scispace - formally typeset
Journal ArticleDOI

Luc Boltanski and democratic theory: Fragility, auto-nomos, and critique as democracy’s end

Paul Blokker
- 08 Sep 2014 - 
- Vol. 124, Iss: 1, pp 53-70
TLDR
In this article, the authors discuss the latent democratic theory in On Critique by focusing on the differentiation between reality and the world and the conceptualization of institutions, and relate a rather rudimentary democratic theory to the radical-democratic dimensions of the work of Claude Lefort and Cornelius Castoriadis to make its contours more explicit.
Abstract
In Luc Boltanski’s On Critique, various dimensions of democracy as a political regime and form of society are evident, but never explicitly conceptualized. There is, however, something to be gained by making the democratic dimension in Boltanski’s work more explicit: the normative and political standpoints become clearer, but also the real-life possibilities for and significance of critique in contemporary times. The paper will first discuss the (latent) democratic theory in On Critique by focusing on the differentiation between reality and the world and the conceptualization of institutions. In a second step, I will relate a rather rudimentary democratic theory to the radical-democratic dimensions of the work of Claude Lefort and Cornelius Castoriadis in order to make its contours more explicit. In a third step, I will discuss a tension that exists between the radical-democratic dimension in On Critique and Boltanski’s portrayal of contemporary capitalist-democratic societies as largely immune to critique.

read more

Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI

City government in an age of austerity: discursive institutions and critique

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the construction and deployment of discursive institutions seeking to control the behaviour of actors, including reducing critique, with the intention of legitimising austerity programs. And they find that austerity governance is characterised by discursive austerity institutions based on market and bureaucratic values.
Journal ArticleDOI

Justification work: The homeless workers’ movement and the pragmatic sociology of dissent in Brazil’s crisis

TL;DR: In the late 2000s, a number of analysts were optimistic about Brazil's future, however, as a political and economic crisis developed just as Brazil was emerging from a decade-long economic boom.
Posted ContentDOI

Unrepresentative claims: Refusing to represent as a source of power and legitimacy

TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on situations in which people actively refuse to make representative claims or refute their own representativeness, such as during the French Yellow Vest movement, and how these claims articulate representation and power in a way that seems at odds with how we intuitively think their relation.
Book ChapterDOI

Justification in Protest Publics: The Homeless Workers’ Movement in Brazil’s Crisis

TL;DR: In the late 2000s, a number of analysts were optimistic about Brazil's future and their expectant analyses did not bear out, however, as a political and economic crisis developed just as Brazil was gearing up to host two mega-events, the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.
References
More filters
Book

Post-Foundational Political Thought: Political Difference in Nancy, Lefort, Badiou and Laclau

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a political ontology based on post-foundationalism and Contingency for the absence ground of the social. But the ontology is not a political Ontology.
Journal ArticleDOI

Democracy as Procedure and Democracy as Regime

TL;DR: In the intellectual confusion prevailing since the demise of Marxism and “marxism”, the attempt is made to define democracy as a matter of pure procedure, explicitly avoiding and condemning any reference to substantive objectives as mentioned in this paper.
Book

Figures of the thinkable

TL;DR: Aeschylean Anthropogony and Sophoclean Self-Creation of Anthropos is described in the French edition of the French version of the book as mentioned in this paper, where the authors discuss the psychical and social roots of hate.
Book

Democracy in Question: Democratic Openness in a Time of Political Closure

Alan Keenan
TL;DR: This paper explored the theoretical paradoxes and practical dilemmas that flow from the still radical idea that in a democracy it is the people who rule, and argued that accepting the open and uncertain character of democratic politics can lead to more sustainable and widespread forms of democratic engagement.
Related Papers (5)
Trending Questions (1)
How can Cornelius Castoriadis theory be used to critic contemporary democracy?

Cornelius Castoriadis' theory emphasizes radical democracy, public space, and critique, offering insights to critique contemporary democracy by promoting inclusivity, autonomy, and challenging societal norms.