Resumen

ASPRINO, Gladys. A Philosophical-Political Review Regarding Participation. Frónesis [online]. 2008, vol.15, n.3, pp.37-57. ISSN 1315-6268.

This article presents a philosophical-political review about community participation in Venezuela. In the first instance, this perspective is approached starting from the socio-political origin and historical occurrence of participation; in this sense, it seeks to decipher the historiographic story that configures the non-opening of those original participative manifestations, from the beginning of the construction of the Republic in Venezuela, which, in formal terms, was determined by mimicry of the antique pre-existent colonial socio-political order. Immediately, an approach to representative democracy is constructed; in this order of ideas, implantation of the representative democracy model is analyzed, also called “democracy of parties” and/or elites, emphasizing the gradual development of a dependent society not built on truly participative bases. Finally, this study analyzes participative democracy and its scope for community participation. Its meaning consists of permanent citizen action, in constant citizen social construction activity that demands proactivity, knowledge, education, planning, capacity to negotiate, constancy, social vocation for the simple, common citizen; it is about “participation in management”, planning, follow-up and citizen control of public governing activity, whether political, economic and/or social.

Palabras clave : Participation; community participation; representative democracy; participative democracy.