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Complexity, cultural pluralism and democracy: collective action in the public space

Leonardo Avritzer

This article is an attempt to show the political consequences of the forms of collective action introduced by social movements and their contribution to the formulation of a new conception of democratic practice. It is our contention that the current crisis faced by democracy is linked to the lack of a space capable of dealing with both social complexity and cultural pluralism. We argue that a public space for face-to-face interaction among citizens differentiated from the state allows us to consider this issue in a different light. Publicity allows the incorporation into democratic politics of demands for cultural integration by preserving a space for their direct presentation. Publicity also avoids a reductionist conception of political claims in which, in order for representation to take place, there is the need to reduce the plurality of the cultural demands through the aggregation of political majorities. In this article we show the tension between the public space and political representation, and argue that the definition of democracy in complex societies should include two further freedoms: the freedom not to belong as the right to withdraw from one's constituted identity in order to form a new one, and the freedom not to be represented. Such acts, which are non-aggregative par excellence, cannot be managed by the system of representation, but only through mechanisms of public presentation and acknowledgement of difference. In our view the tension between the political and the public should become part of the definition of democracy.

Key Words: Belonging • Complexity • Cultural pluralism • Public space • Representation • Social movements

Social Science Information, Vol. 39, No. 4, 507-527 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/053901800039004001


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