Showing papers in "Thesis Eleven in 2001"
TL;DR: Castoriadis' political theory can prove exceptionally important as it provides a starting point and a solid ground for articulating one of the most incisive and convincing critiques of the limits and flaws of communicative democracy as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Contemporary Anglo-American political thought is witnessing a revival of theories of deliberative democracy. The principle of public argumentation, according to which the legitimation of a general norm is predicated upon a rational and open dialog among all those affected by this norm, constitutes their common underlying assumption. This assumption is itself grounded in the metatheoretical claim that arguing is the defining activity of a demos of free and equal members. Habermas' well-known formulation of communicative or discursive democracy represents one of the earliest, most discussed, and indeed most emblematic versions of the existing models of deliberative democracy. It is here, I believe, that Castoriadis' political theory can prove exceptionally important as it provides a starting point and a solid ground for articulating one of the most incisive and convincing critiques of the limits and flaws of communicative democracy. Although Castoriadis himself never directly discussed deliberative democrac...
131 citations
TL;DR: The twin theories of late 20th-century societal constellations, functionalist modernization theory and neo-Marxist theories, fell into crisis and disrepute during the 1970s and 1...
Abstract: The twin theories of late 20th-century societal constellations, functionalist modernization theory and neo-Marxist theories of late capitalism, fell into crisis and disrepute during the 1970s and 1...
28 citations
TL;DR: In the course of their disciplinary consolidation during the 19th and 20th centuries, the social sciences came increasingly to be less historically orientated as discussed by the authors, and the need to locate European modernity in a global context became increasingly a marginal concern for professional historical scholarship.
Abstract: In the course of their disciplinary consolidation during the 19th and 20th centuries, the social sciences came increasingly to be less historically orientated. Analogously, global history became increasingly a marginal concern for professional historical scholarship. At the present juncture, however, there is a coincidence of a rethinking of the formation of modernity in cultural terms and the need to locate European modernity in a global context. Social theory must be able to provide an account of global historical developments that is less constrained and biased than modernization theory, even in the new garb of globalization studies, but significantly more elaborate in conceptual terms than current contributions to global history. A rethinking of the formation of modernity has already contributed to a greater appreciation of processes of cultural and ideational transformations. It has also suggested new ways of studying institutional change. It must, however, also be able to locate the specific Europea...
22 citations
TL;DR: This paper surveys the contributions of Weber, Sombart, Castoriadis and - most recently - Luc Boltanski and Eve Chiapello to the debate on the spirit of capitalism.
Abstract: The recognition of capitalism as a core component of modernity has often led to conflation of the two categories; this happens to critics as well as defenders of capitalism, and it reflects their shared but only partly acknowledged premises. A tendency to interpret capitalism as a self-contained system has strongly affected the debate on its historical significance; this reductionistic approach could be adapted to different ideological stances as well as to changing views of capitalism's long-term trajectory. The notion of a `spirit of capitalism', in the sense of cultural sources essential to the constitution (and arguably also to the continuity) of the capitalist order, has been one of the most important correctives to economic determinism and reductionism, but it has proved difficult to link this dimension to other aspects of the problematic. The article surveys the contributions of Weber, Sombart, Castoriadis and - most recently - Luc Boltanski and Eve Chiapello to this debate. The last section then d...
18 citations
TL;DR: In his fragment on ''capitalism as a religion'' as mentioned in this paper, Benjamin characterizes capitalism not only as a phenomenon that is ''influenced' by religion, as conventional sociological interpretations assum...
Abstract: In his fragment on `capitalism as a religion', Walter Benjamin characterizes capitalism not only as a phenomenon that is `influenced' by religion, as conventional sociological interpretations assum...
16 citations
TL;DR: In an oeuvre that spans half a century, attempting to combine in ongoing dialogue the humanities and sciences, Morin has written on scientific method, fundamental anthropology, politics, contemporary life and popular culture.
