An Analysis Of Laclau And Murphy’s Theory Of Discourse Leadership

Leadership theory has been the focus of research by scholars at home and abroad.Laclau and Mouffe criticize and inherit the leadership theory of Lenin and Gramsci,combine the ideas of post-structuralism,and clearly put forward the theory of discourse leadership in their co-authored Hegemony and Socialist Strategy.The theory is constructed on the basis of deconstructing the relevant concepts of Marxism,combining discourse and leadership,and expanding the scope of leadership studies.There are deviations from Marxism in the process of constructing discourse leadership by the duo,which also provides reflections on how to properly understand Marx’s thought.The article begins with an introduction to the emergence of Laclau and Mouffe’s theory of discursive leadership.In terms of theoretical sources,it was influenced by Lenin’s political leadership,Gramsci’s cultural leadership,and poststructuralist ideas.In terms of the background of the times,it is mainly the change in the way of capitalist governance and the rise of new social movements.Secondly,it goes deep into the content of Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse leadership theory,first expounds the discourse theory and leadership theory separately,and gradually clarifies the internal logical relationship between discourse theory and leadership theory,analyzes how discourse and leadership are combined,and then discusses the practice of discourse leadership theory,that is,the radical,pluralistic and democratic socialist strategy,and grasps the construction path of discourse leadership theory as a whole.Finally,the theory of discourse leadership is reviewed.It is pointed out that in the process of discussing the theory of discourse leadership,Laclau and Mouffe developed the construction process of discourse into an idealistic tendency of discourse determinism,and deviated from the historical determinism proposed by Marx by attaching the ultimate realization of leadership to the logic of chance,but the two combined discourse and leadership to achieve a change in the research perspective of leadership,and at the same time the deconstruction of concepts such as subject and class also continued the critical spirit of Marxism.The article takes the core concepts of discursive leadership theory as the starting point,analyzes the logic of the production and operation of leadership in discursive theory,and connects it with leadership theory in the context of discursive theory;at the same time,it analyzes the political practice of discursive leadership theory-the social strategy of radical pluralist democracy,and then understands the political strategy constructed by Laclau and Mouffe’s discursive leadership theory from the level of social strategy.The political conceptions constructed by the discourse leadership theories of Laclau and Mouffe are then understood at the level of social strategies.