Democratic consensus is always the crystallization of hegemonic power relations, never neutral agreement

Evidence

Consensus in a liberal-democratic society is - and will always be - the expression of a hegemony and the crystallization of power relations. The frontier that it establishes between what is and what is not legitimate is a political one. and for that reason it should remain contestable. To deny the existence of such a moment of closure, or to present the frontier as dictated by rationality or morality, is to naturalize what should be perceived as a contingent and temporary hegemonic articulation of ‘the people’ through a panicular regime of indusion~c1usion. The result of such an operation is to reify the identity of the people by reducing it to one of its many possible forms of identification. — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 223

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines what a properly political frontier looks like: a contingent, contestable hegemonic articulation rather than a naturalized or rationalized one.
• XREF: Connects to Gramsci’s hegemony and also to the reader’s broader agonistic-pluralism project about whether a ‘we’ needs a permanent enemy. — connects to: Consensus is shaped and structured by unequal power rather than freely formed — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 919; Overseas basing consensus survives unquestioned across both U.S. parties even without a superpower rival; Every consensus stabilizes irreducible chaos, and permanent stability would end politics — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 586 (+3 more)
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source

Broader Connections

• Consensus is shaped and structured by unequal power rather than freely formed #corroborates (0.95) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 919
• Every consensus is a provisional hegemonic stabilization entailing exclusion. #corroborates (0.92) — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 467
• Overseas basing consensus survives unquestioned across both U.S. parties even without a superpower rival #exemplifies (0.85)
• Every consensus stabilizes irreducible chaos, and permanent stability would end politics #expands (0.80) — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 586
• Clear consensus communication is an always-deferred fantasy projected by the system #corroborates (0.75) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 950