Introduction and Overview

Welcome

Welcome to the ‘Westminster Democracy’ course.

The Westminster system of democracy is that system that evolved over approximately 1000 years in Britain and was then exported to what is now the Commonwealth. Variations exist in each Commonwealth country (e.g. Canada, Australia) but the system itself is much the same.

The Westminster system is different from the ‘continental’ or ‘republican’ system of democracy that exists in continental Europe, Russia, and the United States of America. However, only the first three lessons deal with issues unique to Commonwealth countries. The other lessons are pertinent to any person in any democratic State.

The course is a-political. It encourages you to think deeply and strategically about social change. It will introduce you to factual material and concepts that you may find unfamiliar or confronting. It proceeds on the assumption that …the truth will make you free.

Enrolment and Assessment

This is a full fee paying course. Course assessment is by quiz (in different modules). Successful completion of assessment entitles a student to a certificate. It is not necessary to complete the assessment to do and enjoy the course. However if an assessment is not completed a certificate will not be awarded. Graduation is by mastery. Unlike most courses that set a grade level, or run results over a bell curve then dumb down the pass mark to an arbitrary average, the pass mark for this course is 100 per cent. You may undertake assessment as many times as necessary.

Purchase of the course lasts for 90 days. After 90 days your access will expire.

Course Overview

Lesson one – Alfred to Federation looks at the British Isles in the ninth century as the source of the major trends that have shaped our constitutional and parliamentary system

Lesson two –  Constitutional Freedoms – looks systematically at those constitutional freedoms we do and do not have under the British constitution and the written constitution of Australia.

Lesson three – Who is the Government –  looks at the respective roles of parliament and of cabinet with reference to the European traditions of fascism and representative government.

Lesson four – Influencing Parliamentarians – is a practical guide to lobbying your representatives at local, State/Territory and National levels.

Lesson five – The Policy Cycle – Influencing the Public Service – examines the work of the public service and how you can influence public service policy formation.

Lesson six – Unseen Influencers – in this lesson we pull back the veil and have a hard look at some realities about who has influence ‘below the radar’ of public discussion.

Lesson seven – Major Trends – considers four major trends that are shaping long term social and economic policy in the Western World.

Lesson eight – Western World Mass Social Movements – provides an overview of mass social movement and considers what causes them to succeed or fail. Compares and contrasts movements. Introduces the ‘Hegelian dialectic’ model of social campaigning.

Lesson nine – The Activist Journey – explains why people become activists. Violent and non-violent strategies for social change are examined. The activist spectrum and ‘conflict of visions’ model of social conflict are explained.

Lesson ten – cultural Marxism redux – examines the origins and objectives of cultural Marxism and how it is impacting Western societies currently.

Concluding Comments – looks back over 1000 years of conflict to where we are today. It explores whether the system we have now is capable of mediating the foundational power and value shifts currently taking place in the Western World. It remembers the saints, martyrs and explorers on whose shoulders we stand, and proposes that this heritage is worth building on for the future.