Certain historical moments, like the American founding or the Civil Rights Movement, are celebrated as democratic triumphs, while others linger as reminders of democratic failure. This work explores how we should interpret these failures, particularly when both the law and citizens neglect justice. Are these failures indicative of a complete breakdown of democracy, or do they reflect a more nuanced perspective that highlights potential for change? The author challenges the views of thinkers like Plato and Rousseau, who equate democratic failure with the failure of democracy itself, as this can lead to an unhealthy deference to authority and complicity in injustice. Instead, the concept of "lost cause narratives" suggests that these failures reveal possibilities for what could have been and what might still be achieved through public action. The author advocates for a politics of lost causes that emphasizes resistance, theatrical claims-making, and re-narration. By examining public controversies surrounding trials—from Burke's reflections on the Hastings trial to Zola's commentary on the Dreyfus Affair, Arendt's insights on the Eichmann trial, and Bigelow's portrayal of the trials of alleged terrorists—she illustrates the importance of reinterpreting democratic failures to foster public engagement and responsiveness in the future.
Lida Maxwell Knihy
