Autor: João Tiago Gouveia

Abstract:

This article presents a discussion of what I understand to be the current loss of quality in democratic praxis, drawing from the distinction between process and result in the exercise of democracy, and on three concepts of Jürgen Habermas’s Critical Theory: System, Lifeworld and Theory of Communicative Action, briefly outlined in the text. According to the philosopher, System represents actions directed towards purposes by the forces of production, and Lifeworld represents the daily actions communicatively carried out by the community. Based on the dialectic between these two concepts I argue that the quality of current democracy is compromised by its colonization by the System, to the detriment of political actions directed towards the Lifeworld; this situation will correspond to the transformation of the democratic exercise into a result rather than a process, herein referred to as Instrumental Democracy. The concept of Instrumental Democracy is set against the need for an Ideal Democracy, a transformation for which I argue that it is essential to have the contribution of aspects from Habermas’s abovementioned third concept: the Theory of Communicative Action; i.e., the conditions that enable one, by means of Understanding, to reach a consensus as to the action plans of the democratic exercise. Lastly, I discuss the difficulties of communicative action itself in today’s societies, due to new technologies and the manipulation of the media by the System itself.

ISSN: 0870-5283; 2183-461X

DOI: http://doi.org/10.17990/rpf/2017_73_1_0087

Texto Completo: https://www.publicacoesfacfil.pt/product.php?id_product=994

Palavras-Chave: democracy,Habermas,instrumental democracy,the