Este artigo parte da constatação de um deslocamento do lugar ocupado pela ideia da representação na esquerda contemporânea para embasar um diagnóstico da experiência do PT na história política recente no Brasil. Embora tivesse partido de uma contestação da "democracia representativa", o PT terminou por patrocinar o mais vasto experimento de multiplicação de formas e instâncias de representação em curso no Brasil contemporâneo, frequentemente sob a rubrica de um ideal "participativo". O artigo tende a sublinhar o caráter inapelável dessa "deriva" rumo à representação, bem como identificar a raiz desses experimentos num compromisso político do partido com certos setores até então periféricos da população, bem mais que numa presumível clareza ideológica quanto a diagnósticos teoricamente orientados sobre o Brasil.

This paper starts from the claim of a shift on the reception of the idea of representation by contemporary left, to support a diagnosis on the Workers Party (PT) experience in recent political history in Brazil. Although it had started by challenging "representative democracy", PT ended up as the main sponsor of the widest experiment in novel forms and instances of representation in contemporary Brazil, often under the rubric of a "participatory" ideal. The paper tends to emphasize the unavoidable character of this "drift" toward representation as well as to identify the root of these experiments on a partisan political commitment with certain hitherto peripheral sectors of the population - far more than a presumed ideological clarity on a theoretical-oriented diagnosis about Brazil or about democracy.

This article proceeds from the premise that, even if you accept the principle that justice is impossible in the complete absence of virtue, a good political system ought to be parsimonious in any requirement of virtue as an input, so as not to impose undue restrictions on its own ability to function. Assuming a more or less random distribution of virtue through time and space, it would be preferable, all other things being equal, to have a system equipped to operate not only in periods of abundant moral and ethical virtue, but also — and particularly — in periods of scarcity, when such qualities seem depleted in human nature. This exigency grows critical in the context of a modern society, in which the ever-increasing complexity and impersonal nature of social relations will produce anonymity that would urge extreme caution in the presumption of virtue as an element of social relations — a caution that sociology unanimously teaches us. In such a context — one in which not all issues will involve everyone equally, nor will all voices be always audible — prudence advises and tolerance demands that political apathy — or, rather, mere abstention — should be recognized, if not as a new modality of virtue, at least as a basic right: in the exercise of which, I will respectfully silence myself whenever appropriate before the judgment of actors more intensely immersed than I, and let myself hope for silence from a few so as to be heard when I see fit to express myself.

This article proceeds from the premise that, even if you accept the principle that justice is impossible in the complete absence of virtue, a good political system ought to be parsimonious in any requirement of virtue as an input, so as not to impose undue restrictions on its own ability to function. Assuming a more or less random distribution of virtue through time and space, it would be preferable, all other things being equal, to have a system equipped to operate not only in periods of abundant moral and ethical virtue, but also - and particularly - in periods of scarcity, when such qualities seem depleted in human nature. This exigency grows critical in the context of a modern society, in which the ever-increasing complexity and impersonal nature of social relations will produce anonymity that would urge extreme caution in the presumption of virtue as an element of social relations - a caution that sociology unanimously teaches us. In such a context - one in which not all issues will involve everyone equally, nor will all voices be always audible - prudence advises and tolerance demands that political apathy - or, rather, mere abstention - should be recognized, if not as a new modality of virtue, at least as a basic right: in the exercise of which, I will respectfully silence myself whenever appropriate before the judgment of actors more intensely immersed than I, and let myself hope for silence from a few so as to be heard when I see fit to express myself.

Este artigo parte de uma discussão da concepção weberiana do mercado como a forma por excelência de "socialização entre estranhos" para refletir teoricamente sobre modernização e mercado. Para além das evidentes sugestões envolvidas na reflexão sobre o papel do mercado no mundo contemporâneo, procura-se estabelecer alguns nexos específicos não obstante todas as tensões envolvidas entre o arquétipo do mercado e a operação dos sistemas políticos democráticos modernos.

This article starts from a discussion on the weberian conception of the market as a means by excellence to foment "socialization among strangers" to then reflect theoretically on modernization and market. Beyond evident suggestions involved in the reflexion on the role of market in the contemporary world, it aims to establish some specific nexus despite all the tensions involved between market archetype and the operation of the modern democratic political systems.

Cet article est issu d'une discussion de la conception de marché suivant Max Weber, comme étant la forme par excellence de la "socialisation entre inconnus", pour réfléchir théoriquement à propos de la modernisation et du marché. Au-delà des suggestions évidentes qui font partie de la réflexion à propos du rôle du marché dans le monde contemporain, nous cherchons à établir quelques liens spécifiques malgré toutes les tensions en jeu entre l'archétype du marché et l'opération des systèmes politiques démocratiques modernes.