Claude Lefort and Cornelius Castoriadis’ heritage is called upon to interrogate social critique and the project of emancipation. Contrary to other anti-totalitarian versions, the works of these two thinkers emphasize the value and vitality of political and social conflict and the fecund dynamics of the radical questioning of social and political order. While their divergences concern central themes such as capitalism, democracy and the general appreciation of our times, there remains in their later years a shared concern about the consequences of neo-liberalism and the difficulties there are in opposing it.