Volume 11 2015

Jacques Ranciere Katerina Kolozova Oxana Timofeeva Craig Gent Creston Davis Artan Sadiku Gianni Vattimo and Santiago Zabala Tibor Rutar Zdravko Saveski Conversation with Richard Seymour

Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture 2 IDENTITIES -JournalforPolitics,GenderandCulture IDENTITIES -JournalforPolitics,GenderandCulture Institute ofSocialSciencesandHumanities-Skopje Jack Halberstam,CrestonDavis,FrançoisLaruelle, Dona Kolar-Panov,ArtanSadiku,SvetlanaSlapšak Senka Anastasova,JudithButler,RosiBraidotti, Joan Copjec,AkisGavrillidis,MarinaGržini}, Street “20Oktomvri”nr.8,second floor Email: [email protected] Sciences andHumanities-Skopje, Address: Street“20Oktomvri” Phone/Fax: +38923113059 1000 Skopje,Macedonia 1000 Skopje,Macedonia EDITORIAL MANAGER EXECUTIVE EDITORS ASSISTANT EDITOR EDITORIAL OFFICE DESIGN &LAYOUT (ISSN 1857-8616) ADVISORY BOARD Institute ofSocial Katerina Kolozova nr.8, secondfloor Žarko Trajanoski Jordan Šišovski Artan Sadiku Publisher koma.mk

philosophical masters. schools ofthought.Ourpassion isonefortopicsratherthan interpretation derivedfromvarious andsometimesopposed in rigorofinvestigationwhich cancombineframeworksof It doesnotseekdoctrinalconsistency, butitseeksconsistency without prioritizinganyofthe canonicalMastersofphilosophy. theoretical strands,toallschoolsandnon-schoolsofthought gender andcultureasinextricablyinterrelated.Itisopen toall promoting theoreticalinvestigationswhichseeissuesof politic, “intellectual margins”oftheworld.Itisparticularlyinterested in debate withauthorsfromboththe“intellectualcenters” and the Europe andenableitsvisibilityanopeningforinternational as aplatformforthetheoreticalproductionofSoutheastern Is apeerreviewedinternationaljournalthatseekstoserve (ISSN 1857-8616) IDENTITIES -JournalforPolitics,GenderandCulture is supportedbytheRosaLuxemburgStiftungSoutheastEurope This issueofIDENTITIES-JournalforPolitics,GenderandCulture

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture Vol. 11 / 2015 The Future of the Idea of the Left

Contents

7 Jacques Ranciere Tibor Rutar 84 Skopje: Time, Narrative, and Politics The Rise of the Right in Times of Capitalist Crisis: A Materialist Explanation 19 Katerina Kolozova Metaphysics of Finance Economy Zdravko Saveski 100 of its Radicalization as The Method Trade Unions, Workers and the Protection of Revoking Real Economy of Workers’ Rights: a Vicious Circle with No Escape? 32 Oxana Timofeeva Unconscious Desire for Communism Conversation with Richard Seymour 114 Perspectives of the left in Europe 49 Craig Gent With Our Backs to the Future

61 Creston Davis Organizing for Life

67 Artan Sadiku Contracting a radical democracy in the Balkans - The return of the people as a possibility for a leftist Copyright © Identities 2015. All rights reserved. Except for the inauguration of politics quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

81 Gianni Vattimo and Santiago Zabala photocopying, recording or otherwise, without a prior permission of 3 How to Weaken the EU Frame the publisher.

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Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

The Future of the Idea of the Left 5

6 Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Jacques Rancière Skopje: Time, Narrative, and Politics

Bionote categories play an important role in this as well. By defining a now, a before and an after, andin Jacques Rancière is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy connecting them together within the narrative, they at the University of Paris-VIII. His books include The predetermine the way in which the common world is Politics of Aesthetics, On the Shores of Politics, Short given to us in order to perceive it and to think it as Voyages to the Land of the People, The Future of the well as the place given to everyone who occupies it and Image, and The Nights of Labor. the capacity by which each of us then has to perceive Skopje: Time, Narrative, and Politics truth. The narrative of time at once states what the flow of time makes possible as well as the wayin Abstract which the inhabitants of time can grasp (or not grasp) these “possibles.” This articulation is a fiction. In this sense, politics and forms of knowledge are established I would like to recall several ideas that have supported by way of fictions including as well works that are the entirety of my work for the past 40 years: deemed to be of the imagination. And the narrative forms of worker emancipation and the regimes of time is at the heart of these fictions that structure of the identification of art; the transformations of the intelligibility of these situations, which is to say literary fiction and the principles of democracy; the as well, their acceptability. The narrative of time is presuppositions of historical science and the forms always at the same time a fiction of the justice of time. of consensus by today’s dominant apparatuses. What unites all these areas of research is the attention to the way in which these practices and forms of knowledge The title I have chosen for this intervention is: time, imply a certain cartography of the common world. I narrative, and politics. To give a proper introduction to have chosen to name this system of relations between it, I would like to recall several ideas that support this ways of being, doing, seeing, and thinking that reflection because they have also supported the entirety determine at once the common world and the ways in 7 of my work for the past 40 years concerning objects which everyone takes part within it the “distribution and areas of research that apparently seem distant of the sensible.” But it must also be said that temporal 8 Jacques RancièreISkopje:Time,Narrative,andPolitics not grasp) these “possibles.” This articulation is a fiction. wellas as (or can grasp time of inhabitants the in which way the possible makes atonce time of time flow of the what states The narrative time. of flowing this to or errorlinked truth of a power accord ordiscord—with mode of the of way – by participating it ornot,of with attune of being is tosay,ways of beingintime,which certain futures. But at the same time, it also defines ways or forbids allows it from it,whereby itself or detaches is linkedtoapast present, thewayin which thispresent it defines the framework of experience: that which is now hand, one On things. two once at defines always time of truth. Anarrative has toperceive then of us each which by it andthecapacity given toeveryonewhooccupies place as the order toperceiveitandthinkaswell is givento us in common world the way inwhich the narrative, predetermine within the they together them connecting in and after, an and before a now, a defining By as well. in this an importantrole play categories temporal that said be also it must But sensible.” the of “distribution takes partwithinitthe which everyone in ways and the common world the once at determine and thinking that ways of being,doing,seeing, between relations of system name this to I havechosen elements. andthe varying all these according to are determined impossible possible the wherein identified, are events of events andforms wherein andexclusion, of co-existence way in which which subjects occupy it according to forms it, the forms ofvisibilityandinvisibilitythatstructure common world,ofthe imply acertaincartographyofthe practices andforms of knowledge which these in way the to attention the is research of areas these all What unites by today’s dominantapparatuses. consensus forms of and the historical science of presuppositions the ofdemocracy; principles the and fiction literary of transformations the art; of identification the of regimes other: formsofworker emancipationandthe from each had believed to read within its past and stripped of the of and stripped past within its read to believed had we that promises of the stripped it responsible, made had we which for ofthis fictions the if of stripped as been had time was It justice. of arrival world a of the arrival the with truth identified which and themselves movement ofthings heart ofthe truth withinthe hidden a to bringabout responsibility the time had granted that age of historythathadcometoanend–the age into rubble,butit wasalsoanentire that fell system an economicandstate it wasnotmerely the collapse, with that said our time.Itwas of view simple a rather to fictional 25years. this was credited Soviet empire of the collapse Indeed, the past the recall during flourished have to that present essential seems our of analyses the against up time of structuration it me For time isquitedifferentthanHeidegger. talk today in the relation between justice and the order of of my central focus the I wanttoplace in which way the it. But to granted Heidegger which commentary the of way known by better is time. Thisphrase of order the to according injustice their of payment the suffer things phrase the recalls manner inwhich by Anaximander concerningthe used time,” of “justice expression, This time. of justice the fiction of a time same the at always is The narrative their acceptability. is tosayaswell, of time situations, which of these intelligibility the that structure fictions these of heart the at is time of narrative the And to beoftheimagination. as wellworksthataredeemed including fictions of way by established are knowledge and formsof sequence. In this sense,politics intelligible organized intoan in awayastobe can bethought events and where a commonworld within together linked being which subjects, things, and situations can be perceived as a frameworkatheartof of construction world. Itisthe imaginary an of invention the not is fiction a word: this But itisimportant to beclearaboutthemeaningof Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left future that we had assigned to it as some kind of goal, as In order to understand the logic of these reversals, we if during its course, time had been rendered ordinary. have to understand the more complex temporal logic Of course, there are various ways of understanding this that supported the famous grand narratives. And to do ordinary course of time: some people identified it with the this, we must take a long step all the way back to the wise management of a time freed from utopian futures, canonical text that set in place the laws of fiction in the a time brought back to the immediate present and its Occident and by doing so imposed a certain figure of neighbouring consequences [consequénces proches] the rationality of time. I want to speak about Aristotle’s where it became merely a question of calculating the Poetics. In it, he states that the task of the poet is not chances for prosperity presented by the measures taken to create verse but to construct a fiction, namely, a link for the months to come and which were then required to between events, a structure of causal rationality. For be verified by these months to come. Others identified it is not a question of describing how events happened the opposite, the crepuscular time of a post-history as such, but rather to recount how events could have characterized by the generalized nihilist reign of unbelief happened, which is to say, starting from their possibility. and by the lone jouissance of market happiness [bonheur The poet constructs a causal schema of connection marchand] But in every case, there was evidence of a articulated according to two great relations: the relation disjunction between this indeed real present and the between fortune and misfortune, and a relation between great expectations and bygone illusions of a historical ignorance and knowledge. It is this way that the poet time directed by the future. This is what the philosopher, constructs a relation between the history of justice and Jean-Francois Lyotard, summarized within the stunning a model of intelligibility. To paraphrase the famous formula: the end of the grand narratives. phrase by Anaximander, we could say that tragedy defines an order of time according to which beings gain Nevertheless, this radical change in temporality was access to knowledge by way of being judged for their immediately called into question. On one hand, the injustice, an injustice which is first of all an ignorance. countries that had been freed from a communist future Tragedy in this way permanently links an intrigue of quickly found themselves caught within rediscovered justice granted to an intrigue of acquired knowledge. nationalistic narratives, within renewed genealogies of But there are two important remarks to make as far as monarchies and empires as well as ethnic and religious this rationality of an order of time is concerned. The conflicts. And on the other hand, it quickly became clear construction of a sequence by which possible events can that the triumphant free-market also had its long-term be created, claims Aristotle, comes about either by way demands which required, in order to preserve its future, of necessity or plausibility [vraisemblance]. Learned the sacrifice of privileges inherited from the past and the necessity and poetic plausibility are equivalents as forms egoisms of present interests. What would quickly appear of the rationalization of time – or of the justice of time. was that the too simple opposition between the solid This is because both of them are equally in opposition to realities of the present against the illusions of history a poor form of time: the time of simple succession, the covered over a division at the heart of the present itself, time where things happen one after another without any a division of temporalities which was also a division of causal link. This is what, according to Aristotle, makes 9 possibles and capacities. poetry superior to history: poetry states how thing could 10 Jacques RancièreISkopje:Time,Narrative,andPolitics the in Book II posed of on aprerequisite times thatisbased and an organizeddistributionofactivities,spaces Platonic Republic of the subject the is which justice other this also is there But knowledge. and fromignoranceto misfortune to fortune from pass men active makes that process the of justice poetic the is There achieved. is time of justice the that rationality. So itis poetic and fortuneof misfortune the and byway ofthisexcludes of puresuccession time the its domain, those forwhomtheform of lifeisdoomedto of aside, outside distribution offormslife.Ittosses which isa by adistribution[partage]oftemporalities and ignorance, is articulated misfortune, knowledge fortune and between linking that assuresthepassage time.Therational passively receive causalityoftemporal they because but anything don’t do they because — not passive call we people time, those don’t havethe who and narrow daily time:inshort, the timeofpeople repetitive one afteranother,the happen things simply where things of present live inthe who are people there call active.And for allthiswe men which time, these who have time ofpeople in short,the and knowledge: leisure of fins], [ses goals ends its and action of time the events ofatimethat“canhappen”, within the situated is present for whichthe are people of humans: there categories and two time of experience lived forms of two between on adistinction based itself is linking temporal of two types in hisPoetics : thisdistinctionbetween state to need not does Aristotle what here add also should within theirempirical succession.Butwe happened how things history simplymerelystates have happened, to dowhattheworkthat willnotwaitdemandsofthem. who havenoothertime but beings workshop [atelier] the within retain to is prerequisite City: this the origin of Republic at the very beginning of the tale about the about tale of the very beginning atthe ti jsie hc cnit of consists which justice this , And this ignorance was itself twofold: on one hand, it on one twofold: itself And thisignorance was necessity. of ignorance the to agents historical confined which ideology of veil the thought, of work andmodes of within thequotidianpracticeofgestures produced, past. Anditalso back intothe classes social entire threw that and delays [écarts] gaps also produced it promised and thefortune conditionsfor knowledge the produced force. Thehistoricalmovementwhich in full re-emerge soon would history rationality of new the by driven out apparently were that temporalities of opposition But the and possibility. necessity of transformation the in role to playanactive historical agents evolution thatallowed of a science produced evolution Historical knowledge. misfortune from apassage from ignoranceto passage on the based fortune to of fiction became exemplary therefore the History injustice. this judge would the and reigned injustice itself time which according to of laws knowledge which to according knowledge the laws once of at was justice new the justice: of orderalsoannouncedanewtype of thenewtemporal way by knowledge new the only acts, unjust their by suffered heroes tragic Whereas misfortune by wayofthe toknowledge access gained justice. and knowledge link between new a token, proposed same this by And of humanevents. matrixial formofcausality the [logé] that Marxismembedded ofmateriallife production the of reality daily obscure the world, within in this precisely a world subjected to the laws of rational linking. And it is made oftheworldthingsthathappenoneafteranother, they temporalities: of opposition the rejected they hand, rationality. Thus, against poetic on one Aristotle pitted which succession this historical to it applied carefully they And rationality. fictional of logic the appropriated narratives grand modern the hand, one On narratives. grand the have called forms ofrationalitythatwe these to ifwewantunderstandwhatisatplaywithin Such arethedistributionoftimeswhichwemustreturn Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left was the persistence of repetitive time that indefinitely alternative to imminent disaster. And in order to assure postponed the completion of justice inherent to the of this lone possible, the science of necessary connection march of history. And on the other hand, it was an more than ever had to be opposed to the ignorance of illusion for those unaware of the necessity of this delay men of empirical succession which resist the necessity and too quickly wanted to project themselves into the of the march of time. The capitalist and state-owned future. The opposition of temporalities which previously order that declared the expiration of the Marxist grand had been between two separate worlds thus lodged itself narrative simply took back up this same logic for its within the heart of historical necessity itself. The same own account. What quickly emerged was that the solid historical process was lived in two different ways: certain present our governments and their ideologies had pitted people lived within the time of knowledge, that is, the against the reveries of yesterday concerning the meaning time of causal connection; others – which was a larger of history also had its long-term demands. This present number – lived within the time of ignorance, the time of that was said to liberate us from the chimerical promises succession that was not understood in its diverse forms: of history and the revolution could itself only keep its embedded within the present of repetition, attached to promises by taking into account a much larger historical a bygone past, or to the illusory anticipation of a future process, which was called globalization. It is not simply a that is not yet possible. Thus it’s not, as they tell us, the question of an empirical adjustment to the ebb and flow simple faith in a future brought about by the evolution of the market, but the implementation of conforming the of time which had animated the grand narratives of empirical time of individuals with the rational time of historical necessity. It is the splitting of this necessity production and the capitalist redistribution of wealth: into the principles of possibility and impossibility, a a work in eliminating all the roadblocks to the natural splitting that itself was founded by the maintained logic accomplishment of these laws, that is, all the systems of the opposition of a time where things happen one guaranteeing the rights to work and the redistribution of after another and the time of rational connection. The wealth in the form of public services and social solidarity. science of this necessity has always been simultaneously This work of harmonizing time that was entrusted to the the science of the possible rupture of domination and the various States itself supposed the construction of a new science of its necessary reproduction and the indefinite fiction of historical necessity. It is in this way thatthe delay of the rupture. From this point of view, it is Europe of Maastricht (the European Union) pitted the completely false to say that our époque has broken away historical process of Reform against the past illusions of entirely from the grand narratives in order to consecrate the Revolution: not reforms, but Reform as the war of itself to the lone dimension of the present. Our époque the rational time of necessity against the delayed time of has simply redistributed the relation between necessity, men of succession, attached to the privileges inherited possibility, and impossibility. It has enclosed the from the past and incapable of seeing beyond the present possible within the lone alternative of the reproduction moment. The dominant logic here takes back up in its of the existing necessity or of the catastrophe of own way the Marxist scenario of a war of times. In the humanity doomed to the radical misfortune of its self- 19th century, Marx and Engels stigmatized artisans and destruction. Necessity has thus become the necessity of petit-bourgeois that held on to outdated social forms 11 the lone possible – or of the least of evils – as the lone hindering the rise of Capitalism and thereby hindering 12 Jacques RancièreISkopje:Time,Narrative,andPolitics t h ed f h 20 the of end the At to bringabout. this risewassupposed future socialist the rhythm and of too quickly wedding themselves to its themselves rhythm and oftooquicklywedding this to well-adapted too being of sin: that an inverted of same ignorant few those accused critical discourse to itsrhythm, to adapt who refused ignorant few those the historical announced free-market, and denounced global the of necessity discourse official the while denounce the ignorance of the inhabitants of time. Only, of temporalconnectionand,other,to on the necessity the critical the demonstrate to hand, tasked one on the science, of as predominantly underthesamemode,whichwas that itself re-affirmed was it time. But order of capitalist for the discourse it annexion, this with it haspromisedinthepast.Itistruethat,faced destruction whose free-market the of managers the by was thusrecycled The narrative ofhistoricalnecessity free-market. the of triumph the of that by but revolution socialist the name of by the went no longer present of the routine the to clear thewayforagainstmenstuckto one needed which future the however, But future. the for path the to clear demanded and always there always history was of Reform. The sense the triumph of the in applying them use that right the of governments by used are then that sciences Marxist of justifications backing intelligentsia On this basis, we see, in my own country, an entire leftist own children. of their detriment future the to short term in the rights their defending egotists, privileged into social rights who weredefending workers instruggle the transform to had one it: re-baptize to had first one order oftime, order tovanquishsin againstthe this rights towork and institutionsofsocial solidarity.In collective the defending workerswhowere struggling the had become present, management ofthe wise of the way thepromisedprosperity,by What hindered interpreted. th century, this scenario was re- was scenario this century, reproduction of necessity that is itself eternal. Butthere that isitself reproduction ofnecessity of denunciation eternal the repetition, of scenario the is scenarios: there to two itself lends This circularlogic and ofan integration ofany deviance withinthiscircle. circle ofnecessity then aperfect becomes critical thought subjective that is it So neo-liberalism. of values the of integration the to and life of totality the mobilizes at once now man flexible that labour capitalist forms of new to contributed the and individual democratic up showinghowthevaluesof to beradical, ended Following management. of critiquethatclaimed itself this, anentireliterature flexible of forms new within autonomy and creativity of values these integrating by wayof itself the crisisof1973, means toregenerate shaken by was capitalism, which to provided they that and creation.Itwasinthismanner, authors noted, the onindividualvaluesofautonomy critique established critique, anartistic social tradition of the to opposed was May ’68movementinFrance the how show strived to book, in the depicted main theme the production. Thiswas capitalist of forms new the for necessary subjectivation of modes as constructingthenew subversion weredenounced formsofanti-authoritarian collective the other side, the And on system. commodity the of agent reproductive principle the as levels, all at [jouissance] enjoyment of democratic individual,starved the denouncing with more andtotaskitself visible, whichcontinues machinery capitalist with makingthe preoccupied was formally that spectacle of society and the society, was thecritiqueofcommodityfetishism,consumer there side, one the On development. its prevented once that had traditional obstacles values thatdestroyed of thepromotionlibertarian and anti-authoritarian by wayofslaverytocredit,or by wayofan active mode or spectacle consumption, bywayofafascinationthe of frenetic itbebywayofapassivemode values whether The New Spirit of Capitalism The New Spirit . Itsauthors Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left is also the scenario of the catastrophic spiral that sees a a social crisis – or even, an anthropological crisis— an humanity of flexible individuals and frenetic consumers illness of society or humanity, and this illness precisely precipitating humanity toward the final Judgment day grants power to the character that the old “crisis” had when it will atone for all these sins against the order of told to take sick leave, that is, it granted power to the time. knowledge of the doctor [à savoir le médecin]. If the crisis no longer designates a critical moment of a process So it is that the logic of the judgment of history is re- but the general state of the world, it is clear that what distributed according to two fundamental dramaturgies: the crisis calls for are the attentive and uninterrupted a dramaturgy that leads the tribunal of history back to the care of doctors. As for these doctors themselves, they sciences of remedies necessary to keep societies alive, and are, truth be told, nothing more than state authorities a dramaturgy that makes of this life itself the scene of the and the financial managerial powers of this state named Last Judgment. Both these dramaturgies are two ways of crisis. Which goes back to saying that the “illness” of the dealing with the dominant scenario of necessity today, crisis is nothing more than the robust health of a system which is that of the crisis. In Marx’s time, the economic of exploitation. But to appeal to the normality of the crisis was a sign of the dysfunctions of Capitalism, of its name of crisis is also to hollow out once more the gap deadly nature. Today it has become the opposite, which between those that are ill and live in successive time – is to say, the crisis has become the notion itself by which pathological time – where, for example, crisis means the Capitalism retains its seat of power. On one hand, the loss of employment, the lowering of salary, or the loss crisis itself, is the other name of globalization, the so- of social status, and those who live within the time of called unavoidable reality that dictates the destruction science, the time wherein crisis designates both those of all the “delays” that are opposed to the law of the free- ignorant who are ill that one must heal and the overall market. But it has also become the perpetually visible necessity recognized by science. It is to both confirm sign of identification between the exercising of this law the knowledge of the scientists and the ignorance of and scientific necessity. This identification presumes those who are ignorant, but it also confirms the guilt of that, behind the economic mechanisms, we reactivate the the ignorant whose illness is to have not known how to first notion of the meaning of crisis, its medical meaning. adapt their time to global time. The grand narrative of But this reactivation itself implies a manipulation that the justice of time comes back to the simple opposition changes the relation between the notion of crisis and the of the time of those who know and those who do not. time of illness. In the Hippocratic tradition, the crisis At the same time, of course, this identity of health and was in effect a well-defined moment. It was the final illness, of the medical norm and moral fault allows itself moment of the illness when the doctor had done all he to be interpreted according to a catastrophic schema could do and let the sick person confront the final battle which makes the crisis a general crisis or a last judgment alone wherein the sick person would either die or come of human sins. out cured. However, in the use that is now dominant, crisis designates the exact opposite: no longer the We have not exited the time of the grand narratives. The moment of resolution but the pathological state itself. narratives that construct the adhesion to domination or 13 The economic crisis in the strictest sense, thus, becomes those narratives which claim to contest it, remain caught 14 Jacques RancièreISkopje:Time,Narrative,andPolitics justice and injustice within the scansions of daily time. It of states the points: amanner oflocating in focal change At the heart of emancipatory thought, there is first of all a time. of justice the rethink to order in me for necessary seem which extract severalelements want to I simply but here of time. I don’t want totakeback up thisdemonstration stakes forthisrecovery centrality ofthe with showingthe emancipation, I tasked myself the theoryofintellectual and forms ofworkers’emancipation work concerningthe “work thatcannotwait”. Inmy interior oftime within the from [fender] split have, inorderto not do they that time by thosewhodonothavethetimetotake this struggles striving to bringinto questionthisnarrative of time, are alsostruggles not havetime.Butthere do who those and have who those separates that – injustice first the or premier] [partage division first the is there opposite, – orthe misfortune to andfromfortune knowledge to from ignorance thatgoes on globalnecessity discourse variants of the Behindthe division oftemporalities. an intimate rather of side on the but processes, by global directed of afuture side on the be no longer would that us to change our perspective, to rethink the justice of time invite time of ignorance. But bythisalone,they guilty the knowledge that renders justice and those who live within time of those wholivewithinthe between difference the and necessity global of fiction the both reproducing at à l’egardducetemps].Theywork to thistime[enfaute justice of global time and constantly at fault with respect to the same individualsatoncedependent render the [ecarts] that gaps these working toproduce ceaselessly are science and media, finance, state, the of authorities reigning “presentism”,allthe the shadowofso-called In upon ahierarchicalpartitionoftemporalities. founded back to way itself events, of the linkage a necessary of logic the Aristotle: all goes that logic fictional the within of narrative, nothing happens, ifonly the timewhere theorder from time excluded the been had definition, the one is recovery by which time, narrative this a into put to decides which first the course of But time. same the which occupy a timeofacquired liberty:twotimes servitude and a timeofrenewed gaps [écarts]between of logic a complex constructed body movements ofthe to the movements ofthought relation ofthe in whichthe in thismanner by Gaunyandtheway hours constructed the dramaturgy of the way. Ihaveanalysed a different in or inanycase orslower work faster body makes the that a thought division of time, the of constrictions the to or inregards elsewhere, thought leads [regard] that gaze deviation ofa constrictionsofspace,the regards tothe mind thatregains, in body andthe working ofthe of the possibility norms ofreproduction:the the to in relation out gap canbeplayed a possible wherein and minutes hours of flowing concrete the also is it But life. of forms as divisionsof temporalities divisions of the reproduces the workdayisquotidianconstraintthatconstantly sense, In this and space. in time being of a way is also of anactivity,it exercise the is notsimply occupation An contrainte] [occupation occupation a compulsory is it worker, the for hand, one On value. surplus and force of labor reproduction that isgiventoCapitalbywayofthe time the Gauny. Theworkdayisnotsimply carpenter, the 1840s by in the recounted workday was the Nights, how of mybook, to acentraltheme I retuned doing, and inso equality” of “method the about speaking in in Belgrade ago years several is whatIdeveloped reparation. This possible its also is concentrated,but condition a of injustice of whole the which within time the connection. Itis global to regards with dependence its by wayofunderstanding that mustberedeemed quotidian. Thequotidianisnotsomemisfortune the global isalwaysatplaywithin It isaboutstatingthatthe global. the quotidian against the celebrating about not is Proletarian Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left the reproduction of time, which is to say, the separation division. The moment is the productive power of another between times. And of course, this narrative is a fiction. time. Which means that time is not a long duration The carpenter does not recount his workday, he fictions: that is opposed to the ephemerality of the moment, he writes it as the contrary of what it normally is; he writes but on the contrary, it is the expansion of the power of it as if each hour something happened. It is not merely the moment, which is to say, the redistribution of the the microcosm where science can recognize the law of a weights on the scale of destinies. It is this power of the system of production. It is the time of a redistribution moment constructing another time which is at the heart of times. The narrative written about the day, changes of the theory of intellectual emancipation in the work the modality of the experience of this time. But one must of Joseph Jacotot that I shed light on in The Ignorant also add that the writing of this narrative itself supposes Schoolteacher. There is normal time, the time of the another alternation of the order of time. In order to write education processes of individuals and societies which is it, the carpenter had to take the time, either during the the endless reproduction of their renewed incapacity in night when he takes the necessary pause to recover his the name of knowledge itself and the promised equality energy, or during the time when he was unemployed, during the term of this path. And there is the time of the a time when normally one’s time is spent looking for capacity of these same individuals and time whose path another job. Which is to say, the carpenter had to not we can begin to trace starting from any point and any only renounce the Aristotelian division between the time moment whatsoever. This power of the moment that of succession and that of causality, but also the division begins another time is not merely the time of individual that the same Aristotle establishes between two forms emancipation. It also characterizes the “revolutionary” of inactivity: the pause that restores the energy of the days where the people of “passive” men forget the “work worker and the leisure that nourishes the mind of those that cannot wait” and leave their workshops in order who are not subjected to the constraints of work. to affirm within the streets participation in a common time. In a famous text, Walter Benjamin saw within this This is the fundamental point at the heart of this use of time a powerful explosion of the temporal continuum, time that defines the work of emancipation. The whole symbolized by the man who, during the Paris revolution of justice or injustice of time is present in each one of of July 1830, shot out the street clocks in order to stop these moments. Starting from these differences of scale, time, like Jousé stopping the sun. But what these kinds a justice of time is defined that is not filed under the of days produce is rather the opening of another time meaning of the march of a homogeneous time, but which where the evidence that structures the temporal order of on the contrary, exerts itself as division of time, as a time is erased, where the distribution of the possible is production of gaps which are not ignorances or delays as reconfigured and, with it, the power of those who inhabit far as the march of time is concerned, but are ruptures time. It is a new common time, constructed starting from from the normal logic of the division of temporalities. breaches within the dominant operating order of time. Time is divided from within by way of recovering these moments. Each one of these moments is at once the point We know how this power of the redistribution of time where the reproduction of the division of time passes has found itself to be at once repressed [refoulée] within 15 and the point of a possible gap [ecart], of a possible re- the Marxist revolutionary tradition and appropriated 16 Jacques RancièreISkopje:Time,Narrative,andPolitics of servitude into hours of freedom. Modern Literary Modern freedom. of hours into servitude of day ofthecarpenter,Gauny, transforming his hours the is day, this behind and order; this of repetition the shatter to inventahistorythatwould and whoattempted hours of time the of flow identical always the windows girl, peasant EmmaBovary, of the watching behindher day by Flaubert:the of anotherdaydescribed presence the can feel party, one preparing foreven to occupied barrier of time.BehindthedayMrsDalloway,pre- of the wrong side on the enclosed them order thatkeeps the shatter to strive who lives those all of time the is anonymous livesthatcrossherpath.It with allthose that Virginia Woolf’s heroine, Mrs Dalloway,shares time passive. Itisthe be active andhumans saidto be of humanssaidto common time other isthe after the atoms thatfallone The timeofthe human categories. two of opposition the of dismissal a all of first was scale temporal of the this rupture that be toforget this would soul. But bourgeois of theidle the various states detail to time its takes that literature of position elitist biased the order with temporal of the this rupture assimilated have willingly to re-transcribe.Weoften it toherself fall intoourmindsandwhichthewriterowes ceaselessly that atoms oftime truth ofthese the and effect, cause of sequences false against these and pits of theplot entitled, I’m byVirginia connection. Here thinking ofatextWoolf causal of and that succession of time the between into questiontheAristotelianopposition called precisely literature. Thisrevolutionvery of narratives was called art the of modern revolution revolution, the another of the hand, other the On principle the been has time of scale the within rupture time. of succession the over preside that laws scientific the of unaware are who and who wanttochangetime time ofthose of abadtime:the side its overonthe Marxist tradition puts hand, the the On literature. of revolution a of principle a as elsewhere Modern Fiction Modern that denounces the tyranny the thatdenounces This fragmented time perhaps puts back on the current back onthe puts perhaps time This fragmented one, whowork in different one worldandlivein another. for one specific job and who are employed in a completely jobs; there is also the multiplication of those who trained to artistictimeandtheof smallday of education, both tothetimeofsalariedwork, belong and tothetime who those of multiplication the intermittency; of forms and all work positions, part-time of development the to unemployment, from employment incessant passages one thatis discontinuous andfullofrecesses: of holes, full a time of rather experiences work impose forms of production.Contemporary forms ofcapitalist present the within present already is that time communist future inverse conclusion:that ofa living time,wanttodrawthe work timeand between identity from thissupposed for metosubscribeHardtandNegri’sanalysis who, impossible Italsoseems lifetime. one’s whole throughout mastery its exerting on from now process global a of law the with subjectivity” “neo-liberal or individuality “flexible” the of conformity the regarding vogue in are that analyses tocallintoquestionthe necessary seems it hand, one the On affirmation. collective I of moments catastrophe. final the lived timeofindividualsand the connections between of or possible the today re-thinking in possible useful find particularly lone the of narrative thegrand toexit management versions ofthe two in these of necessity order in fiction literary of time of momentsemancipation andthe temporality the processes, global narrativesof the between three of game to re-thinkthis useful be it could I thinktoday to havethetimethattheydidnothave. vainly wanted who those of misfortune the to characters narrative, of the to abandonits new textureprepared its owntime,the it creates also meansthat day. Butthis the at anyhourof can happen and misfortune fortune of struggle the where time this heart its into puts Fiction Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left agenda the problematic of emancipation: that of the of times. It is precisely this game that summarizes the work of moments of time, concerning the intimate war word occupation. This word in effect refers back to an between the hierarchical division of temporalities: active affair of justice incarnated within the distribution of and passive divisions within the time of work, concerning spaces and times. The justice of the Platonic Republic times of the pause and leisure within non-work. This war consisted of a distribution of occupations, directing for the re-appropriation of holey-time [le temps troué] each one to remain within the necessary time and space can perhaps be the principle of a new link between that suited their specific activity. It is against this that individual and collective ruptures. This is exactly what the factory workers of the 20th century occupied their was proven several years ago in France with the strike of factories in order to transform the place of exploited those that were named “Intermittents of the Spectacle.” labor into a space that serviced the common, collective In the beginning, this strike was concerned with the power of the workers. In a certain way, the park or the threats regarding unemployed workers’ compensation street takes the place of the factory for a population of for artists whose time is split between visible hours of workers today that are dispersed by the time and space work and the time necessary for preparation. But the of their jobs and obliged to create within the circulation course of the strike revealed two opposing tendencies: a of urban spaces, the place for a common time. But it is part of the actors in the movement wanted to maintain also the place where, within the same affirmation of a gap the specificity of their categorical demands while [écart], that various fragmented experiences of time can another group wanted to on the contrary generalize their be assembled – multiple experiences of dispossession demands. During this intermittent time of “artists,” they and recovery of time that is characteristic of the present wanted to put the spotlight on the general form in which time of precarious work, a present that is common to the the precarious time of work now tended, but also shed small vendor on a Tunisian street whose suicide incited light on a new form of struggle against this condition the Jasmine Revolution, and common to the graduated of precariousness: the formation of a common time students without jobs in the occupied parks of New constructed within a new war on the sharing or division York and Madrid. Occupying as an anonymous people [partage] of times. the indeterminate site of circulation while the workers of yesteryear occupied the work site that had already It can be interesting to analyze the recent forms of gathered them together, this perhaps is also a way to collective movements from this point of view. From the place back within the center of the conflict, the notion of Arab spring, to the Spanish “Indignados” movement, to the distribution of spaces. It is not immaterial that one the occupy movements, Madrid to New York or Athens of the most significant places of the occupations, that of to Istanbul. Their importance has often been denounced Taksim Square in Istanbul, started out in part as a conflict in the name of a simple division of times: those who pit concerning the future use of a site, it was a question against the spontaneous reactions and their ephemeral concerning the transformation of a site of leisure open to existence the time of long-term strategies which link everyone for indeterminate use into a complex of power moments together according to the connection of means and a commercial space. But it is also significant that the and ends. But this simple opposition leaves out the occupation of places was also the time of an encounter 17 much more complex game of the division or shaping between multiple temporal experiences which were also 18 Jacques RancièreISkopje:Time,Narrative,andPolitics order for us to think the relations between the historical order for us tothink the relations between in today that areused dominant models examine the future.Itwassimplytoinviteus re- of the models or wrong right the designate to not was today problem the question into back forms ofanticipation. Butmy contradiction ofthese brought also they course, Of in thepresent. anticipated role inpastworkers’ future movements as the such abig that played time oflife organization ofthe the alternative formsof these back toourattention brought information. We know how therecentmovementshave circulation of or the knowledge transmission of the all the way to of production ofgoods from thesystem incapacities, of say, aproduction to [écarts], whichis management of time is identified as a production of gaps the dominant system, the within where spheres all those form of institutions affirming the capacity of everyone in ofacommontimeinthe moments ofreconstruction term these long install inthe to effort isthe life. Andthere daily organization ofcollective are formsofthe life. There forms ofpublic institutional in relationtothe decision time ofautonomousdiscussionand for thecollective action. that ofpoliticalThereareorganization forms the timeofartisticperformanceand encounter between new formsof of interruptionthatisalsoonethese a time center, Atatürk cultural the facing hours for eight in hisperformanceatTaksim Square, standing, silent, the that actions and the day hours ofthe normal courseofthe interruptions ofthe of several forms oftherecoverytime. Therearethe plot. The temporality of the occupation is the conjunction tyranny of worn out the against pitted has revolution literary that the of temporalities coexistence forms ofthe those traditional temporalities,wereimplementing of strategic action,instead forms ofcollective new if the action ontime.It’sas forms of multiple into translated symbolized man standing time intoquestionandcontinuetodosotoday. hierarchical divisionof this narratives that havecalled as formsof as well drawn fromformsofclassstruggle be could possibilities and its time of another thought how show to I tried reproduced. relentlessly it that time of within ahierarchicaldivision rooted was itself necessity of narrative this how reiterated I catastrophe. final a of prophecies orinto subjection of findings disillusioned of liberationinto promises of transformingthe price the dominant timeat the to structure continues necessity how thenarrative to demonstrate of historical attempted I present, to alone narratives arededicated and which grand of time the exit us help claim to that analyses dominant models.Againstthe in relationtothese displacement a double operate to our lives.Iproposed of flow of global time, the forms of domination, and the time Translated byDrewS.Burk Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Katerina Kolozova Metaphysics of Finance Economy Of its Radicalization as the Method of Revoking Real Economy

