Third International Theory
Encyclopedia
The Third International Theory or Third Universal Theory (Arabic
: نظرية عالمية ثالثة) refers to the style of Government described by Col. Muammar Gaddafi
in the early 1970s, on which his government, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, was officially based. It was partly inspired by Islamic socialism
and Arab nationalism
and partly by the principles of direct democracy
. It has similarities with the system of Yugoslav municipal self management
in Titoist
Yugoslavia
, and the Yugoslav Third Way during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as developed by Edvard Kardelj
. It was proposed as an alternative to capitalism
and communism
for Third World
countries, based on the stated belief that both of these ideologies had been proven invalid.
The Higher Council for National Guidance was created to disseminate and implement this theory, and it found partial realization in Libya. Critics however claim that this theory wasn't implemented in reality and Colonel Gaddafi retained absolute power. By 2011 the fall and death of Gaddafi had seen his system dis-established and replaced by the National Transitional Council
The theory rejects traditional instruments of government - parliaments, parties and referendums - and contrasts them to the concept of direct popular democracy based on people's congresses and people's committees. The General People's Congress, which passes laws on the state level, considers only those issues that have been discussed and proposed in the agenda of the Primary People's Congresses, which unite the entire adult population.
According to the Third International Theory, the legal system of a society can not depend on the political situation, and must be based on custom and religion. It also proclaims the need to abolish wage labor and to give employees the rights to the products that they manufacture. It professes to realize the ideal form of social coexistence, in which, along with social justice, there has to be a strong power, popular representation and national identity.
In developing this theory, Gaddafi relied on the theoretical writings of anarchist philosophers Mikhail Bakunin
and Peter Kropotkin
combined with the egalitarian
principles of Islam
.
The anti-imperialist
orientation of the Libyan revolution manifested itself clearly in the first months of the new regime. On 7 October 1969 at the 24th Session of UN General Assembly, the Permanent Representative of Libya announced its intention to eliminate all foreign bases on Libyan land.
Following this, the Libyan leadership informed the ambassadors of the United States and Britain that it was terminating the respective agreements. Almost at the same time an offensive began against the position of foreign capital in the economy.
The first results and the nearest tasks of the Libyan revolution were fixed in a public statement on 11 December 1969, a Provisional Constitutional Declaration. Islam was declared the official state religion
. It was proclaimed that one of the main goals of the revolution was the building of a form of socialism based on "religion, morality and patriotism." Gaddafi and his companions intended to achieve this through "social justice, high levels of production, the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the equitable distribution of national wealth."
The Revolutionary Command Council was to function as the centre of the political organization of society, with the right to appoint cabinet ministers, to declare war and enter into contracts, to issue decrees with the force of law, and to handle key aspects of internal affairs and foreign policy. Chairman of the IBS, Gaddafi was appointed head of the Libyan Arab Republic.
In 1973, Gaddafi organized the Arab Socialist Union, which became the sole legal political organization in the country. In 1977 the General People's Congress, representing numerous national committees, adopted a decree (the "Sabha Declaration") on the establishment of a "regime of people's power" (the so-called 'direct popular democracy') in Libya, and the country was renamed the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The Revolutionary Command Council was also renamed and transformed into the General Secretariat of the Congress. In practice, the Arab Socialist Union then merged with the apparatus of the General People's Congress. The people elected into the General Secretariat of the General People's Congress were Gaddafi (General Secretary) and four of his closest associates - Major Abdessalam Jalloud
, and generals Abu-Bakr Younis Jabr, Mustafa al-Harrubi, and Huveyldi al Hmeydi.
Two years later, the five leaders resigned from public office, yielding them to professional managers. From then until his death, Gaddafi officially held the title of the Leader of the Libyan revolution and the group of the five leaders is named "the Revolutionary Leadership". Furthermore, a hierarchy of Revolutionary Committees was established with the purpose of implementing the policies of the Revolutionary Leadership within the system of the People's Congresses.
The book is a collection of quotes of the Libyan leader, divided into three parts and covering the following vital aspects of existence:
According to the "Green Book", the winner in the struggle for power is always an instrument of government - an individual, party, class; and the loser is always the people, and thus, true democracy. The political struggle often leads to the rise to power of an instrument of government which represents a minority, and that through legal democratic means. Thus, all existing political regimes falsify genuine democracy and are dictatorships.
Parliamentarism, according to Gaddafi, is a perverse solution to the problem of democracy. A Parliament can not speak on behalf of the people, because democracy means the rule of the people, not of those who act on its behalf. Methods of electing the parliament can not be considered democratic, because the masses become completely disconnected from the Members of Parliament. The MPs monopolize the power of the masses and the right to decide their business for them. Parliament, in fact, represents not the people, but the party that won the elections. In fact, the people is used by the political forces in the struggle for power. The system of elected parliaments is a demagogic system because votes can be bought and manipulated, that is, parliamentary representation is a fraud. In general, the theory of representative government is, Gaddafi argues, an outdated practice that was invented by philosophers and thinkers at the time when the common folk were ordered about like livestock by their rulers.
