Electoral democracy is inherently a system of conflict and domination. Pursuing any project within it will produce losers and the problem of what is to be done with the losers. The answer is always the same: they are silenced.
Moreover, the resentment of democracy’s losers is then incorporated into the next cycle of conflict. Thus, democracy’s losers are turned into a class, to be exploited and manipulated in each successive round of conflict.
The democratic cycle is essentially:
1. Conflict
2. Silencing of the losers
3. Channeling of the resentment over 1 and 2 into a new conflict
The triumphalism of the winners, the resentment of the losers, the irritating lack of finality, all add to the ‘dynamism’ of the cycle.
1. Conflict
2. Silencing of the losers
3. Channeling of the resentment over 1 and 2 into a new conflict
The triumphalism of the winners, the resentment of the losers, the irritating lack of finality, all add to the ‘dynamism’ of the cycle.
