Dimensions of Radical Democracy: Pluralism, Citizenship, Community

by Chantal Mouffe (Editor)

The themes of citizenship and community are today at the center of a fierce debate as both left and right try to mobilize them for their cause. For the left such notions are crucial in all the current attempts to redefine political struggle through extending and deepening democracy. But, argue the contributors to this volume, these concepts need to be made compatible with the pluralism that marks modern democracy. Rather than reject the liberal tradition, they argue, the aim should be to radicalize it.

These essays set out to examine what types of “citizen” and “community” might be required by such a radical and plural democracy. From a range of disciplines and a fruitful diversity of theoretical perspectives, the contributors help us to address the following how to defend the greatest possible pluralism without destroying the very framework of the democratic political community.

Despite their differences, a vision emerges from these essays which is sharply at odds both with the universalistic and rationalistic conception to be found in the work of Habermas, and with postmodern celebrations of absolute heterogeneity. For this book is an exploration of politics —of a politics where power, conflict and antagonism will always play a central role.

Genres: Politics

262 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 1992

About the author

Chantal Mouffe is a Belgian political theorist. She holds a professorship at the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom. She is best known as co-author of Hegemony and Socialist Strategy with Ernesto Laclau. Their thoughts are usually described as post-Marxism as they were both politically active in the social and student movements of the 1960s including working class and new social movements (notably second-wave feminism in Mouffe's case). They rejected Marxist economic determinism and the notion of class struggle being the single crucial antagonism in society. Instead they urged for radical democracy of agonistic pluralism where all antagonisms could be expressed. In their opinion, ‘...there is no possibility of society without antagonism’; indeed, without the forces that articulate a vision of society, it could not exist.

Reviews

[Lomic Lamouroux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Des entretiens passionnants entre une philosophe et un homme politique, au sujet de la construction d'une conscience politique de gauche radicale dans nos démocraties modernes, et au sein d'un système capitaliste très implanté en Europe. les réflexions sont riches des observations de Chantal Mouffe sur les expériences socialistes en Amérique latine, et de l'application politique effectuée par Inigo Errejon en Espagne avec le mouvement Podemos dont il etait alors le n°2. Très instructif et très enthousiasmant.

[Caro Mnd · Rating 3 out of 5]

J’avais beaucoup d’attente sur une pensée de gauche radicale, mais j’ai l’impression d’assister
à une conversion égocentrique où les deux interlocuteurs ne se sont même pas penchés sur
la forme de leur propos. On est face à un discours pompeux qui tourne en boucle à base de
grands mots théoriques mais creux, car aucune solution concrète pour réaffirmer la gauche
n’est proposée (hormis le parti politique du monsieur). Mais surtout, ils veulent remettre en
question l’hégémonie de l’état sans réellement radicaliser la politique, puisqu’ils ont l’air de
trouver un consensus avec la droit tout en critiquant la gauche qui s’est rabaissée à des codes néolibéraux.