TRUST, CONSENSUS, DEMOCRACY

Abstract

This article discusses, in an essayistic way, the general relationship trust/consensus/ democracy. To develop this thematic, we assume that, in an ontological sense, trust is the genetic foundation of democracy. Given this, we have chosen the following guiding questions for research: What is democracy? How does the constitution of possible democracy occur in the concrete world of life of men living under the rules of Capital? To the first question, we answer that: democracy is the power of government exercised directly by the people; this is the “true democracy”. To the other question, we answer that: in an ontological sense, trust is the genetically founding metaphysical element of the consensus necessary for the formation of democratic practices. Converting trust into consensus is the task of political activity. Political action transforms the trust shared by the majority of individuals, and which therefore configures itself as a general will, in consensus. The product of this consensus is materialized in the form of ideas / strategies / values ​​/ practices / projects etc., which will govern the lives of individuals in society. However, in the material-dialectical world of life of men, the capitalist world, democracy happens when sociopolitical life is shaped by consensus, which has been built and is driven by the logic and power of capital. For this reason, consensus mirrors (represents) the interests of those who are few but possess economic power; and those who effectively govern do not fulfill the interests of the people. This is pseudo democracy: representative democracy. Considering these ideas, it is correct to conclude that democracy will only be better understood when it is assumed as a dialectical process originated from the trust that has been converted into consensus. The challenge for the sciences is to open to accept the validity of metaphysical knowledge for understand democracy.