Katerina Kolozova is professors of philosophy and If “giving up our abstractions” (Marx) is the central and gender studies at the Institute of Social Sciences and most important task of the science Marx invents and Humanities-Skopje and University American College- attempts to institute, then, I would argue, the follow up Skopje. She is the author of The Cut of the Real: task should be to emancipate the metaphysics that is the Subjectivity in Poststructuralist Philosophy published object of that science from the authority of philosophy. It by Columbia University Press in 2014 is the primitive and radical metaphysics of the inevitable gesture of mediating the immediate real that ought to be Abstract salvaged through non-philosophical, scientific operation with the chôra of metaphysical thought. Economic My claim here is that there is no exit from metaphysics. emancipation and other important forms of social We are metaphysical creatures inasmuch as we emancipation would only follow consequentially. I would are material, the latter always already inviting the sum up Marx’s project as follows: its central task is to former. However, an exit from the disciplining and overcome the underlying and essentially philosophical hallucinatory grasp of philosophical metaphysics alienation which enables the dichotomies of state politics or from philosophy is possible, as both Marx and and civil society, of the “spiritual” or religion and the Laruelle have shown. The effects of such exit will secular, of “use value” and “surplus value.” Finally, the not only be intellectual or academic, but also social. task of Marxist science is to serve to a political struggle Philosophical decisionism in an absolute form is which seeks to overcome the phantomal existence shaped the essence of capitalist economy and politics, and I by wage labor and surplus value. The universe ruled by will try to demonstrate this further on. Nonetheless, surplus value is guided by the impulse to suffocate real the ideas of political system or the possibilities of life and its material grounding represented as use value. thinkable political horizons remain or become ever more detached from the economic logic of the liberal, To radicalize metaphysics is to render it transcendental pseudo-materialistic and individualist philosophy of in the last instance, to acknowledge it as the necessary exploitation through alienation called capitalism. mediator or the core of radical subjectivity or what 19 Laruelle terms “the Stranger.” The subject establishes a 20 Katerina KolozovaIMetaphysicsofFinanceEconomyOfitsRadicalizationastheMethodRevokingReal relation ofexterioritytoit 4 3 Larulle, 2 1 and politics, and I will try to demonstrate this further this demonstrate try to and politics,Iwill economy capitalist of essence the form is an absolute in decisionism social. Philosophical also academic, but or intellectual not onlybe will of suchexit The effects have shown. as bothMarxandLaruelle is possible, or fromphilosophy metaphysics grasp ofphilosophical and hallucinatory disciplining from the However, anexit material, alreadyinviting the latteralways the former. are we as inasmuch creatures metaphysical are We from metaphysics. is noexit claim hereisthatthere My radical metaphysics. is themostimmediateform of the heartofourmuteself from Stranger emerging the belonging, with inalienable the joy, into or of beingathome,i.e., of possession sense the lived painful the transmutes which pain this appropriation of of sense and the estrangement original andnecessary by the The senseofpaincreated n te ujc, hl rmiig aial descriptive or minimallytranscendental. radically remaining while subject, the and instance last the in human the of jouissance”) sans joui “le (or lived the real, the between dyad the affirms and admits human-in-human. This concept the of heart (or radicallyandinalienably), yd nedr te aia sbetvt o te “figure the Stranger,” the of or subjectivity radical the engenders dyad 164-166 démocratie etnon-psychanalyse (Paris:Éditions Kimé),1995, Étrangers:Sciencedeshommes, Francois Laruelle,Théoriedes pas autrechosequ’inaliénable ouque« de-dernière-instance.» démocratie etnon-psychanalyse Laruelle, 196. démocratie etnon-psychanalyse, François Laruelle, Théorie des Etrangers:Science des hommes, , 221-223. Théorie desEtrangers Théorie des Etrangers: SciencedesThéorie hommes, desEtrangers: 4 as explained in the previous chapter. previous in the explained as 1 and, in itslastinstance seen 3 2 , 196:« ‘Radical’nesignifie The affirmation of the of affirmation The it is the Stranger atthe itisthe Paris:ÉditionsKimé,1995), religion andinparticularAbrahamictheologies). includes course, (which, of philosophical always is which gesture a second of erasingitthrough instead its reality affirming means also It produces. it trauma the of real the affirming means dyad the Affirming own. its as self own claiming its has trouble which material self the of heart the is at human universe.Theradicaldyad the of materialist theory for arealistor non-philosophically result intofurnishing thegrounds would metaphysics intention. Radicalizing the productofaphilosophical being without in place already always and inevitable nonetheless painful, is inception This subjectivization. every of is constitutive metaphysical the of inception human-in-human, the real orofthe of the core at the terms, through the emergence of the figure of the Stranger or, in Laruelle’s and radicalestrangement, necessary the of situating it in the “material self” as its subject. Through way – by dyad the unilateralizing – through metaphysics radicalizing of procedure a non-philosophical propose real, being” andthe of “the amphibology by theso-called is constituted of metaphysics entrapment Philosophical capitalism. alienation called through exploitation of philosophy and individualist liberal, pseudo-materialistic of the economic logic from the ever more detached become horizons remainor of thinkablepolitical possibilities or the theideasofpoliticalsystem on. Nonetheless, 5 philosophy creates which anxiety grounding the begets subject’s that dispossession of sense this is it and constitution of level the at begins alienation of sense The dispossession ratherthan possession 1. Thesourceofthecapitalistdrive: A Laruellian term, explained inthepreviouschapters. A Laruellianterm, explained 5 of “essence” and“thebeing.”I like to would of“essence” Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left as a panic and totalitarian response to it. Capitalist At the beginning of the 21st century, economy is no hyper-production of “added value” (added to the surplus longer economy in the proper sense of the word. It is an value) represents a total colonization of society and instrument of finances which postures as economy in its material life by philosophy as the totalitarian response to own right. “Finance industry” establishes amphibology a metaphysical need. Let us reiterate, this metaphysical with the real economy linked to material production need is materially grounded. The hysteria of private of material consumables (a term explained below). possession and of possessing the truth (of the real) The purely symbolic, linguistic (insofar as a matter of as if it were the real itself aims to compensate for this signification) value of money is no longer added to the primordial sense of dispossession. Can the problem of material or use value. It is utterly detached from it. It has primordial dispossession be solved through the gesture become auto-referential and its value is measured only of erasing it and, if done so, wouldn’t that be a properly according to hypothetical measurements in hypothetical philosophical response? So, is the abolition of the desire systems of measuring. According to The Financial for any form of possession or property the true goal of Crisis Inquiry Report published by the US Government communism seen as the result of the non-philosophical in 2011,6 the great financial crisis which began in science Marx attempts to establish? If alienation created 2008 (and in 2013, it seems, it is here to stay), or the through wage labor represents exacerbation of the sense “recession,” was the result of “wrong estimations of the of grounding dispossession, capitalism is certainly not ranking agencies and the banks” about: the worth of the solution to it, in spite of its ceaseless compulsion to “derivatives,” “securities” and other forms of derivation be precisely that. of financial value from another financial value and with no direct reference to any real or physical property or use Therefore, a sense of possession is not what defines value. (Indirectly and in the last instance, after a virtually capital and the capitalist self but rather insatiable endless line of mediations, there is always reference to urge for it originating in the grounding dispossession. an estimation of the worth of a material property.) The The capitalist drive creates an unstoppable process of authors of the Report write: alienation of labor, of objectifying human labor and the suffering behind it. Numeric or speculative value of In the years leading up to the crisis, too many financial pleasures or sources of pleasure (measured in money) institutions, as well as too many households, borrowed derives from the urge toward ever greater perfection to the hilt, leaving them vulnerable to financial through abstraction of the needs that are only in their distress or ruin if the value of their investments last instance material. In short, the founding operation declined even modestly. For example, as of 2007, the of capitalist society is the procedure of dispossession of five major investment banks—Bear Stearns, Goldman the material from its own metaphysical transposition Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan (for example, of the worker from her metaphysics of Stanley—were operating with extraordinarily thin work, of the lover from his metaphysics of pleasure). capital. By one measure, their leverage ratios were as The cancelling of radical or primitive metaphysics is high as 40 to 1,meaning for every $40 in assets, there the defining prerequisite of philosophical and capitalist 21 metaphysics. 6 The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report published by the US Government in 2011, pp. xix-xx. 22 Katerina KolozovaIMetaphysicsofFinanceEconomyOfitsRadicalizationastheMethodRevokingReal 7 sense financial the in even material. Its its translatability intothe which implies capital on based not is It word. the of sense classical in the on capital based not is economy” “investment above, the paragraph quoted in the can see as aform ofeconomy.Aswe business” “investment banking andthe of investment foundation very the problem. Moreover,itrepresents of the from the material (reflected in use value) is the generator detachment pure abstractionsofvaluesandcomplete on based trade, one speculative of anutterly possibility The 2008. in system” financial the of main reason collapse “the the for not was falsified, or unchecked been had value financial real their that fact the or mortgages, real valueof the and squanderof value. Negligence to andrelevanceofanyuse from reference detached completely after ithadbecome into exchange entered value surplus the Only value. surplus estimated its with together object, physical or material a of value) use the material value(or not the was traded was what Evidently reports availabletotheinvestingpublic. financial of dressing” “window through and entities, hidden—in derivatives positions, in off-balance-sheet often was leverage thinking alike.Andthe were them “What were theythinking?” that toomany of when itseems ask really can’t One day. every and each due that of in 750 296 $ with million, $50.000 $1.6 borrowing equity with business small a of equivalent the overnightmarket. much as70$billionin the It was borrowing as and was in liabilities and $383.6billion the end of 2007, Bear Stearns had 11.8 billion in equity each andeveryday.Forexample,at had toberenewed borrowing the market—meaningovernight the term, in matters worse,muchoftheirborrowingwasshort- make To firm. a out wipe could values asset in drop Less thana3$ was only1$incapitaltocoverlosses. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report The Inquiry Financial Crisis , xx. 7 on “immaterial labor,” as Negri and Hardt claim, and Hardt Negri labor,” as on “immaterial of form century capitalism. Contemporarycapitalismisnotonlybased 21st the in material nothing is There in thefinancialmarket. and controlprocesses create predict, evaluate, estimate, to rank, capacities “thin air”ofits in the lie foundations 9 8 material worth. from- orderived - behind value) financial or (surplus immaterial value aboutthe and speculation “expertise” by thepracticeofconducting last instance, is determined banking, inthe mind. Investment speculative the by value and shape given unless non-existent be to seems that real meaning, signification or value is the “primitive,” unruly transformed intoa real.” Therealwhichhasnotbeen “primitive the by bound and isinnoway speculation) (of immanent rules own its to according material the it interprets speculating and while it isspeculative instance last In the banking system.” “shadow called so from the indiscernible is banking” “investment the of realities) (and allofitspossible itself truth thatconcept the blatant the USGovernment(quotedabove)display the of pages 662 The real. of the mathematization andspeculation complete of the result is the both laborandcapital.Thissituation also onpureabstractionandelevationtoimmaterialityof long-standing restrictions andhelpedbanks breakoutoftheir regulators and to Congress,whichslowlybut steadilyremoved commercial banks,andtheytook theirgrievancesto This newsystemthreatenedthe once-dominanttraditional in thewakeofcrash1929 andtheGreatDepression. reach oftheregulatoryapparatus thathadbeenputinplace institutions—that freelyoperated incapitalmarketsbeyondthe investment banks,mostprominently, butalsootherfinancial the phenomenalgrowthofshadowbankingsystem—the Report The Inquiry Financial Crisis Democracy intheAgeofEmpire(PenguinPutnam),2004. Michael HardtandAntonioNegri,Multitudes:War 9 Financial Crisis Inquiry Report Inquiry Financial Crisis , 27-28:First,wedescribe 8 but to

