Radical Democracy, Critical Theory, and the Conditions of Popular Self-expression

Bibliographic Data

ID6252027
AuthorsChristopher M Holman (0000-0001-5542-807X, corresponding author), Christopher Holman
Year2024
Volume36
Issue1-2
Pages1-19
Publication date2024-04-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0891-3811 • E-ISSN: 1933-8007
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08913811.2024.2340916
OpenAlexW4396893291
LanguageEN
References cited10

In the paper I attempt to close the gap between the tradition of contemporary radical democracy and that of the ideology critique of Critical Theory which is opened by Larry Alan Busk in his Democracy in Spite of the Demos. I argue that, on the one hand, it is not necessarily the case that the affirmation of the two ontological hypotheses Busk identifies as essential to radical democracy – that of the autonomy of the political and that of the universality of doxa – need generate the ambiguities that his text critiques. On the other hand, I show how Adorno and Marcuse themselves remain committed to democracy, seeing socialization in the practice of the latter as fundamental to the development of critical-reflective consciousness. In the final instance, both radical democracy and Critical Theory can be seen to as committed to the same ideal of human autonomy, and equally useful resources for emancipatory thinking

Critical theory · Democracy · Expression (computer science · Political science · Politics · Computer Science · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Political theory and Gramsci

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