Democracy Today.indb - Universidade do Minho
Democracy Today.indb - Universidade do Minho
Democracy Today.indb - Universidade do Minho
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Tocqueville’s Influence on Lefort<br />
Lefort’s primary use of Tocqueville’s theory concerns the latter’s idea<br />
of Democratic revolution. In Lefort’s vision, Tocqueville’s theory of<br />
Democratic revolution provides the perfect perception of what is called<br />
the “forms” of society. Lefort considers democracy not only in terms<br />
of political institutions, but also as a “form” of society. <strong>Democracy</strong> is<br />
the only kind of political regime that openly acknowledges the political<br />
nature of society. According to him, the political nature of society is<br />
the truth that any society could not coincide with the representation<br />
of its own meaning. There is an ever-present symbolic dividedness<br />
in society and its representation. In this regard, there is a distinction<br />
between democracy as a form of society and pre-modern societies in<br />
that the latter conceals this “dividedness” in the unity of the representation<br />
of the society and a transcendental God, whereas in modern<br />
democracy, this dividedness is acknowledged. It is symbolized in<br />
the “empty place of power,” meaning power in democracy can never<br />
claim total representation of society and thus is subject to periodical<br />
transference. In this regard, as Lefort says in his “The Question of<br />
<strong>Democracy</strong>,” “the thing that marks him [Tocqueville] out from his<br />
contemporaries is in fact his realization that democracy is a form<br />
of society.” (Lefort 1988, 14) To a large extent, Tocqueville’s contrast<br />
between <strong>Democracy</strong> and the ancien régime helps Lefort forge the<br />
idea that “the birth of democracy signals a mutation of the symbolic<br />
order.” (Lefort 1988, 16)<br />
Besides this, Tocqueville’s notion of political free<strong>do</strong>m finds expression<br />
in Lefort’s thought as well. In “Political Free<strong>do</strong>m and the Free<strong>do</strong>m<br />
of the Individual,” Lefort finds in Tocqueville’s “political free<strong>do</strong>m”<br />
inspiring hints of what a democratic regime should be. As democracy<br />
acknowledges the intrinsic “dividedness” of society, it peacefully<br />
takes in the social conflicts within society, with “conflicts” here being<br />
interpreted as the antagonism among different representations of the<br />
meaning of society. In a sense, democracy is “an institutionalization<br />
of conflict.” (Lefort 1988, 17) All of these ideas – conflict and antagonism<br />
– find their meaning in Tocqueville’s notion of political free<strong>do</strong>m.<br />
For instance, Lefort writes, “in his [Tocqueville’s] view, democracy’s<br />
prime virtue is its characteristic agitation, and not its potential ability<br />
31<br />
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE’S<br />
NOTION OF POLITICAL<br />
FREEDOM<br />
Demin Duan