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Democracy and Difference
This chapter is in the book Democracy and Difference
TwelveDemocracy, Power, and the “Political”CHANTAL MOUFFEIN RECENT DECADEScategories like “human nature,” “universal reason,” and “ra-tional autonomous subject” have increasingly been put into question. Fromdifferent standpoints, a variety of thinkers have criticized the ideas of a univer-sal human nature, of a universal canon of rationality through which thathuman nature could be known, as well as the possibility of an unconditionaluniversal truth. Such a critique of Enlightenment’s universalism and rational-ism—which is sometimes referred to as “postmodern”—has been presentedby some authors, like Jürgen Habermas, as constituting a threat to the moderndemocratic project. They consider that the link existing between the demo-cratic ideal of the Enlightenment and its rationalistic and universalistic per-spective is such that rejecting the latter necessarily jeopardizes the former.In this essay I want to take issue with such a view and defend the oppositethesis. Indeed, I am going to argue that it is only in the context of a politicaltheory that takes account of the critique of essentialism—which I see as thecrucial contribution of the so-called postmodern approach—that it is possibleto formulate the aims of a radical democratic politics in a way that makes roomfor the contemporary proliferation of political spaces and the multiplicity ofdemocratic demands.1Pluralism and Modern DemocracyBefore developing my argument, I would like to make a few remarks to specifythe way I envisage modern liberal democracy. First, I consider that it is impor-tant to distinguish liberal democracy from democratic capitalism, and to un-derstand it in terms of classical political philosophy as aregime, a politicalform of society that is defined exclusively at the level of the political, leavingaside its possible articulation with an economic system. Liberal democracy inits various appellations—constitutional democracy, representative democ-racy, parliamentary democracy, modern democracy—is not the application ofthe democratic model to a wider context, as some would have it; understoodas aregime, it concerns the symbolic ordering of social relations and is muchmore than a mere “form of government.” It is a specific form of organizing
© 2021 Princeton University Press, Princeton

TwelveDemocracy, Power, and the “Political”CHANTAL MOUFFEIN RECENT DECADEScategories like “human nature,” “universal reason,” and “ra-tional autonomous subject” have increasingly been put into question. Fromdifferent standpoints, a variety of thinkers have criticized the ideas of a univer-sal human nature, of a universal canon of rationality through which thathuman nature could be known, as well as the possibility of an unconditionaluniversal truth. Such a critique of Enlightenment’s universalism and rational-ism—which is sometimes referred to as “postmodern”—has been presentedby some authors, like Jürgen Habermas, as constituting a threat to the moderndemocratic project. They consider that the link existing between the demo-cratic ideal of the Enlightenment and its rationalistic and universalistic per-spective is such that rejecting the latter necessarily jeopardizes the former.In this essay I want to take issue with such a view and defend the oppositethesis. Indeed, I am going to argue that it is only in the context of a politicaltheory that takes account of the critique of essentialism—which I see as thecrucial contribution of the so-called postmodern approach—that it is possibleto formulate the aims of a radical democratic politics in a way that makes roomfor the contemporary proliferation of political spaces and the multiplicity ofdemocratic demands.1Pluralism and Modern DemocracyBefore developing my argument, I would like to make a few remarks to specifythe way I envisage modern liberal democracy. First, I consider that it is impor-tant to distinguish liberal democracy from democratic capitalism, and to un-derstand it in terms of classical political philosophy as aregime, a politicalform of society that is defined exclusively at the level of the political, leavingaside its possible articulation with an economic system. Liberal democracy inits various appellations—constitutional democracy, representative democ-racy, parliamentary democracy, modern democracy—is not the application ofthe democratic model to a wider context, as some would have it; understoodas aregime, it concerns the symbolic ordering of social relations and is muchmore than a mere “form of government.” It is a specific form of organizing
© 2021 Princeton University Press, Princeton

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Introduction The Democratic Moment and the Problem of Difference 1
  4. PART ONE. DEMOCRATIC THEORY: FOUNDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES
  5. One Three Normative Models of Democracy 21
  6. Two Fugitive Democracy 31
  7. Three Using Power/Fighting Power: The Polity 46
  8. Four Toward a Deliberative Model of Democratic Legitimacy 67
  9. Five Procedure and Substance in Deliberative Democracy 95
  10. Six Communication and the Other: Beyond Deliberative Democracy 120
  11. PART TWO. EQUALITY, DIFFERENCE, AND PUBLIC REPRESENTATION
  12. Seven Dealing with Difference: A Politics of Ideas, or a Politics of Presence? 139
  13. Eight Three Forms of Group-Differentiated Citizenship in Canada 153
  14. Nine Diversity and Democracy: Representing Differences 171
  15. Ten Democracy, Difference, and the Right of Privacy 187
  16. Eleven Gender Equity and the Welfare State: A Postindustrial Thought Experiment 218
  17. PART THREE. CULTURE, IDENTITY, AND DEMOCRACY
  18. Twelve Democracy, Power, and the “Political” 245
  19. Thirteen Difference, Dilemmas, and the Politics of Home 257
  20. Fourteen Democracy and Multiculturalism 278
  21. Fifteen The Performance of Citizenship: Democracy, Gender, and Difference in the French Revolution 295
  22. Sixteen Peripheral Peoples and Narrative Identities: Arendtian Reflections on Late Modernity 314
  23. PART FOUR. DOES DEMOCRACY NEED FOUNDATIONS?
  24. Seventeen Idealizations, Foundations, and Social Practices 333
  25. Eighteen Democratic Theory and Democratic Experience 336
  26. Nineteen Democracy, Philosophy, and Justification 340
  27. Twenty Foundationalism and Democracy 348
  28. List of Contributors 361
  29. Index 365
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691234168-013

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Introduction The Democratic Moment and the Problem of Difference 1
  4. PART ONE. DEMOCRATIC THEORY: FOUNDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES
  5. One Three Normative Models of Democracy 21
  6. Two Fugitive Democracy 31
  7. Three Using Power/Fighting Power: The Polity 46
  8. Four Toward a Deliberative Model of Democratic Legitimacy 67
  9. Five Procedure and Substance in Deliberative Democracy 95
  10. Six Communication and the Other: Beyond Deliberative Democracy 120
  11. PART TWO. EQUALITY, DIFFERENCE, AND PUBLIC REPRESENTATION
  12. Seven Dealing with Difference: A Politics of Ideas, or a Politics of Presence? 139
  13. Eight Three Forms of Group-Differentiated Citizenship in Canada 153
  14. Nine Diversity and Democracy: Representing Differences 171
  15. Ten Democracy, Difference, and the Right of Privacy 187
  16. Eleven Gender Equity and the Welfare State: A Postindustrial Thought Experiment 218
  17. PART THREE. CULTURE, IDENTITY, AND DEMOCRACY
  18. Twelve Democracy, Power, and the “Political” 245
  19. Thirteen Difference, Dilemmas, and the Politics of Home 257
  20. Fourteen Democracy and Multiculturalism 278
  21. Fifteen The Performance of Citizenship: Democracy, Gender, and Difference in the French Revolution 295
  22. Sixteen Peripheral Peoples and Narrative Identities: Arendtian Reflections on Late Modernity 314
  23. PART FOUR. DOES DEMOCRACY NEED FOUNDATIONS?
  24. Seventeen Idealizations, Foundations, and Social Practices 333
  25. Eighteen Democratic Theory and Democratic Experience 336
  26. Nineteen Democracy, Philosophy, and Justification 340
  27. Twenty Foundationalism and Democracy 348
  28. List of Contributors 361
  29. Index 365
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