Abstract: A colleague of Roland Barthes at the CNRS in the 1950s and cowriter and friend of Cornelius Castoriadis until the latter's death, Edgar Morin has until recently been too little known in the English-speaking world. In an oeuvre that spans half a century, attempting to combine in ongoing dialogue the `humanities' and `sciences', Morin has written on scientific method, fundamental anthropology, politics, contemporary life and popular culture. He is an advocate of `complex' thought, thought which does not reduce, rationalize and mutilate phenomena under examination, which emphasizes the interaction between researcher and researched, and participation as a way of being in the world. This article particularly focuses on his work on death and cinema, suggesting a strong continuity between his early studies and his more recent writing on complexity and ecology. The radically democratic complexion of Morin's writings, his emphasis on a human empathy that can incorporate notions of unity and difference, make him a ...
12 citations
TL;DR: Following in the wake of a certain epistemological and analytical crisis in positivism (its methodology is mercifully in good shape), a revival in the popularity and ''scientific legitimacy of vari...
Abstract: Following in the wake of a certain epistemological and analytical crisis in positivism (its methodology is mercifully in good shape), a revival in the popularity and `scientific' legitimacy of vari...
12 citations
TL;DR: While the concept of welfare dependence as now formulated is logically muddled, it is very powerful in shaping our view of both the welfare state in general and the requirements of welfare reform as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: While the concept of welfare dependence as now formulated is logically muddled, it is very powerful in shaping our view of both the welfare state in general and the requirements of welfare reform i...
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a theory of management by strata and management by ties is proposed to describe how capitalism is sustained on a day-to-day basis by organized projects in networks.
Abstract: The background of the article is Marxism's lack of a notion of management. The article suggests that anyone rethinking capitalism should pause for a moment to check on the evidence for such a notion. It seems necessary because today's theory of capitalism can no longer be content with a structural theory of the conflict between capital and labour, but must integrate a poststructural, or operational, theory of how capitalism is sustained on a day-to-day basis by organized projects in networks. The article develops a notion of `management by strata', which is matched to the traditional role of hierarchies, and a notion of `management by ties', which is tuned to the newly discovered role of hierarchies in networks. The method used in the article is a theoretical study based on the sociological theories of social systems and networks.
9 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that what is wrong in Japan is not its economy but its status as a military satellite of the United States, which causes its political system to be ineffective in serving the country's economic interests.
Abstract: Japan is the world's second most productive economy, but its economic system is intensely controversial. It differs from both the plan-rational systems of the communist world and the market-rational systems of the capitalist world in that it combines elements of both. This configuration directly challenges orthodox capitalist theory as advanced by the United States and the United Kingdom. During the 1990s, when Japan's economy slowed greatly and some other economies of East Asia were besieged by international capital flows, Japan's economy was singled out for a withering ideological critique. Nonetheless, what is wrong in Japan is not its economy but its status as a military satellite of the United States, which causes its political system to be ineffective in serving the country's economic interests.
7 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the idea of Australian civilization can be used to hold these two dimensions together within the framework of an accelerating globalization process which divides rather than unites, anticipating a further article which follows Tocqueville into the antipodes.
Abstract: What are the peculiarities of Australian modernity? How can we make sense of Australia? This programmatic article opens up questions of how to think about Australia through thinking about thinking about Australia. National and imperial fallacies abound - that Australia is derivative of origin or environment, and is allegedly obsessed with identity crises. Much analysis of Australia is either celebratory or dismissive. Too often the question is `who are we?' rather than `what has been the nature of our collective and split experience?' The argument presented here is that the idea of Australian civilization can be used to hold these two dimensions together within the framework of an accelerating globalization process which divides rather than unites. Three negative and three positive theses are advanced to this end, anticipating a further article which follows Tocqueville into the antipodes.
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TL;DR: The third way has only resulted in ''welfare reform'' and a free-trade agreement with Mexico and Canada as mentioned in this paper, which serves the ends of multinational capital, not the needs of workers.
