Democracy and the Limits of Community / Christian J. Emden, Rice University.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Emden, Christian, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy--Social aspects.

Democracy.

Communities--Political aspects.

Communities.

Political science--Philosophy.

Political science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vi, 297 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026.

Summary:

At a historical moment when democracy experiences a legitimation crisis, demands for 'community' and for a 'democracy of the common' have become central themes in political theory and philosophy on both sides of the Atlantic. Such appeals entail a critique, even a rejection, of liberal constitutional democracy as alienating and inauthentic, as not representing the interests of citizens. This book fundamentally questions the democratic potential of appeals to 'community' and 'the common.' The language of 'community' can be observed especially among conservative and neofascist public intellectuals of the New Right, but it also features surprisingly prominently among post-Marxist philosophers and political theorists of the New Left. Tracing 'community' and 'the common' in contemporary political thought and philosophy, this book argues that they represent a dangerous political romanticism and authoritarian drift incompatible with the normative demands and the emancipatory dimension of liberal constitutional democracy.

Contents:

The Urgency of Community?

Neoliberalism and the Legitimation Crisis of Democracy

The Dangerous Return of Community: Communitarian Philosophy, Authoritarian Drift, and Neofascism

The Depoliticized Community: The Normative Emptiness of Post-Marxist Philosophy

The Political Romanticism of the Common: Insurgent Democracy and Revolutionary Nostalgia

States of Exception: From Constituent Power to Dictatorship.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Apr 2026).

ISBN:

1-009-65212-5