Democracy and Ontology: Agonism between Political Liberalism, Foucault and Psychoanalysis

Description

This book investigates the relationship between liberal democracies and ontology, that is, philosophical claims about the constitution of agents and the social world. Many philosophers argue that ontology needs to be avoided in political and legal philosophy. In fact, political liberalism, a highly influential paradigm founded by the philosopher John Rawls, makes the avoidance of ontology a core ambition of its ‘political, non-metaphysical’ programme. In contrast to political liberalism, this book argues that attending to ontological disputes is essential to political and legal philosophy. Illuminating, criticising and developing ontological arguments does not only enhance our understanding of justice, but also highlights key features of democratic citizenship. The argument is built up by bringing together three traditions of thought that have so far not been confronted with one another: political liberalism, the work of Michel Foucault, and the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud and Donald Winnicott. The book also investigates more concrete implications of ontological disputes by drawing on several case studies: a Dutch political-legal debate about greeting rituals; an American conflict about the legalisation of religious freedom; and the struggles for resilience of two American social movement groups. European Academy of Legal Theory Monograph Series: Volume 13 Acknowledgements Contents 1. Introduction I. Democracy II. Ontology III. Political Liberalism, Foucault and Psychoanalysis IV. Research Questions V. Overview of Chapters 2. Politicising Political Liberalism I. Introduction II. The Democratic Politicisation of Political Philosophy III. A 'Freestanding' Justification of Justice IV. Politicising Political Liberalism V. Conclusion 3. The Stimulation of Enlightened Contest I. Introduction II. 'A Historical Ontology of Ourselves' III. A Historical Ontology of Political Philosophy IV. Foucault's Ethos of 'Stimulating Contest' V. The Stimulation of Enlightened Contest VI. Agonic Democracy VII. Conclusion 4. Agonic Democracy and the Exercise of Rights I. Introduction II. The Governmentalised State III. A Political Liberalist Approach to State-sanctioned Exclusions IV. The Ontological Remnants in Tomasi's Social Theory V. Politicising Tomasi's Concept of Legal Culture VI. Conclusion 5. Transit: Renegotiating Political Liberalism and Agonic Democracy 6. Drained by a Democratic 'Burn-out': The Emotional Burdens of Agonic Democracy I. Introduction II. A Democratic 'Burn-out' III. A Psychoanalytic Reading of Civic Loss IV. Emotional Boundary-marking V. Conclusion 7. Conclusion I. Politicising the Political Liberalist Ontology II. An Alternative Ontology of Democratic Politics III. The Democratic Politicisation of Ontology Bibliography Index