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Three Paradigms of Modern Freedom

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, alkioup{at}yahoo.gr

The paper makes a case for the new paradigm of freedom which has been elaborated by thinkers such as Cornelius Castoriadis and Michel Foucault. In response to the critique of the subject, freedom is construed now as limited and agonistic, calling for an ongoing struggle against various constraints. But this idea is coupled with a heightened appreciation of contingency and creativity. Individuals can bring new possibilities into existence, which go beyond any predefined alternatives. The paper argues that this is a tenable and empowering figure of freedom which overcomes the deficiencies of earlier modern views. Essentialist notions, which can be found in Kant and Marx, contract freedom by tying it down to unchanging universal laws and definite conditions of realization, while alternative accounts of negative liberty fail to address the constrained nature of human agency.

Key Words: critical reflection • critique of the subject • essentialism • negative liberty • radical democracy • self-creation

European Journal of Political Theory, Vol. 8, No. 4, 473-491 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1474885109337997


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