The party, according to the "Green Book", is a modern tool of dictatorial rule - it is the power of a part over the whole. Parties are established by groups of people to act in their interests, or to impose their views on the public and to establish their ideology on it. The number of parties in a system does not alter the substance of the matter. Moreover, the more numerous the parties are, the more intensive is the power struggle between them, which in turn undermines the programmes geared to benefit the entire society. The interests of society and of its development are sacrificed for the sake of the partisan struggle for power.
In addition, parties may be corrupt and can be bribed from the outside and inside. The 'opposition' is not an organ of control over the activities of the people of the ruling party, it only waits for the right moment to take the place of the ruling party at the trough of power. Control is in the hands of the party in power (through Parliament), and power in the hands of the party in control.
Gaddafi compares party and clan. In his view, in the struggle for power, the party is no different from a power struggle between tribes and clans. Both types of struggle are portrayed as having a negative and disintegrating effect on society.
Referendum is also described as a falsification of democracy. Voters can say only "yes" or "no." The theory states that everyone should be able to justify their desire and the cause of their approval or disapproval. Therefore, to be completely democratic, it is necessary to create such an instrument of government, which would be identical to the entire nation as a whole, rather than to a representative body acting on its behalf.
"The only means of people's democracy are the people's congresses. Any other system of government is undemocratic. All existing world systems of government are undemocratic, if they do not adhere to this method of governance. People's congresses are the ultimate goal of the movement of peoples on the path to democracy. People's congresses and people's committees represent the end result of the peoples' struggle for democracy. "
In the proposed Jamahiriya, the entire population is divided into People's Congresses, which elect the People's Committees, which in turn form the second round of the People's Congresses, which elect the State Committees, which fullfil the function of state administration. Issues considered at the People's Congresses are finally formulated each year at the General People's Congress. Accordingly, the outcomes and decisions of the General Congress are brought to the lower levels in the reverse order.
At the General People's Congress, which gathers together the governing bodies of the people's congresses, the people's committees, the trade unions and the professional associations, the most important public issues are discussed and the definitive legislative decisions are made.
In the first part of the "Green Book" Gaddafi also lays out his views on freedom of speech
. According to him, "a human being, as an individual, should have the freedom of expression, and even if mad, s/he should have the right to freely express his/her madness." Man, as a legal entity, is also free to express themselves as such. In the first case the man represents only himself, in the second - only a group of individuals forming a legal entity.
"Society is composed of many individuals and entities. Therefore, if an individual is insane, that does not mean that the rest of society are mad, too. Press is a method of expression of society, not a single person or entity. A newspaper, if owned by an individual, expresses only the views of its owner. The assertion that it represents public opinion is untenable and has no basis, because in reality it expresses the views of an individual, and from the point of view of genuine democracy it is unacceptable that an individual should own the print media and other types of media that provide the public with information. "
This part criticizes wage labor, comparing it with slavery, and proclaims the right of an employee to any product produced by them. A person must work in accordance with their powers and must also be able to satisfy their needs, and all surplus should be directed to the accumulation of social wealth. The accumulation of surplus by one person reduces [the possibility of satisfaction of] the needs of another person, and is therefore unacceptable.
In September 1977, Gaddafi put forward as the basis of economic life the principle of "self-government in the economy". In line with this principle, it was envisaged that enterprises should be transferred to the collective management of those who work there. The slogan "Partners, not employees" was given theoretical justification in the second part of the Green Book, and in November of the same year this idea began to be implemented in some industrial enterprises.
During the development of his economic ideas, Gaddafi put forward another slogan: "Real Estate - property of its inhabitant." That is, a person living in a house was an owner, not a tenant. In May 1978 a law was passed, whereby renting residential premises was prohibited, and tenants became owners of their rental apartments and houses.
With the slogan "Partners, not employees", workers and employees under the leadership of the People's Committees took over businesses and institutions in not only production but also trade, as well as the various services of service. Former owners got compensation and the opportunity to participate in the management of these enterprises, but in "equal partnership with the producers." This campaign was described as a "people's capture" and was a form of elimination of private ownership of business by upper and middle classes.
The functioning of the political system of the "Jamahiriya" in the field and especially in production was hampered both by the opposition of the upper classes and by the insufficient preparations for the activities conducted and the inability of the new management staff to manage the economy. This led to discontent and unrest among the population against the political and economic innovations of the Libyan leadership. Some of the Muslim clergy accused Gaddafi of "deviation from the Koran."
