An Encounter with the Work of Claude Lefort. Uncertainty and Freedom

Abstract

This reflection article analyzes the work of Claude Lefort through the question: What role does freedom play in his political philosophy? It argues that, although freedom is not explicitly conceptualized as a central axis, it constitutes a transversal principle in his thought, which focuses primarily on democracy and totalitarianism. Employing a conceptual and analytical approach, the study examines the notions of indeterminacy, uncertainty, power, and ideology as conditions of modern democracy. It contends that, for Lefort, freedom should not be understood in axiological or liberal terms, but rather as an existential condition linked to the indeterminacy of power and the critical exercise of citizenship. The contribution of the article lies in making freedom visible as an articulating category of Lefort’s work, in contrast to previous studies that emphasize totalitarianism or the institutionalization of the void. Among the conclusions, it stands out that for Lefort uncertainty and the capacity to question are constitutive elements of both freedom and the political, offering insights for imagining open democratic regimes in the face of contemporary crises.