“Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim” M.P. Follett, a plea for Democracy

Abstract

Democracy is, in the words of Winston Churchill, the worst form of government, except for all the others. According to Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933), the democratic process is not an instituted mechanism, but a collective approach whose outcome is more than the sum of its parts. Follett thus proposes to create a democratic community by relying first of all on the local, proximity, and diversity. Follett also approaches her relationship with democracy as a goal to be achieved, something never before attempted: “We have not yet tried democracy” (1918).