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Capitalism is grounded in fetishization, wrote Marx. If capitalism is determined in the last instance by what Contemporary economy is, in the last instance, Marx calls “fetishism,” and if the latter is determined as determined by fetishism. The term fetishization in speculative (hence, philosophical),11 it is bound to end up Marx may be borrowed from the studies of religion he (and also - end) as “financial economy,” understood in was familiar with at the time when he was writing the opposition to “real economy” (the distinction is discussed first volume of Capital, but its meaning is very precise below). By way of instituting the “fiat money” principle at in terms of understanding the split between use value its very origins, the possibility of an economy unattached and surplus value, and also how the latter necessarily to any material or use value (or in some economic engenders the very logic of money as capital. vocabularies “objective value”) has been introduced. Moreover, speculation and, therefore, detachment from M — M’. We have here the original starting-point of the real are the determination in the last instance and capital, money in the formula M — C — M’ reduced the vector of capitalist economy. to its two extremes M — M’, in which M’ = M + DM, money creating more money. It is the primary and 2. Pure speculation as the determination general formula of capital reduced to a meaningless in the last instance of capitalism as philosophy condensation. It is ready capital, a unity of the process of production and the process of circulation, and hence The defining detachment from use value produces and capital yielding a definite surplus-value in a particular sustains a defining relevance of the pretension that the period of time. In the form of interest-bearing capital speculative logic of economy determines or engineers this appears directly, unassisted by the processes the use value itself. The implication is, therefore, that of production and circulation. Capital appears as direct and material needs can be subsumed under fetish a mysterious and self-creating source of interest − based needs. The desire is disciplined by the capitalist the source of its own increase. The thing (money, jouissance and it operates upon the physical attempting commodity, value) is now capital even as a mere thing, to mold it. As language governs the body, as philosophy and capital appears as a mere thing. [...] The social governs the real so the “speculative needs” are more relation is consummated in the relation of a thing, of urgent than the material ones. A philosophy as the money, to itself. Instead of the actual transformation world or the world as philosophy, specifically defined of money into capital, we see here only form without content. As in the case of labour-power, the use- of the Relations of Capital in the Form of Interest-Bearing value of money here is its capacity of creating value Capital (First English edition of 1887 with modernisationof — a value greater than it contains. Money as money spelling; Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1959), available at is potentially self-expanding value and is loaned out https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/, as such — which is the form of sale for this singular accessed on 17 October 2014. commodity.10 11 As explained in the previous chapters, Marx equates philosophy with the abstract or the metaphysical (even when it

is defined as “materialistic”), and it is difficult to determine if 23 traditional mold and join the feverish growth. As a result, two he seems any intrinsic possibility for it to detach itself from the parallel financial system of enormous scale emerged. metaphysical determination in the last instance. 10 Karl Marx, Capital Vol. III Part V, Chapter: Externalization 24 Katerina KolozovaIMetaphysicsofFinanceEconomyOfitsRadicalizationastheMethodRevokingReal the last instance determined by the real and/orthe by the determined instance last the by matterandin supported unless proven untenable the history in instance first foundation was of capitalismwhenits speculative the was crisis 2008 The they weretranslatedinto “derivatives.” as as soon destroyed were bricks andlivelihoods The – themarket of speculation. resurrection ofthespecter force thathadtoensurethesurvival of thebanks and the labor the of and livelihood (as laborforce) life and land sheer bricks and labor forcebutthe value andtothe use to thematerial end, itwasn’tthemonetaryvalueadded material. Inthe the of a holocaust saved by had tobe of thematerial industry.” Theworldmadeof“estimation” “finance speculative the and finances - signification but the groundsforresurrectionofauniverse nothing provided livelihoods and destroyed mortgages defaulted of guise the in material The finances. of scene the enter material hadto brute The EU. in the introduced cuts in theUS,austerity defaulted of itscitizens:mortgages state It hadtodrawonthematerialresources speculative. the thereupon and burst not, however,be intervention could intervened. The bubble the 2008, In bubble” “the becomes capitalism andphilosophy of speculum the and survival is underthreat, are exhausted and interests needs in Marx’s texts) as used material (and“spiritual” life.” Wheneconomicresourcesthatprovideforthe in human matters “what of universe in the inscribed needs of detached speculum the of survival dispel urgency the by of thesufferingbodies.Pain, hunger andragecreated falls asunderwhenconfrontedbythematerialurgency and needs mirror The philosophical/capitalist of desires maintains capital’scirculationofsignificance. and processes by capitalism,iswhatsustainsthese talks about. Report Inquiry Crisis The Financial 12 according to its inherent logic can be revolutionary. can be logic inherent its according to capitalism’s functioning up speeding according towhich accelerationism, of Nick Land’stheory by inspired Williams, Nick SrnicekandAlex of idea accelerationist the of capitalisminview,Iconcurwith explanation meaning. With this oreconomical philosophical of value” “added the real without by theauthorityof rather than decisionism its by a visiondetermined It is philosophical. is essentially world the vision of Capitalist already postmodern. is Kantian and post-Kantian. In other words,itisalways last instance in the its determination which constitutes postulation The transcendental real itself. than the as morereal itself institutes reality is, and thisdecision what to as decision a philosophical by determined is it transcendental. Namely, by the is determined economics instance, contemporary last non-human animals.Inthe human and the of basic survival needs the to unattached market hasitsownintrinsiclaws logic or the economy of the rulingvisionsofauthoritytoday,essence communication. generalizationisthat,accordingto simplifying My or signification of exchange signs, of made one is which human universe in the worthless and ismeaningless initself material the since signification become pure to Allought value. monetary as signified unless material ismeaningless brute that the postulates instance which last in the determination philosophical the of product the is economics Contemporary physical. gesture of acceleration to what already accelerates itself of acceleration towhatalreadyaccelerates gesture the of introduction economy. Thesheer political is immanent tocapitalist itself acceleration Nonetheless, accelerationist-politics com/2013/05/14/accelerate-manifesto-for-an- 2013), Politics,” “#Accelera available athttp://criticallegalthinking. Critical LegalThinkin te Manifesto for anAccelrationist , accessedon 29january2014. (14May 12

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left unstoppably does not constitute an intervention (let of defaulted mortgages and devaluated assets. An alone a revolution). Emancipation of the processes of apocalyptic landscape is, evidently, necessary for a new acceleration from the bourgeois grip and their subsequent political horizon to appear. Nick Land’s accelerationist radical socialization (transformation into commons nihilism could be understood also in this sense, and this rather than the private property of a few individuals) are is where I identify its revolutionary potential (regardless required in order to transcend capitalism and begin the of whether Land positions himself right or left).16 creation of a socialist society. The financial crisis in 2008 proved wrong the The ever more accelerated capitalism will inevitably take philosophical grounding of modern economy as its political-economic infrastructure and the specter essentially materialistic and conveyed its purely of “finance industry” to a stage of hitting against the transcendental or speculative foundations. The sobering bedrock of the real and, as a result, to the falling asunder effect of the real materialized in the form of trauma of its auto-referential meaninglessness. The real is not caused by defaulted mortgages, lost homes and lost speculative, it is “the physical and sensuous” (Marx). jobs dispelled the mathematical purity of contemporary It is the real-of-the-human which is presubjective and economy as financial in its last instance. In spite of the prelingual (Laruelle).13 Therefore, the revolts in the city blow of the real which burst the global financial bubble squares, the sit-ins, the occupation of space, as Benjamin in 2008, nowadays, 8 years later, the fetish or the specter Noys argues, the overall slowing down and resistance to of money rules stronger than ever. Austerity cuts aim at the temporal strategies of capital is one of the effective saving speculation itself. Remorseless saving has been forms of resistance.14 In a parallel fashion and without imposed on social strata but also on entire countries. establishing contradiction, another form of resistance is The most prominent case in Europe is that of Greece. to accelerate the speed of speculative finance in order for it Real economy is practically dead because for the sake to hit against the impossibility of the real consisting in the of saving and returning a debt of fiction: “interest lack of material resources. If finance industry capitalizes rates,” estimations of the worth of estimation (money). on the sheer ruse of projections about the worth of the Real economy is dying in the name of the industry of material (all assets backed by material property), the production of signification or value. Finance industry absence of anything to estimate and project about will is now alive and well, in perfect detachment from the condition its end.15 The surplus value and use value will material or use worth, whereas the material resources inevitably dissociate when there are disproportionately are progressively impoverished, and, in the end, will be more empty buildings than populated ones, an inflation destroyed. The vampirism of finance industry and its political elites is sucking out the life of all that is living on 13 Laruelle, Ethique de l’Étranger (Paris: Éditions Kimé, 2000), this planet. The exploitation and destruction of nature – 259. which includes the human race – leaves us with a spectral 14 Benjamin Noys, “The War of Time: Occupation, Resistance, universe which will soon be inhabitable for its vampires Communization,” Identities X 1-2 (30 October 2013), 83-92,

available at http://identitiesjournal.edu.mk/cat.php?id=1. 16 Nick Land, Fanged Noumena: Collected Writings 1987- 25 15 Brett Scott, The Heretic Guide to Global Finance: Hacking the 2007, edited by Ray Brassier and Robin McKay (Faltmouth: Future of Money (London: Pluto Press), 2013 Urbanomic), 2011 26 Katerina KolozovaIMetaphysicsofFinanceEconomyOfitsRadicalizationastheMethodRevokingReal gaming. mind of sense, butalsoin the senseofspeculative in thephilosophical universe ofspeculation capitalist) (essentially the by is suppressed real too. Currently,the 17 material production,consumptionandsustainability? serve thegeneraleconomicstability,onelinked to banks andfunds investment the of stability the does How to vague. utterly is stability and maintaineconomic it save in order industry finance so-called the in intervene to state the motivation of However, the understandable. value) is surplus to the value (apartfromorinaddition in state the use produces kind which the of economy affairs of the of Intervention 2008. since proven been Union, asithas European US andinthe in the least government, at banking industryandthe between complicity is direct it. Apparently,there got and they bailout for agovernment asked they – life” of way “their with the rock of thereal–material threatto collided not gamers loss. In last instance,whenthe the experienced does industry – and really or physically – materially and defaulting finance so-called instance, i.e.,material last risk inthe presuppose the grounds of gaming which risk. type But the Gaming includes 3. Economyisalwaysalreadypolitical dollar industry isalltooeagertofacilitatethis alchemy. transformed into aAAA-ratedasset,andwhen amulti-billion virtually anyassetcanbechurned throughsecuritizationand agencies and“thereisahighpotential forgamingwhen OCC warningthatregulators were “toodependent”onratings officials attheFederalReserve, theFDIC,OTS,and was heavilyloadedwithoption ARMloans,wrotealetterto mortgage lenderGoldenWestFinancialcorporation,which Government (2011),48:HerbSandler,theco-founderof Report publishedbytheUS The Inquiry Financial Crisis 17

the latter. of detriment at the place former takes of the bailout the that fact from the departs real economy?Thisquestion important than the “materialindustry”or the socalled it ismore of acountry?Howcome stability economic the for important so market finance the of stability the of maintaining the is one. So,why a productive not real industry.Atleast, on the industry hasnoeffect (and/or banking) instance, investment last In the and ishardlyitsdeterminationinthelastinstance. instance is not the subject of trade in investment banking last in the – materialworth.Thedetermination – ifany which hasonlyindirector meditated something of worth financial the of about speculation or guess best of their of theirassessment, trade to the down comes activity whose serve allsortsoffunds They speculators. to otherinvestment speculations those and selling investments viability of on the betting investments, into Investment bankingconcernsinvestments 18 legitimate since it is a government’s responsibility to a government’s responsibility is it since legitimate government interventionwasrequiredandconsidered of oversight, presence/absence eventual of the Regardless discipline without governmentoversight. derivatives market participantsuccessfullyregulated bymarket senior economistsattheFedhad calledEnronanexampleofa Spillenkothen wrote.Earlierin thedecade,heremembered, to somesupervisorystaffwas neitherambiguousnorsubtle,” were “clearlyunimpressed”by analysts’findings.“Themessage governors receiveddetailsofthe banks’complicity“coolly”and a presentationtotheBoardofGovernorsinwhichsomeFed a memorandumtotheFCIC,RichardSpillenkothendescribed Enron debacledidnotseemtotroubleseniorFedofficials.In risk management.TheWallStreetbanks’pivotalroleinthe system hadachievedunprecedentedstabilityandstrong many executivesandregulatorstopresumethefinancial Report The Inquiry Financial Crisis 18

, 60:Thisresilienceled Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left preserve economic stability of a country (and through This is one attempt at explaining the phenomenon of that of all other forms of social stability). This means “financialization of economy.” Let us examine what that the use value necessary for life, both physical other possible definitions there are. and “spiritual” (as in Marx’s texts, i.e., as attached and directly issuing from the physical) survival of the 4. The change of Marx’s equation ordinary citizens, had to be transformed into surplus value that serves the stability of the financial market. In Investment banks do not serve the final beneficiaries of other words, the material is annulled by transforming any real economy, i.e., humanity and other living beings. it into the purely speculative, the use value is barred by Since the dawn of capitalism until the emergence of its total transformation into surplus value and the sole “finance economy,” industry has been producing material purpose of this process is to sustain a universe of pure goods. Its goal has always been the surplus value, it surplus value. vector has always been M͢ M1, however always and by definition grounded in the production of commodity, How important is the health of the investment and the hybrid of use value and surplus value. Use value banking industry, how important is the health and the has been the indispensible intermediary in the creation stability of hedge funds and insurance companies for the of surplus value. That is the logic behind the equation survival of the so called real economy? How has the crisis M-C-M (money-commodity-money). of the investment industry really affected the material production of tangible use value? If banking industry At the turn of the 21st century, investment banking can be viewed as an industry in its own right which can assumed the status of the unavoidable intermediary remain fundamentally detached from the real economy, for the investors’ main activity (making profit). With how important is it for a country’s stability to insure the the usurpation of the status of the main intermediary survival and preservation of this autonomous universe? in investing, banking industry has suppressed and, The crisis has certainly affected all those whose houses finally, eliminated production of use value as the central have been defaulted or who have lost social benefits. If intermediary for achieving the defining capitalist goal that is the case, then, the US Government’s bailout of the (represented by the M-C-M equation). Since investment big investors brought more than danger than stability to or finance industry has assumed the status of an its society and, hence, economy: a) growth of poverty, b) industry in its own right and its speculative activities a huge hole in the national budget, and c) preservation have been assigned the quality of products exchanged of an “industry,” which not only does not necessarily on the market, Marx’s M-C-M has turned into M-M-M. support the real economy, but, quite to the contrary, Commodities produced by the apparently self-sufficient immanently contains the tendency to destroy it (the real industry of banking are purely financial phenomena economy) if it brings more profit to it.19 because they originate in the register of speculation which produces pure signification - money. Commodities 19 Michael Schroeder et al., “The Role of Investment Banking produced by the banking industry bear the names of: for the German Economy: Final Report for Deutsche Bank securities, derivatives, certificates, bonds, equities, etc. 27 AG, Frankfurt/Main,” Mannhelm: Zentrum für Europäische The M-M-M cycle is detached from the material, from Wirtschaftsforschung, 2011, p. 12 28 21 Katerina KolozovaIMetaphysicsofFinanceEconomyOfitsRadicalizationastheMethodRevokingReal financial institutions.” financial with other considering theywere“toointerconnected was or recession economy entire the have destabilized would that since crisis “too bigtofail,” facing bankruptcywere institutions financial financial the that decided government US the 2008 declared, in When constitute, willbecomeinevitable. to are presumed two the whole economic the of reality tenuous the image, andof the of foundering Finally, the grow. will related) somehow still was M-C-M which (to needs world anditsimmediate and thatofthephysical (M-M-M) speculation universe ofsheer the between and non-humananimals. The chasmthathasappeared of thehuman continues tosatisfythematerialneeds which primary, andtertiaryeconomy secondary the 20 underexamined, probably because of the difficulty in difficulty making suchanassessment.” the of because probably underexamined, remained far so has economy real the to crisis financial the of cost “The state: authors Economy,” the Real the Financial Crisison “The Impactofthe entitled In astudy production oftherealeconomy? the have affected banking industry of failure eventual the how would reader (quotesareprovidedabove), exactly as the commercial banks and work practically withnocapital, from Considering investmentbanksaredetached sectors? three real economy,inallofits the have affected market on the “real market economy” remains a“rather market economy” “real market onthe financial the of impact the that fact the apparent makes onthe effects crisis’ German economy, and, moreparticularly, European financial the of analysis policy a

0320-0], pp.7-20. Economy,” Intereconomics 2010/1[DOI:10.1007/s10272-010- andCinziaAlcidi,“TheCrisis theReal Daniel Gros Ibid, 386. US Financial Crisis Inquiry Reportinformsthe Inquiry US FinancialCrisis 20 But would such eventual failure such eventual Butwould 21 This study, which is Thisstudy, academic authoritiesintheareacitedit. but alsototheotheracademicandnon- of thestudy vague phenomenon.”Itisnotonlytotheauthors 23 22 has been determining our economic realities since 2008. phenomenon the Nonetheless, mainstream economics. apparatus of the vocabularyor the conceptual entered even never economy” of “financialization of notion the that explains he and same the claims Lapavitsas Costas Producing,” Without “Profiting 2013 from book his In 23 control overthefinalmeans ofpayment.” state by “monopoly enabled is essentially economy Lapavitsas’ book also demonstrates how the neoliberal neoliberal how the Lapavitsas’bookalsodemonstrates

markets.” of“all set the as functions of a bank, which support trading at financial banking investment define 16) p. the term (2010, al. et Hartmann-Wendels to banking. investment functions financing any assigning from investment banking in academicliteraturerefrains of definition widespread apart the banking, investment be considered of may activities financing such practice in Although transactions). M&A of financing closely activities (e.g. banking activities investment with intertwined financing some of providers assignment the service financial other by is raised banks.investment Anotherissue besides includes also it term israther broadas §1a KWG),however,the offinancial functions the (“Finanzdienstleistungsinstitute”, providers service of definition legal the to the German equivalent ofinvestmentbanks. According consider thelegal term „Finanzdienstleistungsinstitute“ instance, for 23), p. (2010, al. et Hartmann-Wendels Exploits UsAll How Finance Without Producing: Costas Lapavitsas, Profiting Ibid. 12. 22 (London/NY: Verso, 2013),

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The fact that the role of the “finance economy” was to bridge “the gap between what labor was earning and completely unexamined at the time when the Crisis was what it could spend.”26 It is interesting to note that the declared did not prevent the US government to react with banks were reluctant to embrace absolute liberalism bank bailouts as it did not prevent the EU governments and, hence, absence of any regulation. Therefore, tells to react with budget cuts and other forms of state us Harvey, “political pressure” had to be used in order intervention aiming to preserve “economic stability.” to force financial institutions such as Fannie Mae and What was, in fact, being saved was the self-enveloped Freddie Mac to “loosen the credit strings for everyone.”27 world of the financial market, a self-sufficient universe parasitizing on the rest of the society and of the economy Costas Lapavitsas debunks the myth about the helpless rather than providing grounds for their survival and states incapable of establishing control over the “out growth. On the other hand, the negative effects on the of joint capitalism” and of the imagined “elemental real economy caused by the reduced spending capacity of forces” of naturalized economy. Behind the mirage of the population were something which could be predicted unrestrained liberalism lies the truth of economic and by every economist, politician and also by the ordinary social policies of nation-states. The idea of absolute citizen. Therefore, what is known to be detrimental to the liberty of the market, the imaginary of the natural forces economic stability and growth (material not financial or of capital is made possible by a grounding metaphysical speculative) was sacrificed in the name of what is known premise about “naturalness” of capitalist free market to be utterly unexamined in terms of its effects with economy. Lapavitsas reminds us that economy has respect to the real economy. The states which went on to always been political, just as Marx insisted. save their national and the global “financial industries” determined that the intermediary between money Second, crucial to the ascendancy of private credit making and more money making was more important money has been its legal convertability into state- for the overall economic stability than the real economy. backed money created by central banks. The latter is a hybrid form of money: it is partly credit since it is The Enigma of Capital24 by David Harvey proffers a created through credit mechanisms (mostly lending genealogy of the “financialization of economy” and of by the central bank to private banks); it is partly fiat the financial crisis which occurred after 2007. According since it is inconvertible legal tender that normally to the evidence presented by Harvey, deregulation rests on the state’s promises to pay. This hybrid form of finance was the cornerstone of the “new and global of money is the ultimate lever of state power in the financial architecture,” which originated in the late realm of finance because it allows the state to provide 1970s, and “was accelerated in 1986 and became liquidity and to make payments at critical junctures. unstoppable 1990s.”25 Harvey explains that deregulation Financialization has been stamped by the conscious was a political invention. It was an intervention of the management of state-backed central bank money neoliberal governments into the banking system aiming through various mechanisms of the state. Central

