Democracy and populism both depend on producing an empty signifier

Evidence

The consequence is unavoidable: the construction of a ‘people’ is the sine qua non of democratic functioning. Without production of emptiness there is no ‘people’, no populism, but no democracy either. — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 337

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Constructing a people reveals representation as the primary terrain of social objectivity — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 322; Liberalism and democracy are only contingently articulated, not necessarily linked — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 332; Populism is social democracy in times of group disorganization — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 297 (+2 more)