Reviews: Theory From a Historical Perspective: Víctor Pérez-Díaz, El malestar de la democracia [The Malaise of Democracy]. Barcelona: Crítica, 2008, 272 pp., ISBN … (original) (raw)
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I would like to present some elements of the intense relationship established between the democratic-radical theory of hegemony by Laclau and Mouffe, and the core group of Podemos. In fact, both authors are equally influential among Podemos leaders. To do this, I will assume that both have worked in tandem and that their work is complementary. Moreover, Podemos represents an original case of entanglement between theory and practice, between political philosophy and democratic radicalism. Podemos " core group " is mostly composed of young scholars coming from the Complutense University in Madrid: All of them have PhDs and a sound knowledge in political theory and philosophy, and Iñigo Errejón, Podemos number 2, is clearly under the hegemony of the theory of the hegemony. The emergence of Podemos has to be framed, on the one hand, in the wake of a cycle of political radicalism that had its most shining and influential moment, inside and outside Spain, with the Indignant movement. On the other hand, Podemos appears in the context of a deep institutional crisis: the financial and economic crisis quickly translated in Spain into a fiscal crisis of the state, a debt crisis typical of dependent countries, and a deep social and political crisis. To these, we must also add the 'disconnection movement' in Catalonia, which is no longer explainable as a claim for fiscal redistribution or identity recognition: it is clearly a break with the national-Spanish political framework. Summing up, there's a perfect legitimation crisis. In this context, the theory of radical democracy has channeled the need for a practical-political road map, and has had an unexpected success as strategic stimulus. Thus, it is obvious that there is a very pronounced theory effect, unlike what happened among participants in the 15M. In this presentation I propose a hypothetical movement of feedback between the theory of Laclau and Mouffe and their use by Podemos-that is, I understand 'dialectics' in a non technical sense. I deal with two different aspects of the problem: a) how the theory is used to explain and influence the process of political change in Spain; b) how the theory clashes with this particular use. Obviously, I cannot go into the many controversial issues that this movement raises, and, basically, I will focus on the problem of the political or popular subject, where I suspect that the theory has major limitations. 1. Building the popular subject: from the Indignant to Podemos I will distinguish two different angles of this process of construction of the subject. Let's consider, first, the theoretical framework, and then the explanation it provides of the historical political change that leads to Podemos. For the emergence of a popular subject two conditions must be met: 1) an accumulation of unsatisfied demands-that is to say, unserved demands, in a disaggregate or "differential" way, for the institutions-; and 2) a moment of nomination that simplifies the political community around two confronted poles. The nomination has a condensation effect around one of the demands that will become central and groups the "shared pain" of the subaltern classes in a popular identity, as opposed to the status quo. At this point, the moment of a populist rupture, the political field is restructured in two poles, whose names vary according to context: the underdog, the people, those
Latin Anzerican De1nocracies at the Crossroads
2013
It is man who is in bankruptcy. i\!an who is. before alL a moral being: today !some people I intend him to he an exclusively economic being. A philosophical and spiritual formation is more urgent than an economic formation.-Edurado Frci Montalva Politics demands the presence of men capable of working for ideals. with honesty and devotion.-••-Rafael Caldera •'Revolution'' and "rebellion" have been more common political terms than "democracy" and '"stability" in Latin America. Since Independence, the continent has been disrupted by coups d'etat. rebellions, and revolts many times. Indeed, Latin American political history since the nineteenth century has been polarized by two seemingly in•cconcilable ideologies. The conservatives. supporters of the privileges of the Catholic Church, the army. and the landed oligarchy, have claimed to be the natural heirs of Spain. The liberals. defenders of the rights of individuals. the secularization of society. and the idea of liberal democracy, have espoused the ideals of endless progress and modernization. This rivalry demonstrates that an essential problem for Latin America is the search for a modernizing ideology which can unite its Hispanic Catholic tradition with the ideal of republicanism and democracy. The apparent '•schizophrenia'' between Catholic conservatism and anticlerical democracy has been a persistent conflict in Latin America's modern history, particularly from the 1830's to the 1920's. 247 248 MARIO RAMOS-REYES In the 1Sl30's, however, Jacques J\1aritain's Integral Humanism inspired a new political model for Latin Americans. The New Christendom was democratic and Catholic at the same time. Maritain was critical of the individualism and secularism of modernity, yet he did not propose either a return to Medieval Christendom or the rejection of democratic values. His new approach, as the Uruguayan historian Alberto Methol Ferre suggests, incorporated "within Thomism the modern subjectivity, democracy and criticism toward capitalism." 1 From the early thirties until 1968 (the year of the Third Conference of Rishops of Latin America in 1V1edellin. Colombia), Latin American Catholicism in general was markedly intluenced by Maritain 's political thought. This period. which became known as the era of the "New Christendom." was characterized by attempts to establish a new. distinctively Christian civilization. The int1ucnce of Maritain's political philosophy reached its peak in the 1960's when two Maritainistas-Eduardo Frei in Chile (1964) and Rafael Caldera in Venezuela (1969)-won presidential elections. This decade was also a time of fateful political confrontations. The most extreme elements of the Latin American Left opted for violent solutions. Some priests and members of lay associations. concluding that Catholi~.:s and Marxists shared the same goals. joined •'guerrilla" movcments. 2 In other cases. reactionary and dictatorial military governments toppled longstanding democracies. Authoritarian "revolutions"-such as the military governments established in Brazil (1964), Chile (I 973), Uruguay (1975), and Argentina (1976)-implemcnted the so-called "Doctrine of National Security" to defend the values of "Christian Western Civilization.'' Polariziation between authoritarian militarism from the left and from the right seemed to replace the old dichotomy between liberals and conservatives. Both leftist and rightist approaches to solving Latin American economic and social problems were mockeries of a true Christian humanism. Unfortunately, after 1968, Ma1itain's approach, as Alceu Amoroso Lima gloomily 1 "Y en relacion a Ia historia, Humanismo !lltegral tlonde busca recuperar tlentro del tomismo Ia subjetivitlad moderna. Ja democracia y !a critica a! capitalismo. Esto acaece durante Ia Gran Depresion. en Ia tumultuosa dcacda de los 30." Alberto)Vlethol Ferre, "El Resurgimento Catolico Latinoamericano" ("The Resurgence of Latin Ainerican Catholicism") in Religion y Cultum (Bogota. Columbia: Consejo Episcopal Latinoameri<:ano, !981). p. 103. 2 The late sixties and early seventies witnessed the cases of "Christian Socialism" of the priests Camilo Torres Restrepo in Colombia anJ Carlos Mugica in Argentina. Both were killed by military forces.
