The future as a democratic resource

White, Jonathan ORCID: 0000-0002-4668-698X (2025) The future as a democratic resource. Perspectives on Politics. ISSN 1537-5927

Text (the-future-as-a-democratic-resource) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (230kB)

• Scopus publication

Abstract

Beliefs about the future shape attitudes, experiences, and priorities in the present. This article explores the relationship between democracy and the expected world to come. As it argues, visions of the future are an important resource for democratic politics, putting the present in critical perspective, aiding in the formation of a collective agent, and consolidating commitment in adversity. Indirectly, they contribute also to the legitimacy of democratic institutions, shaping the exercise of citizenship and the capacity to contend with the flaws of representation. The democratic significance of the imagined future becomes even more visible in today’s age of skepticism toward future-regarding politics, in which speculative modes of thinking run up against the desire for certainty and precision.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author
Divisions:	European Institute
Subjects:	J Political Science H Social Sciences
Date Deposited:	17 Dec 2024 08:57
Last Modified:	17 Apr 2025 16:21
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/126428

Actions (login required)

View Item