Radical democracy is usually understood as a non-representational political activity which invites direct forms of political participation. Further, it is often characterized by an emphasis on the confluence of the ontological and the political.
In addition to these features, I would like to show in this course that the agonistic element is equally, if not more, important. In particular, it is significant to recognize, not only that the way that human interaction is articulated in terms of radical democracy is opposed to the logic of human relations according to conceptions of sovereignty. In addition, it is crucial to describe the agonistic relation between these two competing ways of conceiving human interconnections. What is the relation between radical democracy and sovereignty?
Spinoza is a crucial figure in this thinking of democracy. There are several reasons for this. His metaphysics identifies the conception of a transcendent God as the “sanctuary of ignorance” which regulates human political prejudices but which can nevertheless be overcome through a monist ontology. This ontology determines being in terms of power, thereby pre-empting representation. And, finally, it develops of theory of human interactivity whereby “man is god to man,” which leads to a conception of commonality as the essence of the political.
