Radical democracy
Radical democracy is a type of democracy that advocates the radical extension of equality and liberty.[1] Radical democracy is concerned with a radical extension of equality and freedom, following the idea that democracy is an unfinished, inclusive, continuous and reflexive process.[1]
Theories
Within radical democracy there are three distinct strands, as articulated by Lincoln Dahlberg.[1] These strands can be labeled as agonistic, deliberative and autonomist.
Agonistic perspective
The first and most noted strand of radical democracy is the agonistic perspective, which is associated with the work of Laclau and Mouffe. Radical democracy was articulated by
According to Laclau and Mouffe "Radical democracy" means "the root of democracy".
Deliberative perspective
The second strand, deliberative, is mostly associated with the work of Jürgen Habermas. This strand of radical democracy is opposed to the agonistic perspective of Laclau and Mouffe. Habermas argues that political problems surrounding the organization of life can be resolved by deliberation.[5] That is, people coming together and deliberating on the best possible solution. This type of radical democracy is in contrast with the agonistic perspective based on consensus and communicative means: there is a reflexive critical process of coming to the best solution.[5] Equality and freedom are at the root of Habermas' deliberative theory. The deliberation is established through institutions that can ensure free and equal participation of all.[5] Habermas is aware of the fact that different cultures, world-views and ethics can lead to difficulties in the deliberative process. Despite this fact he argues that the communicative reason can create a bridge between opposing views and interests.[5]
Autonomist perspective
The third strand of radical democracy is the autonomist strand, which is associated with left-communist and post-Marxist ideas. The difference between this type of radical democracy and the two noted above is the focus on "the community".[1] The community is seen as the pure constituted power instead of the deliberative rational individuals or the agonistic groups as in the first two strands. The community resembles a "plural multitude" (of people) instead of the working class in traditional Marxist theory.[1] This plural multitude is the pure constituted power and reclaims this power by searching and creating mutual understandings within the community.[1] This strand of radical democracy challenges the traditional thinking about equality and freedom in liberal democracies by stating that individual equality can be found in the singularities within the multitude, equality overall is created by an all-inclusive multitude and freedom is created by restoring the multitude in its pure constituted power.[1] This strand of radical democracy is often a term used to refer to the post-Marxist perspectives of Italian radicalism – for example Paolo Virno.
Part of the Politics series |
Democracy |
---|
Politics portal |
Theorists
Agonistic perspective
- agonistic democracy. An agonistic democracy is focused on contestation rather than on rational consensus.[6] The discourse is not violence-based, but engages different aspects of political conflict. According to Connoly an agonistic democracy is based on a term he calls ¨agonistic respect¨, which allows people to honor different sources and conflicting opinions.[6]
- Roslyn Fuller - Roslyn Fuller elaborates a conception of agonistic democracy that combines mass participation with active debate,[7] pay for participation[8] and modern information technology[9] to create a citizen-centric direct democracy
- Ernesto Laclau - Associated with the agonistic strand of radical democracy as articulated in Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics.
- Chantal Mouffe - Associated with the agonistic strand of radical democracy as articulated in Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics.
- Roberto Mangabeira Unger - Roberto Mangabeira Unger argues that society does not emerge from consensus, compromising and looking for the best option, but from struggle and political contestation.[10] Unger is a proponent of the vision of an empowered democracy, which would involve radical changes at politics in the centre. These changes would involve more social institutions in which everyone can interact, discuss and effectively empower themselves to drastically change economic, political and social circumstances.[10]
- Sheldon S. Wolin - Wolin's political thought clearly aligns with the ideal of an participatory democracy.[11] Wolin was the first in articulating the idea of a ¨fugitive democracy¨ in which democracy is a political experience and the ordinary people are the primary political actors. Wolin challenged consensus and can therefore be positioned within the agonistic perspective of radical democracy.[11]
Deliberative perspective
- Theory of Communicative Action.
