Conventional democratic theories, and the basic working concepts of the political parties, have not actually kept up with the changes in the system of power and control, and are not very useful anymore, frankly.
Traditional democratic theory is too limited, and deals only with government. But what about when government is not who controls policy?
So let’s say that democracy means the accountability of those controlling society, whether institutions or individuals.
We need to look at what is really happening, and what the real dynamics of power are in a country. In the age of globalized capital, something like half of the 100 largest economic entities in the world are corporations. They are quasi-states and they are unaccountable though they wield enormous influence.
We need to develop mechanisms for responding to that. Any political party that continues to limit itself to the realm of traditional government, and does not address the overwhelming control exercised by private economic power, serves merely to maintain the illusion of political democracy, and distract the population from real confrontation with the tyranny that is covertly conquering our countries.