From: andie nachgeborenen
What I think Rorty means by saying that democracy is prior to philosophy is pretty much what you say, plus what I said before -- that our adherence to democracy is more basic than any argument we might produce for or against it. Even if there was a strong-appearing argument against democracy, or we failed to produce a beter one for it than the usual banalities, or we could not agree on the merits of different arguments we had for it, we would still hold to the view that democracy is the best kind of government. So I don't see that we disagree. Jks
^^^^ CB: This is ok, just that Marxist theory of democracy is more advanced than Rorty's. Liberal proceduralism is a step backward from Communist practical-critical activity.
Democracy's first principle is popular sovereignty, correctly placed and stated in the U.S. Constitution's foundation of "We, The People,..." The Bill of Rights, and Due Process principles are derivative not fundamental in democracy.
The working class and masses as the ruling class is what liberalism, obviously ,misses in the advance in thinking about democracy and its practice. Etc., etc.