In this paper, we reconstruct the inner logic of democracy as an authority-constituting practice. We start our reconstruction by looking at the rule-governed relations that the practice of democracy constitutes between those who occupy a role within it, and the powers the participants in the practice acquire by virtue of that role. Arguably, the crucial role attribution in a democracy is that of the participants in particular procedures of collective decision-making; the powers people acquire in that role take the form of democratic rights. Among these rights, we concentrate on democratic voting rights as a primitive illustration of the logic of democratic authority. We elucidate the democratic practice of voting rights attribution as an authority-constituting practice that establishes collective decision makers with a particular kind of mutual and second-personal authority. We indicate the importance to focalize on this kind of authority by showing what goes amiss in our appreciations of the particularity of democracy if we fail to make that feature central.
Second-Personal Authority and the Practice of Democracy
valeria ottonelli;
2022-01-01
Abstract
In this paper, we reconstruct the inner logic of democracy as an authority-constituting practice. We start our reconstruction by looking at the rule-governed relations that the practice of democracy constitutes between those who occupy a role within it, and the powers the participants in the practice acquire by virtue of that role. Arguably, the crucial role attribution in a democracy is that of the participants in particular procedures of collective decision-making; the powers people acquire in that role take the form of democratic rights. Among these rights, we concentrate on democratic voting rights as a primitive illustration of the logic of democratic authority. We elucidate the democratic practice of voting rights attribution as an authority-constituting practice that establishes collective decision makers with a particular kind of mutual and second-personal authority. We indicate the importance to focalize on this kind of authority by showing what goes amiss in our appreciations of the particularity of democracy if we fail to make that feature central.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.