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Gaspare Nevola
Il malessere della democrazia contemporanea e la sfida dell' "incantesimo democratico"
214 Gennaio-Aprile 2007 Anno LXXII n. 1
Summary
- This essay deals with some essential questions concerning our democracies and
the theory of democracy: Which is the condition of democracy today? Does
rational-utilitarian paradigm offer satisfactory explanations of contemporary
political phenomena and trends? What can symbolic-mythical-identitarian
dimension of politics say about the liberal-democratic world? My argument try to
clarify: 1) the nature of contemporary democratic crisis (the so called
“democratic disappointment”); 2) the political grounds that make
symbolic-mythical-identitarian dimension an ineradicable element of democratic
life (i. e.: the normative and practical meaning of democracy legitimacy and its
foundation); 3) the deep political bond between democratic system and (national)
political community; 4) the importance of what is here called “democratic
enchantment”; 5) the distinction between civil religion and constitutional
patriotism as two political culture languages structuring the “democratic
enchantment”. Finally, the essay supports the thesis that a “democratic
enchantment”, consistent with principles, values and institutions of mass
liberal-democracies, may be a response to the “post
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