Modernity and democracy are contested concepts, not checkable off-the-shelf goods

Evidence

There has been so massive and calculatedly aggressive an attack on the contemporary societies of the Arab and Muslim for their backwardness, lack of democracy, and abrogation of women’s rights that we simply forget that such notions as modernity, enlightenment, and democracy are by no means simple and agreed-upon concepts that one either does or does not find, like Easter eggs in the living room. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 31

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines modernity/enlightenment/democracy as contested constructs rather than checkable boxes — key for critiquing the Orientalist civilizational yardstick.
• XREF: Connects to the complacency-vs-immodesty article’s theme of Western categories being imposed as universal standards. — connects to: Terms like peace and democracy are contested concepts in struggles — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 377; Democratic negotiation is agonistic struggle without final resolution; Contemporary transformations are modernity’s self-radicalization, not its ending — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 127 (+4 more)
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 31

Broader Connections

• Terms like peace and democracy are contested concepts in struggles #exemplifies (0.95) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 377
• “The people” is itself a contested construct, not a fixed subject #exemplifies (0.90)
• Western modernity is a hegemonic particularism disguised as universalism #qualifies (0.80) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 153
• Democratic negotiation is agonistic struggle without final resolution #expands (0.75)
• Contemporary transformations are modernity’s self-radicalization, not its ending #expands (0.75) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 127