Review of Peter Mair's Ruling the Void

There seems to be no end to the interest in the decline or “death of democracy” and no lack of efforts to renew or reformulate it. But while we may no longer be in a period of political disengagement, the “hyper-politics” of the post-crash era seems to be markedly different from – and less effective than – the popular politics of the past. So what explains the changes in the nature of democratic participation across Europe over the last 50 years?

In Ruling the Void: The Hollowing Out of Western Democracy – originally published in 2013 and reissued last year by Verso – the late political scientist Peter Mair retraces the history of citizen and elite withdrawal from politics and the “void” that opened up between the electorate and the state. With a new separation between citizens and the state, this contemporary classic explores how institutional changes in party democracies would create the career vehicles and electoral machines we recognise today, and in turn, provoke a crisis of legitimacy that continues to undermine public trust in representative politics.

So, what caused the current separation between citizens and the political class? What implications does it have for efforts to rebuild democratic power in society? And do we have to accept that a post-popular democracy is the only option?

How public-common partnerships can unlock community energy democracy

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The UK Labour Party’s overlooked Local Power Plan could be an ambitious force ushering in a new generation of renewable energy by handing power to the people. Although the possibilities for local energy democracy abound, public detail on the plan is scant. Labour is promising a £3.3BN fund to support community ownership of renewable generation. This would offer grants and loans to local authorities and communities to “create one million owners of local power,” according to the plan. The proposal would be for Great British Energy (GBE), “a new, publicly owned clean generation company”, to partner with councils and community co-ops to develop 8 GW of clean power by the end of the decade. Locally, that would come in the form of 20,000 renewable power projects.

Obran’s Ambition to be the Largest Co-operative in the World

Baltimore is an American post-industrial city facing chronic troubles. For many, it's a tough place to live, and for those coming out of incarceration, it’s even tougher. In the US, employers are allowed to ask candidates if they have ever been incarcerated. To combat this significant obstacle, a staffing agency called Core Staffing was formed by three returning citizens in order to provide work for the formerly incarcerated. After that success, the team banded together a group of freelance tech workers led by people of colour and formed a digital creative agency of sorts, Tribeworks, which continues today as an artist-led worker-owned co-operative. Planted on both ends of the socio-economic spectrum, these two organisations decided to merge together as a co-operative holding company, the Staffing Co-operative, which eventually became the Obran Cooperative in 2018. Obran has now grown to six subsidiary companies under the co-operative umbrella, representing a range of industries, from home health care and HR software to third-party logistics and shipping. 

Building societies on the brink of becoming banks, rather than remaining as safe as houses?
Make your membership vote count at Nationwide’s AGM in July

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Building societies have been an essential part of the UK mortgage market for almost 250 years. Building societies have no shareholders, and should act in the interests of their members, with key matters put to a member vote. But recently it appears that these once safe, conservative institutions – focused on offering mortgages financed by member deposits – are at risk of becoming more like banks. Make your vote count at your building society’s AGM this July – if you’re a customer, you’re a member – and have your say on these once-in-a-generation changes affecting the sector.