Associationalism or associative democracy is a political movement in which "human welfare and liberty are both best served when as many of the affairs of a society as possible are managed by voluntary and democratically self-governing associations."
[Smith, M. K.; ]
' cites Hirst, P. References
Reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''name'' ...
page 112. Associationalism "gives priority to freedom in its scale of values, but it contends that such freedom can only be pursued effectively if individuals join with their fellows"
The concept of associationalism
Roots
Associationalism is a European political theory, stemming from 19th and early 20th century social and political theorists from the continent. In France, such political thinkers as
de Tocqueville
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his work ...
,
Proudhon
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Social ...
,
Durkheim, and
Duguit. In England, such pluralists as
Cole
Cole may refer to:
Plants
* Cole crops of the genus ''Brassica'', especially cabbage, kale, or rape (rapeseed).
People
* Cole (given name), people with the given name Cole
* Cole (surname), people with the surname Cole
Companies
*Cole Motor C ...
,
Figgis,
Laski, Barker, and
Maitland
Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...
. The theory provides an alternative to the previously popular doctrines of state-centered and collectivist ideals which had all but dominated twentieth-century politics: Western
social democracy
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
and Eastern bloc
Marxist–Leninism.
Alexis de Tocqueville's associationalism
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works ...
's idea of associationalism “...stressed volunteerism, community spirit and independent associational life as protections against the domination of society by the state, and indeed as a counterbalance which helped to keep the state accountable and effective”.
[Lewis p. 3] In Tocqueville’s vision then, economic freedom fosters greed, which engenders political apathy, which results in excessive individualism and passive reliance on the state. This political apathy will in turn result in the almost inevitable growth of government if left unchecked by associationalism. Thus, Tocqueville predicted that “It is easy to see the time coming in which men will be less and less able to produce, by each alone, the commonest bare necessities of life. The tasks of government must therefore perpetually increase, and its efforts to cope with them must spread its net ever wider. The more government takes the place of associations, the more will individuals lose the idea of forming associations and need the government to come to their help. That is a vicious cycle of cause and effect”.
Expanded definition
Associational democracy is, in essence, both a political structure and system of relations with the goal of easing pluralist social negotiation and priorities. It became an important aspect of public policy, countering previous laissez-faire traditions. Critics considered laissez-faire, which essentially equated to liberal individualism, as not conducive to the fostering of upward mobility in society. Associationalism, as opposed to liberal individualism, embodies a deliberate commitment to social cooperation as well as public well-being.
"Association....grew out of a sense of difference; for the middle class, it meant crossing class lines to bring together people of diverse identities and conditions". According to David Lewis, during the late 19th and early 20th century the new middle class required “...sanctioned private accumulation underwritten by a state which maintained legal order and stability"·
As a result, the state needed to become powerful enough to maintain order, but not so strong as to become oppressive; neither laissez-faire nor statist. Finding this balance between transgressing autonomy and dangerous accumulation of power could prove difficult, and associationalism appeared to be a possible solution.
Associationalism brought together several political ideologies which, until its conception, were frequently at odds:
pluralism,
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
, and cooperative
mutualism. It provides for a pluralist rather than a statist or constraining collectivist socialism, yet it also provides for a mutualist and cooperative pluralism. This, as opposed to pluralism which reacts so far to statist
communitarianism
Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based upon the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relati ...
that it slides into an unrestricted competitive asociality.
The Beginnings of American associationalism
Setting the stage
Urban politics in late 19th century America proved an ideal situation for the emergence of associationalism, ripe with several qualifications discussed by early associationalists. In addition, voter turnout was relatively high, though usually confined to party lines. Despite this fact, the two large national parties at the time (Democrats and Republicans) lacked significant ideological differences on specific issues. Respected members of communities across the country began to propose associationalism as a solution to America's social political problems. Several Protestant ministers such as Lyman Abbot, Washington Gladden, Josiah Strong, and Walter Raushenbusch began to call for a “social gospel.” “The next great principle,” Rauschenbusch proclaimed in 1896, “is association”. These growing political currents in favor of associationalism perhaps culminated when voters elected William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, a left statist associationalist who would become president shortly thereafter, in 1900.
Protective legislation
“Associationalism is fundamentally about collective governance – about the legal constitution of groups and bodies politic and the rules and bylaws that regulate the interrelationships of members”.
[Novak p. 2] During the early 20th century Congress passed a great deal of “protective legislation,” which was, in essence, legislated associationalism. Labor received improved work conditions resulting in fewer work-related injuries. Wages were increased while hours were decreased. In addition, probably the most important protective legislation pertained to the legal establishment and organization of large labor unions.
On the other side of the coin, employer costs went up resulting in outsourcing and decreased cash flow into such areas as research and development, slowing technological progress. Fewer hours and the fact that labor was more organized (allowing for an increase in strikes and protests) resulted in less production. Finally, such strong government influence over labor could lead to an abuse of power, favoring certain unions. The results of these legislated regulations suggested to critics that associationalism tends to benefit labor (the "people”) directly at the cost of both corporate management and technological progress.
Early presidential associationalism
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
(President 1901-1909) was the first true champion of American associationalism as evidenced by his intervention into the United Mine Workers strike of 1902. For the first time representatives from government, labor, and management met collectively and were able to resolve the conflict. When management was uncooperative, Roosevelt threatened to employ the military on behalf of labor to arrive at a resolution.
Instead, a five-member commission was established to communicate with the company management. Also, wages were increased by ten percent and the length of the work day was cut from ten hours to nine, keeping union membership sound. By demonstrating a new role for the state in such conflicts (aside from the previously held military positions) associationalism took root in American society and politics, and there wasn't another major coal strike in the country until the 1920s.
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
(President 1913-1921), a regulatory liberal, employed associationalism during World War I to control and regulate capital, ensuring a steady flow of war supplies while minimizing the risk of breaks in manufacturing vital to the war effort. The establishment of such government agencies as the
National War Labor Board were instrumental in preventing strikes and ensuring collective bargaining. In addition, Wilson appointed the country's first Secretary of Labor that was pro labor (
William B. Wilson). The policies were implemented as America successfully met its goals in wartime production. There were nearly no strikes, many companies saw enormous profits, and the Allies won the war.
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
* de Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America''. Penguin Press. New York, 2003.
*
Hirst, Paul. Associative Democracy. New forms of economic and social governance,
University of Massachusetts Press
The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The press was founded in 1963, publishing scholarly books and non-fiction. The press imprint is overseen by an interdisciplinar ...
(January 1994); {{ISBN, 0-87023-897-3
* Kaspersen, Lars Bo.
Associationalism for A Hundred and Fifty Years - and still alive and kicking: Some reflections on the Danish civil society' Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen.
* Lewis, David.
Civil Society in African Contexts: Reflections on the ‘Usefulness’ of a Concept''Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science.
* Martell, Luke.
New Ideas of Socialism' School of Sciences, University of Sussex.
* McGerr, Michael. A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America.'', Oxford University Press. New York, 2003.
* Novak, Robert.
The American Law of Association' Cambridge University.
* Smith, M. K.
', (2000), published on the infed website. Infed is an open, independent and not-for-profit site put together by a small group of educators.
Further reading
* Bader, Veit. "Secularism or Democracy?: Associational Governance of Religious Diversity". Amsterdam University Press, 2007.
* Kaufman, Jason.
Three Vies of Associationalism in 19th-Century America: An Empirical Examination' Princeton University.
* Martinek, Jason D. Assorted Lectures on 20th Century American History. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Jan/Feb 2007.
Political theories
Political science terminology