Democracy at the Crossroads: Emotions and Political Change

This paper examines the impact of political emotions upon the democratic process. The negative emotions of anger, envy and fear may at times lead to the destruction of a democratic state, as exemplified by certain recent phenomena of illiberal democracy. In the ethics of Kant, the positive emotions play an important role in forming us into moral agents, and Nussbaum, like Kant, postulates a "cultivation of emotions" through the medium of education. This process may also be applied to the negative emotion of collective anger, which may be similarly transformed and rationalized with the aim of weakening its impact on human lives. In recent years, the emotion of envy, directed towards the elites of wealth and power, blamed for depriving many people of the opportunity to lead a dignified life, has also demonstrated a palpable absence of “real democracy”. Some sort of rationalization of this emotion is now called for in order to establish a framework for social discussion, and to formulate the actual postulates being fought for, such as freedom and/or improvements in standards of living. I will argue here that a defense of rationality in the public sphere is now essential if we are to protect and maintain democracy, just as was the case in the time of Kant. In our present era of “post-truth politics”, many politicians are choosing not to refer to rational argumentation and truth, but instead use language solely to manipulate the emotions of the electorate. Hopefully, the current crisis in democracy is not irreversible and may be overcome through the efforts of rational citizens, supported by the Internet and independent public media, as well as by social media. While advances in modern technology may be of service to a dictatorship when they are used for propaganda purposes, they may also support and bolster freedom and democracy. Their role in this case is to foster positive human emotions so that citizens might find some outlet for them by performing rational and peaceful actions, thereby maintaining a culture of democracy.