Identities that feel conflicting can be fused into a single committed symbol

Evidence

With its insistence on the irreducible alterity that represents both a condition of possibility and a condition of impossibility of every identity, a perspective informed by post-structuralism provides a much better theoretical framework to grasp the specificity of modern democracy than rationalist approaches. The notion of the ‘constitutive outside’ forces us to come to terms with the idea that pluralism implies the permanence of conflict and antagonism. — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 142 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Symbolic recognition, ignored by utilitarian logic, may resolve intractable conflicts. — Scott Atran, The Devoted Actor: Unconditional…, 38; Multiple sometimes conflicting identities can coexist in one subject’s politics — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 262; Constitutive outside makes conflict permanent and irreducible in identity — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 142 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Constitutive outside makes conflict permanent and irreducible in identity #complicates (0.76) — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 142