Agonism

• [[pull]] [[political theory]] [[conflict]]
• [[push]] [[democracy]]

Agonism (from the Greek agōn, meaning "struggle") is a political theory that emphasizes the potentially positive aspects of certain forms of conflict. It accepts a permanent place for such conflict, but seeks to show how we can accept and channel this into positive outcomes.

In the Agora

In the context of the [[Agora]], Agonism is the alternative to both:

1. Antagonism: Conflict where opponents are enemies to be destroyed (the [[Moloch]] trap of polarization).
2. Harmonious Consensus: The unrealistic expectation that we will all agree if we just talk enough (the Utopian trap).

Conflict as a Feature

A healthy distributed system needs friction.

• We need [[Forking Truth]]: The ability for you to define "Capitalism" differently than I do, without one of us having to be "wrong" or "deleted".
• We need [[Social Friction]]: The ability to disagree passionately on a topic while agreeing on the rules of engagement (the [[Social Contract]]).

Why we need it

Without Agonism, the Agora risks becoming a fragile [[Echo Chamber]]. We need to build systems that can hold the tension of opposing viewpoints without collapsing.

See: [[Chantal Mouffe]], [[Ernesto Laclau]].