- James Fishkin - designed practical implementations of deliberative democracy with direct active participation.[12]
Autonomist perspective
- Cornel West - West describes himself as a radical democrat and a non-Marxist socialist, which positions him in the critical post-Marxist strand of radical democracy.[13]
- Paolo Virno - Figurehead for the Italian Autonomist Marxist movement.
- Ion Mittler - Mittler uses the term "multi-dimensional democracy" to describe a political system, which is based on regional legal autonomies of the major ideological movements in society, such as political parties. Theorists of autonomist radical democracy usually tend to suggest much smaller and more local autonomous communities than the quite large autonomies described by Mittler.[14]
Criticism
Agonistic perspective
Laclau and Mouffe have argued for radical agonistic democracy, where different opinions and worldviews are not oppressed by the search for consensus in liberal and deliberative democracy. As this agonistic perspective has been most influential in academic literature, it has been subject to most criticisms on the idea of radical democracy. Brockelman for example argues that the theory of radical democracy is an
Deliberative perspective
Habermas and Rawls have argued for radical deliberative democracy, where consensus and communicative means are at the root of politics. However, some scholars identify multiple tensions between participation and deliberation. Three of these tensions are identified by Joshua Cohen, a student of the philosopher John Rawls:[17]
- Wanting to improve the quality of deliberation can be at the expense of public participation. In this case, representatives and legislators are more focused on argumentation and deliberation than on seeking to advance the interests of their constituents. By focusing on reasonable deliberation the interests of particular constituents can be underrepresented.[17]
- Conversely, seeking to maximize the public participation can be at the expense of the quality of deliberation. Maximize public participation can be accomplished by popular initiatives like referendums. Referendums however allows people to decide on an important topic with an yes/no vote. By using a yes/no vote people can be discouraged to engage in a reasoned discussion in creating legislation. It is also argued that through maximizing public participation, manipulation and suppression become present.[17]
- Deliberation depends on sufficient knowledge and interests from all participants as well as adequate and easy accessible information. On many important issues however, the number of participators with sufficient knowledge is rather limited and thus the quality of deliberation declines when more uninformed participants enter the discussion.[17]
Radical democracy and colonialism
However, the concept of radical democracy is seen in some circles as colonial in nature due to its reliance on a western notion of democracy.[18] It is argued that liberal democracy is viewed by the West as the only legitimate form of governance.[19]
Re-interpretations and adaptations
Since Laclau and Mouffe argued for a radical democracy, many other theorists and practitioners have adapted and changed the term.
Radical democracy and the internet
With the rise of the internet in the years after the development of various strands of radical democracy theory, the relationship between the internet and the theory has been increasingly focused upon. The internet is regarded as an important aspect of radical democracy, as it provides a means for communication which is central to every approach to the theory.
The internet is believed to reinforce both the theory of radical democracy and the actual possibility of radical democracy through three distinct ways:[26]
- The internet provides a platform for further discussion about radical democracy, thus contributing to the theory's development;
- The internet allows new political communities and democratic cultures to emerge that challenge the existing political ideas;
- The internet strengthens the voice of minority groups.
This last point refers to the concept of a radical public sphere where voice in the
Contemporary mass movements committed to radical democracy
- The EZLN – Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico: a far-left militant and political group. Their ideology is based on their aspiration to execute politics in a bottom-up, rather than top-down way.[29] The EZLN is associated with the Zapatista uprising and the formation of the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities, whose governance is heavily influenced by radical democratic and libertarian socialist principles.[30]
- The MST – Landless Workers' Movement in Brazil: a social movement that aims at land reform to make land ownership more accessible for the poor. It seeks to achieve this goal through combating social issues such as racism, sexism and skewed income distributions.[31]
- The AANES – Rojava Revolution with the support of the Syrian Democratic Forces based on principles of decentralization, direct democracy, and libertarian socialism.[32]
- The Socialist Party USA[33] party was founded in 1973. It is opposed to all forms of oppression, and to seek to create a "non-racist, classless, feminist and socialist society".[34]
- national renewable energyinfrastructure.