24 David Harvey, The Enigma of Capital and the Crisis of 29 Capitalism, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) 26 Harvey, The Enigma of Capital, 17. 25 Harvey, The Enigma of Capital, 16. 27 Ibid. 30 “the Being.” “the real. is Most importantproductofthisamphibology and the thought between an amphibology producing instance, thereby last in the any andallphilosophy determines is what Laruelle’s thesis, reiterate us sort, let reality. “Decisionism”ofthis - truthsubstitutes gesture subterfuge performs asecond same gesture real, the the real/reality is.While determining what the determines thought intervention whereby of philosophical gesture a practical performs also real, but the about cognitively postulates only not one that This means philosophical. essentially is that reality of on apostulation It relies decision. of philosophical product Therefore, itisthe decision. reality. Rather, of apolitical it istheproduct self-generated natural, a not is finances and economy of liberty absolute that proves neoliberalism,” of “system the in ordertoinstall to beused thatneeded Political pressure Katerina KolozovaIMetaphysicsofFinanceEconomyOfitsRadicalizationastheMethodRevokingReal preserve a self-sufficient universe of abstraction called of abstraction universe self-sufficient a preserve have strivedto authorities state cuts, the budget the of investmentbanks and through Through thebailouts what itreallyis–apolitical(andphilosophical) decree. rather than real the as itself instilled “amphibologically” and surreptitiously which decision of aphilosophical are creations innate self-regulation and itssupposed 29 28

2000s. crisis ofthe global of the course inthe clear was made money credit control overstate-backed of importance possible throughout the period of financialization. The has made sustained intervention in the field of finance bystatesovercentralbank money command exercised The of independence. under afaçade typically institution, public as aleading banks have emerged Liege: PierreMardaga, 1989),42ff. François Laruelle, WithoutProducing Costas Lapavitsas,Profiting 28

29 By that same logic, absolute freedom absolute logic, same that By Philosophie et non-philosophie (Bruxelles- , 70. as Greece. such countries Eurozone debtor the against measures to austerity and taboos”whichlead for “misconceptions crisis, i.e. the with has dealt she in which ways in the fallacy this –aphilosophical Angela Merkelforprecisely the GermanChancellor Soros hasaccused George two ormorematerialrealities? between mediation mere just a reality but also a worth in its own right rather than not represents (money) fetish the which to according fallacy in aphilosophical crisis consists origin ofthe the that misconception? Isitpossible a meresuperstitious of result flaw, philosophical a is this that possible it Is of materialgoods). reproduction massively reduced and houses material world(=theofdefaulted real orthe from the detached it cansurvive completely pureabstraction of that original presupposition on the based be to seems universe This industry.” “finance 31 30 us considerthefollowingquote: in his article on the topic, published in October 2013. Let arguments of set central the in undercurrent the is point This - amisconception. realness in its belief the termed nature ofthatsameindustrywhichmadehimrich. He spectral the unraveled industry,” “finance of proponents Soros, George thepersonwhohadbeenoneofmain

particularly fortheECB. a numberoftaboos, violate would that because debt, was debt overhang its down write the cannot sector official the But removed. once Greece to flock would that investors from personal experience I can testify November 2013. soroson-angela-merkel-s-pyrrhic-victory, accessedon30 at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/george- PyrrhicVictory,” available George Soros,“AngelaMerkel’s merkel-s-pyrrhic-victory, accessedon30November2013. project-syndicate.org/commentary/george-soroson-angela- Syndicate VIII(7October2013), availableathttp://www. PyrrhicVictory,” Project George Soros,“AngelaMerkel’s 30 In a numberofinterviewsandarticles, 31

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Certainly, one can never be sure if Merkel suffers from In spite of the conscious decision or the philosophical ruse “misconceptions” about the nature of financial market to convince the world that “innate absolute freedom” of and its allegedly immanently liberal and self-regulating finance is natural state of affairs rather than a state’s trick nature or whether she has made an informed political to postpone decisions regarding real economy (as much decision to stick with the policies of neo-liberalism. as possible or almost indefinitely), we might be dealing The same dilemma stands for Barack Obama and his with misconceptions too. In other words, an informed financial policies and political decisions related to the political decision to pursue neoliberal policies does not post 2007 crisis. In spite of Soros’s advice to the contrary, exclude the possibility of uninformed misconceptions in 2008, Obama decided to bailout the banks. George about its “realness” in the world of material production Soros, one of the most generous financial supporters of and reproduction (social, economic and physical). The Obama’s electoral campaign in 2008, advised Obama idea that one could postpone material reality without to nationalize the banks instead, reports the Wall Street material consequences is probably a misconception, Journal Online.32 It appears unusual that a finance a fallacy of the fundamentally speculative mind of magnate would opt for nationalization of banks while contemporary Capital perpetuating an old metaphysical a politician decides to opt for financialization of the hierarchy which accords primacy and supremacy to the national economy. Once again, it seems viable to claim mental (or “the idea”) over the bodily (or “the material”). – and, in this respect, I follow David Harvey’s argument presented above – that the financialization of global economy is a political project rather than an economic “natural process.”

Fictitious financial capital took control and nobody wanted to stop it because everyone who mattered seemed to be making lots of money. In the US, political contributions from Wall Street soared. Remember Bill Clinton’s famous rhetorical question as he took office? ‘You mean to tell me that the success of the economic program and my re-election hinges on the Federal Reserve and a bunch of fucking bond traders?’ Clinton was nothing if not a quick learner.33

32 Luca Di Leo, “Soros Criticizes Obama’s Bailouts,” The Wall Street Journal (1 March 2010), available at http://online.wsj.

com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704089904575093760 31 994295890, accessed on 9 December 2013. 33 Harvey, The Enigma of Capital, 17. Oxana 32 Abstract Erotic PhilosophyofGeorgesBataille(Moscow,2009). (Maastricht, 2009), to the Freedom and Introduction An EssayonNegativity,Immanence, of Animals: and "Stasis", andtheauthorofbooksHistory the journal board of to bedone?"), of theeditorial is a member member of the collective "Chto artistic Delat?" ("What St. Petersburg,a in University philosophy atEuropean on contemporary lecturer Science (Moscow), asenior Academy of of philosophyRussian the Institute Dr. OxanaTimofeeva is a senior research fellow at Bionote Timofeeva Oxana The specter of communism hangs in the common and of communism hangsinthe The specter or amass. a crowd not also is it – but a people not a nation, not is and it no – a collective, not a group, not community is are told,the As we anatomy orteleology. terms of its density or the character of its objectives, its – in from a group,collective, a society different large orsmall, but certainly as agatheringofpeople, appears community humanity. The rebuild to how quarrel about an ideological organization, to social of to answerthisquestionleadsusdiscordantmodels attempt any be; to ought what and value of question is a be should community the of what The question UNCONSCIOUS DESIREFORCOMMUNISM nightmare. – youneverknowwhentheidyllmightturnintoa a dream it resembles way Inthis happened. not yet well. Communism is humanity’smemory ofwhathas as it into air, disperses the of out having appeared or with coincides communism, of specter democracy. Thusthe opposes principle this whether of subject to noone,butwewillneveragreeonthe and belongs common is community, what the of society the is community.Communism of the idea to the allegiance air. unappropriated The verynameswearsan oath of cannonfire. […] from itscourse—not shouts,not gunshots, not as locusts, “squadron,” innumerable divert this could marching columninsight.Nothing their of beginning flying the nor still end the neither were with flying, and pigeons the but by, went Hours whistling ofstormwinds. the recalled wings of hum endless the snowflakes; horizon one from from theskylike to theother.Pigeondungfell firmament whole the covered birds flying The eclipse. an during like dark grew It sun. the blocked literally they that flocks thick such of theUSandCanada. in the skyin They appeared territories to inhabitallthe used pigeons Passenger Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Was it really possible to exterminate such a fantastic The question of the community – they tell us – is a multitude of birds quickly? The sad fate of the question about the essence of democracy, a question passenger pigeon tells us that it is possible, if you about the limits of human coexistence, a question about take up this task in a clever way. the common, about what we share with one another,

1 beyond definitive goals, identities, advantages, fortunes, (I. Akimushkin. The Tracks of Unseen Beasts ) stations, ideologies, idols, ideals, fears, passions – beyond everything that links us to a group, a collective, a The question of the community is the question of a nation, a people, and also to the crowd and the masses. As definition that is always lost in the succession of scholarly if between us there was a place for some kind of common paradigms. Its answer follows the formula A=B (C, D…), “in general,” some general-in-commonality, but at the where the community is an indifferent object among same time not total and certainly not “totalitarian.” This other equally indifferent objects, a washed-out stain is a specific modality of resisting totalization, resisting the on the scholarly picture of the world. It may be this or unification of an imaginary gathering under a common that, but its definition (or set of definitions) is not even a flag. The community, they tell us, will not march in tool, let alone a weapon in this dangerous game we play step to the victory of any one transcendental principle. with ourselves, and in which the community is one of the As an indeterminate and immanent multiplicity of biggest stakes. singularities, the community is indistinguishable from the absence of community: it is unrepresentable, but The question of what the community should be is a nothing is possible without it, it’s just like the air we question of value and what ought to be; any attempt breathe – common to all and belonging to no one. No to answer this question leads us to discordant models one can appropriate the air. of social organization, to an ideological quarrel about how to rebuild humanity. The community appears as a The specter of communism hangs in the common and gathering of people, large or small, but certainly different unappropriated air. The very name swears an oath of from a group, a collective, a society – in terms of its allegiance to the idea of the community. Communism density or the character of its objectives, its anatomy or is the society of the community, what is common and teleology. As we are told, the community is not a group, belongs to no one, but we will never agree on the subject not a collective, no – and it is not a nation, not a people of whether this principle coincides with or opposes – but it is also not a crowd or a mass. democracy. Thus the specter of communism, having appeared out of the air, disperses into it as well. The 1 This article was written as part of my research at Humboldt name “communism” is hurriedly stuffed with the noise University in Berlin with the financial support of the of discussions about the general horizon of the future, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (stipend for experienced and these are filled with the noise of other discussions researchers). It also summarizes several outcomes of my two- – about the past, about the burden we drag altogether year work in the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht (2010- with us toward our horizon, making it seem all the more 2011). frightening. Communism is humanity’s memory of 33 Ivan Akimushkin, Sledy nevidannyx zverei (Moscow: what has not yet happened. In this way it resembles a Geografgiz, 1961). 34 Oxana TimofeevaIUnconsciousDesireforCommunism from the language of the unconscious –aninarticulate of the from thelanguage began totranslate it we before never existed desire before itsrealitybecame anightmare. The realofour community (communism)neverexisted The idyllofthe never been. has which that to origin but the to return not we beasts, of paths the “them,” original, organic,native–following primary, is nothing there animal unconscious.Here of beasts,tothe multiplicity uncountable back tothe brings us of utopia) question (the community asdesire the of question The rights. its into come first beasts of multiplicity uncountable the does of affect, level the our desire, real of the of level at the – only not a“we” is a “they” us. But teaches historical experience concrete is what this – atleast of nationalortotalitarianstates or communism isin the endsubordinatedtoforms democracy of original matter the efforts whose by people, of gatherings about calculable question aboutpeople, a is – necessity or definition of question a – be should of whatacommunityisor The question those “them,” who havenofaces. to me joins navel dream’s the animals; are world this The inhabitantsof people. of gathering as a appeared which hasnotyet sense, asa“they” Freudian It isnotsomuchan“it,”or“id,”inthe itself. expresses anonymous multiplicity unrepresentable, that the and pre-individual,itiswiththislanguage pre-personal is it language; this in “I” no is There one. tono and belonging translate to difficult unconscious, of the triestospeak.Itspeaksin the language our desire dream, realof moments inthewhen one ofthose The momentwhenan idyll turnsintoanightmareis a nightmare. turn into might idyll the never knowwhen – you dream appearance intheworld. for ourpremature like acompensation is something mirror in the is “me.”Themiracleofrecognizingoneself this that guesses she or he suddenly reflection, his sees child, just having learned to walk, looks in the mirror and a small But when ill prepared. awkward, fragmented, born prematurely, is A humanbeing outside. the called is what speech, mirror, beyond the “beyond” lies what of as Lacan understands it, is theresultofan appropriation 3 2 form of speech not ruled by the ego. by the not ruled speech form of a Other, the of speech the is unconscious The language. a like structured is unconscious Lacan said,the As is preciselyhowwewillraiseithere. (of theunconscious),andthis of theanimal multiplicity a question in thiswaybecomes of democracy, of utopia) question ofcommunism, community (andwiththemthe paradoxical retrospection.Thequestionof“we,”the already here:a always were already here,“they” always are arrive, “they” as soon“we” but themselves, by us before not exist do translation. “They” of process the through arises lost) (forgotten, original the translation; moment of it onlyarisesatthe in translation, but indeed language, likeabeast’scry. We onlyknowthislanguage pigeon see in the mirror? a potential in the Another pigeon, see pigeon Lacan’s and singularity.Whatdoes one’s integrity to build to and fromwhich outside from the appropriate Other the of speech no unconscious, no means this and Lacan, nothavelanguage, to animalsdo According Norton &Company), 93-100. A Selection,Trans. byBruceFink(NewYork; London,W.W. Function AsRevealedInPsychoanalytic Experience”,inEcrits, Jacques Lacan,“TheMirror StageAsFormativeOfTheI vvedenie_v_lakana/p20.php [“Introduction toLacan”](http://www.xliby.ru/kulturologija/ forexample:ViktorMazin, See, 3

). Vvedenie vLakana 2 Human subjectivity,

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left sexual partner. Lacan refers to a biological experiment repressive, totalitarian philosophical tradition suddenly which “acknowledges that it is a necessary condition for opens up to one’s gaze, the viciousness of the circle that the maturation of the female pigeon’s gonads that the marks the human, logos, and being.6 Giorgio Agamben pigeon see another member of its species, regardless calls the mechanism of production of this distinction the of its sex; this condition is so utterly sufficient that the “anthropological machine,” not only separating people same effect may be obtained by merely placing a mirror’s from animals but also anthropologizing animals and reflecting field near the individual. Similarly, in the case bestializing people.7 of the migratory locust, the shift within a family line from the solitary to the gregarious form can be brought Both Agamben and Derrida are concerned with this about by exposing an individual, at a certain stage of its border and the violence that occurs on the approach development, to the exclusively visual action of an image to it – racist violence or the violence of the apparatus akin to its own, provided the movements of this image toward life, toward the body. Both base their analysis sufficiently resemble those characteristic of its species.”4 of animality – an analysis of difference or a border – on a deconstruction or criticism of Heidegger’s project In his essay “And Say the Animal Responded?” Jacques and, in particular, Heidegger’s critique of humanism Derrida groups Lacan with Descartes, Heidegger, and (according to Heidegger, humanism is not sufficiently Levinas – philosophers who draw a clear line between the radical because it recognizes the animality of the human human and the animal. For Derrida the very possibility – superior in some ways, for example thinking, but of such a distinction is highly problematic as one of a still an animal).8 The deconstruction of Heidegger’s series of metaphysical binary oppositions that reduce Destruktion follows the tracks left by beasts that must be the multiplicity of beasts to a certain generic figure of the excluded from the community. We can live with them in “animal,” against the background of which the identity one house, Heidegger says, but we cannot co-exist with of the human is organized. This is how he discusses the them and share being with them, just like we cannot passage quoted above about the pigeon: “Lacan speaks share sense with them – after all, only language is the of movement from the ‘solitary’ to the ‘gregarious’ form, authentic house of being, while they are homeless, do and not to the ‘social’ form, as though the difference not understand our language, producing only senseless between gregarious and social were the difference noise.9 between animal and human.”5 6 See, for example, Jacques Derrida, “The Ends of Man,” trans. Of course, for Derrida this is a question of a particular Edouard Morot-Sir, Wesley C. Puisol, Hubert L. Dreyfus, and kind of politics – an unresponsive, speechless, herd- Barbara Reid, in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 30, 1. like animality that turns out to be that point, at first glance marginal, from which all the viciousness of the 7 See Giorgio Agamben, The Open: Man and Animal, trans. Kevin Attell (California: Stanford University Press, 2004). 4 Ibid., 96. 8 See Martin Heidegger, “Letter on Humanism”, trans. Frank

5 Jacques Derrida, The Animal That Therefore I Am, trans. A. Capuzzi, in Pathmarks (Cambridge: Cambridge University 35 David Wills (New York: Fordham University Press, 2008), Press, 1998). p. 121. 9 See, for example: Susanna Lindberg, “Heidegger’s Animal,” in 36 10 Oxana TimofeevaIUnconsciousDesireforCommunism truth.” is the momentof to aminimal difference a multiplicity a in affirms such of violent reduction vein, “the Hegelian somewhat Žižek Slavoj as time, same the at but fair, animal” are of “the category animal world toonesimple Of essay. this of the multiplicity irreducible of the and itsreduction in sketch brief a course, Derrida’s attacks ontraditionalmetaphysics risk will I which of community, of the particular foranon-humantheory in – ambivalent consequences their and oppositions role ofbinary constitutive the importance, Icannotdeny principal of a matter unraveling is sustained and its human’s over superiority the animal is far from innocent, of the idea classic the that contemporary philosophers While I agree withDerrida, Agamben, and other unconscious themselves (not so much the darkness of (not somuchthe themselves unconscious Yes, animalshave on thehorizonofourknowledgeaboutourselves. are not,looming think we we animal, what the without side other this about never havelearned We would another truthaboutthenon-humancoreofhumanity. (rational, thinking, opposition etc.),but of the on itsside of the human – not the truth that is officially pronounced truth the to birth binary gives minimal,theoretical this

Dialectical Materialism Slavoj Zizek, LessThanNothing: Hegelandthe Shadow of (Maastricht: JanvanEyckAcademy,2012),119-130. of Animals:AnEssayonNegativity, ImmanenceandFreedom (2011) 96-113;andthemonograph: OxanaTimofeeva, Philosopher Heidegger”] Xaideggera,” [PootLife:Zootechnician VisokovskyAgainst idem. “Bednaiazhizn’:ZootekhnikVisokovskiiprotivfilosofa the PhilosophyofAnimal”] k filosofiizhivotnogo,”[HorsesinLaw:ABriefOutlineto articles: OxanaTimofeeva,“Konivzakone:Kratkiinabrosok Phenomenological Studies(Hamburg,2004),215,andalsomy 10 Žižek’s idea, to put it briefly, is that precisely precisely that is briefly, it put to idea, Žižek’s o nosiu; they unconscious; no (London:Verso, 2012),408. Novoe literaturnoeobozrenie Sinii divan 10-11(2007),80-95; are the History 106 12 also cannot count. also for him, animals are notonlyincapableoflanguage,they human. Namely, animal andthe the between Heidegger, more distinction,madeby one to attend Iwill To begin difficult totranslate. so language, own in its for communismcommunicates utopian communityofbeasts,aboutwhichthedesire the to bridge can serveasafragile foundation at its lying intuitions andhypotheses that the I hope but method, of this paradoxical aspect the taking accountof I am (an irreducible,noisymultiplicity). themselves they community; no a cry). They have or from noise from itisindistinguishable comes call that the and herd, a is being that means this and Heidegger; of being,says (the humanistheshepherd are beingitself to useitherasnoiseoracry). They have but itsbeing,whichiscarried oflanguage possession the not – Other the of language the but drives, and instincts 11 – as they say now in Belgium – “rats with wings,” –“rats with say nowinBelgium – asthey Pigeons, these are uncountable. count, andthey to how animals one; do notknow looking atoneanother.Yes,they multiply, by one come they and – gatherings into together come is enough.People coitus: avisualeffect at hinting couple, a already are reflection its and pigeon from singularities,egos.The are notformed animal multiplicities people, of gatherings to in contrast mirror.in the animal worldhasnomirrors In fact, the – narcissist, naively believing in the reality of its reflection a real is pigeon one. The to cannot count who pigeon,

odobrili-plan-evtanazii-gorodskih-golubej korrespondent.net/tech/health/1568341-vlasti-bryusselya- urban pigeons,approvedbythe authoritiesinBrussels: newsaboutplanstoeuthanize forexample,theserecent See, (Edinburgh UniversityPress,2006). Heidegger, Languageandthe PoliticsofCalculation SpeakingAgainstNumber: forexample,StuartElden, See, 11 This thesis brings us back to Lacan’s back to brings us This thesis . are community no being; they being; no

http:// 12 gray Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left bastards of the city, block the sky with their bodies, fill female:” “Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after the squares, and shit on the heads of monuments to the their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his most noble and respected people. kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.” Here the count is a question of life or death One can count all the people living on the planet within a – only those that have been counted will survive. What is certain margin of error. But we could never count all the disturbing about this command? Whole species remain animals. Only some limited groups of specific animals beyond the field of vision of the ark’s creator. All animals can be counted if they are integrated into the economic that lack sexual difference, hermaphrodites, homosexual activity of human beings (pets, livestock, rare examples animals, and those who reproduce themselves asexually of disappearing species). The economic activity of – none of these will make it on board. human beings, it is true, spreads across the entire living world, but to determine the number of beasts as a whole However, later God gives a new command: “of every is impossible – not because there are too many of them clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male but because they have no number. At least not such a and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, number as what can be calculated, rationally enumerated the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, and inventorized. Economic control of the human being the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face over the animal world for this reason replaces the of all the earth.” count of classifications, parsing this motley, humming multiplicity into types, species, or families. Why should clean animals be taken on board in sevens, and the unclean only in couples? Noah, of course, does Thus, the Book of Numbers is a kind of census of the not ask God about this, but we would have liked to ask, Jewish population, a broad calculation of gatherings of if we had had the opportunity. Perhaps the answer people. Leviticus, which precedes it, contains among was obvious for the people of the Old Testament. The other things a classification of animals. The God of selection of animals for the ark is the most serious and Leviticus tells the Jews which animals can be eaten or important household activity, with which Noah and sacrificed and which cannot, which are clean and which his family are entrusted, and here classification serves are unclean. as the foundation for а headcount of cattle. Clean animals are those that can be, first, eaten, and, second, We learn about one particularly radical biblical attempt sacrificed. Most likely, besides one couple, intended for at counting the animals in Genesis 5-8, the story of Noah’s the maintenance of the species, two extra couples (and, Ark. Regretting what he has created (since humanity has perhaps, their offspring) formed a kind of food supply. fallen into sin), God decides to exterminate all living One member of each group of seven – a single animal, things – the flood waters are meant to wipe all living with no mate, as if agamic – will be sacrificed to God as beings from the face of the earth, apart from those taken a sign of gratitude when the floodwaters recede and the aboard the rescue boat. boat reaches dry land. 37

