Persons, Self-Ownership and Democracy

The thesis that guides this paper is that, if democracy is grounded on isegory as its basis, then it is necessary that each citizen has a real and effective public participation (this is different from representative democracy or deliberative democracy). Therefore, democracy that enhances the person must necessarily consider a mercantile dimension of negotiation and exchange. This requires a real possibility of pronouncing opinions, of living according to one's own moral guidelines and of being able to practice these rights. Isegory, then, is a fundament of political decisions, not only of legitimacy but of democratic existence. Isegory means that every individual has the chance to speak out and to influence in political decisions. Otherwise the result is not democratic. Those who can participate in the public sphere exchange speeches in the framework of public decision-making. From this "commercial" negotiation, democratic agreements emerge.The purpose here is to show that democracy bears in mind coexistence as a whole, though in its more possessive version it emphasizes the individual and his inviolability. In a way, it is about making a contrast between an idea that justifies serving the collective as a moral slavery and another one which nurtures self-esteem.