It is time to demand real power to act — that famous “empowerment.” It is not a trendy word to green‑wash a program; it is the process through which a community takes control of the events that concern it. Developing this power means moving from the status of passive citizen‑consumer to that of capable subject, an actor of one’s own change.
Why are municipal elections the ideal moment? Because the municipality is the “basic cell” of our society. This is where the principle of subsidiarity takes on its full meaning: responsibility for public action must lie with the entity closest to those concerned. It is at the local level that your right to manage public affairs can be exercised most directly.
But beware of “civic‑washing.” A public meeting where three retirees listen to a deputy mayor read an indigestible slideshow in a poorly lit room is the “zero level” of participation. We call for a truly participatory democracy: one in which major decisions are discussed beforehand with everyone. We no longer want to be consulted only on the color of geraniums; we want co‑decision and co‑construction on structural projects.
The tool that has proven its worth is the participatory budget. Its slogan is simple: “Real decisions about real money.” The principle? “You decide, we deliver.” In just four years, the number of these budgets has multiplied by thirteen in France, proof that citizens are hungry for concrete action.
So, for these upcoming elections, do not settle for vague promises. Demand that candidates give real meaning to citizen action. Let’s turn our cities into laboratories of permanent cooperation. Democracy is under construction, and it is up to us to hold the trowels. See Approches Coopératives no. 11, July 2021.
Dominique Bénard.
Photo: Allison Saeng, for Unsplash+
