Keluar dari Demokrasi Populer: Telaah Atas Struktur Penguasaan Agraria dan Dinamika Demokrasi Lokal Di Blitar

TOHARI, Amin, J. Nicholaas Warouw

2012 | Tesis | Politik dan Pemerintahan

Abstrak This study examines the dynamics of local democracy. Trying to get out of the meaning of popular liberal democracy that is not concerned with the affairs of prosperity, democracy in this study understood in the structural reason. This study argues that popular liberal democracy only to be a new games for elite but is was failed to taking side of marginalized people. However it needed a way to see democracy as an arena that is more likely to marginalized people to rise and controlling the power. If democracy was agreed as an arena of contestation, so it is unfair when it is not ensure that everyone has an equal capital to get involved. Hence, welfare is a very fundamental basis although not predominant in creating a meaningful democracy. To explain democracy in structural reason, this study uses the Marx theory of base and superstructur. In the agrarian society, the agrarian resources (land) is the main means of production that is essential to meet the needs of life therefore this study put agrarian structure as base. The dynamics of democracy is something that is determined by the agrarian structure. The methods used by this study is a qualitative method that promotes the collection of data through interviews, observation, and study of relevant documents. Macro analysis on history of agrarian structure formation from the colonial period to the end of New Order show that Java agrarian structure has not changed despite the regime has been switched. Meanwhile the micro analysis of working the base proves that the local agrarian structure is split; in one hand the largely controlled by estates and in other hand the much people controled a small portion ot land. Social classes formed from such agrarian structur that are the upper class who is estates controler, lower class are agricultural and estate laborers. Each class makes use of the arena for local democracy in its own way. The upper calss try again grasp domination by taking public positions and collaborating with village elites or petty-bourgeois. Meanwhile the lower classes, the farmers, doing better resistance to fight through the courts or confrontation and collaboration. If the local elite who have power have felt enough with the practice of local democracy in their favor, the farmers has its own way to democracy. The linkage between the nature of democracy that is practiced and the basis of livelihood encourages us not to release social welfare principles more broadly of democracy practices. Such democratic analysis is very important amid the widespread of public distrust of today popular liberal democracy system and procedures that look likely tend to establish political and economic oligarchy.

Kata Kunci : Demokrasi