In response, authorities made serious efforts at limiting the influence of the clergy. Gaddafi made a televised public examination of members of the pro-opposition clergy on the subject the Koran. According to Gaddafi, he proved that they were unable to answer his questions, and he subsequently used that as a reason to deprive some of them of the right to conduct religious services.Strokan SN Libya defends its principles / / Kommersant. - 2005. - № 243 / P (№ 3327), pp. 17
The final result of the economic reforms in the Jamahiriya was meant to be "the achievement of a new socialist society", a stage at which profit and money disappear from society and it becomes fully productive, and production fully meets the material needs of all members of society. At this stage, profits and money were meant to disappear by themselves.
Thanks to successful oil exploration starting in 1961, Libya has become a prosperous state with the highest per capita income in Africa. In 1970, oil prices on world markets increased considerably, leading to the accumulation of substantial funds in Libya, as a supplier of oil to western countries. Government revenues from oil exports were to be used to finance urban development and the creation of a modern system of social welfare.
At the same time, to improve Libya's international prestige, huge sums were spent on creating a well-equipped modern army. In the Middle East and North Africa, Libya served as a carrier of ideas of Arab nationalism and as an uncompromising enemy of Israel and the United States. The sharp drop in oil prices in mid-1980s and the UN sanctions for harbouring Palestinian separatists (in 1992) led to a significant weakening of Libya. On 12 September 2003 UN Security Council lifted the sanctions imposed in 1992.
According to the "Green Book": "if the national spirit is stronger than the religious spirit, the struggle between different nations, which used to be united in one religion, is amplified, and each of those nations achieves independence, returning to the social structure that is characteristic of it." "A tribe is the same as a family, but one that has increased due to the increased growth of offspring, that is, the tribe is a big family. The Nation is a tribe, but a tribe that has grown as a result of increased offspring, i.e. a nation is a large tribe. The World is a nation but a nation divided into many nations as a result of population growth, i.e. the world is a great nation."
"The tribe is the natural social protection of the individual, ensuring his social needs." In Libya, according to accepted social tradition, the tribe collectively provides redemption of its members by collectively paying ransom for them, paying their fines, avenging them and collectively defending them.
A special place in the Green Book is reserved for women, their physical build and social role in society:
Accordingly, Gaddafi concluded that "human rights are for everyone - men and women, but the responsibilities are not equal."
Gaddafi also mentions the black race in his work: "The world will be ruled by the black people
." In his opinion, this event will be the inevitable outcome of demographic and social patterns. That may be why, in recent decades, Libya has associated itself more with the African continent than the Arab world, trying to take a leading position there.
The issue of language is also addressed: "People will remain underdeveloped, until there is a common language." However, this question can be resolved only through a merging of languages in a series of stages, over several generations, provided that over time these generations lose their inherited traits: "the sensory perceptions, tastes and temperament of their fathers and grandfathers."
The Green Book also has an original take on sports and spectacles:
This approach to sport led to most of Libya's stadiums being open only during military parades, and any kind of wrestling being strictly prohibited.
On the contrary, "the truth" of Islamic provisions themselves was evaluated in terms of their compatibility with the theory. It was declared that the driving force of history was national and social struggle. At the same time, as Gaddafi specified, "if we were to restrict ourselves to the support of Muslims only, that would be an example of bigotry and selfishness: True Islam is the one that defends the weak, even if they are not Muslims".
In the subsequent explanations and comments on the "Green Book", many of its provisions underwent significant revisions. But this book still remains the basic catechism of ideology in Libya.
. In March 1977, the "Declaration of Sabha" was declared, and the republic was transformed into a Jamahiriya
(the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya). Those forms of private ownership which were deemed exploitative were abolished (whereas private family businesses in the service sector were preserved).
With the advent of globalization and the information revolution Gaddafi slightly modified his theory by introducing a thesis about the era of large spaces in which the nation-state is becoming inviable.
The word "Jamahiriya" ( , approximately "[state] of the masses") is an Arabic neologism. It is the feminine nisba adjective formed from the term "Jamahir" (masses). It echoes the Arabic term for "Republic", "Jumhuriyah" (formally the feminine nisba adjective from Jumhur "people") .
Gaddafi's "Jamahiriya" form of government was supposed to be different from both the monarchy and the republic, hence the name of "Third" International Theory.
Islam is the state religion
of Libya, but the influence of the Muslim clergy is limited. Direct democracy
has been declared in the country and oil revenues make it possible to maintain a high standard of living for the Libyan population. The presence of foreign capital is reduced, the enterprises in the sphere of large and medium industry are owned by the state.
The basis of justice is the Quran. Judicial proceedings are conducted by a hierarchical system of courts. Small lawsuits are considered in the Magistrates' Courts. Next come the Courts of the First Stage, the Appellate Courts and the Supreme Court.