Ibi et nunc : sobre paradojas democráticas = about democratic paradoxes
2015
Exposición itineranteCuando en 2014 la AECID empezó a itinerar la exposición Hic et nunc. Sobre paradojas democráticas por Ecuador, Estados Unidos, México, República Dominicana, Paraguay y Guatemala , el proyecto empezó a nutrirse, de manera natural, por las aportaciones del trabajo de otros artistas locales latinoamericanos. Partiendo de las mismas premisas que el proyecto expositivo primigenio, pero desde diferentes coordenadas geográficas, Ibi et nunc es el resultado de doce nuevas propuestas que, desde el espacio latinoamericano, analizan la situación socioeconómica europea a través de sus trabajos.Texto en español e inglé
La democracia moderna como divinización del hombre en Nicolás Gómez Dávila
Civilizar
As a result of a research on political philosophy and political theology, this article explores the idea of Colombian thinker Nicolás Gómez Dávila according to which all politics implies theology and, specifically, modern democracy consists, fundamentally, in the divinization of a man who proclaims himself sovereign in the metaphysical, ethical, political and legal fields. Based on the interpretation of the work by Gómez Davila and the dialogue with authors specialized in political and legal theology, such as Alvear, Guardini, Jonas, Schmitt, and Voegelin, the main arguments of his theological understanding of modern democracy will be studied from the concept of religious analysis. First, this paper will present a brief biographical sketch of Gómez Dávila. Afterwards, it will explain the relation that, according to Gómez, exists between gnosis and the Enlightenment. A third moment will address the idea of democracy as an anthropotheistic creed. Finally, the main conclusions resultin...
Individuos políticamente descontentos con la democracia
Estudios Internacionales
Este artículo analiza la relación existente entre derecha radical populista y apoyo a la democracia. Para ello, estudia el caso de VOX. En este sentido, la formación de Santiago Abascal, resulta particularmente interesante ya que encaja en la definición de derecha radical populista pero en su discurso, el radicalismo es mucho más fuerte que el populismo. Además, el partido presenta rasgos idiosincrásicos únicos y que juegan un papel fundamental a la hora de entender su voto. Así, por ejemplo, el nacionalismo se expresa a menudo mediante alusiones al período predemocrático en España sin adherirse explícitamente al franquismo. Dos son los principales resultados de este estudio. Por un lado, evaluando el discurso de VOX, especialmente su programa electoral, encontramos que sus líderes aluden recurrentemente a la España predemocrática tanto en temas concretos como en símbolos. En segundo lugar, mostramos que aquellos que expresan un menor apoyo al régimen democrático fueron más proclive...
Modern democracy as a divinization of man in Nicolás Gómez Dávila
Civilizar Vol. 21 No. 40, 2021
As a result of a research on political philosophy and political theology, this article explores the idea of Colombian thinker Nicolás Gómez Dávila according to which all politics implies theology and, specifically, modern democracy consists, fundamentally, in the divinization of a man who proclaims himself sovereign in the metaphysical, ethical, political and legal fields. Based on the interpretation of the work by Gómez Davila and the dialogue with authors specialized in political and legal theology, such as Alvear, Guardini, Jonas, Schmitt, and Voegelin, the main arguments of his theological understanding of modern democracy will be studied from the concept of religious analysis. First, this paper will present a brief biographical sketch of Gómez Dávila. Afterwards, it will explain the relation that, according to Gómez, exists between gnosis and the Enlightenment. A third moment will address the idea of democracy as an anthropotheistic creed. Finally, the main conclusions resulting from this research will be presented.
Política y Sociedad, 2016
Collective "memories" of the original democracy of classical Athens have inspired the formation of the direct-democracy, "Syntagma Square" movement. The movement, a reaction to the ongoing social crisis in Greece, challenges the legitimacy of the liberal, representative, democracy accusing the "memorandum party system" for immoral contact and treasonous collaboration with Greece's foreign debtors. Taking this development as an opportunity to examine in situ a modern version of "direct democracy" and the cognitive patterns that animate it, the essay compares ancient and current democratic processes and reflects on their ontological and cosmological presuppositions. Employing the Weberian concept of "acosmistic brotherhood" the essay analytically explores and compares the two democratic instances and reflects on the foundations of a stable democratic regime.