Turning to Noah, God gives his first command about the And so the preparations are complete: “all the fountains animals – take “two of every kind of flesh,” “male and of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of 38 14 History of Madness. History of itinhis Foucault’s description particularly Michel the devilsinside,recallfamous“shipof fools,” the in carrying away of beasts.Theherdsheep, bodies death) (and a refuge find analysis final –Legion the in – name their fits which of number the spirits, is adevil, anevilspirit.Theunclean, “unclean” word the of meaning animals. Another are unclean Pigs throws itselfintoalakeanddrowns. man, herd after leavingtheand pigs of the bodies the to enter them of pigs,grazing nearby.Jesusallows Jesus nottosendthemintotheabyssbutaherd Oxana TimofeevaIUnconsciousDesireforCommunism sending them off on an endless voyage in the open sea. open in the voyage on anendless them off sending them ona boat, of gatheringallmadmen, and putting is Legion: for we are many.” is Legion: forwe Jesus askshisname, and theman answers: “Myname desert. the into flees and off them tears he but in chains, him bind people man; possessed the torture spirits tombs. Theunclean in the but not inahouse and lives by devils,wearsnoclothes, a man meet who ispossessed country ofGadaraand sail tothe and hisdisciples Jesus demoniac, Gerasene the exorcism of the of legend In the one more Biblestory–thistimefromtheNewTestament. through lies it to path Our memory? our to called is animal unconscious Is itnotfromthisabyssthatthe to thedeep. and areuncountable–abandoned not beencounted – whohave rest is onboard.Allthe seven ofeveryspecies of group one or couple one Only nights.” forty and days heaven opened.Andtherain was upontheearthforty 13

and JeanKhalfa ( Madness,trans.JonathanMurphy Historyof Michel Foucault, Mark 5:8. London: Routledge, 2006). 14 Hereferstothemedievaltradition 13 The legion of devilsasks Thelegion dream about motionless wolves is the window opening window is the wolves motionless dream about only movement inthis notes thatthe The patient wolves), theboywakes. the by eaten being afraid of is terrifying vision(he this After boy. the at fixedly stare and motionless sit wolves wolves withbushytailslikefox tails.The seven) white – several (six or wolves and onitsbranchesaresitting a tree, open, andhesees of hisbedroomswings window the is lyinginhisbed.Suddenly patient) boy (the the and nightmare. Itisnighttime his childhood Freud malady.Duringoneofthesessions he tells his psychic of himself and cure therapy of a course complete to later known as theWolf Man, comes toFreudin order Pankeev, Sergei patient, Russian a 1910 In Other. the of speech unruly the to language, Lacan to human, and the in animal element repressed which Freudlinkedtothe unconscious, the of science the – psychoanalysis akin to in thisbiblicalmiracleofhealing There issomething the human“I.” unity of for the place its has givenup animal multiplicity unclean the silent; fallen have “they” lake; the of abyss the abated; has – small and goneintothe Legion ofdevilshasretreated madness his illness, mental his is, that torturedhim– The possession of otherpeople. mirror society in the and returntothe recognize himself now heisgivenhisname, his home,nowhecanagain – procedure healing the meaning of alone. Thisisthe man crowd ofdevil-beasts,isleft Abandoned bythe Foucault remindsus,asymbolofmadness). with theshipisasymbolofabyss(and, as together sea isonlyonland, andthe Ark safety in reverse.Here is Noah’s fools of Theship calculation. to submit not do and activity in economic participate not do that elements the dangerous,heterogeneous its bodybyexcluding – heals gatheringofpeople Thus thecommunity– Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left before him. A rather significant detail, which allows even five? Freud has an explanation for this uncertainty. the patient to understand all at once that it was not the No doubt the patient heard from his nanny the popular window but his own eyes that suddenly opened before Russian fairy tale, “The Wolf and the Seven Kids:” the something terrible. In the course of analysis, by means mommy-goat left her seven kids alone one day and went of an inversion, the idea comes up that the fixed stare off for milk. While she was gone the wolf got into the of the wolves is in fact the boy’s own gaze. According to house. The kids had time to hide in different places, Freud, it is he, the boy, who is looking with wolf’s eyes at but the wolf found them anyway and ate them. Only something frightening in the place where he is supposed one of them managed to survive – the one hiding in the to be himself: “The attentive gaze, which in the dream wall clock. The seventh kid hid and watched the scene he attributes to the wolves, is actually to be ascribed to of devouring from his hiding place against the wall. him.”15 And this kid, as we can guess, is the boy himself, as if watching the others (who have now turned into strange Interpreting this narrative, Lacan again uses the metaphor wolves, as if they were bitten by a vampire). What follows of the mirror. The subject’s gaze coincides with the is an extensive interpretation, in which Freud comes to place it is directed towards: “The subject passes beyond the conclusion that at the root of this wolf fantasy lies this glass in which he always sees, entangled, his own a traumatic episode – a scene of his parents copulating image.”16 Lacan links this unique experience provided that the patient happened to observe in his very early by the “navel” of the dream with some ultimate real, childhood. emphasizing the fact that the unconscious is not some kind of supplement to the subject but its dissociation, Freud’s conclusion has become the butt of endless jokes disintegration, disruption. The human subject carries – especially by Deleuze and Guattari, who dedicated the its own rupture within. For the multiplicity of animals, second chapter of their Thousand Plateaus to the Wolf evil spirits, and the abyss is now no longer in some Man – “1914: One or Several Wolves?” For Deleuze and other place but in the human subject itself. The boy is Guattari Pankeev’s dream is the call of the pack, the the wolves staring at him with their fearsome eyes. animal multiplicity of the dreamer’s unconscious: “Freud To be precise, they stare at him from the outside (the tried to approach crowd phenomena from the point of anonymous multiplicity of the unconscious). view of the unconscious, but he did not see clearly, he did not see that the unconscious itself was fundamentally a While trying to describe the picture of his dream, the crowd. He was myopic and hard of hearing; he mistook patient cannot remember exactly how many wolves were crowds for a single person.”17 sitting in the tree. He hesitates – were there seven, six, or With their silence the wolves call the boy to join the pack 15 Sigmund Freud, From the History of an Infantile Neurosis, in – to which he may have always belonged in the first place. The Wolf Man by The Wolf Man (New York: Basic Books, 1971). Their gaze is a call to become one of them, to becoming- 16 The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book II: The Ego in Freud’s

Theory and in the Technique of Psychoanalysis, 1954--5, 17 Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus: 39 trans. Sylvana Tomaselli (New York; London: W.W. Norton & Capitalism and Schizophrenia, trans. Brian Massumi company, 1991), 177. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005), 29-30. 40 Oxana TimofeevaIUnconsciousDesireforCommunism even alittlechildknowsthis,onlyFreuddoesnot: and Guattariremindus–everyoneknowsthis, Deleuze travel inpacks, Wolves always multiplicity. schizoid to subject, unity ofwhatisinfactan irreducible construct thefalse normal a of unity the construct to order in to one,andthenzero, number ofwolves indeterminate He the reducing by step pack, step of the multiplicity wild father. the with finally of familyhistoryforthe singularity the substitutes and couple, parental the – in animals a word, – thenwith domestic sheep-dogs sheep, kids, with first wolves the substituting reduction, and Guattari, performs an unforgiveable to Deleuze his visionturnedintoanightmare.Freud,according drawn, until being was already boy the which into wolf, 18 say? Howinteresting. says, How’sthat?Goats,you Freud Seven wolves! howling: Six wolves! The Wolf-Mankeeps away andsavetheirpack. trying tofool?Thewolvesneverhadachance to get Freud is Who castrated. also but castrater a just not is all we as his tail,he knew fromthestart.Zerowolves:helost father, the is wolf the wolf: One dogs. two even parents moreferarum,orperhaps two the was Two wolves: the first coupling the child may have seen times. three love parents mayhavemade wolves: the Three a woman’slegs. of erotic spreading the with at five o’clock, and the Roman numeral V is associated Five wolves:hemayhaveseenhisparentsmake love clock. in the hiding is himself) Wolf-Man (the goat seventh the kid-goats. Sixwolves: only are that wolves story. Seven the with do to nothing have absolutely that see literally we of goats thewolvestotakeshape leave multiplicity glee; reductive Freud’s witness We Deleuze, Guattari. A ThousandPlateaus,28. Guattari. Deleuze, 18 in the psychoanalytic treatment). in We recallthatamong the psychoanalytic success of cost the as (perhaps sacrificed be must who one is the window) bedroom the of side other or onthe clock wall hiding inthe kid (suspended, The seventh or cast intothe abyss alongwiththedemonicwolves. of fools ship away onthe sent ones Noah’s ark but the taken onto ones kids arenotthe seven board. Freud’s and inversion –that sevenuncleananimalsclimbon (not so)freeassociation from assuming –employing of foolsisNoah’sark in reverse,nothingpreventsus ship the Since boat? this on fit can wolf-kids many How board. the Russianboyon ship offoolsmustsailoffwithout analysis. The tasks of the of is one which into integration in no placefortheanimalhumansociety, multiplicity make to finally order to disappear.Thereis both thedemonsandbeasts in nigh”), “feeding pigs of herd the to (comparable goats a herdof into them sending patient, the that hadpossessed wolves demonic the out drives literally kids,Freud fairy-tale into wolves the cure. Turning psychoanalytic the of a miracle like sound could other language Guattari callareduction,inslightly and of Satan. What Deleuze cult evil spiritsandeventhe tradition goats are specifically unclean animals, linked to In this them. with agree to us allow not does that – debt and patients,foreverin – towhichweareall,analysts tradition biblical story. Itisthe the with do to nothing say that thekidshave authors, however, whenthey these with kid-goats. Wecannotagree drama orthe for family have noconcern pack, and they wolf of the multiplicity and beauty the by fascinated are They counted. cannot be a pack know that and Guattari Deleuze Freud, Unlike your father… is awolf,soit’s and allyouhaveleft goats Take awaythe 19 Ibid., 38. 19 Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left the unclean animals it is the goats that are traditionally this specific moment, something of the subject’s becomes sacrificed, and these goats are called “scapegoats” or detached in the very symbolic world that he is engaged in expiatory sacrifices. All the sins of a given community integrating. From then on, it will no longer be something are laid upon them, and then they are driven away. belonging to the subject. The subject will no longer speak it, will no longer integrate it. Nevertheless, it will remain The little wolf-man is not only a man and not only a there, somewhere, spoken, if one can put it this way, by wolf (wolves) but simultaneously a scapegoat, torn into something the subject does not control.21 pieces by the sins (desires, fears) that he embodies, and a little kid, peeking out of his hiding place at all Repression and the return of the repressed are one these sins (starting with the famous Freudian primal and the same thing. What returns has never been. scene and ending with the devouring of the other kids Repression engages what has never been, into a kind of by the “papa-wolf”), and a little boy, whose gaze not active non-being. I am speaking about the negativity of only meets but suddenly coincides with the gaze of the the wolf pack – this is what Deleuze and Guattari would uncountable beasts, who must be driven out, cast into never agree with, since they put the animal multiplicity the abyss, into oblivion, if he is to get the unity of human of the unconscious into the plane of immanence, which life in exchange. This expiatory sacrifice, described in the knows no non-being (it is well known how negative the language of psychoanalysis in terms of repression, is the attitude of the theoreticians of schizoanalysis was toward cost of being born into the adult individual world. From negativity – the servant of dialectics). such units is formed the gathering of people. However we try to build humanity, first there must always be the The wolf pack (the crowd, the animal multiplicity of the miracle of exorcizing the demons or, the same thing – unconscious) is not so much a naïve, wild predecessor, the nightmare of repression.20 as it is an ambiguous fellow-traveller of the human, which condemns it to non-being. These monsters are However, I understand the thesis of how repression engendered by the sleep of reason, and this sleep should turns the animal (herd-ness, pack-ness) into the human not be understood metaphorically – as a pause or (sociality, adding up one by one) only in a very narrow deactivation of the waking work of thought – but as what sense. The animal multitude (the unconscious) does not Freud called “the other scene” – something that thinks exist by itself, immediately, before and unrelated to the instead of us.22 There are no original, natural wolves, act of repression, but arises precisely in this mediating calling the boy to return to the pack. It was not just act as what immediately returns. As Lacan says: simple wolves that came for him, but cultured, sexual, political wolves. They are complexly organized. “They” The trauma, in so far as it has a repressing action, think. intervenes after the fact [après coup], nachtrâglich. At 21 The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book 1: Freud’s Papers on 20 On the problem of counting beasts in the context of an analysis Technique 1953--4, trans. John Forrester (London: W.W.

of these two stories and the case of the Wolf Man, see my Norton & Company, 1991), 191. 41 article: Oxana Timofeeva, “Chislo zverei,” in Lakanaliia 6 22 See Mazin, Vvedenie v Lakana, accessed November 17,2014. (2011), 118-22. http://www.xliby.ru/kulturologija/vvedenie_v_lakana/p20. php. 42 24 fray, butjustascertainlyifIletgoofthecrowd.” center ofthe be drawnintothe myself dieifIlet I would I is theonlyplaceI know thattheperipherycan be, that foot. a handor extremities, by oneofmy it attached to of the crowd, atthe periphery; but I belong to it,I am on theedge Tuareg. Iam of or agroup players, soccer of crowd init,aswarmofbees,rumble “There isateeming desert: characterizes it–aboutthe dream,” asDeleuze schizo her dream–“averygood Franny tells example, another Offering number. their among others, the with together ever only are we pack; entire the immediately always wolves, of composition a in are we I-wolf; no is of thepack. in Here there the schizophrenicexperience are we that of wolves to this“we” Let’s turnourattention Oxana TimofeevaIUnconsciousDesireforCommunism but onewolfamongothers,withfiveorsixothers.” all atonce, seven. Notsixor seven wolvesallbyyourself or nine, six or eight you can’tbeonewolf,you’realways of Franny: stupid, words “How the question with this answers singular individualbeapartofpack? Deleuze can agiven,concrete, pack. How from this wolf single imagination stubbornlyripsouta reason ourcultural some for but eyes, yellow evil, of multiplicity a flashes night in packs,the overdriven beast.Wolvestravel of an solitude or the strongest, of the solitude or the – proud,romanticsolitude, veritable symbolofsolitude a is wolf The she-wolves. and wolves lone mythology with filled Our is multiplicity? a of terms in exclusively to examinetheanimal not an exaggeration unconscious travel inpacks?Isit always and Guattarithatwolves of Deleuze assertion the to one relate should how Yet 23 in apack(Frannyisbound alone being of impossibility the to is added quality another interesting description In this

Ibid. Deleuze andGuattari,Thousand Plateaus,p.29. 24 23

deterritorialization.” in Deleuze’s words, “is constituted by a line of flight or of or pack, by contrast,ischaracterizeddecentralization, of themass, to itstasksandgoal.The to theleader submitting dissolved, completely is or she he center, the toward presses in amass and amass.Aperson a pack makes between Canetti distinction the him, emphasizing hunting orwarparty)byEliasCanetti a humanone time pack (this the of description the Let’scomparethiswith and atitsedge. – people) Tuareg him; hisbackisnakedandexposedtothewilderness.” man each behind no-one but left, and right to neighbours have will fire, the round ring a forms pack the When centre. the in back then and edge the at again; edge the Hemay afterwards, at centre, andthen,immediately in the be its edge. at himself find again and again “will “I” is inseparable from the “we” from the “I” isinseparable her oneiric by herhands andlegs, crowd desert the to 26 25 call suchan animal, which exists in every pack, a demon, and Guattari pack oranoutcast.Deleuze of the leader the main pack.Hecanbe a bitapartfromthe same time and at the one whorunsalongside – the a lonewolf for and Guattarido haveaplace Deleuze Nonetheless, means everyanimalisapack,amongitsnumber. multiplicity irreducible one. The by taken one beasts, is notagatheringofindividual multiplicity irreducible An pack. a already itself is animal every becoming-wolf; of affect name forthe one but characteristics of collection is notsomeindividual wolf the at all,sinceforthem not makeanysense pack does in the question ofonewolf and Guattari, the of Deleuze From the perspective

York: Continuum, 1981),93. , trans.CarolStewart (New CrowdsandPower Elias Canetti, Ibid., 32. peripheralness. We are both in the pack in the We areboth peripheralness. 25 EveryindividualinCanetti’spack – bees, footballers, or bees, – – for example, a for example, Deleuze cites Deleuze 26 Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left an exceptional individual or an anomaly. And here the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Let’s return to the Wolf Man theme of the periphery or the border takes on a special and have a look at this, using the optics of becoming and significance. The exceptionalness of the individual is transition, how the metamorphosis from one animal determined by its position at the border of the pack series into another takes place in Freud’s interpretation. (sorcerers, for example, “have always held the anomalous What follows, as mentioned earlier, is significant for its position, at the edge of the fields or woods . . . at the bringing psycho- and schizoanalysis, Freud and Deleuze, borderline of the village, or between villages,”27 where together into a paradoxical and unnatural alliance. they enter into a secret alliance with various animals and demons). So, once again. The seven wolves are the kid-goats (eaten by the wolf). There are six of them because the The anomaly is not only at the border; it is the seventh one hid in the wall clock. I have already drawn phenomenon of the border itself, of “bordering.”28 a comparison with the vampire bite – the kids eaten In other words, the border of the pack runs through by the wolf turn into wolves themselves (contagion is the exceptional individual: “beyond the borderline, one of the characteristics of a pack). It is clear that the the multiplicity changes nature,”29 crossing over into dreamer himself should have been eaten first. But he was another dimension. As Catherine Malabou notes, the able to hide – at the cost of having to observe the bloody role of the anomaly is “to mark out the end of a series massacre of the others. and the imperceptible move to another possible series, like the eye of a needle of affects, the point of passage, by At this original stage of his interpretation Freud seems means of which one motif is stitched to another.”30 This to perform a reverse movement, again drawing the little extremely dynamic world of multiplicities and series is bodies of the kids out of the belly of the demonic wolves, measured by intensities of becoming – on the borders of or, more precisely, the belly of one demonic wolf (this the pack anomalous individuals form alliances, blocks of time we remember another fairy tale – about Little Red becoming, of transition. Riding-Hood and the woodsmen, who kill the wolf and free the little girl and her granny, whom he had eaten). One should also not forget about sorcery – metamor-­­ phoses that occur at the border of the pack, Later we learn that the wolf, having eaten everyone else, metamorphoses of certain types of animals into others, is in fact the boy’s father. Some kind of strange universal into monsters. At a certain moment not only the lone father-mother, who in order to give birth to the boy from wolf appears on the horizon but the werewolf or the his belly must first eat him (or vice versa – but sequence does not matter in the world of the unconscious). Here the 27 Deleuze and Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus, 246. patient’s recollection of a book illustration that his sister used to scare him with in childhood plays a significant 28 Ibid. role – a wolf standing on its hind legs and reaching out a 29 Ibid., 245. forelimb. Note the extraordinary position of this wolf; it 30 Catherine Malabou, “Who’s Afraid of Hegelian Wolves?,” in is a pose uncharacteristic of his species, standing on the 43 Deleuze: A Critical Reader (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, border between two packs – animal and human. 1996), 128. 44 Oxana TimofeevaIUnconsciousDesireforCommunism “ridiculous evolutionaryclassifications.” abstractions, scientific than more nothing are these all – forthem packs,herds,crowds,colonies say, inreallife: so to to organizethemselves, real animalsuse affects, and intensities besides parameters, what to indifferent are situation. Inprinciple,they of the in thisaspect and Guattariarenotveryinterested from aherd.Deleuze pack a clear, be let’s but, another from pack one just not – animal multitudes two separates of tensionthat a line of the Other. Thus, between the wolves and the kids runs complexly constructed and difficult to translate language the mentioned, is notprimordialchaosbut,asalready animal multiplicity into another.The thing from one animal undifferentiated an transformations easy allow analyst the of hypotheses the just not and child of the fantasies the us, where before multiplicity is It borders. shouldnotallowanyconfusionatthese However, we On allthree. himself? find patient our does border which On clock). wall the even mother, and the of legs spread the dogs, sheep- borders, involvingsheep, intermediary are also theboy and father, the gazes withit(there it andexchanges himself, whomeets of figure lonely the to Freud by of wolf-kids,reduced this monstrousmultiplicity between human, andalso and the wolf the kids, between and the wolves the – between anomalies packs, three borders between three are atleast us there Thus, before 31 into another. clothing isnotonlyan The wolfin sheep’s condition transition fromone the facilitates that case given devouring inthe who aredevoured.Itis precisely who devourand those those between difference is the a herdandpack between like one).The difference seem it does (although is noaccident in Freud’sinterpretation animals herd of appearance the that I insist Meanwhile,

