/ Forschung
The Paradox of Distance: New Article on Political Representation by Ralph Weber
How close should representatives be to the represented? This is the core question of a new article by Prof. Dr. Ralph Weber on ”Popular Representation from Above: On Recognizing the Distance Paradox”. The article was published in the January 2021 edition of the journal ”Philosophy East and West”.
The article examines several conceptions of representation: Weber argues against the ”pure-but-passive mirror-conception” by which representatives should simply belong to the same social class as the represented. He also deems conceptions of representation as merely expressing the will of the people as inadequate. Rather, Weber promotes the idea that representatives should take a certain distance from their constituents. In his view, it is necessary for them to know the represented well, but also to take a step back and reflect.
Ralph Weber is Associate Professor of European Global Studies at the Institute for European Global Studies. He specializes in Political Theory, Chinese Politics, and modern Confucianism. Currently, he is the President of the European Association for Chinese Philosophy and the Chair of the Section on Political Theory in the Swiss Political Science Association.
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