Can Diversity and the Social Contract Survive Trump’s Politics?

Abstract

On the face of it, Trumpism on both sides of the Atlantic seems to be opposed to the core principles of the social contract, and to the more recent ideal of diversity as a cultural good. Is this impression justified, and if so can we get a better grasp of its implications? Social media has eroded the idea of the public by elevating random opinions, crowdsourcing and evidence-free defamation. Attacks on law, elections and free speech have diminished the sense of a discursive community within which difference and diversity can thrive. In this lecture I will return to Max Weber’s reflections on politics as a vocation and Mauss‘ ideas of reciprocity, gift and contract to explore a new ground for connecting the social contract with the ideal of cultural diversity.

The presentation will be held in english.

Commentary (in French): Denis Laborde (CMB)