Democracy is Joy

“Resistance is the secret of joy,” said a banner carried by Reclaim the Streets in the late 1990s, quoting Alice Walker. Resistance is first of all a matter of principle and a way to live, to make yourself one small republic of unconquered spirit.

D’où l’importance de l’État de droit et des contre-pouvoirs mais aussi de l’éducation des citoyens à la liberté dont ils doivent assumer la responsabilité ultime. La démocratie n’est donc pas garantie par la Providence ou par un principe transcendant mais par l’engagement des hommes au service de la liberté, ce qui relève d’une forme de pari pascal

The language of Citizenship is crucial, and the contest for its meaning is one that must be engaged in, not conceded. The Citizenship at the heart of this book is not a question of what passport we hold, it is a story of who we are as human beings: a question of what we can do, and what we should. In these terms, there is no human – regardless of t

Havel defines the expression as follows: “politics not as the technology of power and manipulation … but politics as one of the ways of seeking and achieving meaningful lives, of protecting them and serving them.”