Deleuze and Guattari,AThousandPlateaus, 240. and Deleuze 31

with itschiefwhokeepsitinordertodevourit.” human racedividedintoherdsofcattle,eachone the have we So, here feeling. Hobbes’s also is opinion: this former the toleantoward seems his bookhe throughout human race: to theand orsomenbelong that hundred men, orif or so a hundred to belongs human race the whether Grotius, to according then, doubtful, is “It 2): from Rousseau’s for hisquote stage the setting wolf, the of representations cultural different of series a fantastic together Derrida puts beast, and the In the beginningofhisseminar about thesovereign Forus, andGuattari. ofDeleuze however, itisoffundamentalimportance. vision of field the human and animal, herd andbetween remains outside pack and between borders the runs along who leader, father, god, kid-goats), andthe (the sheep wolf, the the between The alliance father-devourer. naked king,the the encounter will sheep moment oftheirlives,the last the at sheepskin; the off throw and legs, his straighten he willstandup, interloper. Therewillcomeatimewhen 32 in it, put down,repressed that areunleashed cruelty of TotemandTaboo space in the are already (and we beast devouring the it, while devouring by beast the keep not does chief, [H]e, the runs acrosstheborderbetweenpackand herd): should note,intentionally to thewolf(who,we precisely Derrida says, as belongs, position exceptional the ofthemost one is this of humancommunities,where descriptions exhaustive that to agree not difficult is It , Ducontratsocial Jean-Jacques Rousseau Garnier 2009), 11—12. by Geoffrey Bennington ( In: JacquesDerrida, , 1954),237,cit.byDerrida(quoteinDerrida’s translation) The BeastandtheSovereign Chicago: University ofChicagoPress, and the scenes of devouring scenes andthe Social Contract(ch. (Paris:Classiques , Vol.1,trans. 32 , Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left in it and therefore displaced in it into symptoms; and What is the bloody drama enacted at this border – a drama the devouring wolf is not far away, the big bad wolf, the narrated in different languages in legends, fairy tales, and wolfs mouth, the big teeth of Little Red Riding Hood’s the dreams of little Russian schizophrenics? The drama Grandmother-Wolf (‘Grandmother, what big teeth you can take different names – the exorcism of demons, the have’), as well as the devouring wolf in the Rig Veda, etc., miracle of healing, the nightmare of repression, or, in the or Kronos appearing with the face of Anubis devouring words of Freud, “organic repression,” the birth of the one time itself).33 out of the multiple (which never existed before), the child becoming an adult, the formation of human society. And This Kronos with the face of Anubis, whom Derrida here is the moral of the story: the road to the human runs mentions, was time itself, devouring his children. To say through the wolf. that he devours time is an inversion, making time appear to devour itself. He devours his children when they are Let’s clear things up a bit. The fact is that on the level still infants, fearing the prophecy that one of them will of social being we can always determine who is the destroy him. In the end, of course, this is what happens: oppressor and the devourer and who is the oppressed Kronos eats five infants (according to the myth they are and the devoured. Our ideas about justice, equality, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon); the sixth, and liberty, which for this reason lay the foundation for Zeus, manages to survive (his mother Rhea goes to Crete our version of how to rebuild humanity, are all on the and gives birth to Zeus in a cave, slipping Kronos a stone surface. Say, we can act in solidarity with the oppressed, in his place); Zeus overthrows (and in some versions the repressed, the devoured. We speak about repression castrates) his father and releases the other devoured in the context of violent state apparatuses, for example. children from his belly. But what should we do with the other type of repression? Thus, we have five devoured children, the sixth survived The one that each of us enacts on an individual level (hidden in a cave). If we are speaking of the same story, even before we are aware of it – perhaps, already at dealing with different versions, then there should be a that very moment when we recognize ourselves in the seventh. Who is this seventh? It is Kronos, himself. He mirror, unlike the pigeons? When, appropriating the is also part of the pack, part of the herd, a member of the image of the other, we send into non-being the animal family. He is one of us, just like the leader, who worries multiplicity from which the unity of our body is formed? about the herd in order to devour it, a member of this The multiplicity, which never abandoned its non-being, herd just like the wolf-father – one of the wolves sitting but rather had its non-being actualized, acquiring in the tree in Pankeev’s dream. The one who devours and meaning retrospectively in the very act of repression. the ones who are devoured or sacrificed are reflected in one another. Deleuze and Guattari, as mentioned above, reject the negativity, retrospection, and reflexivity of the pack. They populate the plane of immanence with packs, where one series crosses over into another along the borderlines, 45 guaranteeing ontological continuity. But for them the 33 Derrida, The Beast and the Sovereign, 12. 46 Oxana TimofeevaIUnconsciousDesireforCommunism back, weheartheinarticulate speechoftheOther. of us.Fromthere, frombehindour outside to something us thatone’sback isonlyexposed recall howCanettitells pack – in the everyone but by certain individuals by position notasoccupied should speakoftheexceptional pack every – journey has aborderandthisisus,notanotherwolf. We his of end the at schizophrenic for the primordial packwaiting is noauthentic, there ways, since both cuts strategy this isolation. Even to ourselves and doom schizophrenics real known as be want to we gaze, unless their silent call touswith who wolves, the to and return up get simply cannot We wolves emergeeverytime. and our they, we, Bang, fromwhich Big psychoanalytic a like other. Itissomething on the and multiplicity side on this one appeared the –before from thebeginning but apainful,traumaticrupture.Therupturewasthere packs Freudian the divide borders that not immanent of symptoms.Itis language it intothe who translates one way, the it this can put medium, ifone rather its but patient) the against violence discursive as sees Deleuze (which act this of subject the much so not is analyst The don’t likeit. “we” – but speak speak. “They” to violence act of forcing acertainconstitutive and thus structure, narrative giving them border ofhumansociety, the role here,pinpointingtransformationsthatoccuron different a somewhat plays I contend thatpsychoanalysis almost fascistreductionofmultiplicity. on the founded of psychoanalysis, apparatus repressive the with along papa-wolf, the resembling this, himself of and Guattari, it isFreudwhotoblameforall Deleuze no chance.However,for have they speak, to allowed not are wolves – the is clear human society, to entrance the of normalization,in theprocess violence practicedat composed of people one by one, each in the final analysis – ingatherings repressed the return of means the repression But are possible. society and noseparate human adult no separate elements of repressed presence the without that clear a nightmare?Itis turning into immediately without ever possible human community and violenceatthelevelofsocial? Isa oppression entails individual level at the organic repression human material,inwhich on such community based a rebuild asked, canwe be must it then, how But and frightenuswiththeirsilentcall. us run after always unconscious –will animal, multiple the – herd our and pack Our predator. the of belly the from again born be to order in eaten be first must which are stillamongitsnumber, or the returnoftheherd, we drivenbe outinordertoreturnusagain,because first must which pack, the repressed, the of return the is there one’s ownherdanddevourit).Simultaneously is drivenoffinordertomaster pack ofotherpredators speaking, the herd (strictly pack, devouring the off the at once:thescapegoat,son,wolf-father,driving the becoming of stages all the through go (here). Wehaveto natural ease–andthisiswhyweareallalreadythere with however, sacrifice, complex this perform us of All to driveout,devour,orannihilate. first to become some of it, to complete organic repression, society. In into thissociety,itisnecessary order toget into normalhuman for howeachofusintegrates models illustrative are these – clothing in sheep’s devourers wolf- gods, leaders, families, of fathers others: the than exceptional more are Orwell, paraphrase to some, only are exceptional, individuals pack. All in the individuals regular with regardtotherest, it inDeleuzian) to put (anomalous, are exceptional who distance running inthe wolves It isnotasiftherearesomeseparate,lonely Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left is anxious, tortured, and haunted by the whole pack of symbolization, which can in no way be confused with those who have been devoured, driven out, crushed, or reality. The Real of desire does not coincide with those not taken on board of the ark – because each remains a desires that we recognize in ourselves – it stands behind part of this pack. us, just like the horizon of communism, which has never been, behind our back. It stands directly behind our Let’s now go back to the point where we began, with back, right there, forming a border between what has the formulation of the question about the community been and what has not. It is as if we have grown into this as a question of the unconscious and the real of our horizon with our backs, and we are the border ourselves. desire. We did not invent this desire in order to desire it consciously; something desires for us, behind our back. Like Jodi Dean, I speak of the Real of the horizon and The pack that runs after us wants something from us. of the desire for communism, but I want to follow They speak, they address us with a call that we interpret this desire all the way to the level of the unconscious, either as infantile drives, as unformed, abnormal child the animal. One would object, animals do not have an sexuality beyond the ego, or as the inarticulate animal unconscious, and thus they cannot have the Real of cry, howl, or silent call. desire – they have only drives. That’s just the point. As mentioned above, they, our pack and our herd, live The theory of the community that I am suggesting in principle for “being” instead of “having,” in other here revolves around these shadows that follow us, words, they are the unconscious, they are the desire for trying to look behind our back. Unconscious desire for communism, which exists nowhere in nature, not in the communism is probably not the best name for it, but plane of immanence, not among real wolves; but this I haven’t thought of anything better. Between us, all “not” precisely indicates the negative character of desire, three of these words are dubious – unconscious, desire, in this “not” we hear that “not yet” and “still not yet” that communism. All three are problematic, ambivalent. But troubles us so (by the way, in Pankeev’s second dream in any case this triad is preferable to, say, consciousness, about wolves, analyzed by Freud’s student Ruth Mack interest, and capitalism (or various others), since it hints Brunswick, these animals, again scaring the dreamer, at a non-human community. It reminds us of what has are associated with the Bolsheviks). not yet been. Of communism with a non-human face. Let’s replace the plane of immanence with the plane of Jodi Dean writes: “The communist horizon is not lost. It retrospection, from which the wolves are breathing on is Real,”34 while also, by the way, associating the desire our backs. Our desire will be there, in that forgotten pack, for communism with the unconscious. It is precisely in which arose along with us and immediately stuck to us. this sense that she calls it Real: not real communism What they want from us is the real of our desire, and (as we are accustomed to speak, for example, of “really this is where we should begin, when we ask the question existing socialism”), but communism as the Real, in the about the community. “You send sailors on a sinking Lacanian sense, as a certain traumatic excess that resists cruiser to a place where a forgotten kitten mewed,” 47 34 Jodi Dean, The Communist Horizon (London; New York: Verso, 2012),11. 48 Oxana TimofeevaIUnconsciousDesireforCommunism sooner orlaterthisdiscussionwilltakeplace. that serious discussion,and Ihope it reallydeserves why task, is animal negativity–thisistheanditsabsurdity of reactivation a turn, a redemption, is it them; for but with anon-humanface.Thecommunityisnotforus communism program of for the image a better imagine writes Mayakovsky about the revolution, 35 Vladimir Mayakovsky. Oda Revolucii (“Odeto Revolution”). Translated byJonathanBrooksPlatt 35 andI cannot Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Craig Gent With our Backs to the Future

Craig Gent is a doctoral researcher in the Centre for with regard to conceiving or imagining a future which Interdisciplinary Methodologies at the University of is non-capitalist. Warwick, UK. His primary research interests are the philosophy of work, autonomous Marxism and digital With our Backs to the Future technology. He can be contacted at C.Gent@warwick. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who ac.uk. controls the present controls the past.” George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four Abstract “Who controls the past now controls the future. Who controls the present now?” “The future has been cancelled,” declares the Rage Against the Machine, Testify ‘accelerationist manifesto.’1 But where does this lead us? Concepts such as ‘time’ and ‘the future’ are almost Introduction ineffably broad once given a degree of sustained concentration. In this essay, I look to the relationship ‘Time’ is clearly a concept of epic proportions. In the between temporality (as our phenomenological everyday it can be used to refer to the understanding experience of what is to come) and historicity (in of the monotony of the nine to five or to memorialize the sense of the direction of society) in order to a deceased relative. Politically, time can be conceived question how our perception of temporality in the of in terms of the horizons of possibility or as a tool by everyday conditions our perception of the horizon of which to manage productivity through (post-) Taylorist possibilities which comprise the future, particularly organization. Time can be thought of as temporality, or the phenomenological grasp we have of the actions around us. Alternatively it can be understood as 1 See Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams, “#ACCELERATE historicity, or the movement of history. Throughout MANIFESTO for an accelerationist politics,” Critical Legal the canon of critical thought, from Marx to Berardi, Thinking, May 14, 2013, accessed May 18, 2014, http:// the concept of time has been a key area in developing 49 criticallegalthinking.com/2013/05/14/accelerate-manifesto- both a critique of the social conditions of capitalism and for-an-accelerationist-politics/. 50 4 Fisher, Craig GentIWithourBackstotheFuture been forgotten orcancelled. forgotten been has it that future; the lost have we that idea the of made been has much neoliberalism, paradigm of current the Since entering operates. production andpolitics capitalist modern which terrain upon a central is – narrative level the ‘end of history,’ of ‘end the Fukuyama’s that we havereached famous declaration to line production Fordist work onthe piecemeal of it. organization foundation: fromthe This isnotwithout transcend to hopes which project emancipatory an 3 2 temporality, which I argue is the dominant mode of dominant mode the is I argue which temporality, a critiqueoflinear in developing I aminterested ‘critical theoryofthefuture’seektoachieveforus? a would sort oftemporality And what directionality? and temporality, historicity between relationship is the of stasis?What sense an overwhelming us What gives in? ourselves find we do present of sort what cancelled, is future the if in anysense: possibility horizon of as the future ‘reclaim’ the are to we if unpacked to be need which a rangeofissues up opens upon have seized capitalism of capitalism. of end the than world the of end the to imagine easier now it is that idea paraphrased from Jameson’sfrequently starts Alternative?, MarkFisher Is There No Realism: Is ThereNoAlternative? idea-whose-time-has-come opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/luke-cooper/reclaim-future- November 27,2012,accessed May18,2014, the future?Anideawhosetime hascome,” et al.(Oakland,CA:AKPress, 2011);LukeCooper,“Reclaim politics;” FrancoBerardi,AftertheFuture,trans.AriannaBove Williams, “#ACCELRATMANIFSTOforanaccelerationist sentimentseeSrnicekand iterations ofthis For typical (London: Penguin,2012) Francis Fukuyama,TheEnd ofHistoryandTheLast Man , 1. Capitalist Realism 4 This idea or problem that opponents of opponents that or problem This idea 2 time – both at the instrumental and instrumental the at both – time (Winchester:Zero Books,2009). ; MarkFisher, 3 In the polemic Inthe Capitalist Realism: OpenDemocracy http://www. Capitalist Capitalist , present. terrains inthe of a broaderassemblage with engagement requires amorecoordinated future for the of possibility horizons the expand to properly attempt a meaningful of paramount importance, areindeed and technology) key culturaltargetsofaccelerationism(namelywork the that while I wanttosuggest accelerationism, lastly around themes political Returning tothe temporalities. phenomenological perceive and live we way in the shift a cultural to see we need historical future, capitalist to imagineapost- incapacity us tobreachourcollective messianism.’ argue thatinorderfor In this wayIwill approach ofwhatthelattercalls‘messianicitywithout an future, alongwith of the required toregainasense a that argue of‘temporality’and‘historicity’ is separation considered will I Derrida and Deleuze Benjamin, of an analysis look like.Through might future the of theory a critical what posit on to go institutions, Iwill political world acrossincumbent towards the certain comportment in a results of temporality experience phenomenological ‘precarity.’ our current culturalparadigmof Arguing that in the and transitory,particularly stable simultaneously by usas of ‘presenttime’isperceived the multiplicity ways eternal present,thisarticlewillexcavatethe Starting from Simmel’s conceptionofmodernityas within neoliberalcapitalism. temporal perception 5 each and perception, with that observation reception of a mode organisation comes social of period Benjamin’s accept we If Modernity aseternalpresent While I have no interest in suggesting any necessity in suggesting While Ihavenointerest idea ofmodernity. the with of ourcurrentimpasse Books, 2008), 8. Reproduction, trans.J.A.Underwood, (London:Penguin Walter Benjamin, 5 wemuststartatthe historical root The Work ofArtintheAgeMechanical

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left or causality in the subsequent development of society phenomenon runs deeper into the essential traits of since the dawn of modernity, I would like to at least modernity itself. Benjamin concurs with Simmel’s keep in mind that modernity provides a rich ground idea that modernity presents a “particular mode of from which contemporary societal forms have emerged. lived experience,” arguing that modernity is essentially As David Harvey is keen to note,6 Marx identifies that characterized by a tension between what can be termed societal and conceptual development across historical ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ culture, which plays itself epochs is contingent upon shifts and tensions involving out in various ways throughout everyday life.11 In what myriad factors across a variety of reciprocal terrains: could be considered a forebear to Lukács’ articulation the relationship of man to nature, the processes of of reification,12 Simmel posits that subjective culture– production, our relationship to technology, the processes the qualitative, essential realm which we grasp most of social reproduction, the production of social relations, primordially–becomes dominated by objective culture.13 mental conceptions of the world;7 to which Harvey also For Simmel, objective culture is typified by money: it points us to a seventh terrain in Marx, our relationship indicates the objectification and calculation of the total, to legal and political superstructures.8 I do not think, the rationalization of society into ‘technical perfection.’14 therefore, that it is sufficient to speak of returning to or As Lukács later articulates, this rationalization strips the reclaiming modernity, since modernity has been a force subjective of anything which cannot be made calculable, on all of these terrains, and as such is a constitutive factor reducing it to an abstract, quantifiable form.15 If we in all the socio-political configurations we have seen in consider the temporality of this process of objectification the last 250 years right up to the present day. Nor do I as Simmel presents it, culture appears to move towards think pointing to an ‘alternative modernity’ goes very far the domination of a “final object,”16 or ‘objective’ to resolve the original, unresolved political-philosophical perfection in some sense. As such, the temporality of tensions and contradictions with modernity, abstraction the present appears lineated to us, directed towards the and rationalization.9 rational society.17 As objective culture comes to dominate,

Where Srnicek and Williams take aim at neoliberalism 11 David Frisby, Fragments of Modernity: Theories of Modernity in the Work of Simmel, Kracauer and Benjamin, (Cambridge: for restricting our view of the future,10 and I agree in Polity Press, 1985), 46. with their target in part, others argue that in fact the 12 See Chapter 4 - “Reification and the Consciousness of 6 David Harvey, A Companion to Marx’s Capital, (London: the Proletariat” - in Georg Lukács, History and Class Verso, 2010), 189-201. Consciousness, trans. Rodney Livingstone, (London: Merlin Press, 1971). 7 Karl Marx, Capital: Volume One, trans. Ben Fowkes, (London: Penguin Books, 1976), 493f4. 13 Frisby, Fragments of Modernity, 42. 8 Ibid., 175f35. 14 See Georg Simmel, “Tendencies in German Life and Thought Since 1870,” trans. W. D. Briggs, The International Monthly 5 9 Srnicek and Williams, “#ACCELERATE MANIFESTO;” For (1902): 93-111 & 166-184. a canonical exploration of these contradictions see Theodor 15 Lukács, History and Class Consciousness, 83-7. W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 51 trans. John Cumming, (London: Verso, 1997). 16 Frisby, Fragments of Modernity, 42. 10 Srnicek and Williams, “#ACCELERATE MANIFESTO.” 17 On this point, Simmel noted the significant rise of the idea of ‘social justice’ in the 1880s. See ibid., 101. 52 21 Craig GentIWithourBackstotheFuture simultaneously stable and transitory, and stable simultaneously is money as around us.Just world the imbue to past of analternativefuture,butalsoourabilityforthe possibility our eliminates only not culture objective for structures, of historictraditionalorconcrete expense the at is culture objective of immediacy and constancy the However time. of rationalization objective the through immediate as constantly eternalized becomes present the and temporally by usasstable to beperceived it comes 20 19 Frisby, 18 a ‘maturemoneyeconomy,’ of a result for Simmel is – present eternal modernity as – of reception particular mode this that however noted be becomes eternal present,or‘supra-temporal.’ becomes modernity possible: organization is social form of other present. In immediate this way,itappearstousthatno fixation cultural ‘recreation’ always the of the with fashion,whichseeks our in observed be can phenomenon framework, orwhatwemight call‘latecapitalism.’ of socialorganisationwithinanadvancedneoliberal forms contemporary the analyse must we temporality of that ifwewishtounderstandourcurrentperception clear tome seems industrial capitalism. It therefore now absent from humanexperiences.” now absent implies, this then are structures traditional, permanent that conversely, fleeting (spatially) and transitory social relationswithinitas(temporally) and the society involves seeing reality (social) experiencing of mode distinctive a as modernity “If states: Frisby As fleeting. precarious and – appear tohousing from employment thing, sure a within it– relationships other the on the yet present, appears it hand of allaroundusasaneternalized reality the presenting one On too. culture

Ibid., 103-4. Ibid., 47. Bottomore andDavidFrisby, (Abingdon: Routledge,2011). ofMoney, trans.Tom Simmel,ThePhilosophy Georg Fragments ofModernity,45. 21 or what we might consider orwhatwe 19 18 For Simmel this ForSimmel so is objective objective is so 20 Itshould rather than challenge neoliberalism they simply focus simply they neoliberalism challenge rather than ‘against austerity’: being simply of around amessage campaigns over the last five years in an objective constant. Indeed, even grassroots resistance as stable neoliberal capitalismhasremainedpolitically crisis wastransitory, the while running simultaneously: ‘transitory’ ‘stable’ and narratives are the can see we as privatization post-crash.Here such enterprises modus operandi continuationandevenexpansionofneoliberal for the the perfect been has deficit’ the with has notbeenquiteasfashionable.Indeed,‘dealing deficit’ the of causes systemic the with ‘dealing course the foremost fixture in British politics since 2009, but of The political football of ‘dealing with the deficit’ has been of thatcrisis. are acausaleffect measures that austerity the pastwhichledtocrisisremain in thepast,and narrow and linear temporal imaginary that theeventsof us withthe slogan ‘thereisnoalternative.’ This presents the under across Europe privatization havecontinued measures andneoliberal this seismiceventausterity the global financial crisis of 2008. since within Marxian activist discourses theme and left a recurring been or ‘forgotten’has ‘lost,’ ‘cancelled’ being as post-capitalist) (implied future of the The theme Linear temporalityinthepresent 22 marked the ‘end of history’. ‘end of marked the and liberaldemocracy proclamation thatneoliberalism Fukuyama’s against going and inequality,seemingly governance accountability, of issues question into called 23 Fukuyama,

accelerationism-remembering-future/ 18, 2014, Critical LegalThinking Avanessian, “#Accelerationism: RememberingtheFuture,” has come;”andNickSrnicek, Alex WilliamsandArmen Anideawhosetime “Reclaimthefuture? Cooper, See http://criticallegalthinking.com/2014/02/10/ The EndofHistory andTheLast Man. , February10,2014,accessed May 23 However, even after However,even 22 The financial collapse . Europe have centred Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

– like governments – on growth and progress, but with opposed to a movement in time.”29 Therefore there is the nostalgic longing for a prior configuration of capitalism, sense that issues of the past are not addressed but instead namely post-war social democracy. As Weeks notes, this displaced or repressed. Instead of progress representing approach is fundamentally reactive and typifies a politics a learning curve, it resembles a way of forgetting the past of ressentiment which looks to a lost past, as opposed to which inhibits us from any ‘real’ directional progression a politics of hope which seeks to regain a lost future.24 from our situation in the present. Marcuse describes When Fisher draws upon Jameson’s adage that it is now this ‘real’ progression as ‘the break’; a moment that easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of “would open the possibility of an essentially new human capitalism,25 he does so to highlight neoliberalism’s reality.”30 triumph is that neoliberal capitalism is now widely perceived to be the only ‘realistic’ configuration of The ‘present time’ upheld by neoliberalism should be society.26 The ‘future’ is then organised around narrow understood as rhizomatic, in that temporality as currently augmentations within the capitalist framework such as perceived is manifested as a multiplicity with various ‘growth’ and ‘progress’, which are purposefully vacuous. material structures and ‘habits’ across society rooting While giving the illusion of movement, the orientation us to this certain mode of perception,31 conditioning towards ‘progress’ actually leaves us static within a the possibilities and boundaries of our imaginary – present which is only ever recreated and upon which we namely the ability to think and live in non-linear, non- are fixated.27 Instead of a ‘flow’ of time, we experience static temporalities. Deleuze demonstrates how these ‘present time,’ a fundamentally constant form which habits condition us by recalling Hume’s ‘famous thesis’: is only superficially altered.28 Although it possesses an “Repetition changes nothing in the object repeated, but internal linear temporality, it is static in that is has no does change something in the mind which contemplates external directionality: like the hamster on the wheel, it.”32 ‘Habits,’ as conceived by Deleuze, should be it is simultaneously linear and forward-facing, yet not understood to operate in terms of signs which imbue actually moving at all. Rather, “it is a movement of time as our understanding and experience of the everyday.33 We can see how signs indicate simultaneous transitory and constant temporalities: every five years the government 24 Kathi Weeks, The Problem With Work: Feminism, Marxism, may change but the parliamentary cycle itself is a given, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries, (Durham, CA: likewise with each term of the school year the pupil ‘moves Duke University Press, 2011), 199. 25 Fisher, Capitalist Realism, 2. 29 Ibid., 294. 26 This is particularly the case since the collapse of the Eastern 30 Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the bloc and the end of state socialism, which at least provided an Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society, (Abingdon: example of an alternative form of social organization that we Routledge, 2002), 235. could ‘realistically’ imagine. 31 Gilles Deleuze, Difference and Repetition, trans. Paul Patton, 27 Moishe Postone, Time, Labor, and Social Domination: A (London: Continuum, 2004), 96-101.

