huron statement, written by tom hayden for the students for a democratic society, june 15, 1962. The sds call for a participatory democracy echoes today in studentled democracy movements around the world, even appearing as the first principle of the occupy wall street september 17 declaration. Excerpts from the port huron statement of students for a democratic society, 1962 introduction. As a social system we seek the establishment of a democracy of individual participation so that the individual can share in those. The term was designed to deflect awareness towards its target market, estranged college students, of the documents underlying marxist ideology. As a signpost of the early 1960s, the port huron statement phs is worth treasuring for its idealism and for the spark it ignited in many an. In 2002, hayden reflected on the port huron statement at 40. This document represents the results of several months of writing and discussion among the membership, a draft paper, and revision by the students for a democratic society national convention meeting in port huron, michigan, june 1115, 1962.
What do the authors of the port huron statement appear to mean by participatory democracy. A pdf file of a scan of the draft document is also available. Tom hayden, the driving force behind the manifesto, was a student at the university of michigan and came from a. The port huron statement resonates to this day for example, in the 17 september manifesto of occupy wall street, which called for a direct and transparent participatory democracy. The vision call of the 1960s revolution 9781560257417. The port huron statement 1962 spoke of participatory democracy an idea that suggested a rejection of the elitist strain that had marked liberal thinkers from the progressives to postwar advocates of economic planning. Port huron and the new left movements in federal germany michael vester in this essay, i am looking backward and forward.
In a participatory democracy, the political life would be based in several root principles. It is also, at just over 25,000 words, undoubtedly the longest one. Sds founder, veteran activist tom hayden on participatory. But the port huron vision of a participatory democracy, of a society in which all people have the right to a voice in the decisions affecting their lives, still resonates. Toward participatory democracy education revolution. The port huron statement introduces the term participatory democracy in a participatory democracy, political life would be based on several root principles and presents some fundamental theoretical schemes. This year has already seen a large number of academic events reflecting on the documents golden anniversary, including a conference at uc santa barbara in february, a dialogue on the port huron statement between noam chomsky and tom hayden at mit in april, and a short series of lectures at the havens center for the. Tom hayden and the unfinished business of democracy the. The assault on labor rights launched in wisconsin and other midwest states during 2011, the rise and fall of occupy wall street as a movement against inequality, and the continuing. Participatory democracy with its battlecry let the people decide was the call of 60some young american activists who launched the students for a.
The port huron statement, ultimately, was a document of idealism, a philosophical template for a more egalitarian society, a call to participatory democracy where everyone was engaged in issues that affected all people in civil rights, in political accountability, in labor rights, and in nuclear disarmament. From the port huron statement to occupy wall street. I am looking backward to the port huron conference of 1962 and its relations to the early new left movements for participatory democracy in europe and especially in federal germany. It called for the extension of democratic principles to the workplace as well as the electoral arena.
Tom hayden, the driving force behind the manifesto, was a student at the university of michigan and came from a workingclass family. The port huron statement was one of the most important manifestos of the new left in the united states. The port huron statement, written by tom hayden for the. In 1966 new sds leaders rejected the phs as too reformist. June 15, 2012, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the port huron statement. The importance of representative democracy 882 words cram. It made sense of the fact that ordinary people were making history, and not waiting for parties or traditional organizations. The convention itself embodied participatory democracy through the discussion and debate over the text of the statement. The port huron statement at fifty dissent magazine. We seek the establishment of a democracy of individual participation governed by two central aims. The sources for this call for participatory democracy when i drafted the port huron statement was exposure to john dewy at michigan through courses i took with coffman. Original draft of port huron statement students for a democratic. Participatory democracy or participative democracy emphasizes the broad participation of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems. A discussion of richard flacks and nelson lichtensteins.
It was the promise of participatory democracy to utterly transform the society of. Student movements from port huron to today ebook written by tom hayden. W hile the port huron statement was criticized by an older generation as too far left, an opposite attack came from the. Sds, democracy, participatory democracy, manifesto collection radicaldemocracyproject. He coined the term participatory democracy, but the idea is pervasive in us history and traces back to thoreau. And yet the port huron statement, the manifesto of the new left issued in 1962 by members of students for a democratic society sds, still echoes with a modern voice. The term participatory democracy was coined by the authors of the port huron statement, the founding manifesto of students for a democratic society sds. Participatory democracy and deliberative democracy. In the most recent postwar recessions, for example, private expenditures for. The port huron statement of students for a democratic society is the most. Mar 04, 2012 but, he continued, the core of the port huron statement rings true, and the theme of participatory democracy is relevant today from cairo to occupy wall street to wisconsin to studentled.
During the late spring of 1962, 60 students whom where part of the students for a democratic society gathered together for four days and nights, in michigan at a lakeside camp of port huron. Students for a democratic society, the port huron statement new york. The port huron authors focused on promoting a vision of american democracy in the 1960s that was about deepening democratic participation by all members of society. We speak with tom hayden, principal author of the port huron statement 50 years ago, the founding document of students for a democratic society sds. Participatory democracy, the central idea of the port huron statement, is today more relevant than ever before. Port huron statement, reprinted in tom hayden, the port huron statement. A theory of participatory democracy based on the real case of. After port huron, that article read like a textbook example of false modesty. Tom hayden, the port huron statement and participative.
