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Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
Not really, if I want firewood and you want apples, a conflict is naturally occuring. Then it becomes a matter of possession/ownership of the apple tree.  |
I understand your point, but that is a survival (evolutionary) issue, not an ideological one.
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Originally Posted by evansk7
I think a democracy can only exist where there's some form of conflict; it is by its very nature a means of compromise, rather than an entity which may independently exist.
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Originally Posted by jag
Democracy by it's very nature is conflict.
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I understand your point. Practiceable democracy (demos being Greek for people) requires people for its very existence, and therefore cannot stand alone. But the
philosophy of democracy is nevertheless not inextricable from conflict. The foundation of Hobbes' argument is that man is perpetually at war - that conflicting ideologies exist whatever form the government (or governance) takes. With no structure there is fighting, therefore it is necessary for a 'common power' to keep them pacified. Marx only built on this by noting who had that power. A state of hegemony which is not enforced, at least for the purpose of this argument, is possible. Unlikely maybe, but certainly possible. If that is the case, democracy is not rooted in conflict, but agreement. Two very different things.