Democracy’s task is converting antagonism into agonism, not erasing it

Evidence

I submit that it is not through such a denial that democratic politics is to be secured and enhanced. On the contrary, it is by finally acknowledging the contradictory tendencies set to work by social exchange and the fragility of the democratic order that we wiD be able to grasp what I have argued is the task con&Onting democracy: how to transform the potential antagonism existing in human relations into an agonism. — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 584

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Limits on political confrontation are political choices, not moral or rational requirements — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 428; Ethical approaches to pluralism omit the limits and hegemonic violence consensus requires — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 581; Violence and antagonism are ineradicable and admit no final political solution — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 605 (+13 more)

Broader Connections

• Democratic negotiation is agonistic struggle without final resolution #corroborates (0.95)
• Assimilationism refuses alterity while agonistic democracy embraces continuous contest. #expands (0.90) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 904
• Effective democracy generates antagonism that can destroy cooperatives if not accommodated. #complicates (0.75) — Adrian Josef Amon, Organizing the study of degeneration…, 71
• Democracy enables bargaining over contention boundaries that autocrats suppress #corroborates (0.72)