Judith Shklar’s Ocular Liberalism

• In Event: In Search of Judith Shklar’s Liberalism

Abstract

Democratic theorists have recently turned to an ocular model of democratic sovereignty, wherein the people exercise a popular gaze, as an audience that watches the rulers. While Judith Shklar did not argue for such an ocular vision of popular sovereignty, her analysis of contemporary electoral competition sometimes takes a distinctly dramaturgical––thought not dramatic––tone. I argue that Shklar’s work showcases the inevitability of performances in politics, by rulers and ruled alike. Regarding the performances of rulers, I interrogate the nature of trustworthiness and its relationship to hypocrisy and candor. Regarding the performances of the ruled, I highlight Shklar’s appreciation for silence and false displays of satisfaction in response to oppression and fear. Shklar’s insistence that we fully consider the perspectives of victims of injustice and misfortune enables us to see oppression and the demands of democratic decision-making more clearly without hewing to a counterproductive ideal of candor. Building on Shklar’s insights and synthesizing them with critiques of socioeconomic and gender-based forms of inequality from Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham, I argue for a “back-stage view” of representative democracy that emphasizes how practices of concealment and representation enable collective action against injustices while mitigating the risks of direct exposure.

Author

• Kristen R. Collins, George Mason University