Democratie comme forme de vie versus democratie comme regime: une fausse antinomie?

For some, the abandonment by Castoriadis in the early 1970s of the idea that the proletariat – as a “class” – would be the agent of the socialist revolution marked the end of his militant philosophy and a shift to strictly intellectual activity. However, Castoriadis takes a stand against this criticism from the 1980s by redefining the field and the revolutionary object as a project of autonomy. For that, he will include pedagogical and psychoanalytical practice. From this ground, the philosopher will think about the possibility of a social institution of autonomy, which takes its condition of historical possibility to the construction of a genuinely democratic society. The author intends to explain the foundations of this practical-poietic project in this article.