Burheim, J. (2006) Is Democracy Possible? The alternative to electoral democracy, 2nd Ed, Sydney University Press, Sydney
One of Burnheim's key arguments for demarchy is that the state as the monopoly for coercion is not necessary for a legitimately functioning community. His alternative to the monopoly state is a collective of communities.
Typically, the only proposed alternative to the state is community control. The problem with this however, is that community control is based on interpersonal relations and reciprocity which, once the community reaches a size greater than a few hundred people, anonymity and social distance erodes these control mechanism. Burnheim acknowledges this criticism and addresses it in later chapters.
"The State exists to express and promote the unity of a given territorial community" (p26)
Violence
The monopoly state is often justified by appeals to protection from violence: from crime, political violence, and from other states. Burnheim dismisses the the threat from individuals which 'can be handled in well established ways' p(18) yet this argument fails to distinguish demarchic from bureaucratic control.
Political violence presupposes a state to subvert or fight against which addresses the second form but his response to violence from other states is inadequate. It may be true that a demarchic would be too difficult or expensive to occupy & control but this doesn't address the issue of other states expropriating valuable territory and resources, or causing considerable harm in some other way.
Integrating the Common Good
The 'state as a ship' metaphor implies that strong, central leadership is necessary to steer a populous to great ends. Burnheim addresses this claim by demonstrating both how decentralised organisations can achieve the same aim while centralised bureaucracies often fail to do so.
He makes a distinction between the production of the common good with control over the production of common goods. The state is clearly not required for the former while a centralised monopoly is not required for the latter as the 'common good' can represent a multitude of goods.
Common Law
Another major justification he addresses is the requirement of a common system of law. Burnheim acknowledges that a common system of arbitration is needed to settle collective disputes but denies that a central monopoly body is required for this. Rather, he argues that common laws can be agreed upon with a plurality of legal bodies addressing specific areas along with a minimalist 'first-order' body.
Democracy vs the State
@book{burnheim2006democracy, title={Is Democracy Possible?: The Alternative to Electoral Democracy}, author={Burnheim, John}, year={2006}, publisher={Sydney University Press} }