Reinterpretation of Marx’s Critical Theory, (Cambridge: 32 Ibid., 90. 53 Cambridge University Press, 1993), 294. 33 Henry Somers-Hall, Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition, 28 Ibid., 295. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2013), 65. 54 of capitalism as a form of life.” form of a as capitalism of ‘progress’ to the tied framework) is“closely standardized a within as rationalized is, time (that time abstract of Craig GentIWithourBackstotheFuture institutions and structures around us. institutions andstructures upon it”bythe demands placed ofthe perspective the “from of temporality forces ustoconsiderourexperience of temporality. This conditioning ouroverallsense and other, implicating each contract with surround us of thetemporalinstitutionswhich that ourexperiences 38 Standing, time structure” erosion ofa“stable and the workplace of theformerly-rigidboundaries the dissolution marking – post-Fordism of onset the with rota. Even of work, in which weorganizeourlives around the work is that most everydayinstitution institution. Perhapsthe remains adisciplinary always school the forward’ but 37 Postone, 36 Standing, 35 34 then “forced to juggle.” to “forced then always having yet demandsmadeuponitwhichweare is limited as‘free’inanysense, designation its loses rise ofwhatStandingcalls‘tertiarytime’: time which embody certaindisciplinaryandnormalizing strategies of socialorganisation. are thearchitecture As suchthey they isintrinsicallypolitical:indeed structures these “‘technically available’ freetime,” “‘technically work andouradministered between divided be could life needing to bepaidon the 1 needing of ourbills fact arranged aroundthe must be energies our still but precarity or flexibility either enjoy can we – the ‘intensification’ oftimeasitmakesdemands uponus. concur, howeverIamchoosing tousetheideahereintermsof time beforecapitalism,andI feel ifpushedPostonewould intend toimplyherethatthere mightnothavebeenabstract Marcuse, (London: Bloomsbury,2011),119. Guy Standing,ThePrecariat: TheNewDangerous Class Time, Labor,and, 213.;Idonot SocialDomination One-Dimensional Man,52. The Precariat The Precariat 36 , 119. , 119. In this sense, the development the Inthissense, st ofeachmonth. Where once 37 Therefore we can see we Therefore 35 we have seen the have seen we 38 The content of Thecontent , 34

the horizonsofthinkable.” occupies Fisher summarizesthat“capitalismseamlessly future. the of expect we what therefore ‘realistic’ and can we have hope without a ‘goal’ for history? without have hope can we is despair, there hope have it–without Derridians would of demandswhichsurroundsus.If–as limitedness project emancipatory an to transcendthe draw uponhope,seeking must surely proposes which future the realism, the backdropofcapitalistacriticaltheory capitalism, of which historicallycorrelatewiththedevelopment 42 41 Berardi, 40 Fisher, 39 threat.” a becomes alternatives, the future incapable ofseeing imagination becomes states: “Whenthecollective as analternativetoCoke.Berardi pluralism ofPepsi commodity the reflecting employment, full to return a an for called around ‘growth’ and centred alternative toausterity Congress’ Union Trades UK the 2011 In Within limited. this paradigm, our demandsbecome A CriticalTheoryoftheFuture? World War – the now-ubiquitous ‘Keep Calm andCarry ‘Keep now-ubiquitous the World War– Second the as such prior crises to allusions kitsch by andtypified retro’ ‘the on fixation a by context British in the storm’ approach,characterized the ‘weathering hope hastaken two primary forms. Firstly hasbeenthe rational society? In the wake of the global financial crisis, the towards development the linear narrativeof into the play this notmerely require agoalforhistory,does we

Temporality, (Cambridge,MA: MITPress,2009),142-3. History of David C.Hoy,TheTimeofOur Lives:ACritical Park, PA:PennsylvaniaState University Press,2008),159. Nathan Widder,Reflections onTimeandPolitics 41 How then are we to reclaim the future? Against future? reclaim the to are we then How , 8. Capitalist Realism 39 After theFuture thereby reinforcing the idea of whatis idea reinforcing the thereby , 59. 40 , (University 42 Andif Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

On’ mantra of the mythical ‘Blitz spirit’ being an example and experienced in terms of activity.47 This gives us – which reinforce the message that neoliberal solutions a more phenomenological grasp of time. Historicity will pull us through if we only hold tight. In this sense, differs in that it refers to “a temporality measured by the hope of the retro recalls a past that did not exist, or events,”48 that is, our broader conception of history. “the future of a particular past.”43 Secondly is nostalgic While the dominant mode of social organization informs hope, such as the TUC’s ‘alternative’ harking to bygone our experience of temporality, it is our experience of days of Keynesian social democracy or Ken Loach’s 2013 temporality which conditions our account of historicity, film intervention The Spirit of ’45. These approaches act and thereby our expectations of the future. In order only to put “all one’s hope in the past,”44 conforming with to reclaim the future, then, we require a new mode of the idea of only demanding or imagining the ‘realistic’ temporal perception which can challenge the mode on the basis that it existed in the past. Both the stances of social organization. The subtle distinction between indicated by nostalgia and ‘the retro’ fixate on a form of temporality and historicity is noted by Derrida, who posits ‘wishful thinking’: they promise a lifestyle of security that we can have the former without the latter but not which allows us to forget the negative factors which led vice versa.49 This distinction has important implications to this point, instead placating our desire of what we wish for a consideration of the future. The French language will be realized. In concerning themselves with repetition, provides two terms for ‘the future’: le futur and l’avenir. neither of these ideas properly transcends ‘present time.’ Where le futur indicates that which is predictable or They are expressions of a temporal comportment which tangible in the commonly ontological sense, l’avenir is passive to their historical circumstance45 and which do refers to a possible but unknown future which is bounded not give us an account of hope with which to reconstruct by a return to the present.50 From an idealist perspective, the future. the accounts of historicity incorporate all history, and can be considered either teleological (developmental) or At this point it becomes necessary to make a subtle but eschatological (disruptive). Benjamin responds to these important distinction between temporality and historicity accounts through his articulation of messianism and as in relation to the future. Temporality concerns the we will see later, Derrida seeks to undermine both these individual’s sense of the time that is ahead,46 measured accounts, as well as Benjamin’s brand of messianism, in favour of ‘messianicity without messianism’.

43 Ibid., 150. Benjamin argues that it is a non-linear account of time 44 Ibid., 141. which is required to salvage hope from the collapse of 45 The ideas of inauthentic and authentic temporal comportments idealism, which expresses a linear imaginary of the and their relationship to passivity and activity could reasonably progression of time towards the rational society, either take up an entire research project in their own right, and would indeed be an area for further research on this topic. For 47 Postone, Time, Labor, and Social Domination, 211. Heidegger’s original account see Martin Heidegger, Being and 48 Ibid. Time, trans. Joan Stambaugh, (Albany, NY: State University of 55 New York Press, 2010), §68. 49 Hoy, The Time of Our Lives, 165. 46 Hoy, The Time of Our Lives, 147. 50 Ibid., 163. 56 the 1920 painting by Paul Klee. Paul by painting 1920 the Novus, inspiredby Angelus of the metaphor temporal to the on the are introduced , Philosophy we of History Craig GentIWithourBackstotheFuture ijitd n nnlna tmoaiy nta o a of instead temporality non-linear and disjointed a fragmented, us with Novus presents Instead, Angelus of history,isstilllinear, is not. our sense our temporality than ideally constructing communism. constructing than ideally rather from capitalism and movingaway understanding on emphasis which places within accelerationism, theme from.’ ‘going awayThisisacommon ‘going toward’but which ledustothispoint.In thissense,we are notsomuch past the and barbarismof inequalities for the account to need – we possibilities is, forabroaderhorizonof – that future for abetter hope which present on the demands by development ordestruction. by development 55 54 53 52 51 past and present.” past the in injustice massive overlook often visions utopian critical derives fromthinkingthatforward-looking, attitude “Benjamin’s rather but position, reactionary a not indicate looking backwardsdoes future going intothe be notedthat forwards. Itshould future are notfacingthe past withitsback to thefuture.Thekey ideaisthatwe angel movesawayfrom the fragmentsand debrisofthe still linear. However, it is difficult to say that weare that say to moving forward.” difficult is it However, linear. still before. Thestoryis were we been, notbacktowhere have we from where are movingaway we No, because backward. Hoy asks: “Are wein fact goingbackward? going it is earlier,and neither explored we ‘progress’ that of sense limited in the future the moving towards not Hoy, Srnicek andWilliams, “#ACCELRATMANIF ESTO.” Hoy, York, NY:Schocken,1968),257-8. Walter Benjamin, Ibid., 142. The Time of Our Lives , 155. The Time of Our Lives,153. The Time ofOur 55 53 , trans.HarryZohn,(New Illuminations Note here that while the ‘story’, i.e. the while that here Note In other words, if we are toplace Inotherwords,ifwe 52 In Angelus Novus, the InAngelus 51 Inhis1936 54 The angel is Theangel Theses where we’ve been, not knowing where we’re going,” we’ve been,notknowing where where from “knowing only comes future the account whereby providing an by a teleology us denies therefore account any instant.” at present break into the event thatcould unexpected of anunpredictable, possibility open the“eschatological indeed keeping Derrida’s idealismwhile messianicity eschews present; the to relation at all.Instead, a future to be ceases reached a future in only exists future misleading, asthe is therefore future’ ‘reclaiming the of idea ever ‘aboutto’come.The only is that one but not positthecomingofan actual ‘messiah’, which does account an is, that messianism;’ without ‘messianicity regenerate.” or to name. Democracy remainstocome:engender is notyetanydemocracyworthyofthis he notes,“there rtczs ejmns con fr en wa ad too and messianic. weak being for account Benjamin’s criticizes and ideal future of movingidea nearertosomeremote the rejects he ‘hope,’ of sense a salvage to ought we that directional is rhizomatic, temporality it canstillbe is thatwhile smooth, linear transition frompasttofuture.Thepoint 61 Hoy, 60 59 58 57 56 account of temporality which is directional without being without which isdirectional temporality of account certain elements of regression.” certain elements has carriedwithitself that “progress acknowledging

Ibid., 155. University Press, 2005),82. Pascal-Anne BraultandMichael Naas,(Stanford:Stanford Jacques Derrida, but thisisanareaforfurther research. given Benjamin’sdiscontentwith theJewishEnlightenment, is aharshcriticismfromDerrida, argued thatthis It couldbe John Moore,(London:Verso,2008),229. Henri Lefebvre, Ibid., 157. The Time of Our Lives , 164. The Time of Our 59 in terms ofhistoricalchange. Although we live in the age of democracy, age live inthe we Although 60 61 Derrida therefore posits the need for need the posits Derridatherefore In this way, Derrida allows us anon-linear Inthisway,Derridaallows Critique of Everyday Life,Volume One,trans. Critique of Rogues: Two Essays onReason,trans. 58 WhileDerridaconcurs 56 Benjamin’s 57

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left teleological and permits us hope without succumbing to way that capitalism subsumes and consumes all previous an idealist account of historicity. history,”67 accelerationism posits that, like Benjamin’s Angelus Novus, the past needs to be redeemed and given Towards post-capitalism meaning in order to progress historically. Whereas for example injustices such as the Third Reich could not How then are we to use this perception of temporality be understood without consideration of modernity, if to construct a post-capitalist future? If “the first step we are to understand how those injustices came about towards a new, more hopeful temporality thus requires in restoring a directional project, we need to challenge that we can first wrestle a viable present from the past,”62 institutions such as Potsdamer Platz which seek to then we need to be able to use the past in reimagining forget the past and instead consider the architecture of our present in order to challenge the institutions of social Auschwitz’s gas chambers. organisation that inhibit a post-capitalist imaginary. As Benjamin notes, historical knowledge is “nourished Lefebvre states: “Above all we must demonstrate the by the image of enslaved ancestors rather than that of breadth and magnificence of the possibilities which are liberated grandchildren.”63 Although this is to say our opening out for man; and which are so really possible, so construction of the future has its basis in the past, it is near, so rationally achievable (one the political obstacles not to say ‘history repeats itself:’ rather, it is a process of are shattered).”68 The reconstruction of the future, then, creation which draws upon the past.64 The political project begins in the everyday, and we can understand our relies not on us creating, however, but on us transcending domination through time as one such political obstacle.69 the “strictly defined set of capitalist parameters that One such dominant institution which appears to be a themselves never waver.”65 Whereas for Simmel, the current site of contestation – through accelerationist dominance of ‘objective culture’ cannot break from the and even green discourses – is work.70 Given that paradigm of eternal present, accelerationists such as the liberation of time has been a key project for post- Srnicek and Williams argue instead that the processes capitalist projects,71 it is unsurprising that movements of modernity as not intrinsically limiting, but instead which have sought to construct the future – such as the that modernity needs to be salvaged from capitalism futurologists of the 1960s – have placed a great emphasis in order to imagine a post-capitalist world,66 precisely specifically on the end of 72 work. Simmel’s lens of the through such a process of creation. This necessarily quantification of objective culture enables us to see that implicates a non-linear temporality. Acknowledging that through work our time is managed and individualized “the power of capitalist realism derives in part from the 67 Fisher, Capitalist Realism, 4. 62 Weeks, The Problem With Work, 199. 68 Lefebvre, Critique of Everyday Life, Volume One, 229. 63 Benjamin, Illuminations, 260. 69 Postone, Time, Labor, and Social Domination, 295. 64 Indeed, Deleuze’s own use of Nietzsche’s ‘eternal return’ is one 70 Srnicek and Williams, “#ACCELERATE MANIFESTO.” such example of creation. See Hoy, The Time of Our Lives, 160. 71 Postone, Time, Labor, and Social Domination, 380. 57 65 Srnicek and Williams, “#ACCELERATE MANIFESTO.” 72 Edward Granter, Critical Social Theory and the End of Work, 66 Srnicek et al., “#Accelerationism.” (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009), 99. 58 Craig GentIWithourBackstotheFuture rise of abstract time. abstract rise of social the of indicative is ‘work bells’ of implementation the (‘in your owntime’,‘oncompanytime’),andindeed 74 Weeks, 73 Postone, social reproductionwhichmakeproductionpossible. condition our basic intersubjectivity, and the relations of another that one relations between are social example, as work,for Just as‘everpresent’ half-mapped. only remains change motors forepochal by Marxasthe posed the environment.of terrains However, theassemblage to our relationship extent some to and technology and rightly identifies the two-way relationship between work discourse accelerationist Existing is questionable. future of the a criticaltheory terrain uponwhichtoconstruct most important single the then thatwork represents said Whether itcanbe realms fromothersocialspheres. as separately exist not work do terrains as such article abstract.” rather than concrete be should it that is point Rather the demands. such about lament anti-utopian typical in the term isdeployed the that sense in the ‘realistic’ –atleast be This isnottosaythatitshould tendencies. existing in actually grounded recognizable asapossibility be should demand utopian “A states: thinking’. She of thingsagainstmere ‘wishful current state of the emancipatory project as well as its ‘ever present’ critique as an of itspotential because precisely future, of the for acriticaltheory of struggle most importantsite the work is of end the reduction. Weeksargues it andits relationship to our historical also through work, but of negative) experience both ourtemporal(generally through precisely purchase political has work also of 74 The Work, 221. ProblemWith However, as noted in the earlypartofthis However,asnoted Time, Labor,and, 212-3. SocialDomination 73 However the struggle over the end over the struggle the However would be keen to see consideration given to the terrain given tothe consideration keen tosee be would In particular,I another isnotcomplete. one between and theirrelationship terrains for change the mapping of horizons of project the that argue the would I however, possibilities, expanding for project meaningful of into anykind to betranslated ideas accelerationist For teleological. not but directional entirely is which present in the a future meaning andconstruct with past are abletodraw on the is creative and they repetition point. Rather, their new, bythatisnotthe necessarily are movement of sites these of organization. Neither dominant formofsocial the of challenging perspective – isencouragingfrom the than thetermsofexploitation rather work itself contesting of grounds on the although union stagnation – after yearsoftrade of struggle a site become work hasrecently that fact to us.Similarly,the offered the limits ofthefuturethatarepresently challenge to is acontemporarymovementwhichseeking accelerationism present, the of and possibilities realities to generate,” to unable is inherently “neoliberalism that a future positing of capitalism.By to opponents horizon of possibility school offeranew unfolding aroundtheaccelerationist are which future the The currentconversationsabout present. whichconstrainus in the narrow temporalities the challenge in orderto past the meaning to and give for account to able be have to In eachcase,we present. of the whichishasitsrootsin the seeds society possible construction ofarationally- theoretical concrete the requires this possibility, horizon of a new construct to ofsocialorganization. are architectures And ifwe the from hastostartprecisely of temporality perceptions What can we hopefor? Challenging oureveryday Conclusions 75

Srnicek et al., “#Accelerationism.” Srnicek etal., 75 but one which is firmly rooted in the rooted firmly is which one but Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left which conditions the possibilities of our ability to work Bibliography (or not work) and produce, and which comprises the foundation for all architectures of social organization Adorno, Theodor W., and Max Horkheimer. Dialectic of from the workplace to the economy. Social reproduction Enlightenment. Translated by John Cumming. London: is central to our capacity to work, to produce and to Verso, 1997. create and sustain both life and society. Yet, as in Leninist discourses, accelerationism so far seems to privilege Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations. Translated by Harry production as the focal point of analysis, running the risk Zohn. New York, NY: Schocken, 1968. of demanding a new epoch without fully understanding Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical the wedge driven between production and reproduction Reproduction. Translated by J. A. Underwood. London: which characterized the birth of the present epoch. But I Penguin Books, 2008. hope we can continue that conversation in future. Berardi, Franco. After the Future. Translated by Arianna Bove, Melinda Cooper, Erik Empson, Enrico, Giuseppina Mecchia, Tiziana Terranova. Oakland, CA: AK Press, 2011. Cooper, Luke. “Reclaim the future? An idea whose time has come.” OpenDemocracy, November 27, 2012. Accessed May 18, 2014. http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/ luke-cooper/reclaim-future-idea-whose-time-has-come. Deleuze, Gilles. Difference and Repetition. Translated by Paul Patton. London: Continuum, 2004. Derrida, Jacques. Rogues: Two Essays on Reason. Translated by Pascal-Anne Brault and Michael Naas. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005. Fisher, Mark. Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? Winchester: Zero Books, 2009. Frisby, David. Fragments of Modernity: Theories of Modernity in the Work of Simmel, Kracauer and Benjamin. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1985. Frisby, David, ed. Georg Simmel: Critical Assessments. London: Routledge, 1994. Fukuyama, Francis. The End of History and The Last Man.

London: Penguin, 2012. 59 Granter, Edward. Critical Social Theory and the End of Work. Farnham: Ashgate, 2009. 60 Craig GentIWithourBackstotheFuture Edinburgh: dinburgh University Press,2013. Difference Somers-Hall, Henry.Deleuze’s and Repetition 2011. Tom Bottomore andDavidFrisby. Abingdon: Routledge, Simmel, Georg.The Philosophy ofMoney Monthly 5(1902):93-111&166-184. W. D.Briggs.The International by 1870.” Translated Since in GermanLifeandThought Simmel, Georg. “Tendencies Cambridge UniversityPress,1993. of Marx’sCriticalTheory.Cambridge: Reinterpretation From Domination: Postone, Moishe.Time,Labor,A and Social Authenticity: and Heidegger Resoluteness toReleasement.London:Bloomsbury,2011. Mahon. O’Brien, Fowkes. London:PenguinBooks,1976. Ben Volume One.Translatedby Marx, Karl.Capital: in Routledge, 2002. Studies Man: Abingdon: Advanced IndustrialSociety. of Ideology the One-Dimensional Herbert. Marcuse, by RodneyLivingstone.London:MerlinPress,1971. Lukács, Georg. Translated byJohnMoore.London:Verso,2008. Lefebvre, Henri. II/21/fredric-jameson-future-city. 2014. 19, May Accessed 65-79. Jameson, City.” NewLeft Fredric. “Future Review 21 (2003): Temporality. Cambridge,MA:MITPress,2009. of History Critical A Lives: Our of Time The C. David Hoy, Press, 2010. York New of University Stambaugh. Albany,NY:State Joan by Time. Translated Martin. Beingand Heidegger, Verso, 2010. Harvey, David. History and Class Consciousness. Translated and Class History A Companion to Marx’s Capital. A CompaniontoMarx’sLondon: Critique of Everyday Life, Critique Volume One. http://newleftreview.org/ . Translated by . Translated . 2008. and Politics Press, University Park, University PA: PennsylvaniaState Time on Widder, Nathan.Reflections Durham, CA:DukeUniversityPress,2011. and PostworkImaginaries. Marxism, AntiworkPolitics, Weeks, Kathi.TheProblemWithWork: Feminism, London: Bloomsbury,2011. Standing, Guy.The Precariat: The New DangerousClass. accelerationism-remembering-future/ 2014. Legal Thinking Future.” the Remembering “#Accelerationism: Srnicek, Nick, Alex WilliamsandArmen Avanessian. manifesto-for-an-accelerationist-politics/ http://criticallegalthinking.com/2013/05/14/accelerate- politics.” accelerationist Legal Thinking an for MANIFESTO Srnicek, Nick. and AlexWilliams. “#ACCELERATE http://criticallegalthinking.com/2014/02/10/ My 4 21. cesd a 1, 2014. 18, May Accessed 2013. 14, May , Fbur 1, 04 Acse My 18, May Accessed 2014. 10, February , . . Critical Critical Critical . Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Creston Davis Organizing for Life

