The public sphere theory and multitude theory are traditionally seen as being apart. The public
and the multitude seem so distant notions that we never look into them with a comparative
viewpoint. In some respects, the multitude seem to be the opposite of the public, many times
inappropriately compared with crowds or mobs. So, the relation between the public and the
multitude seem to be a bit unexpected.
In this paper, we theoretically exam these notions putting them in perspective looking for the
expected (hopeful) relation. The analysis departs from five features – inclusiveness, the
common, social body, plural singularities and revolutionary subject. In each one we search
where the public and the multitude meet and where they differ. In this frame of analysis we will
suggest that, at some angles, the multitude is a kind of pre-public: an immanent power that
eventually evolves to a potential critical reasoning force.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