References
- ^ ISBN 9781349283156.
Radical democracy can then be defined as the type of democracy that signals an ongoing concern with the radical extension of equality and liberty.
- ^ a b c d e f Dahlberg, L. (2012). Radical Democracy: 2.
- ^ Dahlberg, L. (2012). Radical Democracy: 2. [verification needed]
- ^ Laclau, E and Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics, Verso: London. [verification needed]
- ^ )
- ^ OCLC 191934259.
- ^ Manville, Brook (2019-09-08). "Will Technology Kill Democracy—Or Reinvent It?". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
This lively polemic asserts that the problem for western civic societies is not so much defending against hostile and abusive use of technology. Instead, it's failing to use technology to rediscover what democracy should be for the modern nation state: citizens participating personally in public debate and having meaningful say in policy decisions that affect them—without the distorting and corruptible role of legislative proxies or elitist agency officials
- ^ Fuller, Roslyn (2016-01-10). "Delivering "people power": lessons from ancient Athens". Roar Magazine. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
Another strand in the movement towards an Athenian system is the re-introduction of pay for participation, for example through a basic income linked to a citizen's participation.
- ^ Lavine, Steven (2020-02-02). "A Guide to Restoring Faith in Democracy". LA Review of Books. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
Digital media and already-existing software make it possible at low cost for the mass of voters to make themselves heard and to engage in direct and even deliberative decision making.
- ^ ISSN 0014-1704.
- ^ ISBN 9780691186771
- ISBN 978-0-19-957210-6.
- OCLC 42706265.
- ^ Mittler, Ion. (2005). The Best Possible Politics? Introduction to multi-dimensional democracy.
- S2CID 154930444.
- ^ Studebaker, Benjamin (27 February 2014). "A Critique of Radical Democracy". Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ ISSN 1291-1941.
- ^ Dhaliwal, A. (1996). Can the Subaltern Vote? Radical Democracy, Discourses of Representation and Rights, and Questions of Race. In Trend, D. (ed.) Radical Democracy: Identity, Citizenship, and the State (pp. 42-61). New York: Routledge.
- ^ Janet Conway & Jakeet Singh (2011) Radical Democracy in Global Perspective: notes from the pluriverse, Third World Quarterly, 32:4, 689-706, DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2011.570029
- )
- ^ Freire, P. (2004). Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.
- ^ hooks, b. (1996). Representation and Democracy: An Interview. In Trend, D. (ed.) Radical Democracy: Identity, Citizenship, and the State (pp. 228-236). New York: Routledge.
- ^ Giroux, H. (1996). Pedagogy and Radical Democracy in the Age of “Political Correctness”. In Trend, D. (ed.) Radical Democracy: Identity, Citizenship, and the State (pp. 179-194). New York: Routledge.
- ^ Chatterton, P. Making Autonomous Geographies: Argentina’s Popular Uprising and the ‘Movimiento de Traebajadores Desocupados (Unemployed Workers Movement), Geoforum, (2005), Volume 36, Issue 5, pp. 545-61.
- Gramsci Is Dead: Anarchist Currents in the Newest Social Movements. Between the lines: Toronto. p. 195
- ^ Dahlberg and Siapera, Lincoln and Eugenia (2007). Radical Democracy and the Internet: Interrogating Theory and Practice. p. 272.
- S2CID 143598116.
- S2CID 143598116.
- ^ "The Zapatista's Return: A Masked Marxist on the Stump"
- )
- ^ "Nossos objetivos". MST page, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-02. Retrieved 2012-09-01.. Retrieved September 1, 2012
- ^ "Syria Kurds adopt constitution for autonomous federal region". TheNewArab. 31 December 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
- ^ Socialism as Radical Democracy Archived 2010-03-15 at the Wayback Machine -- Statement of Principles of the Socialist Party USA (accessed 14 May 2008).
- ^ "Socialism As Radical Democracy: Statement of Principles of the Socialist Party USA". Socialist Party USA. Retrieved July 6, 2018.