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Politics and the Rhetoric of Responsibility

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Politics and the Rhetoric of Responsibility City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 10-2014 Moral Inscriptions: Politics and the Rhetoric of Responsibility Steven Pludwin Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/495 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] MORAL INSCRIPTIONS: POLITICS AND THE RHETORIC OF RESPONSIBILITY by STEVEN PLUDWIN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2014 Copyright 2014 STEVEN PLUDWIN All Rights Reserved. ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Political Science in satisfaction of the dissertation requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _______________ Professor Alyson M. Cole Date Chair of Examining Committee _______________ Professor Alyson M. Cole Date Executive Officer Professor Rosalind P. Petchesky Supervisory Committee Professor Linda M. Alcoff Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract MORAL INSCRIPTIONS: POLITICS AND THE RHETORIC OF RESPONSIBILITY By Steven Pludwin Advisor: Professor Alyson M. Cole This dissertation advances two interrelated claims. First, I examine the concept of responsibility and show how it operates as a rhetorical form that mediates a large segment of political life. Framing responsibility as a distinctly political problem, I argue that it functions to produce, discipline and govern subjects as well as legislate forms of identity, difference and community. Second, I argue that the definitional space of responsibility is not sacred, but contested. It is within this contested space that political battles regarding how we ought to understand the world and what it means to live in common with others plays out. Focusing on the ways in which responsibility is used to impose order allows me to understand how a politics of responsibility impacts discussions as far ranging as political violence, economic crisis and environmental policy. iv Acknowledgements When I began this project over four years ago, I scribbled down a quote from Marx’s preface to the first edition of Capital Volume One about the difficulty of beginnings. At the time, I think it was my naïveté that led me to believe that I would have to go it alone, further amplifying the difficult road that I imagined lay ahead. Fortunately, the dissertation provided me with an opportunity to learn something about the people that I had spent years surrounding myself with. This project is as much the result of countless hours of individual effort as it is the result of their collective insight, wisdom and support. I am especially grateful to my committee – Professors Alyson Cole, Ros Petchesky and Linda Alcoff – who have graciously given of that most precious commodity – time. Throughout this process they have each offered helpful commentary and incisive criticism that have pushed me to probe the deepest layers of my work and truly uncover the relevance and implications of my project’s contribution. Their combined efforts have been crucial to the development of this dissertation from its inception to its completion. I am particularly indebted to my advisor, Professor Alyson Cole. She has had a profound impact not only on this project, but on my intellectual and professional development as well. Her work has inspired me, her commentary has guided me, and her pedagogy has informed the way I look at the world. I am the lucky beneficiary of Alyson’s thoughtful mentorship and continued advocacy. This project would not have been possible without her ongoing intellectual and professional support. Though there are a number of friends and colleagues who have played an integral role in the development of this project. Two standout and deserve special recognition. v Daniel Skinner, has been, and continues to be, nothing less than an intellectual giant when it comes to my work. He has spent countless hours reading and rereading my drafts, giving of his own precious time to talk through the toughest of theoretical questions. Most importantly, Dan has been an emotional rock throughout this process, from our weekly writing sessions at Phoebe’s right up to the morning of my defense. I am fortunate to be the recipient of his wisdom, his mentorship, and his friendship. From beyond the halls of academe, Kevin Bova has helped keep me grounded, inspired and consistently in awe. He has provided nothing but support and sound advice from day one, and has played a vital role in my development as a person who refuses to give up and refuses to give in. I owe him a debt of gratitude for every ounce of relentlessness in this project and in my approach to life in general. My parents also deserve special thanks. My mother and father have been supportive of every one of my endeavors – intellectually, emotionally and materially. They have set an example for how to live and work with others. Most of all, they have given me their trust, never