“What is exciting about democracy, even in its modern formulation, is that it includes all citizens, even the poor, the uneducated, the insignificant—not
even the rich, the privileged, the powerful. Democracy still implies rule by the poorer majority—that can hardly be avoided. The question is how to instantiate this, assuming more people than not would want to, and here, modern democrats face a problem. One implication of the foregoing is that dêmokratia
requires a dêmos; but how is it possible to construct a dêmos today? We no longer need to assemble in order to hear news or take instructions from our rulers: everything we need to know can be delivered to us in the comfort of our own homes. Voting in elections or referenda are as close as we come, but on every other day of the political cycle, ordinary citizens do not constitute a dêmos: they are only disparate laoi.”
Site Overview
Introduction
Structure
Vassilis Lambropoulos
C. P. Cavafy Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies and Comparative Literature
vlambrop@umich.eduFollow Blog via Email
- Follow The Tragedy of Revolution on WordPress.com
Parallel blog of further reflections on solidarity and collaborative culture:
https://poetrypiano.wordpress.com In The News
Recent Blog Posts
Jamie Allinson: “The Actuality of Counter-Revolution”
Sahar Delijani: “Watching From a Distance As Women Fight for Freedom in Iran”
Alain Badiou: “Thirteen theses and some comments on politics today”
David Palumbo-Liu: “Rise Up in Anger and Hope: How Eruptive Protests Can Propel Urgent Issues to the Center of Political Debate”