Agonism, Democracy, and the Moral Equality of Voice

2021 ◽  
pp. 009059172199386
Author(s):  
Stephen K. White

Agonism emerged three decades ago as an assault on the overemphasis in political theory on justice and consensus. It has now become the norm. But its character and relation to core values of democracy are not as unproblematic today as is often thought, an issue that becomes more pressing as contemporary politics increasingly seem locked into notions of unrelenting conflict between “friends” and “enemies.” This essay traces alternative ontological roots and ethical implications of agonism, distinguishing between “imperializing” and “tempered” modes. The former, exemplified in the popular Schmitt-Mouffe formulation, is shown to be fundamentally flawed in its failure to conceive politics in a fashion that does not allow the dynamic of friend–enemy to imperially trump appeals to democratic norms. In a world of insurgent white nationalism in democratic polities, this is no small fault. “Tempered” agonists, such as William Connolly and Bonnie Honig, offer ontologies where democratic norms can gain traction. Despite the admirable qualities of these alternatives, their formulations are nevertheless not fully persuasive. The difficulty lies in their underarticulated accounts of equality. I suggest an alternative formulation of agonism that embraces a central role for the idea of the moral equality of voice, a value that resides in the seam between notions of difference, resistance, and conflict emphasized by agonists, on the one hand, and the idea of fairness emphasized by notions of democratic justice, on the other.

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunday Adeniyi Fasoro

AbstractThe trend toward the concept of humanity in political theory has arisen largely as a reaction against the mistreatment of vulnerable people such as immigrants. The issue of immigrants’ vulnerability has led political thinkers to ponder on how to apply the principle of humanity to the question of the treatment of immigrants. I would like to address this matter by examining two questions: what is humanity, is it a value property, or a virtue? Does it really matter if the means by which an immigrant immigrates is demeaning to his own humanity as a person? The most common or intuitive reply to these questions would probably be: ‘humanity’ is simply a value-bestowing property, so regardless of immigrants’ actions they are owed respectful treatment. The aim of this paper is to emphasise instead that ‘humanity’ should be conceived as a virtue of actual commitment to act on moral principles. I explore three different meanings of humanity. First, I discuss ‘humanity’ as the common ownership of the earth. Second, I discuss ‘humanity’ as a value property. Third, I discuss humanity as a virtue of acting, on the one hand, with humanity, and on the other hand, on moral principles.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-78
Author(s):  
Adnan Al Farisi ◽  
Yopi Handoyo ◽  
Taufiqur Rokhman

The One of alternative energy that is environmentally friendly is by untilize water energy and turn it into a Microhydro power plant. Microhydro power plant usually made from utilize the waterfall with the head fell. While utilization for streams with a head small drop is not optimal yet. This is a reference to doing research on harnessing the flow of a river that has a value of head low between 0.7 m – 1.4 m with turning it into a Vortex flow (vortex). The purpose of this research is to know  the effect variation number of blade on power and efficiency in the vortex turbine. This research uses experimental methods to find current, voltage, torque and rpm using a reading instrument. The materials research vortex turbine used 6 blade, 8 blade and 10 blade with flat plate. The result showed the highest efficiency is 29,93 % with produce turbine power is 19,58 W, generated on turbine with variation 10 blade with load 3,315 kg and the capacity of water 10,14 l/s. Followed with an efficiency 24,17% and produce turbine power is 15,81 W, generated on turbine with the variation 8 blade with load 3,315 kg and the capacity of water is 10,14 l/s. The the lowest turbine efficiency 22,32% with produce tuebine power 14,60 W, generated on turbine with the variation 6 blade with load 3,315 kg, the capacity of water is 10,14 l/s.


