Kant's criticism of democracy has been traditionally defused with the consideration that Kant's aversion is not to democracy per se, but to direct democracy. However, what Kant says - 'to prevent the republican constitution from being confused with the democratic one, as commonly happens' (ZeF, 8: 351) - appears to count not only against direct democracy, but also against conceptions of democracy closer to the ones we are accustomed to. By offering a new account of what Kant sees as the real problem of democracy (direct or not), the article unpacks a lesson about the limits of democracy that has gone largely unnoticed among political theorists and Kant specialists.

Why does Kant Think that Democracy is Necessarily Despotic?

Caranti, L
2023-01-01

Abstract

Kant's criticism of democracy has been traditionally defused with the consideration that Kant's aversion is not to democracy per se, but to direct democracy. However, what Kant says - 'to prevent the republican constitution from being confused with the democratic one, as commonly happens' (ZeF, 8: 351) - appears to count not only against direct democracy, but also against conceptions of democracy closer to the ones we are accustomed to. By offering a new account of what Kant sees as the real problem of democracy (direct or not), the article unpacks a lesson about the limits of democracy that has gone largely unnoticed among political theorists and Kant specialists.
2023
democracy
representation
general will
liberalism
republicanism
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/558167
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