Pluralism as a Democratic Commitment

Session Submission Type: Virtual Full Paper Panel

Session Description

This panel explores different ways of honoring pluralism in theory and promoting it in practice. It offers resources for resisting the allure of anti-pluralism, which, though often cloaking itself in the rhetoric of “democracy," suppresses the voices of historically oppressed groups and has encouraged the global rise of authoritarian populism. Panelists engage some common assumptions about the purpose of democracy, the preconditions of public reason, the visibility of injustice, and the practical limits of democratic communication. They emphasize the value of difference as a means of improving public debate and sharpening awareness of structural injustice, and work to rebut skepticism about the possibility of meaningful dialogue across difference. The papers draw insights from cases of emergent democratic authoritarianism, the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, and efforts to promote robust democratic practice in multi-lingual contexts. Collectively, the panel dialogue should help advance understandings of social difference as both an element and reinforcement of democracy. [On the advice of Valeria Chapman we will also note here that we hope the panel can be considered as a conference theme panel, given its focus on pluralism.]

Sub Unit

• Division 2: Foundations of Political Theory

Individual Presentations

• Wrecking the Public Sphere: New-Authoritarians’ Attacks on Pluralism and Truth - Simone Chambers, University of California, Irvine; Jeffrey Kopstein, University of California, Irvine

• Symbolic Struggles: #MeToo and the Power to Make Things Seen - Edana Beauvais, Simon Fraser University

• The Purpose of Democracy and the Need for Pluralism - Jamie Mayerfeld, University of Washington

• Babelfish Democracy? New Technologies and Multi-Lingual Participation - Luis Cabrera, Griffith University

Chair

• Deva Woodly New School for Social Research

Discussant

• Michaele L. Ferguson University of Colorado, Boulder