The official main principle of government in Libya was: "Power, wealth and weapons - in the hands of the people."
Therefore, at the session of the General People's Congress held in the town of Sirte
on 18 November 1992, it was decided to set up a new political structure: this was to initiate the country's transition to the supreme level of democracy - "a Model Jamahiriya". It was about creating, instead of the primary public meetings (People's Congresses), 1500 communes, which are self-guided mini-states within a state, each with full authority within its district, including the allocation of budgetary funds.
The need to reorganize the former political system, as explained by Gaddafi, was primarily due to the fact that it had "failed to ensure genuine democracy because of the complexity of the structure, which created a gap between the masses and the leadership, and was characterized by excessive centralization."
As a whole, after 1992, the Jamahiriya pursued a policy of building an "Islamic socialist society" dominated by the slogan "Power, wealth and weapons - in the hands of the people!".
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: نظرية عالمية ثالثة) refers to the style of Government described by Col. Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
in the early 1970s, on which his government, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, was officially based. It was partly inspired by Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism is a term coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Muslim socialists believe that the teachings of the Qur'an and Muhammad are compatible with principles of equality and the redistribution of wealth....
and Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and literature of the Arabs, calling for rejuvenation and political union in the Arab world...
and partly by the principles of direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
. It has similarities with the system of Yugoslav municipal self management
Workers' self-management
Worker self-management is a form of workplace decision-making in which the workers themselves agree on choices instead of an owner or traditional supervisor telling workers what to do, how to do it and where to do it...
in Titoist
Titoism
Titoism is a variant of Marxism–Leninism named after Josip Broz Tito, leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, primarily used to describe the specific socialist system built in Yugoslavia after its refusal of the 1948 Resolution of the Cominform, when the Communist Party of...
Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, and the Yugoslav Third Way during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as developed by Edvard Kardelj
Edvard Kardelj
Edvard Kardelj also known under the pseudonyms Sperans and Krištof was a Yugoslav communist political leader, economist, partisan, publicist, and full member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts...
. It was proposed as an alternative to capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
for Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
countries, based on the stated belief that both of these ideologies had been proven invalid.
The Higher Council for National Guidance was created to disseminate and implement this theory, and it found partial realization in Libya. Critics however claim that this theory wasn't implemented in reality and Colonel Gaddafi retained absolute power. By 2011 the fall and death of Gaddafi had seen his system dis-established and replaced by the National Transitional Council
National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya , sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, the Interim National Council, or the Libyan National Council,...
Background
Key provisions of the Third International Theory are outlined in The Green Book (published from 1976–1979). It is a system of views which criticizes European-style democracy and Soviet Marxism in detail.The theory rejects traditional instruments of government - parliaments, parties and referendums - and contrasts them to the concept of direct popular democracy based on people's congresses and people's committees. The General People's Congress, which passes laws on the state level, considers only those issues that have been discussed and proposed in the agenda of the Primary People's Congresses, which unite the entire adult population.
According to the Third International Theory, the legal system of a society can not depend on the political situation, and must be based on custom and religion. It also proclaims the need to abolish wage labor and to give employees the rights to the products that they manufacture. It professes to realize the ideal form of social coexistence, in which, along with social justice, there has to be a strong power, popular representation and national identity.
In developing this theory, Gaddafi relied on the theoretical writings of anarchist philosophers Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He has also often been called the father of anarchist theory in general. Bakunin grew up near Moscow, where he moved to study philosophy and began to read the French Encyclopedists,...
and Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
combined with the egalitarian
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
principles of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
Intellectual and political context
In the 1960's and 70's, in the countries of the Arab-Muslim East, various theories of "national brands of socialism", named "Islamic socialism", became widespread. This socialism was based on the principles of nationalism, religion and equality, and its ideas inspired a number of revolutions, popular uprisings and coups in the Arab world. Similarly, in Libya, on 1 September 1969 a group of Libyan army officers belonging to the Movement of Free Officers, Unionists, and Socialists overthrew the monarchy and proclaimed the Libyan Arab Republic. The supreme power was temporarily relegated to the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), headed by 27-year-old Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.Borisov SP Muammar Gaddafi on the road to socialism / / Pravda. - March 27, 2002. - № 23, pp. 19The anti-imperialist
Anti-imperialism
Anti-imperialism, strictly speaking, is a term that may be applied to a movement opposed to any form of colonialism or imperialism. Anti-imperialism includes opposition to wars of conquest, particularly of non-contiguous territory or people with a different language or culture; it also includes...
orientation of the Libyan revolution manifested itself clearly in the first months of the new regime. On 7 October 1969 at the 24th Session of UN General Assembly, the Permanent Representative of Libya announced its intention to eliminate all foreign bases on Libyan land.