Author(s):  
Ramiro Remigio Gaibor Fernández ◽  
Abraham Adalberto Bayas Zamora ◽  
Galo Israel Muñoz Sánchez ◽  
Cristhian Adrián Rivas Santacruz

The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the physical characteristics of the vermicompost and the quality of the purine of the red Californian (Eisenia foetida) using different substrates of feed for these worms. For this purpose, nine treatments were studied: 75% African palm rachis + 25% cattle manure, 50% African palm rachis + 50% cattle manure, 25% African palm rachis + 75% livestock manure, 50% manure of cattle, 50% of manure of cattle, 25% of manure of cattle, 50% of manure of cattle, 50% of manure of cattle, 50% of rach of coconut + 50% of manure of Livestock, 25% coccus rachis + 75% livestock manure. The substrate made up of 50% of rachis of coconut and 50% of livestock manure can be used in nurseries or nurseries for being the one that registered a value of pH 7.3 plus the closest to the neutral compared to the others, besides this (75% of oil palm rachis and 25% of cattle manure) showed a higher content of humic and fulvic acids (0.87 and 0.45 p / p, respectively), compounds that are important for agriculture by stimulating plant growth, in addition to this reflection 0.06% sulfur content, 4.0 ppm boron, 7.0 ppm copper, 47.5 ppm iron, 6.0 ppm manganese, with a presence of microorganisms of the species Trichoderma, Penicillium, Cladosporium sp. in amounts of 1.91x105 UFC / ml, however in this substrate was obtained between 13.3 and 43.5% less liquid slurry in Comparison with other treatments.


Author(s):  
Nicholas Owen

Other People’s Struggles is the first attempt in over forty years to explain the place of “conscience constituents” in social movements. Conscience constituents are people who participate in a movement but do not stand to benefit if it succeeds. Why do such people participate when they do not stand to benefit? Why are they sometimes present and sometimes absent in social movements? Why and when is their participation welcome to those who do stand to benefit, and why and when is it not? The work proposes an original theory to answer these questions, crossing discipline boundaries to draw on the findings of social psychology, philosophy, and normative political theory, in search of explanations of why people act altruistically and what it means to others when they do so. The theory is illustrated by examples from British history, including the antislavery movement, the women’s suffrage and liberation movements, labor and socialist movements, anticolonial movements, antipoverty movements, and movements for global justice. Other People’s Struggles also contributes to new debates concerning the rights and wrongs of “speaking for others.” Debates concerning the limits of solidarity—who can be an “ally” and on what terms—have become very topical in contemporary politics, especially in identity politics and in the new “populist” movements. The book provides a theoretical and empirical account of how these questions have been addressed in the past and how they might be framed today.


Author(s):  
Marc Hooghe ◽  
Anna Kern

This chapter evaluates the claim that the decline of legitimacy is due to a decline of social capital. The idea that voluntary associations play an important role in establishing social cohesion and political support is a traditional insight in the field of political sociology. The basic assumption is that voluntary associations function as a training ground for democracy, where citizens involved acquire democratic norms and skills that they subsequently apply in their relation with the political system. If this argument is correct, political support should be at least partly influenced by citizens’ participation in civil society organizations. Using European Social Survey data from 2006 and 2012 the authors demonstrate that there is a clear and significant correlation between social involvement on the one hand and satisfaction with the working of democracy and political trust on the other, which largely survives the introduction of a range of control variables.


1916 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold J. Laski

“Of political principles,” says a distinguished authority, “whether they be those of order or of freedom, we must seek in religious and quasi-theological writings for the highest and most notable expressions.” No one, in truth, will deny the accuracy of this claim for those ages before the Reformation transferred the centre of political authority from church to state. What is too rarely realised is the modernism of those writings in all save form. Just as the medieval state had to fight hard for relief from ecclesiastical trammels, so does its modern exclusiveness throw the burden of a kindred struggle upon its erstwhile rival. The church, intelligibly enough, is compelled to seek the protection of its liberties lest it become no more than the religious department of an otherwise secular society. The main problem, in fact, for the political theorist is still that which lies at the root of medieval conflict. What is the definition of sovereignty? Shall the nature and personality of those groups of which the state is so formidably one be regarded as in its gift to define? Can the state tolerate alongside itself churches which avow themselves societates perfectae, claiming exemption from its jurisdiction even when, as often enough, they traverse the field over which it ploughs? Is the state but one of many, or are those many but parts of itself, the one?


