Relativism as the Ground For Liberal Democracy

Contributions From the Hans Kelsen's Philosophy

Abstract

The crisis of liberal democracy has been touted around the world, due to the crisis of representation and mistrust in politics. In this scenario, it is necessary to rethink the bases of its foundation and demonstrate its importance. Therefore, it is necessary to show how liberal democracy is a condition for the balance of social forces so that any group can continue as a member of political society. This article recovers the discussion about the theory of knowledge and the relativization of justice as the foundation of political pluralism, to be reflected in a liberal constitutional engineering, which can be done via Hans Kelsen's philosophy. Starting from Kelsen's ethical relativism, it is possible to show how society should be understood as plural and how the constitution must be the norm that gives the institutional design of balance of forces and protects minority views of the world. This conclusion stems from an analysis based on the relationship between Kelsen's thought and the philosophy of the Vienna Circle; the understanding of relativism as a result of the epistemological model that rejects metaphysics and the political consequence of the use of moral relativism as a justification for an institutional design that guarantees the plural democratic regime.