8-Democracy: The (Re)Claiming of Democracy

Earth Democracy
An interview by Sarah Ruth van Gelder
Vandana Shiva is a physicist, organic farmer, and tree hugger who speaks internationally on the perils of corporate globalization. Here, she speaks of the emerging Living Democracy movement, in which people reclaim the right to life itself

American Rebellions
by Thom Hartmann
A mob of activists covered their faces, took over the streets, declared an end to government-backed corporate power—and sparked the American Revolution

Porto Alegre's Budget Of, By, and For The People
by David Lewit
In a Brazilian city, the people decide how to spend the multimillion-dollar budget. The experiment is transforming life, ending corruption, and setting a new standard for democracy

Clean Elections
by Micah Sifry
How can we rid our election system of the corrupting influence of big money and welcome in third parties?

Free Airtime for Political Candidates
by Paul Taylor

Let Every Voice Be Heard
by Steven Hill

Women, Citizenship, and the End of Poverty
by Hilkka Pietilä
Within one century, Finland went from being poverty-stricken to ranking as one of the world's wealthiest and most equitable nations. How did they do it?

The Miner's Canary
by Lani Guinier & Gerald Torres
The most vulnerable in a society may be the first to see where it has gone wrong—and how setting things right empowers us all

Talking Back
Here's what Americans are doing to reclaim the power to speak out.

• Play Your Own Tune
• Digital Storytellers
• Watching the Watchers
• Voices from the Valley
• Broadband Democracy

Safeguarding the Vote
by Doug Pibel
Computer professionals are sounding the alarm: paperless, computer voting may result in massive error, fraud, or worse.

Fall 2003 Issue

Expanding the Circle
by Sarah Ruth van Gelder
The 2004 election could mark a turning point for the U.S. Here's what people are doing to make it so

Young, Righteous—and Voting
by William Upski Wimsatt
Activists with League of Young Voters, Pissed Off Voters, and other groups say 2004 is the year youth will be heard

Getting Out the Vote
by Megan Tady
Mobilizing to get people registered and to the polls

Reclaim the Media
by Seeta Gangadharan
The FCC ruling enabling media mega-mergers has unleashed a new movement with some surprising alliances

Clean Elections—making a difference
by Micah Sifry
In two states, candidates for state-wide offices are free from the race for corporate dollars. Suddenly, real health care reform has become possible

Every Neighborhood Counts
by Stacy Malkan
Natalie Johnson Lee defied expert advice by campaigning in poor parts of town with a reputation for low voter turnout—and her efforts paid off

Fighting for the Soul of the Democratic Party
by John Dittmer
1964, the most violent year of the civil rights movement, was also the year African Americans from Mississippi showed up at the Democratic Convention to demand the seating of an integrated delegation

Visualize a Fair Election in 2004
by Greg Palast and Ina Howard
The techniques that brought us Florida 2000 are catching on across the U.S. Here's how to take our elections back

Tools for Political Change—Teach It
by Connie Kim

Build from the grassroots
by Krista Camenzind

Stand together
by Carolyn McConnell

Update voting rules
by Robert Richie

Don't Talk Like a Twit
by Jonathan Rowe
If we're so smart, how come we're losing elections? Maybe it's the “neutered language” that is part Ivy League policy salon and part sensitivity training

2004 Survival Guide: How You Can Get Involved In Transforming U.S. Politics
by Rik Langendoen & Megan Tady

Spring 2004 Issue

A Conspiracy of Hope
by Zahara Heckscher
Many thought the global movement against unfair trade started in Seattle 1999. But going back over 200 years, people have reached across borders to end the slave trade, shame a brutal colonial regime, and bring respite to laborers of the industrial revolution.

Resurrecting Democracy
an interview with Ernst Ulrich von Weizsaecker
What can we do to put people, not corporations, back in charge of our fate?

Citizen Action, Networks & Global Change
by Anwar Fazal

Appropriating the Internet for Global Activism
by Mark Surman & Katherine Reilly
Activists are appropriating the Internet to collaborate, get heard, and mobilize. But this is just the beginning

Winter 2005 Issue

A Phoenix from the Ashes
by Van Jones
The hopes of millions were dashed on November 2, 2004. Yet the campaign that ended in so much defeat also birthed a resistance movement that can take America forward

Spring 2005 Issue

Dipping a Toe in the Blogosphere
by Micah Sifry
Got something to say? Say it with blogs.

Speaking for Ourselves
by Malkia Cyril & Taishi Duchicela
Tired of one-sided, sensationalized portrayals of crime, a feisty collaboration of young people confronted Clear Channel—and won.

If You're Not Making Television, It's Making You
by Dirk Koning
By making their own broadcasts, kids discover the power of  media to shape another's perspective


Going to Where the Silence Is: Interview with Amy Goodman
by Carolyn McConnell
In the span of just a few years, Democracy Now! exploded from the fringes onto stations around the country. Our editor asks its host how she creates the most vital news show on the air.

Media Uprising
by Josh Silver & Robert McChesney
Millions of Americans from across the political spectrum are making it clear to the FCC and Congress: We've had enough with mergers and corporate control of the media.

10 Steps to More Democratic Media
by Jeffrey Chester & Gary O. Larson
Here are opportunities for you to shape who gets to say what about the issues that matter to our lives.

Resources for More Democratic Media
by Lisa Kundrat

Media Heroes: Guerrilla News Network
by Anna Lappé

Media Hero: Juan Gonzalez
by Anthony Lappé

Media Hero: DeeDee Halleck
by Jonathan Lawson

Media Hero: Ed Schultz
by Carolyn McConnell