Law, democracy and Deleuze/Guattari’s political philosophy: Questions and possibilities

Abstract

This article intends to develop a possible opening within the political philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to make possible a theoretical reflection on law and democracy. As mentioned by Philippe Mengue, an initial problem is that the political philosophy proposed by the authors makes quite averse remarks on democracy and does not express an interest on the legal realm. Taking as our starting point the questions articulated by Mengue regarding a possible incompatibility between Deleuze/Guattari philosophy and democracy, the article points out that Mengue ignores a few potentialities inscribed in that philosophy that would allow us to rethink law and democracy within the political assumptions and concepts of Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophy. The interpretation presented by this research is directly influenced by the reading of a few Deleuze scholars, such as Paul Patton, and the works of Deleuze and Guattari themselves, Qu’est-ce que la philosophie? and Mille Plateaux. This article sustains that there is room to think law and democracy from the perspective of the authors when one thinks the political as immanent and guided by conceptual construction of new forms of social life.