The prefigurative power of democracy. Memories, imaginaries and utopias of the future

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the role of prefigurative politics in the light of democratic strengthening. To this end, I explore the conceptual routes that articulate  the  prefigurative,  and  then  delve  into  the  memory,  imaginaries  and practices that emerge in and from democracy, surrounding its possibi-lities of realization based on the Chilean case. From the analysis, I argue that prefigurative politics should be interpreted as a real utopia and not as a mere object of idealistic imagination, since it allows to put into perspective experiences and debates inviting to question the present and the future. To explore this argument, I propose a model composed of four analytical di-mensions – (1) epistemic, (2) democratic participation and popular control, (3) normative and (4) political-institutional- that better capture the hori-zon of change in the capitalist system. This is deepened with an attentive reading of Norbert Lechner’s works that open a critical look at the political processes of the past in Chile and allow rescuing subjectivity as a central object of memory, imagination and democratic action. Finally, the article reports on the frictions that arise within prefigurative politics, especially in its institutional and citizen participation dimensions. These tensions hin-der the implementation of the desired social order, but also emerge as an opportunity to reflect on the role of the state and its actors.