Depression follows democracy’s lack of decisive closure
Evidence
Might connections obtain between depression and democracy? Following Carl Schmitt, depression would characterize democracy insofar as it lacks the conclusive power of decision. Incisive, decisionistic force would prevent a drawn-out conflict from arising in the first place. Seen in this light, depression no longer represents the “lost relation to conflict,” but rather the absent relation to an objective instance of decision that would produce conclusive forms and thereby assure an instance of gratification. — Byung-Chul Han, The Burnout Society, 118
Categorization
- QUESTION: Provocative but underdeveloped — worth chasing whether Han means this seriously or as a thought experiment.
- XREF: connects to: Democracy’s constituting of the people requires an inescapable moment of closure. — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 192