Liberalism and democracy are only contingently articulated, not necessarily linked

Evidence

Mouffe sees merely a contingent articulation between both traditions: ‘On one side we have the liberal tradition constituted by the rule of law, the defence of human rights and the respect of individual liberty; on the other the democratic tradition whose main ideas are those of equality, identity between governing and governed and popular sovereignty. There is no necessary relation between those two distinct traditions but only a contingent historical articulation.’ — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 332

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies Mouffe’s contested distinction between liberal and democratic traditions as a merely contingent articulation.
• XREF: connects to: Democracy and populism both depend on producing an empty signifier — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 337; Democracy and liberalism can be decoupled and even opposed — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 235; Liberal democratic values are ambiguous and can legitimize domination — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice: Society,…, 114 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Democracy and liberalism can be decoupled and even opposed #corroborates (1.00) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 235
• Democracy means only that the people rule, nothing more #expands (0.80) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 401
• Liberal democratic values are ambiguous and can legitimize domination #expands (0.75) — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice, 114
• The liberal public sphere is necessarily structured by power, not merely imperfect #corroborates (0.75) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 897
• Voting alone does not constitute the full work of democracy #qualifies (0.72) — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 616