Abstract: Clinton and Blair have extolled a Third Way policy which is supposed to go beyond the policies of the present world where the `First Way' (capitalism) rules and the Second (socialism) failed. Clinton's Third Way ennumerated positive changes in theory, such as universal health care, equity in the tax code, national education standards and preschool. But in practice, the third way has only resulted in `welfare reform' and a free-trade pact with Mexico and Canada. Blair's policies for the UK mirrored those of the US, and other countries are now talking of the Third Way as a progressive advance. In fact the so-called Third Way, as presently conceived, serves the ends of multinational capital. I show this by reworking Marx's labour theory of value. This article explains the tension between the speed of production and the way that the reproduction of natural resources, including labour-power, cannot keep pace with that speed. Capital does not want to wait for natural resources and labour-power to regenerate, an...
TL;DR: The land and the people of the Pilbara in north-western Australia have been perceived, and the landscape conceptualized, used or abused (depending on one's perception), in a variety of ways through time.
Abstract: The land and the people of the Pilbara in north-western Australia have been perceived, and the landscape conceptualized, used or abused (depending on one's perception), in a variety of ways through time. Differing perceptions have been reflected and modified by linguistic use, especially the metaphors applied, including the search for `a key to the country'; by conditions of observation, including the means of transport; by changing economic and utilitarian values; by images generated by painters and photographers; by the commodifications of the tourist industry and by scientific research, especially in anthropology, archaeology, geology and ecology. Changing perceptions of the Pilbara play a significant part, not only in Australia's economic performance, but also in its sense of global positioning. Yet awareness of the Pilbara itself by contemporary Australians lacks the intimacy that its indigenous inhabitants once had: it has been premature to remove the words `Terra Incognita' from much of the map.
TL;DR: The case of 20th-century Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos and American director and choreographer Eva Palmer as mentioned in this paper, who organized revivals of the Delphic Festivals in 1927 and 1930 as a prelude to re-establishing Delphi as a world center for people with a vision for the world.
Abstract: Whereas the Mediterranean has not submitted easily to strong theories, still it has inspired a certain kind of theorizing from the ground. The setting of the Mediterranean viewed from the land's edge gave the world theoria, which Greek etymology and usage associates with looking onto a scene with amazement, viewing drama, being sent as an emissary to consult the oracle, or traveling for the purposes of sightseeing. The present essay explores some connections between the Mediterranean and theoria. Following a brief survey of how theoria functioned in antiquity, it studies the case of 20th-century Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos and American director and choreographer Eva Palmer - husband and wife - who sought to revive ancient ideas of theoria. They organized revivals of the Delphic Festivals in 1927 and 1930 as a prelude to re-establishing Delphi as a world center for people with a vision for the world. Their work rivaled that of the Olympic Revivals, except that the Delphic Revival was linked to a particul...
TL;DR: A close reading of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE), an anonymous captain's manual written in everyday Greek, provides ways of thinking about broader questions concerning the connectedness of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.
Abstract: A close reading of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE), an anonymous captain's manual written in everyday Greek, provides ways of thinking about broader questions concerning the connectedness of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. It is located primarily in the Red Sea, an interstitial zone between the two large seas, and concerns long-distance networks of exchange between South Asia, the Arabian peninsula, the Horn of Africa, Alexandria, and beyond that the Mediterranean. Among the issues to emerge are the linear nature of spatial experience and the means by which commodities are mapped. A goal of the article is to identify ways in which to link the practice and representations of travel.
TL;DR: Castoriadis' reactivation of the issues concerned, in particular, his radicalization of Aristotle's conception of physis and nomos, has been explored in this paper.
Abstract: The physis and nomos controversy first emerged in ancient Greek thought. This article explores Castoriadis' reactivation of the issues concerned; in particular, his radicalization of Aristotle's conception of physis and nomos. It suggests that nomos appears as multifaceted in his work. However, three key variations may be identified: empirical nomos, normative nomos and generic nomos. Empirical nomos signifies the human creation of laws. It challenges the notion, long held in western philosophy, that Being = being determined. Although all laws are by humans created and thus in one sense autonomous, Castoriadis further distinguishes normatively between those societies which embrace their self-creating and self-transformative capacity and those which obscure it. Normative nomos, then, refers to the autonomous or heteronomous institution of society. The third sense of nomos refers to the creation of form. In this generic sense, it is argued that the debate shifts from the human to the non-human realm; that n...
