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TheRiskofRelaxing:theDeterminantstheDeterminantsofPublicDiscourse...
sons.Todaythesequestionsareofparticularimportanceandsomechanges
aretakingplacemeaningradicalandfar-reachingdestructionofpatternsof
actionandpracticesthatdeterminethenatureandshapeofpublicdiscourse
intheclassicalmodelofliberaldemocracy.Therearemanyopinionsthatthis
seriouscrisismeansaslow“deathofdemocracy.”3
LegitimizationandCultureofFreeSpeech.
Democracymeansputtingpublicauthenticationintheforeground.Rejec-
tionofauthoritybasedontheauthorityofindividualsorgroupsmeansthat
decisionscreatingthespaceofauthoritymustbetheobjectofpublicdebate.
Publicityandtheabilitytopersuadegaininimportance1theissueoflegiti-
mizationisresolvedatthislevel.
ReferringtothebeginningsofGreekdemocracy,Jean-PierreVernant,
theauthorofclassicworkemphasizestheseissues:“thesystemofthepolis
implied,firstofall,theextraordinarypreeminenceofspeechoverallother
instrumentsofpower.Speechbecamethepoliticaltoolparexcellence,the
keytoallauthorityinthestate,themeansofcommandinganddominat-
ingothers.”4Theissueofauthenticatingdecisionsofdecisiveimportance
alwaysfindsitssolutioninthedebate1“speechwasnolongertheritual
word,thepreciseformula,butopendebate,discussion,argument.Itpresup-
posedapublictowhichitwasaddressed,astoajudgewhoserulingcould
notbeappealed,whodecidedwithhandsupraisedbetweenthetwoparties
whocamebeforehim.”Andonemoreimportantissue1democracymeans
definitivedesacralisationofpoliticalpracticesandtherelatedliftingtheveil
ofsecrecy.“Itcanbesaid,writesVernant,thatpolisexistsonlysofarwhen
thesphereofpubliclifehasbeendistinguishedintwodifferentbutrelated
meaningsoftheword:asanareathat,unlikeprivatematters,isofinterest,
andasafieldofavailableactions,performedinbroaddaylight1asopposed
tosecretactivities.”5
Thisgeneraldirectionwillneverchange:thequintessenceofdemocratic
orderistoestablishasphereofmutualreferencesenablingtheexposition
ofopinionandpublicdispute1theshapeofpublicsphere.Theproblem
oflegitimizationisnot,however,asimpleandstraightforwardissueenough
tolimitourselvestothisgeneralformulation.Theclosercharacterization
3
StevenLevitskyandDanielZiblatt,HowDemocraciesDie.WhatHistoryReveals
AboutOurFuture,(NewYork:CrownPublishingGroup,2018);Thestudiespublishedinthe
“ForeignAffairs”scientificjournalcanbeanexcellentintroductiontoconsiderations,May-
June2018,presentedundertheslogan:Isdemocracydying?Aglobalreport.
4
Jean-PierreVernant,Źródłamyśligreckiej,trans.J.Szacki,(Gdansk:Słowo/Obraz
Terytoria,1996),64.
5Ibid.,65.;Gjesdal,“HermeneuticsandtheQuestionofMethod,”337-356.
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