Democracy & Nature, Vol. 3, No. 2
The Problem of Democracy Today
Cornelius Castoriadis
Abstract This article rejects the thesis that democracy is Just a set of procedures and suggests instead that the democratic procedures cannot be maintained unless grounded on democracy as a regime of political self—reflectiveness The proceduralist view of democracy is based on the meaningless idea of an individual existing outside or before society. But the individual cannot even exist outside society. Therefore, the democratic procedures themselves cannot be reproduced unless the democratic institutions, which form democratic citizens, also exist.