Book Description

The essay describes the quest for a different approach to issues of political assimilation and strategies for mobilization of citizens in contemporary society – a society based on subjectivism and value pluralism. Coleman’s point of departure and main frame of reference is the political thought of classical Greece – Aristotle in particular – bringing to the forefront the notion of agonism as the main structural component of political life in the ancient Greek city. Coleman then thoroughly analyses the theoretical context upon which the notion of toleration is based in modern societies in such a way as to constitute a sine qua non condition for any democracy. In her conclusion Coleman shows the crucial role that may be played by the Aristotelian notion of homo-noein when confronting the fragmented social fabric of today’s societies of late modernity.