Following this, the Libyan leadership informed the ambassadors of the United States and Britain that it was terminating the respective agreements. Almost at the same time an offensive began against the position of foreign capital in the economy.
The first results and the nearest tasks of the Libyan revolution were fixed in a public statement on 11 December 1969, a Provisional Constitutional Declaration. Islam was declared the official state religion
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
. It was proclaimed that one of the main goals of the revolution was the building of a form of socialism based on "religion, morality and patriotism." Gaddafi and his companions intended to achieve this through "social justice, high levels of production, the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the equitable distribution of national wealth."
The Revolutionary Command Council was to function as the centre of the political organization of society, with the right to appoint cabinet ministers, to declare war and enter into contracts, to issue decrees with the force of law, and to handle key aspects of internal affairs and foreign policy. Chairman of the IBS, Gaddafi was appointed head of the Libyan Arab Republic.
In 1973, Gaddafi organized the Arab Socialist Union, which became the sole legal political organization in the country. In 1977 the General People's Congress, representing numerous national committees, adopted a decree (the "Sabha Declaration") on the establishment of a "regime of people's power" (the so-called 'direct popular democracy') in Libya, and the country was renamed the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The Revolutionary Command Council was also renamed and transformed into the General Secretariat of the Congress. In practice, the Arab Socialist Union then merged with the apparatus of the General People's Congress. The people elected into the General Secretariat of the General People's Congress were Gaddafi (General Secretary) and four of his closest associates - Major Abdessalam Jalloud
Abdessalam Jalloud
Abdessalam Jalloud was the Prime Minister of Libya from 16 July 1972 to 2 March 1977. He was also Finance Minister from 1970 until 1972....
, and generals Abu-Bakr Younis Jabr, Mustafa al-Harrubi, and Huveyldi al Hmeydi.
Two years later, the five leaders resigned from public office, yielding them to professional managers. From then until his death, Gaddafi officially held the title of the Leader of the Libyan revolution and the group of the five leaders is named "the Revolutionary Leadership". Furthermore, a hierarchy of Revolutionary Committees was established with the purpose of implementing the policies of the Revolutionary Leadership within the system of the People's Congresses.
Doctrine
The official ideological doctrine is the Third International Theory, described in Gaddafi's "Green Book" (1976–1979). Copies of the "Green Book" are always on sale in Libyan bookstores in many languages.The book is a collection of quotes of the Libyan leader, divided into three parts and covering the following vital aspects of existence:
- Solving the problem of Democracy (People Power);
- Solving the problem of the economy (Socialism);
- The public aspect of the "Third International Theory."
"People Power"
The first part of the "Green Book" is "Solving the problem of democracy: The Authority of the People". This political aspect of the Third International Theory, published in January 1976, rejects traditional forms of democracy such as parliament, political parties, referendums, and outlines the basic principles of direct popular democracy based on the people's congresses and people's committees. The book argues that democracy and other freedoms are in fact nothing but a kind of dictatorship.According to the "Green Book", the winner in the struggle for power is always an instrument of government - an individual, party, class; and the loser is always the people, and thus, true democracy. The political struggle often leads to the rise to power of an instrument of government which represents a minority, and that through legal democratic means. Thus, all existing political regimes falsify genuine democracy and are dictatorships.
Parliamentarism, according to Gaddafi, is a perverse solution to the problem of democracy. A Parliament can not speak on behalf of the people, because democracy means the rule of the people, not of those who act on its behalf. Methods of electing the parliament can not be considered democratic, because the masses become completely disconnected from the Members of Parliament. The MPs monopolize the power of the masses and the right to decide their business for them. Parliament, in fact, represents not the people, but the party that won the elections. In fact, the people is used by the political forces in the struggle for power. The system of elected parliaments is a demagogic system because votes can be bought and manipulated, that is, parliamentary representation is a fraud. In general, the theory of representative government is, Gaddafi argues, an outdated practice that was invented by philosophers and thinkers at the time when the common folk were ordered about like livestock by their rulers.
The party, according to the "Green Book", is a modern tool of dictatorial rule - it is the power of a part over the whole. Parties are established by groups of people to act in their interests, or to impose their views on the public and to establish their ideology on it. The number of parties in a system does not alter the substance of the matter. Moreover, the more numerous the parties are, the more intensive is the power struggle between them, which in turn undermines the programmes geared to benefit the entire society. The interests of society and of its development are sacrificed for the sake of the partisan struggle for power.
In addition, parties may be corrupt and can be bribed from the outside and inside. The 'opposition' is not an organ of control over the activities of the people of the ruling party, it only waits for the right moment to take the place of the ruling party at the trough of power. Control is in the hands of the party in power (through Parliament), and power in the hands of the party in control.