TL;DR: The authors argued that Oedipus' demise represents in allegorical form the self-destruction of the Dialectic of Enlightenment, and that enlightenment does not effectuate an exit or Ausgang from the opacity of myth, as Kant had held, but rather is blinded, paradoxicall.
Abstract: This article argues that the figure of Oedipus lies at the heart of Horkheimer and Adorno's Dialectic of Enlightenment. Oedipus is the prototypical Aufklarer as no one can rival him in his courageous attempt to employ his own autonomous reason `without direction from another'; yet self-knowledge remains beyond his grasp. Indeed, Oedipus' obsessive drive to bring the truth to light ultimately leads him to put out his own eyes because he is unable to bear the sight of the catastrophe that this drive engenders. Oedipus' demise represents in allegorical form the self-destruction of enlightenment itself. Enlightenment is similarly driven to illuminate the world in its totality by reducing it to philosophical concepts. In the process, however, it becomes blind to the question of its dependence upon that which it purports to possess. In its attempt at total illumination, therefore, enlightenment does not effectuate an exit or Ausgang from the opacity of myth, as Kant had held, but rather is blinded, paradoxicall...
TL;DR: The influence of Tocqueville in Australian cultural criticism is powerful, not least in the concern with the question of egalitarian democracy and its propensity to breed mediocrity as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The influence of Tocqueville in Australian cultural criticism is powerful, not least in the concern with the question of egalitarian democracy and its propensity to breed mediocrity. This article traces European criticism of Australia as the antipodes or other of Europe through the 19th century, ending with D. H. Lawrence's Kangaroo. It tracks the effect of the mediocrity thesis in local criticism, through Hancock and Horne to the work of Paul Kelly in The End of Certainty. How should we live? The argument is posited that Australia is a kind of alternative modernity or civilization which can still be exemplary; a little mediocrity goes a long way, in a world obsessed with the spirit of inner restlessness prescribed by the endless pursuit of the project of rational mastery.
TL;DR: The authors return to Derrida's 1974 Glas and find that Braudel's investigation of the difficult question of the ''historical Mediterranean'' is precisely the lens through which Glas's nascent critique of imperialism comes into focus.
Abstract: We return to Derrida's 1974 Glas. It has probably never occurred to readers of Glas that it could have relevance for any kind of critique of empire - let alone a critique of empire via the Mediterranean. But Braudel's investigation of the difficult question of the `historical Mediterranean' is precisely the lens through which Glas's nascent critique of imperialism comes into focus. In this strange work, a `thinking' of passages emerges - disruptive passages moving from west to east, ceaselessly criss-crossing the vectors of the western empire's seemingly `continuous' move westward. As a rigorous critique of origins and borders, Derridean deconstruction can provide a useful perspective on ongoing efforts to pinpoint the borders of a `historical Mediterranean' and on the ways in which medieval mercantile histories of the Mediterranean themselves serve as a critique of empire.
TL;DR: The Algerian writer Malika Mokeddem embeds her novels in the geography of a desert that belongs ever more to the past of the nomadic immediate ancestors of her main characters as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Algerian writer Malika Mokeddem embeds her novels in the geography of a desert that belongs ever more to the past of the nomadic immediate ancestors of her main characters. Object of nostalgic yearning, this desert past and the nomads peopling it also necessitate flight, especially for women, trapped there in a patriarchal culture and society whose violence has been perpetuated into that of contemporary Algeria - also often aimed against women. Besides a few strong older women able to take advantage of their age and status to help their juniors, these novels principally set on stage young women or girls whose accidental or perilously self-willed access to education and - above all, writing - frees them from binding traditions even while, for most, such writing is akin to the nomadic traveling of their ancestors (as `writing' on the desert's very body). Even so, because it is a revolt against such traditions, their writing is the site and actuality of fraught struggle and pushes them into the `nomadism...