Aesthetic Democracy: Walt Whitman and the Poetry of the People

2007 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Frank
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Walt Whitman ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Ordinary Life ◽  
The People ◽  
Poetic Translation

This essay argues for Walt Whitman's significance to contemporary democratic theory, neither as a theorist of moral or aesthetic individualism nor as a theorist of communitarian nationalism, but as a theorist of the democratic sublime. Whitman's account of “aesthetic democracy” emphasizes the affective and autopoetic dimensions of political life. For Whitman, popular attachment to democracy requires an aesthetic component, and he aimed to enact the required reconfiguration of popular sensibility through a poetic depiction of the people as themselves a sublimely poetic, world-making power. Through his poetic translation of the vox populi, Whitman hoped to engender a robustly transformative democratic politics. He found the resources for political regeneration in the poetics of everyday citizenship, in the democratic potentials of ordinary life.

The Rule of the People: Arendt,Archê, and Democracy

2006 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
PATCHEN MARKELL
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
The People ◽  
Critical Account

This article presents a novel critical account of a key concept in democratic theory, “rule,” via an unorthodox interpretation of Hannah Arendt's work. Many theorists treat democracy as one type of regime; others, stressing the importance of unruliness to democratic politics, challenge the reduction of democracy to a form of rule. Although this debate remains caught within conventional oppositions between order, closure, and continuity; and interruption, openness, and novelty, Arendt shows this whole matrix of oppositions to be an artifact of the dominance of a hierarchical understanding of rule. Her unusual critique of rule and her distinctive account of the meaning of “beginning” draw attention to an important dimension of political activity that lies off these axes of opposition, shedding new light on democratic agency and the forces that obstruct it.

Schmitt’s democratic dialectic: On the limits of democracy as a value

2020 ◽  
pp. 019145372091651
Author(s):  
Larry Alan Busk
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
Parliamentary Democracy ◽  
Panoramic View ◽  
A Value ◽  
The People ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Will ◽  
Fundamental Value

In this essay, I attempt to measure various prevailing democratic theories against an argument that Carl Schmitt advances in the first chapter of his ‘Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy’. In practice, he claims there, democratic politics is compelled to introduce a distinction between ‘the will of the people’ and the behaviour of the empirical people, thus justifying the bracketing and unlimited suspension of the latter in the name of the former, even to the point of dictatorship. I argue that no contemporary approach to democracy as a fundamental value is able to mount a compelling response to this critique and that we should therefore reconsider the status of democracy as a normative commitment. I proceed by carefully and closely reading Schmitt’s chapter and then by juxtaposing various currents of democratic theory (including liberal, deliberative, epistemic and various hybrids thereof) with the trajectory of Schmitt’s argument. This essay is therefore less of a contribution to Schmitt scholarship, in the sense that it does not take a panoramic view of his corpus to determine his final stance on democracy, and more of an intervention into contemporary democratic theory using Schmitt’s argument as a kind of lever.

Between Specters of War and Visions of Peace

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald M. Mara
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
First Century ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Democracies

This book examines how ideas of war and peace have functioned as organizing frames of reference within the history of political theory. It interprets ten widely read figures in that history within five thematically focused chapters that pair (in order) Schmitt and Derrida, Aquinas and Machiavelli, Hobbes and Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche, and Thucydides and Plato. The book’s substantive argument is that attempts to establish either war or peace as dominant intellectual perspectives obscure too much of political life. The book argues for a style of political theory committed more to questioning than to closure. It challenges two powerful currents in contemporary political philosophy: the verdict that premodern or metaphysical texts cannot speak to modern and postmodern societies, and the insistence that all forms of political theory be some form of democratic theory. What is offered instead is a nontraditional defense of the tradition and a democratic justification for moving beyond democratic theory. Though the book avoids any attempt to show the immediate relevance of these interpretations to current politics, its impetus stems very much from the current political circumstances. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century , a series of wars has eroded confidence in the progressively peaceful character of international relations; citizens of the Western democracies are being warned repeatedly about the threats posed within a dangerous world. In this turbulent context, democratic citizens must think more critically about the actions their governments undertake. The texts interpreted here are valuable resources for such critical thinking.