The sds call for a participatory democracy echoes today in studentled democracy movements around the world, even appearing as the first principle of the occupy wall street. The port huron statement written in 1962 is one of those movements raised to show this disillusionment many people were feeling in the 1960s. A halfcentury after the students for a democratic society adopted their seminal manifesto, 14 activistsincluding three. The port huron statement, ultimately, was a document of idealism, a philosophical template for a more egalitarian society, a call to participatory democracy. The student department of the league for industrial democracy, 1964.
Participatory democracy from the 1960s and sds into the. And this was the night the students made the port huron statement. The port huron statement 1962 the american yawp reader. For the final, published port huron statement, click here. What the port huron statement still has to say, 50 years. The port huron statement was a 1962 manifesto by the students for a democratic society sds, written primarily by student activist tom hayden, that proposed a new form of participatory democracy to rescue modern society from destructive militarism and cultural alienation. The idea is to show the relevance of the idea of participatory democracy in todays society. May 04, 2016 what do the authors of the port huron statement appear to mean by participatory democracy. This is a short movie i made for a digital history assignment in my history class this semester. The port huron statement of students for a democratic society, written fifty years ago this june, is the most ambitious, the most specific, and the most eloquent manifesto in the history of the american left. Port huron statement of the students for a democratic society. The port huron statement was originally thought of as a manifesto, but sds members moved instead to call it.
Mar 30, 2012 marxism replaces participatory democracy. The port huron statement of students for a democratic society. Port huron statement analysis essay example graduateway. Citizens have the power to decide on policy proposals and politicians assume the role of policy. Port huron statement draft this is the text of the original draft of the 1962 port huron statement, as distributed by alan haber to the attendees at the sds northeast regional conference, april 23, 2006. Keynote address by tom hayden, delivered on the 50th anniversary of the port huron statement, at the university of michigan. Though the port huron statement itself did not pursue reform of our legislative bodies, its spirit points us in the right direction. Its key idea, participatory democracy, proved a watchword for sixties radicalism that has also reemerged in popular protests from the arab. Port huron statement of the students for a democratic society, 1962. The final, approved text, adopted as sdss founding document and known ever after as the port huron statement, sets out a vision of bottomup participatory democracy as the common thread. The statement was a generational call for direct participatory democracy in which americans would have greater say over the decisions affecting their lives.
Port huron statement students for a democratic society. It is true that the conditions today are different, but the transcendent goals of the statement still capture the imagination and the heart. Participatory democracy is a process of collective decision making that combines elements from both direct and representative democracy. The second document titled the port huron statement was a manifesto written for the students for a democratic society sds which served to push the concept of participatory democracy, where every citizen, not restricted by race, is able to contribute to the social and political decision making process. From the port huron statement to occupy wall street on its fiftieth anniversary, the founding declaration of sds echoes today in democracy movements around the world.
The famous 1962 port huron statement by the students for a democratic society sds introduced the concept of participatory democracy to popular discourse and practice. The port huron statement reflected ideas of these newly conscious middle american youth, increased civil right activism, and created the new left in regards to form a more democratic society. The question of how to turn congress into an instrument of participatory democracy is one of the most important political questions we face. What the port huron statement still has to say, 50 years on. Agenda for a generation we are people of this generation, bred in at least modest comfort, housed now in universities, looking uncomfortably to the world we inherit. The visionary call of the 1960s revolution new york. From the port huron statement to occupy wall street on its fiftieth anniversary, the founding declaration of sds echoes today in democracy. Students for a democratic society port huron statement. Port huron, michigan antiwar vietnam, civil rights, radical democracy, etc. Students for a democratic society port huron statement june 15, 1962 excerpts from the original electronic text at the web site of the sixties project. The authors of the post huron statement see democracy as a privelige that all eligible suitors should participate in. Sds founder, tom hayden on participatory democracy from. While the port huron statement was criticized by an older generation as too far left, an opposite attack came from the mid1960s generation.
A foundational statement of the theme of participatory democracy, the text had an important influence on post1960s politics and, arguably, on post1960s political science. In june 1962, an sds national convention was held in a uaw camp located in the backwoods of port huron. From occupy wall street to the arab spring, the ideals of the statement particularly participatory democracy continue to inform popular movements across the world. In june 1962, an sds national convention was held in a uaw camp located in the backwoods of port huron, michigan. Participatory democracy from the 1960s and sds into the future. Sds, democracy, participatory democracy, manifesto collection. As a social system we seek the establishment of a participatory democracy, governed by two. No document better frames and explains the 1960s than the port huron statement. In their definition, spreading political freedom was at its core about each and every person in the society having a voice and participating in the democratic process. Contact us at email protected visit us at 2036 west montrose ave. Initially drafted by tom hayden and debated over the course of three days in 1962 at a meeting of student leaders, the statement was issued by students for a democratic society as their founding document.
But, he continued, the core of the port huron statement rings true, and the theme of participatory democracy is relevant today from cairo to occupy wall street to wisconsin to studentled. The port huron statement and deep problems with american democracy the port huron statement was the foundation on which to build a movement for participatory democracy in the 1960s. Us history ii final exam quotes flashcards quizlet. The founding document of students for a democratic society sds, widely considered the political manifesto of the new left. To take one example among many, official disclosures in 1984. The experience of participatory democracy after the port huron statement holds several lessons for activists today. In inspiring participatory democracy tom hayden, one of the principal architects of the statement, analyses its historical impact and relevance to todays movements.
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