Conclusion

Lindahl, Sondre

doi:10.4324/9781351121279-9

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“…Metaphysically, what this means is that the potentiality to be a chair was already encapsulated by the actuality of the wood, and hence that 'the actual exhausts the possible'. 37 This matters because it implies that on this view, all potentiality is already present in actuality, and hence what it requires is simply for it to be activated or formed. In Lindahl's words, change for Aristotle amounts to 'the determination of a determinable'.…”

Section: From Nothing To Something: Constituent Power and The Ontolog...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Who, the people? Rethinking constituent power as praxis

Asseldonk

2021

Philosophy & Social Criticism

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Modern thinking about democracy is largely governed by the concept of constituent power. Some versions of the concept of constituent power, however, remain haunted by the spectre of totalitarianism. In this article, I outline an alternative view of the identity of the people whose constituent power generates democratic authority. Broadly speaking, constituent power signifies the idea that all political authority, including that of the constitution, must find its source in some idea of ‘the people’, whose authority is never exhausted by constituted power. The deficiency I seek to address is that of asking who the people is to whom any claim of authority refers, while avoiding the pitfalls of totalitarianism. I show the most famous totalitarian view of constituent power – advanced by Carl Schmitt – to be not only politically unsavoury but also ontologically unjustified. To outline my alternative view, I draw on Jacques Derrida’s concept of just decisions to argue that the undecidable inaugurates collective responsibility by demanding a response. This suggests a view of ‘the people’ as a doing rather than a being. I conclude by showing how this avoids totalitarian views of popular sovereignty by demonstrating its congruency with Claude Lefort’s democratic theory as opposed to totalitarianism.

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Section: From Nothing To Something: Constituent Power and The Ontolog...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Who, the people? Rethinking constituent power as praxis

Asseldonk

2021

Philosophy & Social Criticism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Conclusion

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

Who, the people? Rethinking constituent power as praxis

Who, the people? Rethinking constituent power as praxis

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