Marginal groups gain a political will only through representation itself
Evidence
Let us take, at the opposite extreme, the case of marginal sectors with a weak degree of integration into the stable framework of a community. In this case we would be dealing not with a will to be represented but, rather, with the constitution of that will through the very process of representation. The task of the representative is, however, democratic, because without his intervention there would be no incorporation of those marginal sectors into the public sphere. But in that case, his task would consist less in transmitting a will than in providing a point of identification which would constitute as historical actors the sectors that he is addressing. — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 313
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Representation transforms the identity of those represented, not merely transmits their will — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 312; Respectability politics can both empower and imprison a marginalized group — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New American Origin…, 1128; Minority policy gains depend on coalition dominance, not mere representation (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- Politicized identity converts a group from thing-in-itself to actor-for-itself
#expands(0.80) - Respectability politics can both empower and imprison a marginalized group
#complicates(0.75) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1128 - The demand that minorities speak for their whole community reinforces their marginality
#complicates(0.72) - Minority policy gains depend on coalition dominance, not mere representation
#contradicts(0.70) - Effective minority influence requires coalition dominance, not representation alone
#contradicts(0.70) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 2156