Historical materialist critique of democracy in the neo-liberal era

Democracy is etymologically defined as the rule of the people. However, the definition of "the people" has had more than one meaning throughout history. The history of the socialization of democracy is, in a sense, the history of the expansion of the definition of "the people." In Athenian society, where democracy first emerged, "the people" corresponded to a very small group. As a result of the social struggles of disadvantaged layers in given historical moments to horizontally distribute the flag of political participation—in other words, the right to vote and be elected—this definition spread first to wealthy urban men, then to poor men, and finally to women. As a result of this spread, pluralistic liberal representative democracies based on the principle of universal suffrage, under constitutional guarantee, were born. After 1980, in many countries around the world, liberal representative democracies were accepted as the most rational governance system. In addition, the protectionist welfare state model was giving way to a new form of capital accumulation. This period also saw the questioning and transformation of modernist ways of thinking. In this context, state-society-individual relations, mass movements, and political and social wills were also changing. All over the world, economic-based political movements were being replaced by ways of thinking centered on identities. The relations between the ruler and the ruled were reconsidered in this context. This study aims to reveal the source of the wind that mobilizes the masses and fills the sails of political wills. Additionally, it tries to reveal how the cores that constitute the content of this wind after 1980 affected the relations between the ruler and the ruled. Finally, it aims to shed light on the relationship between these two after 1980.