By Jordan Jardine, Center for a Stateless Society

Muammar Gaddafi was, is, and always will be a controversial figure. Though his rise from Bedouin nomad to ruler of Libya is impressive, many of the things he did while in control of the country were unquestionably authoritarian and criminal. However, Gaddafi began as a sort of liberator. He joined the Libyan military in the early 1960s and later became one of the leading figures behind the 1969 coup to overthrow King Idris. With the monarchy successfully abolished, Gaddafi seized power and transformed Libya into the Libyan Arab Republic. Eventually, Gaddafi decided to put his political, social and economic views on paper in a brief volume entitled The Green Book, first published in 1975, with an English version distributed worldwide a year later.

Summary

Part 1: The Solution to the Problem of Democracy

In this opening section of The Green Book, Gaddafi argues that “democracies” as we know them are actually highly authoritarian and anti-democratic. He states that parliamentary systems, while well-intended, often end up misrepresenting the interests of the very people they were established to to serve. Partisan politics, he asserts, will always end up resulting in politicians serving the interests of the party rather than the people who voted for them. Gaddafi argues that direct democracy, as opposed to representative or parliamentary democracy, is the best remedy for this problem.

Additionally, he says that class conflict will always result in the most powerful class dominating the lower classes, particularly through political means, so it is essentially useless for the upper class to try to appease the lower classes in a one-size-fits-all way because appeasement will never be enough to keep the lower classes happy and they will always have different interests than those of the ruling class. Gaddafi goes on to outline his specific vision for direct democracy. He says that direct democracy should be carried out through what he calls “Popular Conferences” and “People’s Committees.” Basically, “Popular Conferences” are decentralized electoral bodies elected directly by the people that are divided into two groups: Basic and Non-Basic Popular Conferences. In turn, These Popular Conferences elect members to People’s Committees. He goes on to say that the “true definition” of democracy is “the supervision of the people by the people (p. 25).”

Next, Gaddafi addresses laws and where their basis should come from. He argues that laws should be based in religious or traditional principles and says that secular constitutional law is “invalid and illogical” because it “ … lacks the natural source from which it must derive its justification (p. 26).” Later on, he describes how direct democracy will help in increasing freedom of the press, something he says everyone should be entitled to, including individuals and corporations.

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