In search of radical democracy: the ideological character of current political advocacies for culture change in planning

This paper argues that current attempts to situate the crisis in planning in demoralised or old planning cultures are playing a key role in strengthening the ideological commitment of planning to an advanced liberal social order. In order to provide planners with the means to understand some of the ideological mechanisms at work in such processes, the 2007 Danish structural reform and the parallel advocacy for culture change in planning are analysed. Drawing on post-Marxist theories of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, the analysis draws attention to the need for reflection on whether the current ideological commitment of planning is that which best serves a democratic society.