Gaddafi compares party and clan. In his view, in the struggle for power, the party is no different from a power struggle between tribes and clans. Both types of struggle are portrayed as having a negative and disintegrating effect on society.
Referendum is also described as a falsification of democracy. Voters can say only "yes" or "no." The theory states that everyone should be able to justify their desire and the cause of their approval or disapproval. Therefore, to be completely democratic, it is necessary to create such an instrument of government, which would be identical to the entire nation as a whole, rather than to a representative body acting on its behalf.
People's congresses
Gaddafi offers to create a special hierarchical structure of people's congresses and committees, resulting in a system where "management becomes popular, control becomes popular, and the old definition of democracy as 'control of people over the government' is replaced by its new definition as 'the people's control over itself'.""The only means of people's democracy are the people's congresses. Any other system of government is undemocratic. All existing world systems of government are undemocratic, if they do not adhere to this method of governance. People's congresses are the ultimate goal of the movement of peoples on the path to democracy. People's congresses and people's committees represent the end result of the peoples' struggle for democracy. "
In the proposed Jamahiriya, the entire population is divided into People's Congresses, which elect the People's Committees, which in turn form the second round of the People's Congresses, which elect the State Committees, which fullfil the function of state administration. Issues considered at the People's Congresses are finally formulated each year at the General People's Congress. Accordingly, the outcomes and decisions of the General Congress are brought to the lower levels in the reverse order.
At the General People's Congress, which gathers together the governing bodies of the people's congresses, the people's committees, the trade unions and the professional associations, the most important public issues are discussed and the definitive legislative decisions are made.
In the first part of the "Green Book" Gaddafi also lays out his views on freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
. According to him, "a human being, as an individual, should have the freedom of expression, and even if mad, s/he should have the right to freely express his/her madness." Man, as a legal entity, is also free to express themselves as such. In the first case the man represents only himself, in the second - only a group of individuals forming a legal entity.
"Society is composed of many individuals and entities. Therefore, if an individual is insane, that does not mean that the rest of society are mad, too. Press is a method of expression of society, not a single person or entity. A newspaper, if owned by an individual, expresses only the views of its owner. The assertion that it represents public opinion is untenable and has no basis, because in reality it expresses the views of an individual, and from the point of view of genuine democracy it is unacceptable that an individual should own the print media and other types of media that provide the public with information. "
Socialism
The second part of the "Green Book" - "The solution of the economic problem (Socialism)" - sets out the economic aspect of the Third International Theory (published on 2 February 1978).This part criticizes wage labor, comparing it with slavery, and proclaims the right of an employee to any product produced by them. A person must work in accordance with their powers and must also be able to satisfy their needs, and all surplus should be directed to the accumulation of social wealth. The accumulation of surplus by one person reduces [the possibility of satisfaction of] the needs of another person, and is therefore unacceptable.
In September 1977, Gaddafi put forward as the basis of economic life the principle of "self-government in the economy". In line with this principle, it was envisaged that enterprises should be transferred to the collective management of those who work there. The slogan "Partners, not employees" was given theoretical justification in the second part of the Green Book, and in November of the same year this idea began to be implemented in some industrial enterprises.
During the development of his economic ideas, Gaddafi put forward another slogan: "Real Estate - property of its inhabitant." That is, a person living in a house was an owner, not a tenant. In May 1978 a law was passed, whereby renting residential premises was prohibited, and tenants became owners of their rental apartments and houses.
With the slogan "Partners, not employees", workers and employees under the leadership of the People's Committees took over businesses and institutions in not only production but also trade, as well as the various services of service. Former owners got compensation and the opportunity to participate in the management of these enterprises, but in "equal partnership with the producers." This campaign was described as a "people's capture" and was a form of elimination of private ownership of business by upper and middle classes.
The functioning of the political system of the "Jamahiriya" in the field and especially in production was hampered both by the opposition of the upper classes and by the insufficient preparations for the activities conducted and the inability of the new management staff to manage the economy. This led to discontent and unrest among the population against the political and economic innovations of the Libyan leadership. Some of the Muslim clergy accused Gaddafi of "deviation from the Koran."
In response, authorities made serious efforts at limiting the influence of the clergy. Gaddafi made a televised public examination of members of the pro-opposition clergy on the subject the Koran. According to Gaddafi, he proved that they were unable to answer his questions, and he subsequently used that as a reason to deprive some of them of the right to conduct religious services.Strokan SN Libya defends its principles / / Kommersant. - 2005. - № 243 / P (№ 3327), pp. 17
The final result of the economic reforms in the Jamahiriya was meant to be "the achievement of a new socialist society", a stage at which profit and money disappear from society and it becomes fully productive, and production fully meets the material needs of all members of society. At this stage, profits and money were meant to disappear by themselves.
