Five Problems for Radical Democratic Theory

Abstract

In this chapter, the work turns to the question of implications for the radical democratic project. As the chapter details, these eight agonistic/antagonistic scenarios and three identified general circumstances that follow from them present some serious challenges for radical democratic thought—challenges that ought to be addressed if the project is to be of assistance to future political theorists/participants inspired by its imaginary. Specifically, the chapter unpacks five key problems that pose a challenge to some of the main goals of the project, including those of agonism, political equality, and socio-political transformation. These problems are framed as the problem of the drive, the problem of political space, the problem of inequality, the problem of contingency, and the problem of expedience.