89

Recalling the premises underlying the establishment of democracy in ancient Athens, the author describes how a democratically governed community promotes the establishment of a democratic type of family relationships which, in turn, tend to have an effect on democratic government practices. Taking the example of the rise of Nazism in Germany, he shows the harmful consequences which followed the abandonment of democratic culture. Democratic dialogue influences the building of an individual/societal equilibrium. The concept of the “individual within the relationship” recognizes this construction. It is illustrated by the metaphor of the “inner parliament” which indicates an isomorphism with an intrapsychic aspect. For the author, in this time of globalization, the promotion of a democratic culture in the modern family is more necessary than ever, and it is ever more difficult to reconcile individuation (which encompasses the right and duty of responsibility to oneself) with the relationship with others, which makes us aware of all we receive, but also of all we owe to the system to which we belong.