Thanks to successful oil exploration starting in 1961, Libya has become a prosperous state with the highest per capita income in Africa. In 1970, oil prices on world markets increased considerably, leading to the accumulation of substantial funds in Libya, as a supplier of oil to western countries. Government revenues from oil exports were to be used to finance urban development and the creation of a modern system of social welfare.
At the same time, to improve Libya's international prestige, huge sums were spent on creating a well-equipped modern army. In the Middle East and North Africa, Libya served as a carrier of ideas of Arab nationalism and as an uncompromising enemy of Israel and the United States. The sharp drop in oil prices in mid-1980s and the UN sanctions for harbouring Palestinian separatists (in 1992) led to a significant weakening of Libya. On 12 September 2003 UN Security Council lifted the sanctions imposed in 1992.
Public aspect of the theory
The third part - the "Public aspect of the Third International Theory" was published on 1 June 1979. This addressed many aspects of life, including women, the education system, sports, and merging the world's languages. In this part a global vision of proper co-existence is presented. The fundamental principles come down to this: every nation should have its own religion, and should recognize the importance of a continuous social chain ("the family - the tribe - the nation - the world," "from the small to the great").According to the "Green Book": "if the national spirit is stronger than the religious spirit, the struggle between different nations, which used to be united in one religion, is amplified, and each of those nations achieves independence, returning to the social structure that is characteristic of it." "A tribe is the same as a family, but one that has increased due to the increased growth of offspring, that is, the tribe is a big family. The Nation is a tribe, but a tribe that has grown as a result of increased offspring, i.e. a nation is a large tribe. The World is a nation but a nation divided into many nations as a result of population growth, i.e. the world is a great nation."
"The tribe is the natural social protection of the individual, ensuring his social needs." In Libya, according to accepted social tradition, the tribe collectively provides redemption of its members by collectively paying ransom for them, paying their fines, avenging them and collectively defending them.
A special place in the Green Book is reserved for women, their physical build and social role in society:
- First - "A woman is a human, just like a man is";
- Second - a woman is an individual of the female sex, whereas a man is an individual of the male sex. In view of this, a woman "has a regular disease in the form of monthly bleedingMenstruationMenstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
, but if this does not happen, then she has become pregnant." - Third - the tendency to deny a woman her natural role of mother and replace her with nurseries is the beginning of a denial of humane, human society and of its transformation into a biological society, living an artificial life (as a result of this, in Libya, there are no kindergartens, and a woman, once she has given birth to a child, never goes to work again).
- Fourth - males in the world of plants and animals are by nature strong and rough, whereas women in the world of plants and animals in the world and the world's peoples are by nature beautiful and tender.
Accordingly, Gaddafi concluded that "human rights are for everyone - men and women, but the responsibilities are not equal."
Gaddafi also mentions the black race in his work: "The world will be ruled by the black people
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
." In his opinion, this event will be the inevitable outcome of demographic and social patterns. That may be why, in recent decades, Libya has associated itself more with the African continent than the Arab world, trying to take a leading position there.
The issue of language is also addressed: "People will remain underdeveloped, until there is a common language." However, this question can be resolved only through a merging of languages in a series of stages, over several generations, provided that over time these generations lose their inherited traits: "the sensory perceptions, tastes and temperament of their fathers and grandfathers."
The Green Book also has an original take on sports and spectacles:
- "Sport can only be individual, like a prayer";
- "Mass sport is a social need of the human beings, so it is unacceptable from either a sporting or a democratic point of view to 'subcontract' sport to others [professionals]";
- "Collective sport is the business of the masses";
- "Stadiums exist in order to restrict the masses from using sports fields";
- "BoxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and various kinds of wrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
suggest that humanity has not completely rid itself of the vestiges of barbarism."
This approach to sport led to most of Libya's stadiums being open only during military parades, and any kind of wrestling being strictly prohibited.
Relationship with Islam
In the absence of specific prescriptions for the transformation of society in the so-called "Islamic socialism", Gaddafi constantly made revisions to this theory. Before the "Green Book", Islam was considered one of the ideological sources of official ideology, but the third part of this book, which appeared in the summer of 1979, did not assess its truthfulness on the basis of the precepts of Islam.On the contrary, "the truth" of Islamic provisions themselves was evaluated in terms of their compatibility with the theory. It was declared that the driving force of history was national and social struggle. At the same time, as Gaddafi specified, "if we were to restrict ourselves to the support of Muslims only, that would be an example of bigotry and selfishness: True Islam is the one that defends the weak, even if they are not Muslims".
In the subsequent explanations and comments on the "Green Book", many of its provisions underwent significant revisions. But this book still remains the basic catechism of ideology in Libya.
