Political allegiance rests on continuous acknowledgement, not rational consent.
Evidence
As Michael Oakeshott has reminded us, the auchority of political institutions is not a question of consml but of the continuous acknowledgement of dves who recognize their obligation to obey the conditions prescribed in Tn publka.ll Following that line of thought we can realize that what is really at stake in the allegiance to democratic institutions is the constitution of an ensemble of practices that make possible the creation of democratic citizens. This is not a matter of rational justifictZtitm but of availability of democratic forms of individuality and subjectivity. — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 432
Categorization
- QUESTION: Worth chasing: does the ‘availability of democratic forms of individuality’ still presuppose demarcation from an enemy to be viable?
- XREF: connects to: Status is granted by others’ recognition, never claimed unilaterally. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 194; A nation is held together by consent, not by blood or geography — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 2189; Democratic allegiance is secured through practices of persuasion, not arguments for universal validity — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 302 (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- Allegiance to democratic institutions rests on practices forming citizens, not rational justification
#corroborates(0.93) — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 432 - Democratic allegiance is secured through practices of persuasion, not arguments for universal validity
#expands(0.92) — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 302 - Political agreement arises from shared forms of life, not rational argument
#corroborates(0.80) — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 62 - Legitimacy of state power rests on contestability, not actual consent
#qualifies(0.78) — Philip Pettit, Republicanism, 325 - A nation is held together by consent, not by blood or geography
#qualifies(0.75) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 2189 - Force and consent operate dialectically, not in mechanical sequence.
#complicates(0.72) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 721