Mortal Democracy and Plato’s Apology

2020 ◽  
pp. 009059172098295
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Barringer
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Partial Transformation ◽  
Critical Space ◽  
Athenian Democracy ◽  
Precarious Work ◽  
Democratic Practice

The Apology is often read as showing a conflict between democracy and philosophy. I argue here that Socrates’s defense critically engages deeply political Athenian conventions of death, showing a mutual entanglement between Socratic philosophy and democratic practice. I suggest that Socrates’s aporetic insistence within the Apology that we “do not know if death is a good or a bad thing” structures a critical space of inquiry that I term “mortal ignorance;” a space from which Socrates reapproaches settled questions of death’s appropriate place in political life, ultimately prompting a partial transformation of Athenian democracy. I argue here that Socratic mortal ignorance supports a self-reflective politics of death, one which produces many potential responses and accepts the impossibility of closing off death’s meaning in any final sense—an aporia suitable for the unending, precarious work of democratic politics.

El pueblo de México y la política capitalina, 1808 y 1812

1994 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Guedea
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Significant Growth ◽  
Substantial Role ◽  
The People ◽  
New Nation ◽  
The City

Beginning in 1808 the people started to play a prominent role in the political life of Mexico. This article examines the significant growth of popular political participation in the City of Mexico during the period 1808-1812. In particular, it analyzes the substantial role that the people played in the elections of 1812, a role they would continue to play in the early years of the new nation.

The Referendum and Political Change

1975 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Smith
Keyword(s):  
European Community ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Parliamentary Democracy ◽  
Political Democracy ◽  
The People ◽  
The Future ◽  
Political Decisions

AS A WAY OF REACHING IMPORTANT POLITICAL DECISIONS, THE referendum is usually regarded as a clumsy and unsatisfactory instrument and quite unimportant as a contribution to political democracy. Yet widespread demands for more participation ‘by the people’ have brought the referendum into new-found favour. Interest has been rekindled too by its application to the issue of membership of the European Community, with the clear possibility of directly comparing the referenda in the four countries involved. This new interest in the referendum comes at a time when many party systems, the traditional supports of a purely parliamentary democracy, appear to be in disarray, and there are signs of increasing volatility within electorates which can foreshadow basic realignments in party systems. Questions now are naturally being raised about the future ordering of democratic politics, and for this reason it seems justifiable to focus an examination of the referendum especially on the problem of political change.

Defending the Case for Liberal Anationalism

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-118
Author(s):  
Theodora Kostakopoulou
Keyword(s):  
Human Dignity ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Political Life ◽  
International Terrorism ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Liberal Nationalism ◽  
Democratic Communities ◽  
The Way

Nationalism appears to be so entrenched in political life and discourse, that its illiberal face is often deemed to be an exception and unfortunate coincidence triggered by international terrorism. Alternatively, it may be depicted as the result of ill-thought policies which can be reversible. In this paper, I argue that liberal nationalism is conceptually flawed and politically illiberal. Illiberal tendencies are an integral part of it and these cannot be corrected by ‘taming’ unruly nationalism or by articulating ‘benign’ adaptations of it. Because the liberal and illiberal faces are interwoven in complex ways, my suggestion is to look far ahead and beyond it. The territory may be uncharted, but a commitment to a pro-human welfare orientation could open the way for separating liberalism from nationalism and aligning the former with critical democratic politics. The challenge, as I see it, is to articulate a liberal anationalism which by affirming equal human dignity and the importance of non-domination could sustain inclusionary and democratic communities.

scholarly journals Partisipasi Masyarakat dalam Pembentukan Peraturan Daerah Tentang Penggunaan Label Batik Pekalongan

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mutia Silvia Rose
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Brand Names ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Public Hearing ◽  
Local Regulation ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Written Form ◽  
The Government

