Democracy’s defining trait is that no actor represents the whole

Evidence

Its democratic character can only be given by the fact that no limited social actor can attribute to herself or himself the representation of the totality. The main question of democratic politics ~omes then not how to eliminate power, but how to constitute forms of power which are compatible with democratic values. — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 101

Categorization

• DEFINE: Gives the core criterion of radical/plural democracy as refusal of totalizing representation.
• XREF: Connects to earlier chapter claims that the them symbolizes impossibility of an us and that all social objectivity is constituted through power. — connects to: Democracy’s constituting of the people requires an inescapable moment of closure. — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 192; Democracy means only that the people rule, nothing more — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 401; Social democracy collapses when no one represents the labouring side — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 674 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Democracy means only that the people rule, nothing more #contradicts (0.85) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 401
• Social democracy collapses when no one represents the labouring side #qualifies (0.78) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 674