1974 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1558-1571
Author(s):  
H.-J. Rehm

Paraelectric resonance spectra of beryl crystals are observed in the X-band region between 5 and 20 kV/cm under the condition that the external electric field F[101̅0]. Additional dielectric measurements show, that the paraelectric centres are the monomeric water molecules in the beryl cavities. For water dipoles in beryl only two orientations of the molecular a-axis relative to the crystal C6-axis are possible, and only those with their a-axis parallel to the C6-axis contribute to the paraelectric resonance effect. The electric moment vector µ of these latter molecules may rotate in the (0001)-crystal plane, i. e. around their own a-axis, and has a value of (1.9 ± 0.2) D. A theoretical description of paraelectric resonance is presented for a simplified model: the electric dipoles have 6 equivalent equilibrium positions along the [101̅0]-directions, tunnel effect and external electric fields remove the site degeneracy and we observe a molecular Stark splitting. We calculate a value of (2.0 ± 0.4) GHz for the zero-field splitting in the one-parameter Hamiltonian model.


Istoriya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7 (105)) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Vladislav Vorotnikov

The article examines the structure of national historical mythology of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) with an emphasis on the foreign policy dimension based on the analysis of their issues of the postage stamps. Since issuing of the postage stamps is a product of consensus between the state and civil society, their topics and images presented on them, on the one hand, may be considered as a part of the semiotic model of the state image, thus reflecting its stance on processes, events, phenomena or personalities of the past and the present and, accordingly, shaping, transforming or supporting a certain nation-forming mythology or state ideology; on the other hand, they reflect mass perceptions of the dominant national historical narrative, and often the priorities of contemporary politics. Due to the specifics of the Baltic states’ history and the dominant values and ideology of their political class, the mainstream historical narrative is inevitably turned outward, that makes the analysis of its main elements extremely operational in the study of their strategic cultures. The article proposes the author's attitude to categorizing and highlighting the main chronological and thematic elements of the arrays of postage stamps of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia from 1990 to 2020. On the basis of discourse and selective iconographic analysis, the key elements of national historical narratives and their coherence with the foreign political positioning and strategies of the Baltic states are identified and analyzed. A comparative analysis of the three country cases allows us to pinpoint their relative proximity as well as some specific features.


Author(s):  
Nancy J. Hirschmann

The topic of feminism within the history of political philosophy and political theory might seem to be quite ambiguous. Feminists interested in the history of political philosophy did not urge the abandonment of the canon at all, but were instead protesting the way in which political philosophy was studied. They thus advocated “opening up” the canon, rather than its abolishment. There have been at least five ways in which this “opening” of the canon has been developed by feminists in the history of political philosophy. All of them do not only demonstrate that the history of political philosophy is important to feminism; they also demonstrate that feminism is important to the history of political philosophy. A two-tiered structure of freedom, with some conceptualizations of freedom designated for men and the wealthy, and other conceptualizations designated for laborers and women, shows that class and gender were important dimensions to be explored when examining the history of political philosophy. One way in which feminism has opened up the canon is its relevance to contemporary politics.


2012 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 1065-1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricio J. Pereyra ◽  
Gustavo B. Rossini ◽  
Gustavo Darrigran

The golden mussel Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker 1857) is one of the most distributed Nuisance Invasive Species (NIS) in South America, and a threat of great concern for the industry of the area. In this study, we carried out toxicity tests made with a Neem's oil solution with L. fortunei larvae and benthonic adults (7, 13 and 19 ± 1 mm). Tests with non-target species (Daphnia magna, Lactuca sativa and Cnesterodon decemmculatus) were also made with the aim to evaluate the potential toxicity of the Neem's solution in the environment. The LC100 of Neem's solution obtained for larvae was 500 µl/L, a value much higher than the one obtained for D. magna and C. decemmaculatus. Thus, we recommend that it should not be used in open waters. However, since the adults were killed in 72 h and the larvae in 24 h, this product can be used in closed systems, in man-made facilities.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document