Partisipasi masyarakat adalah perwujudan dari masyarakat di dalam negara demokrasi, dimana pemerintahan yang di dasarkan kepada rakyat merupakan tujuan utama kehidupan berpolitik, baik dalam kebijakan maupun dalam tujuan pemerintahan. Perda Label Batik Pekalongan merupakan peraturan daerah yang mengatur tentang suatu tanda yang menunjukkan identitas dan ciri batik buatan Pekalongan yang terdiri dari tiga jenis yaitu batik tulis, batik cap atau batik kombinasi tulis dan cap. Tujuan dibentuknya Perda tersebut adalah agar masyarakat dan konsumen Batik Pekalongan tidak dirugikan akibat dari salah dalam membedakan jenis batik. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa partisipasi masyarakat dalam pembentukan Perda tentang penggunaan label batik Pekalongan masih bersifat elitis, karena yang mendominasi mengikuti public hearing hanya pengusaha kelas atas yaitu seseorang atau kelompok orang yang memproduksi seni batik dalam bentuk tulis, cap dan kombinasi dalam jumlah besar, sudah mempunyai nama merek yang terkenal, dan pemasarannya sudah sangat luas baik di dalam negeri maupun di luar negeri. Partisipasi masyarakat dalam pembentukan perda tentang label batik pekalongan yang masih bersifat elitis dapat berpengaruh karakteristik produk hukum yang di hasilkan yaitu lebih menguntungkan pengusaha batik kelas atas, karena dalam pembuatan label batik Pekalongan merugikan dalam segi ekonomis bagi  pengusaha kelas menengah dan bawah.<br /><br />Community participation is the embodiment of the people in a democracy, where the government is based on the people as the ultimate goal of political life, both in policy and administration purposes. Label the Perda Batik Pekalongan local regulation of Batik Pekalongan Label is a sign which indicates the identity and characteristics of batik from Pekalongan which consists of three types of batik, batik or batik and stamp combination. Purpose of the establishment of the regulation is that the public and consumers are not harmed Batik Pekalongan result of incorrect in distinguishing the types of batik. The result of this research indicates that participation in the formation of legislation on the use of Pekalongan batik label still elitist, because that dominate following the public hearing only top-class entrepreneurs is a person or group of people who produce batik art in written form, stamp and combinations in bulk, already has a well-known brand names, and marketing has been very widely both domestically and abroad. Public participation in the formation of regulations about labeling Pekalongan batik is still elitist may influence the characteristics of a legal product that produced batik entrepreneurs are more favorable upper classes, as in the manufacture of Pekalongan batik label in terms of economic harm to employers middle and lower classes.<br /><br />

scholarly journals STRATEGI DAKWAH SIASYAH PARTAI PERSATUAN PEMBANGUNAN DI JAWABARAT

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Ridwan - Mubarok
Keyword(s):  
World Politics ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
Missionary Movement ◽  
Or Organization

For every Muslim, the role of civilization is identical to authentic mission as a leader as a leader in this earth, whose role is greater than leading a province or country. The participation of ulama, dai or da'wah movements in the political sphere is his right, but the missionary movement or organization must also be aware of and be aware of people or persons who want to manipulate da'wah as a vehicle for world politics. Da'wah movements or dai must be able to use various life instruments that exist today for the sake of da'wah. Ulama and the da'i who join in the organization movement or da'wah movement, must realize that they are part of the chain of struggle of the people. Now is the time for da'i or ulama to proclaim themselves from the past fetters that castrated the political life of the scholars.Bagi setiap muslim, peran peradaban identik dengan misi otentik sebagai pemimpin sebagai pemimpin dimuka bumi ini, yang perannya lebih besar dibandingkan memimpin sebuah provinsi atau negara. Keikutsertaan para ulama, dai atau gerakan dakwah dalam ranah politik merupakan haknya, akan tetapi gerakan atau organisasi dakwah juga harus menyadari serta mewaspadai terhadap orang atau oknum yang hendak memperalat dakwah sebagai kendaraan politik dunia. Gerakan dakwah ataupun para dai harus dapat menggunakan berbagai instrument kehidupan yang ada saat ini untuk kepentingan dakwah. Ulama maupun para da’i yang bergabung dalam gerakan organisasi atau gerakan dakwah, harus menyadari bahwasanya dirinya merupakan bagian dari mata rantai perjuangan umat. Kini sudah saatnya para da’i ataupun ulama dapat memproklamirkan diri dari belenggu masa lalu yang mengebiri kehidupan politik para ulama, PPP menjadi salah satu alternatif.

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