The reception of ancient democracy in Antoni Domènech’s political philosophy: the social salary as condition of the republican freedom

Abstract

In this article the position of El eclipse de la fraternidad (2004), an essay published by Antoni Domènech, in the debate about civic republicanism is analyzed. To do it we deal, first to the reception, in that work, of Athenian democracy and the institution of salary for public office (mishtón), established in Athens since the revolution of Ephialtes in 461 b. C. This is a core element in the argument of the book. Then, we explore the emergence of the problem of fraternity in the intellectual trajectory of Domènech. Through this reception of Athenian democracy, Domènech takes part in the international debate about the republican tradition and their origin. The second part of the article deals with this problem. Finally we try to understand the peculiarity of El eclipse de la fraternidad in the context of philosophical Spanish republicanism. The methodology used is inspired by the sociology of philosophy, developed among others by Pierre Bourdieu, Randall Collins and Martin Kusch.