doubting my will or ability to complete my dissertation. Without their unwavering love and support, this project would not have become a reality. I owe them a debt that cannot be paid. This project is as much theirs as it is mine. Finally, my wife Elizabeth Swearingen’s patience and love have been the ingredients that made this project possible. I was lucky enough to meet her just as I was embarking on this journey, and she has been present for every twist and turn I have taken. Her words of encouragement, her unyielding faith, and her ability to love me unconditionally, have kept me stable, and most importantly, happy. She has made me a vi stronger thinker, a more creative soul, and above all else, a committed joy-seeker. I can say without any uncertainty that this would not have come to fruition without her support. vii Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction: Towards a Politics of Responsibility 1 Chapter Two: Tragic Heroes and Torturable Bodies: Terror and the Politics of Responsibility 42 Chapter Three: Rogue Traders, Suspect Citizens and the Invisible Hand: Crisis in the Theater of Responsibility 76 Chapter Four: Whose Future? Environmentalism and the Queering of Intergenerational Responsibility 101 Chapter Five: Conclusion: Rhetoric and the Violence of Responsibility 131 Bibliography 142 viii Chapter One: Introduction: Toward a Politics of Responsibility That lambs dislike great birds of prey does not seem strange: only it provides no ground for reproaching these birds of prey for bearing off little lambs. And if the lambs say among themselves: “these birds of prey are evil; and whoever is as little as possible like a bird of prey, but rather its opposite, a lamb – would not he be good? There is no reason to find fault with this institution of an ideal, except perhaps that the birds of prey might view it a little ironically and say: “we don’t dislike them at all, these good little lambs; we even love them: nothing is more tasty than a tender lamb.” - Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals The condition of possibility of this thing, responsibility, is a certain experience of the possibility of the impossible: the trial of the aporia from which one may invent the only possible invention, the impossible invention. - Jacques Derrida, The Other Heading Let’s begin with a true story. On April 20th, 2010 a gas explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig stationed in the Gulf of Mexico. Within two days, the rig had sunk and an oil leak that would last more than three months, wreaking havoc on an entire ecosystem, had begun.1 Years later, the environmental, economic and psychological effects of the Deepwater Horizon spill continue to be felt.2 Predictably, and almost instantly, the rhetoric of responsibility came to dominate and shape the discourse surrounding the ecological crisis. Political actors, pundits and commentators from across the political spectrum made the 1 For resources on the Deepwater Horizon spill see, for example, the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Response and Restoration: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon, For an excellent account of the rig’s final hours leading up to the explosion see, David Rohde David Barstow, Stephanie Saul, "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours," The New York Times, December 26, 2010. 2 For examples of the oil spill’s continued economic impact see: Laurel Calkins Allen Johnson Jr., Margaret Cronin Fisk, "BP Spill Victims Face Economic Fallout Two Years Later" Bloomberg, February 23, 2012. For continued environmental impact see: Suzanne Goldenberg, "Study Links BP Oil Spill to Dolphin Deaths," The Guardian, December 18, 2013 2013., For psychological impacts see: Sparkle Roberts Lynn M. Grattan, William T. Mahan, Jr., Patrick K. McLaughlin, W. Steven Otwell, and J. Glenn Morris, Jr., "The Early Psychological Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Florida and Alabama Communities," Environmental Health Perpectives 119, no. 6 (2011). 1 question of responsibility central in an attempt to explain the event by unearthing the responsible party, or parties, at the heart of the devastation. Forbes magazine best articulated this fervor with a three part series on its Corporate Social Responsibility Blog under the very literal, if not revealing, headline, “The BP Oil Spill: Who’s Responsible?”3 By May 1st, the Obama Administration named British Petroleum (BP), the company in charge of the drilling, as the responsible party.4 Shortly thereafter, US Attorney General, Eric Holder, announced that the federal government would open a criminal inquiry into the oil spill to ensure that none of the responsible parties escaped accountability.5 BP reacted quickly by announcing major changes in its corporate structure, as well as a review of risk management protocols, and initiated a public relations campaign with an emphasis on the company’s response to the disaster.
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