Think About What You Read

The institutions necessary to sustain and facilitate the functioning of democratic politics and market economies are: free trade unions which reflect the views of their members and work for their interests; free professional associations in all fields of endeavor ranging from philosophy to law, medicine, and engineering; associations based on interest, sentiment, and value ranging from stamp collecting to preserving the environment and independent of the interests of party and state; a free press including radio, television, and other communications media independent of public authority for its support, and whose task is to inform the public; free standing universities and research institutes, in control of their curricula and agendas, in particular being unimpeded in providing critical perspectives on state and society and innovative alternatives to institutions and arrangements that are now in existence; independent religious establishments, voluntary in their membership and support, and free not only to preach and otherwise minister to the spiritual needs of adherents, but also to organize ancillary social and cultural activities.

These are the "conventional" elements of a democratic system, but their being conventional in no way diminishes their importance as basic supports for a democratic political structure. Beyond the conventional, those institutions and institutional complexes without which a democratic society cannot function effectively are a system of law, an institutional framework, and a body of practices dealing with labor disputes, especially for those between large and powerful corporate entities and the representatives of the workers. Without such a system, labor problems will escalate into potentially violent confrontations that threaten public order and may eventually undermine the democratic political structure.