ABSTRACT
The central goal of this essay is to find a more satisfying answer to the problem of modus vivendi. Chapters 9 and 10 develop a new answer to this age-old problem. Whereas Chapter 9 spells out the institutional prerequisites of a polycentric democracy; Chapter 10 provides a normative argument in favor of polycentric democracy. The final chapter proceeds in line with the presentation of the first three second-order theories in the first part of this essay. Section 10.1 gives a description of the moral shortcomings of the modus vivendi from the perspective of the RoCD. Sections 10.3–10.4 present two arguments in favor of polycentric democracy. The first argument makes the case that a polycentric democracy, through various mechanisms, improves public discourse and reduces subjugation. The second argument makes the case that if considerably more just ways of living together are possible, polycentric democracy presents society’s best chance of discovering them (Sections 10.2–10.4). The last two sections cover the stability and feasibility (10.5) and some of the most pressing worries about polycentric democracy (10.6).
