The Two Faces of Democracy: Decentering Agonism and Deliberation

Those who want to defend democracy against right-wing anti-democratic forces are at odds with one another: some want a politics that puts vehement conflict at the center of democratic strategies, while others assert the necessity of more civil and deliberative strategies. What should our stance be as defenders of democratic life? In The Two Faces of Democracy, Mary F. (Molly) Scudder and Stephen K. White present an analysis of these two stances, the deliberative and agonistic models of democracy, arguing that neither is adequate on its own. Moreover, Scudder and White develop a distinctive portrait of the core commitments of a democratic life, from the perspective of which we can better appreciate the respective roles of both orientations in the current struggles for a healthy democratic future.