Listening: A Forgotten Cornerstone of Democracy
Abstract
The article discusses the historical and philosophical sources of the split between ‘speaking’ and ‘listening’ in contemporary political discourse, and its paradoxical consequences in the practice of the so-called liberal democracy. The paper begins with a reference to the distinction between freedom and law as proposed by Thomas Hobbes. Subsequently, further liberal (John Locke) and democratic (Jean-Jacques Rousseau) responses to his strong claim are analyzed with their further and in many respects negative outcomes identified by Richard Sennett and Michel Foucault. In the concluding part of the article the ancient understanding of democracy is discussed as an alternative in which the freedom of speech was associated with the obligation to listen (the Greek concept of isegoria). Keywords: listening, democracy, liberalism, freedom, Athens
