Participation, Recognition and the Democratic Doxa

It has been argued that participation is growing more and more inclusionary, integrating and recognizing workers, women and marginalized groups. Hence, the argument goes, late modernity is presenting growing empowerment with regard to participation and democracy. However, other studies point to the exclusionary effects of norms of citizenship, i.e. the exclusionfrom within, and suggest the recognition of group differences. This paper tries to suggest, how a Bourdieu-perspective can help bridge the gap of dichotomies such as individual/group, universalism/particularism and rights/recognition. The paper suggest that a democratisation of the political doxa, involving the recognition of differences in political habitus and (most importantly) practices is necessary to oppose the tendencies of exclusion and to further a widespread empowerment of citizens in late modern societies, without this turing into a particularistic 'fight' for cultural (and essential) differences.