Implementation in Libya
The theory was partially implemented in LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. In March 1977, the "Declaration of Sabha" was declared, and the republic was transformed into a Jamahiriya
Jamahiriya
Jamahiriya may refer to:* a concept in the Political philosophy of Muammar Gaddafi* the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya ruled by Gaddafi * a Savage Republic album, see Jamahiriya Democratique et Populaire de Sauvage-See also:...
(the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya). Those forms of private ownership which were deemed exploitative were abolished (whereas private family businesses in the service sector were preserved).
With the advent of globalization and the information revolution Gaddafi slightly modified his theory by introducing a thesis about the era of large spaces in which the nation-state is becoming inviable.
The word "Jamahiriya" ( , approximately "[state] of the masses") is an Arabic neologism. It is the feminine nisba adjective formed from the term "Jamahir" (masses). It echoes the Arabic term for "Republic", "Jumhuriyah" (formally the feminine nisba adjective from Jumhur "people") .
Gaddafi's "Jamahiriya" form of government was supposed to be different from both the monarchy and the republic, hence the name of "Third" International Theory.
Politics and government of Libya under Gaddafi
Under Gaddafi, Libya was governed by a military regime professing the idea of Arab nationalism, socialism, and Islam. The highest state authority was the General People's Congress (GPC), consisting of representatives of People's Committees. In practice, the GPC had the functions of a parliament. Its members were elected at local and regional levels, although part of them were assigned by Gaddafi personally. Gaddafi also appointed his ministers from among the members of the GPC. While Gaddafi himself did not hold any official posts, he remained the leading political figure in Libya.Islam is the state religion
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
of Libya, but the influence of the Muslim clergy is limited. Direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
has been declared in the country and oil revenues make it possible to maintain a high standard of living for the Libyan population. The presence of foreign capital is reduced, the enterprises in the sphere of large and medium industry are owned by the state.
The basis of justice is the Quran. Judicial proceedings are conducted by a hierarchical system of courts. Small lawsuits are considered in the Magistrates' Courts. Next come the Courts of the First Stage, the Appellate Courts and the Supreme Court.
The official main principle of government in Libya was: "Power, wealth and weapons - in the hands of the people."
Modification of the theory in Libya
The transformation of Libyan society into the present-day political system (known as a Jamahiriya), has been accompanied by many zigzags and has been going more slowly than Gaddafi intended. The system that he created may have aroused the Libyan people to political activism, but, as he had to admit, "popular participation in government was not complete".Therefore, at the session of the General People's Congress held in the town of Sirte
Sirte
Sirte is a city in LibyaSirte may also refer to:* Sirte Declaration, a 1999 resolution to create the African Union* Sirte Oil Company, a Libyan oil companyIn geography:* Gulf of Sirte, alias for Gulf of Sidra on Libya's coast...
on 18 November 1992, it was decided to set up a new political structure: this was to initiate the country's transition to the supreme level of democracy - "a Model Jamahiriya". It was about creating, instead of the primary public meetings (People's Congresses), 1500 communes, which are self-guided mini-states within a state, each with full authority within its district, including the allocation of budgetary funds.
The need to reorganize the former political system, as explained by Gaddafi, was primarily due to the fact that it had "failed to ensure genuine democracy because of the complexity of the structure, which created a gap between the masses and the leadership, and was characterized by excessive centralization."
As a whole, after 1992, the Jamahiriya pursued a policy of building an "Islamic socialist society" dominated by the slogan "Power, wealth and weapons - in the hands of the people!".
See also
- Three Worlds TheoryThree Worlds TheoryThe Three Worlds Theory , developed by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong , posited that international relations comprise three politico–economic worlds: the First World, the superpowers, the Second World, the superpowers' allies, and the Third World, the nations of the Non-Aligned...
- Third PositionThird PositionThird Position is a revolutionary nationalist political ideology that emphasizes its opposition to both communism and capitalism. Advocates of Third Position politics typically present themselves as "beyond left and right", instead claiming to syncretize radical ideas from both ends of the...
- Third CampThird campThe third camp, also known as third camp socialism or third camp Trotskyism, is a branch of socialism which aims to oppose both capitalism and Stalinism, by supporting the organised working class as a "third camp"....
- Third Way (centrism)Third way (centrism)The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
External links
- www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-822
- Third Universal Theory discussion forum
- alternative political system in Open Directory ProjectOpen Directory ProjectThe Open Directory Project , also known as Dmoz , is a multilingual open content directory of World Wide Web links. It is owned by Netscape but it is constructed and maintained by a community of volunteer editors.ODP uses a hierarchical ontology scheme for organizing site listings...
- Green Book
- Site "Kaddafi.ru"
- Ryasov AV"Left" in the Arab East: the Libyan experience - M.: Institute for the Near East, 2005 (review)