May 10, 2012
Jacques Ranciere
Rancière, Jacques: Rancière believes democracy is neither a
governmental or societal structure. Rather, it is the underlying principle
which makes both possible. For
Rancière, democracy is the equality
at the heart of inequality. Democracy, equality, is the underlying condition of
politics, and not a goal or structure to be attained.
Wendy Brown
Brown, Wendy: The word democracy means only that “the people” rule themselves,
that the whole rather than a part or an Other is politically sovereign.
However, as Brown points out, this definition does not necessarily entail
“representation, constitutions, deliberation, participation, free markets,
rights, universality or even equality.”
Giorgio Agamben
Agamben, Giorgio: Agamben suggests the word democracy has at least
two, distinct meanings that often get mistakenly conflated. First, democracy
refers to the political agreements (such as a constitution, public law, social
norms) through which the people organize and make collective decisions. Agamben
calls this a “political-juridical” rationality—meaning this aspect of democracy
refers to the creation of laws, and the constant revision of law, by the people
of any given collective.
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