Creston Davis is the founder and director of The Global And happily there was a response to this glaring social Center for Advanced Studies (GCAS). and economic inequality, which began on September 17, 2011 and spread throughout the globe. This became Abstract known as the “Occupy Movement.” For a time, this movement looked very promising and has surely raised In this article, I identify the need for intellectuals to a level of consciousness about the central issue of justice. organize around the core building blocks of life, air, However, the long-term strategic effects of Occupy have water, and food. The article examines the lack of such faded away almost as quickly as it started. Although the organization on the left and the need to overcome the Occupy movement has faded, the central issue of the differences that fragment us. The article then goes on injustice of extreme inequality not only remains with us to propose a way of organizing in dialectical terms but is growing with several detrimental effects. So the between protests, revolts on the one hand, and a “base” question I want to pose here is precisely how and under organized around a school committed to difference, what means can we organize so that a sustained and discourse and conversation, and above all democracy. long-term organization can be formulated without - and this is crucial - stifling the need to respond in the form of “Responding to the challenges of capitalism in the protest actions. world today must take the form of Organization & Ideology” – Alain Badiou The seminal challenge before us thus can be posed in both positive and negative terms. It is positive, in that Nearly weekly new reports emerge telling us about the the very act of organizing is itself a response to this growing disparities in our world. In nearly every instant dangerous trend of the growing storm of injustice. For these reports are as unbelievable as they are ominously the alternative is unacceptable namely to idly stand-by true. Here is just one example: Oxfam recently reported that 85 of the richest people on the planet are as wealthy 1 poorest half of the world,” The Guardian, January 20, 2014, as the poorest half of the world. accessed September 18, 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/ 61 business/2014/jan/20/oxfam-85-richest-people-half-of-the- 1 Graeme Wearden, “Oxfam: 85 richest people as wealthy as world. 62 Creston DavisIOrganizingforLife agree withhimonthepoint thattostartaconversation “tradition.” defined MacIntyre’s work,I of critiques basic the aside Putting intra-linguistically of framework conservative the within organized symbolically game” into a“language commondiscourse from adialogical to retreat MacIntyre, inaWittensteiniangesture, in termsofrationalitycannotbeachieved,itrequires one’s ownwishes.” with to comply them to get and attitudes emotions people’s other manipulate to attempt to is any individual reasoned argumentisimpossible,allthatremains for argument, andsince as areasoned counts what about cannot agree aim at,we morality should or what succinctly cannot agreeonthepremisesofmorality states, “we Clayton Ted as because,” “[…] arguments,” “reasonable constitutes about what universal agreement that therecan’t be any Alasdair MacIntyrehasconceded like ethicist and philosopher political equation. A common existential from ourcurrent missing gravely are values,andpractices) for organizing (itspremises, means andresources in thatthe is negative The challenge will not be able to sustain life in just a generation or two. ineluctably our world mean that so could do to fail and to to takeastance, hasachoice still words, everyone other have been enacted to undermine democratic action. to underminedemocratic enacted have been to face increasingly more difficult times as even now laws a stance against this injustice otherwise we will continue take to it isnecessary where in history a moment reached have we Indeed, manyscholarsgosofartosaythat life: water,food,andshelter. requirements forsustaining basic to underminethe used arebeing of production) means (the doing nothingasmoreandresources 3 2 2014, Internet Encyclopedia ofPhilosophy “PoliticalPhilosophyofAlasdairMacIntyre,” Ted Clayton, The PatriotActforexample. http://www.iep.utm.edu/p-macint/. 3 And because a universal agreement a universalagreement Andbecause , accessedSeptember 22, The 2 In

to become increasingly exclusive with each newbookor increasingly exclusive to become precisely are constructed complex symbolicstructures and languages of individual scholarship.New level the on academy hasbecome and neoliberalthe incestuous on how may touch for this reasoning on. The focus to are able academics that very few issue remains the terms of simplest in the our world understand to But and forallpeople. over time also sustainable but possible life isnotonly of framing such thatahealthy existence, a way from here and build foundations oflife the with start first must we seem, may it as basic and reductive cultural. So,as of allthings,social,economic,political, blocksoflifeand health, building day aretheessential every day.Air every moment, needed and waterevery essential is air clean air, for life,anditis for health.Cleanwatertooisessential just not but essential, is air very simple.Tobreathe water. Air and water,it’sreally (i.e., non-toxic) airand clean needs and ourveryplanet that for life tocontinueeachperson, village, city,region agree can all we that propose to like think), Iwould you to beliberalprogressivesandtherearealotmorethan claim who ones the and especially (even intellectuals privileged Risking the inevitablecritiqueofextremely vantage point;apointoflife. this of constructing purposes available forthe resources and practical are conceptual and there organized be must a frontcanand such I believe war onlife. this against humanity protect will a commonfrontthat establish to as such,itisnecessary a waragainsttherealityoflife is waging of greed regime capitalistic the fact that the given Said differently, work is possible? and intellectual action sustained which of bases on the an organization to intermsofafoundation, can come we agreement common form of some question: Isthere the This raises of agreement. minimal level (and action)requiressome Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left article. Complex and esoteric language systems, much But here is where the challenge emerges: A public like the original medieval castles, keep academics from intellectual must lucidly communicate complex concepts confronting the very building blocks of our common life easily enough for most people to grasp. So when she together. And the so-called, “public intellectuals” too tries to communicate to us (the public) about the need often fold to sensational topics in order to sell books to direct our energies to challenging the capitalist to continue making a living. But there are exceptions. corporate system, most citizens find this extreme and For example, Naomi Klein’s recent book, This Changes even alienating. Challenging the “system” is alienating Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate refreshingly and to the citizen for two reasons: first, because the citizen quite literally comes down to earth: Earth, Water, Air. is so imbricated into the logic of capitalism that for them Klein’s ability to articulate this is extraordinary, as the to challenge it requires them to sacrifice their own way recent interview with John Tarleton makes clear. Klein of life. Think about it, citizens in capitalist societies have bucks the moralism of personal ethics. She decisively to pay for mortgages, debts, bills, car payments, gym frames the approach by saying it’s not about your personal memberships, cell phone bills and so on just to keep habits of recycling, but rather about the systemic way functioning and to stay afloat. And in doing this, citizens in which citizens are unable to stop corporations from continue to reproduce the very system Klein is asking destroying the environment around their towns. Think us to challenge. So, naturally, someone reading Klein’s of the recent and dangerous trend of hydraulic fracturing argument might like it, but have no resources to enact it, or “fracking”4 which has systematically contaminated the thus leaving a gap between abstract ideas and concrete vital water sources of local towns throughout the United action. So strangely, what then is required is either we States. Klein’s approach is much like Slavoj Žižiek’s figure out a way to stop capitalism or else before long, the use of Lenin’s distinction between formal and actual planet will no longer sustain life. But, to do this requires freedom. Formal freedom is the freedom to choose from each individual imbued in the logic of capital to radically an already predetermined set of options, like choosing alter his or her life-styles, but to do so without causing food in a buffet. By contrast, actual freedom is the ability unnecessary harm. Avoiding harm shouldn’t be equated to choose to reject formal freedom, i.e., the buffet itself. to the conservative stance of doing nothing or even not So, what Klein is saying is that one’s personal choices taking risks. Risks will be necessary to change the system to recycle, buy a Prius and so on, lines up with Lenin’s on which much of our life depends. Said differently, we idea of formal freedom. What Klein is trying to get us to must change our lives soon and very soon or else the think, however, functions on the level of actual freedom. future generations of our planet won’t have a chance to breathe.

4 Fracking is defined as “the process of drilling and injecting fluid Academics can continue filling up their studies in peer- into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale reviewed journals all they want, proving facts about the rocks to release natural gas inside.” The problem with fracking dangers of radical climate change, but unless this message is that nearby water sources are vulnerable to contamination is able to be clearly and coherently communicated to

by the toxins used in the process such as lead, Radium, citizens we’ll remain pathologically on the same slide 63 Methanol, Uranium, Mercury, Ethylene Glycol. http://www. into oblivion. The key here, thus, is communication and dangersoffracking.com (accessed January 3, 2015). 64 Creston DavisIOrganizingforLife life, water,food, andaddedtothis,shelter. basics of be ourtaskandmission mustbeginwiththe from extinction. Thisshould generation future save the known asthe“AmericanDream”inorder to otherwise fantasy capitalist the to giveup certainly able) are they onthe turns and willing (as and working classes middle question: Arethe sacrifices great require will this do it. But,again, to must organizetostop as suchandwe than athreattolife from theearly70s,isnothingless forming has been that our time..Thisaxis,something of aristocracy the has become capitalist and the Wall Street by supplanted church hasbeen the in which feudalism are in as we dark age ages.” Wearenotsomuchinanew “dark are inanew we says that MacIntyre revive what must we And here erected. has already been of Money” a “Theology calls Goodchild Philip foundation that new a which of bases on the emerging is aristocracy Thus, a people. and fewer into thecontroloffewer concentrated is increasingly wealth in which surveys in the numbers the compulsive. Objectively we can observe this mad logic by is it as obsessive is madness accumulation of logic this for furthergainand re-invested gain isthen of capitalist gain for anincreasinglysmallerdemographic.Theoutcome material for life sacrifices it because pathological soullessly is sense, capitalism In this life. manner of and all planet the human beings, including else, all of cost the at profit is capitalism for universal The planet. the say, for to is that people, all for health of standard a account into take not does world market” “free so-called world, the of today’scapitalist The trends shelter. Organization level. of life:water,air, basic questions the that hastodowith global and local the both on place take to needs Organization required. is enough—action isn’t and accurately.Butthatstill clearly be delivered to needs facts organization. the Communication inthat en h “rb pig ad h “cuy Movement.” “Occupy the and Spring” “Arab the been have main protests two years. The in recent protests reactions and world, wehavewitnessed capitalist In light ofthisnewelitismthatisnowcontrollingthe Organization, Action&Protest 5 and supports the university profit-making system) profit-making university are impotent.Universities, withintheneo-liberal the supports and undergirds which (that politics liberal why This isalso the people. by to continueoperatingunjustlywithoutaccountability wealthy the allows that logic very law—the the by tamed must be multitude the whereas of exception as thestate function to continues Street Wall of politics unjust the The pointbeing: wealthy. of the politics death axis tothe state’s the of injustice the over precedence having law, the long asthelawmaintains its authority”onlyconcedes so of “We’llprotest liberal stance day, the end ofthe the words, at In other state. the against together standing common risked and notthe day, onlyafew end ofthe . Atthe state. the of demands the to cater to decided movement the law, the breaking of point the to defiance as an act of publicspaces quo. of occupying Instead status the to pandered finally that stance conservative a infiltrated the movement and turned its radical edge into that liberal politics the The internalonehastodowith movement. Thereareinternalandexternalweaknesses. Occupy the of weaknesses the assessing by begin Let’s come torealization.Whatthencanbedone? has change social no serious latter, the to But, inregards has emerged. former, muchdanger the of case and inthe movements, from these resulted has good And much certainly aregaining moreandstrength globally. surrounding the murderofMichaelBrownin Ferguson,which Fall, 2014we haveseenmoreprotestsanduprisings During the 5

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left regime, can only ever reproduce the stalemate of the action will be grounded in a sustainable vision so that capitalist culture because although they have a few so- it doesn’t just become a flash-in-the-pan and quickly called “radical thinkers” they are often but not entirely evaporate leaving no long-term outcome. rendered powerless by the golden handcuffs of tenure. The psychological fears the college professor experiences Organizational Form are so palpable it too frequently shocks them into a researcher that can only ever complain about identity This raises the question: What “institutional” form politics while sipping on gins-and-tonics. This fear must should this organization take? There are many options: be broken with the courage to speak the truth about our community organization, a global political party, an life on this planet, and it cannot be done by just talking organization shaped around a specific issue (women’s about how bad everything is from the forests evaporating rights, etc.) and so forth. There are many great strengths to the massive ice melts. These are but symptoms of a to organizing locally, but the biggest weakness is that it much greater and ominous systematic attack by the isn’t connected to the plight of the oppressed around the capitalist regime against our planet. Courage must be globe and so whatever changes they bring to the local conjured, and a call to action must be sounded. This domains, as good as they are, must also be linked to the is war, but a war that must be waged on principles of global fight for justice. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. justice and a politics of life and love. But it is also a war who once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice whose veneer-fantasy called the “middle-class” cannot everywhere.” And given the advanced technologies we see behind their closed doors, fancy cars, in what is have today at our disposal, we must take advantage of already a pathological repression otherwise known as them in order to form a global/local institution so that zombie politics. our struggle for justice and democracy can have both the local and the global connected together into a network of The external problem with the Occupy movement has communication and action for the voice of the common. to do with sustainability. More strictly, the problem Thus the question becomes: What institutional form is organizational sustainability. The protest nature of would serve these purposes best: (a) sustainability; (b) Occupy was unable to sustain itself over a long period protest action; (c) local; and (d) global? My proposal of time. If, however, there was an institution established is the formation of a school grounded in the pursuit of that can sustain itself through long-term organizing and justice by the perpetual desire to raise consciousness and community program development, while at the same organize solidarity around justice as well as be able to time being able to respond to injustice through needed deploy action to confront injustice in a way that is both protest then the overall demand for justice by the people sustainable and yet ever unfolding through itself. This can be sustained. The pressure for change, for justice action, moreover, must be motivated at all times towards must be unrelenting through a dual strategy of short and a politics of life and inclusion. long-term action plans. Additionally, this dual strategy will work to help keep the long-term institution from I, along with many comrades, including Katerina falling asleep and sinking back into apathy and the status Kolozova, have started a school with this strategy in mind. 65 quo through protest action, and conversely, the protest The school is called The Global Center for Advanced 66 Creston DavisIOrganizingforLife cling dogmaticallytoitsownfoundationalassumptions. not does which enlightenment, emancipation through mission for the critique with social a self-conscious book in hisimportant out rather, asMaxHorkheimerpointed must positions, but a schoolitmustnottakeupdogmatic it is also organizing actionlocally.Whatismore, because while globally, of consciousness level raises the that way and emancipation. Seminar courses can be taughtin a democracy of name in the action local deploying while front on aglobal oppressed the GCAS canthusunite endeavour.” Aschoollike an intellectual nor isitstrictly to aparty, President states,isthat“Itneitherreducible school, asour this of strength great The faculty. on the activists and theorists leading contains and it school of this president (GCAS). AlainBadiouisthe Studies 6 the of Badiou’s idea with enlightenment, together of process the continue yet but assumptions, doctrinal cling to With Horkheimer’s call tonotdogmatically 7 Negri’s ideaofthe“multitude”inwhichtheysay, tothisisMichaelHardt and Antonio related Closely the cooperative convergence of subjects, and the the constituent power.” and subjects, of proletarian managementofproductionbecome a convergence cooperative the and self-valorization, is complete genesis the when a real event. configure This is when and the political is threshold really affirmed— a reach self-organization “…there must be a moment when reappropriation and Raymond Geuss, University Press, 2000.Page411). Empire &AntonioNegri, Michael Hardt Frankfurt_School. accessed September18,2014, 58). RetrievedfromTheFrankfurt SchoolWikipediaentry, the FrankfurtSchool(CambridgeUniversityPress, 1981.Page Traditional and Critical Theory and Critical Traditional The Ideaof aCriticalTheory:Habermasand 7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ (Cambridge:Harvard (1937), become 6

begin to assist us as we fight and struggle for life, for for life, struggle breath, air,waterandshelterforall. and fight we as us assist to begin a globalcommunitythatcould,iforganizedcarefully, can form life to organizations committed different these that many among proposal uniting now. But time and haveforsome exist already one just is school a such also of producing a positive unfolding of life.. And finally, but and protest, resistance of a movementnotonly be to lifeaboveall, must thenbecommittedtohealthand of life.GCASandotherschools elements the essential from issuing world war against waging capitalism andneoliberalism global the around injustices spreading the about actions andknowledge to ignite ability it the build acommunicationnetworkthatcontainswithin can then we school, this organizations,through and local and formation ofglobal the begin as we itself school the with start can we out), fleshed being of need great in is (which in place model With thisveryanemicstrategic and local). term, global (short andlong andtactical strategic both diversity, strategy sustainable infinite specific a time, an same the at whilst for allows which organization, for aschoolthatcanfunctionasglobal/local model have a we itself, actualized that hasn’tyet multitude coming Hardt andNegri’snotionofthe Event andwith Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Artan Sadiku Contracting a radical democracy in the Balkans: The ‘return of the people’ as a possibility for a leftist inauguration of politics

Bionote Artan Sadiku Artan Sadiku is a theorist and activist from Skopje The transition process in the Balkans was aimed and holds a PhD in political philosophy. His primary at structurally transforming the society through interests are theories of the subject, feminism and radical dismantling some of the structures that resembled the practices in politics and arts. He works at the Institute socialist mode of organisation and introducing new of Social Sciences and Humanities in Skopje, where he practices within those that corresponded to the ‘western’ lectures at the gender and cultural departments and is political mode. This process was carried out under the actively involved with the Leftist movement Solidarnost guise of a universal promise of freedom, a freedom and Cultural Club Syndicate. that was repressed by the socialist state apparatuses and which was about to be realized primarily through Abstract the implementation of the free market, which as the main societal drive of development would generate My aim is to strengthen the argument against the and disseminate the freedom throughout the society. dereliction of the notion of democracy – as it has This promise of freedom performed the substantial resulted in the Balkans and elsewhere and to provide ideological exercise of interpellation for individuals who a thesis that a radical political change in the Balkans found themselves not only embracing a new ideology, but requires the occurrence of a political event by which also representing the apparatuses of its reproduction. a new social contract can establish itself as a genuine The trouble with the use of the term ideology that the expression of the will of the people, or more precisely Balkan societies were quite overwhelmed with, was a new mode of state as a result of a new balance of solved through the employment of the already invented class antagonisms. Reaffirming the notion of the vision of post-ideological societies and world, which on people against its political correlative – the citizen, the other hand represents the most sublime ideological I aim to prove that the ‘return of the people’ – as claim.1 The main political ideal in the undertaking of

concept is crucial for the radicalization of the concept 67 of democracy which enables the leftist politics to be 1 Slavoj Žižek, The Sublime Object of Ideology (London: Verso, inaugurated into the political proper. 1989), 27–31. 68 Artan SadikuIContractingaradicaldemocracyintheBalkans:The‘returnofpeople’aspossibilityforleftistinaugurationpolitics the occurrence of a political event by which a new social eventby which anew occurrence ofapolitical the Balkans requires in the change a radicalpolitical that andtoprovideathesis in theBalkans andelsewhere – asithasresulted notion ofdemocracy of the dereliction against the argument the aim istostrengthen My this period. in ideology neoliberal the of reproduction monolithic and almostthe apparatuses of ideological system established firmly the ignores it since facts of short falls transition argument ofcontinuous the of Yugoslavia, break-up the after integration. Twodecades European of purposes transition forthe new the simultaneously announcing by hierarchy and system political and social hand, of current to blurthestrongpresence is atendency there other the On project. utopian a of character the it attaches conducted, is democratization of propagation ofa the ademocracy.Themannerinwhich transition towards name the in sacrifices social hard of process long as a today propagated being is still what of because Such apositionisofutmostpoliticalimportancetoday has resulted. our democracy of allthattowhat result an‘end’ end, acertain which of is the result of the transition in the Balkans, a final acriticism as field political in the a unitarycriticalpositionwhichisinaugurated to introduce predicament. And,ought as aresultofit,we within ourconcrete this concept implement only ifwe purposes (of ‘theend’)forouremancipatory idea this to exploit Againstthisclaim, it ispossible be attempted. nothing moreadvancedto is nothingbetter, since there social progress, collective for the as aformofobstacle itself of ‘theend’nowadaysestablishes The ideology prevailing neoliberalideologyacrosstheglobe. with auniversallegitimacyasresultofthe itself providing of history,thus end Fukuyamian claimofthe embarked onthe Balkans transition inthe fully the providing and aviablepoliticalexplanation regarding of challenge the with are confronted Balkans we the In in order tomoveinside thecurrentpredicament effectively it produces thesameasasubject proper. what by subject pre-ideological abstract the addresses the processthroughwhichideology describes ideology, of product a as subject the describe to of interpellation,whichI use Althusserian concept The system. the of failure the produced it that subjects reproduction throughthe of itsideological a result as and itisprecisely neoliberal ideology through the mean that the Yugoslav subject was already interpellated This would functioning. dogmatic proper its insure to in order had torelyheavilyonrepression system the therefore and subject ideological socialist the produce to failed had ideology communist the that is possibility that was inaugurated as anideological that wasinaugurated contract social new the of outside left being thus regime, socialist of the collapse moment ofthe will atthe political free its expressing from restricted was subject political that but society, Yugoslav in the communist ideology the of a result as occurred terms, had in Althusserian subject subjective proper a two that one the signals being First, immediately possibilities. that fact a idea,’ previous ‘communist against the neoliberal ideology almost an of new Balkans in theof unanimous acceptance fact the by troubled undoubtedly is One politics tobeinauguratedintothepoliticalproper. leftist the enables which democracy of concept the of radicalization is crucialforthe – asconcept people’ the correlative –thecitizen,I aim to provethatthe‘return of political its against people the of notion the Reaffirming antagonisms. balance ofclass of anew as aresult state of mode a new or moreprecisely people, will ofthe the of expression as agenuine itself contract canestablish event . The second Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left the political subject, or more precisely, answering the initially excluded from the decision on the establishment question of the origin of a possible political content of the new neoliberal political system and as a result they in the current Balkan subject. I claim that there was a are nowadays prevented from their capacity to genuinely failure of the socialist system and that was that it failed express their political will. Approaching the Yugoslav to incorporate the political will of the citizens that project from a gender perspective, we can claim that it were politically subjectivized through the communist was a scene of a grand political battle of emancipation ideology. The system was lacking behind the subjects against the traditionally patriarchal heritage of the it had created and it is because of this tension that the previous kingdoms and at the same time a sophisticated people in the Balkans requested a political change in the cultural resistance of the gender asymmetry by the late 80es. silent nationalisms. Thus the political conditions for the expression of the will for a new social contract remained The expressed will for change by the people in the a captured within the male monopoly of political will. The socialist states was interpreted as a will for a proper second mode is that which detaches the social contract ideological change, as a will for the neoliberal system from the political system and thus points to the tension to be installed. It was a resonance of the ideological between the will of the people and the system which is gesture of faking the popular will of the Eastern a ‘ban’ on the will.3 This tension at the same time is the Germans gathered at the Berlin Wall. The event of perfect field for politics proper to occur. As Ranciere destruction of the socialist system and establishing of puts it, everywhere where there is tension, where there is the neoliberal system of the free market can be treated friction, there is the site of the occurrence of the political. as an act of establishing a new social contract because It arises as a result of the pressure that certain social this swift change resembles the Badiouan political event groups mount on the society and the system in order to which according to him can occur in the form of a social incorporate their will and can thus amount to radical contract.2 But, can this social contract which in the and substantial changes in the political system as a formal sense of a change does fulfill the criteria of being result of that will. We can identify two groups as bearers a new one, amount to the totality of the expressed wills of the potential for a radical change in the Balkans: the of ‘the people’ of the Balkan in the midst of the political first group is a ‘traditional’ group in the sense ofthe change? The answer of this question brings us to two persistent presence of the potential for radical political possible modes of treating the social contract. First is change since it is a subject of a constant historic ‘ban’ that the social contract is always already embedded in and this group consists of the totality of women in the the formal political system that is put into place and thus Balkans; the second groups is a ‘new mainstream group’ is simultaneously a product and a representation of the in the sense of the reaction reappearing in the labor social contract. This mode represents the more classical conditions which resets the situation to the pre-socialist approach to the theory of social contract which in the predicament for the workers as a class-group. Balkan context can prove problematic when taking into consideration that large parts of the society have been

3 Giorgio Agamben, Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare 69 2 Alain Badiou, Being and Event, trans. Oliver Feltham (New Life, trans. D. Heller-Roazen (Stanford: Stanford University York: Continuum, 2005), 344–354. Press, 1998). 70 Artan SadikuIContractingaradicaldemocracyintheBalkans:The‘returnofpeople’aspossibilityforleftistinaugurationpolitics of a political system of apolitical will the build to required material social the to light can shed a will of presence eventual the because simply of thepeople, on the‘willexpressed’ search the concentrate should we requirements, Ibelieve formal and temporal the Disregarding structure. of establishment any other character thatprecedes constitutive constructed initially from the itself frees that – one contract a social of idea the to approach traditional a non- adopt should we nowadays, I believe context of anykind of asocialcontractintheBalkan presence possible on the gain apreliminaryinsight to In order in theformof apoliticalsystem. is properlyimplemented that effect contract andwhether an actual without is present a contractual effect whether to identify us enabling social will,thus of the reference’ a questions canrepresent to these The answers status? achieveahegemonic current politicalsystem the is nocontract, how does – ifthere How isiteffectuated will? the read can we – where expressed will is the How be located? – wherecanitssource will the expresses being: Who those of oursociety, mode operational current from the will the of extraction undertaking of immediate in the appear Three importantquestions existence. social for anykindof is inherent I believe which day. Afundamental the of politics in the fundamental most its of importance the employ to attempts contrary it ofthesocialcontractirrelevant,on idea but the not render approachdoes Such aquasinon-essentialist current situation. a dynamicextractionfromthe propose I establishment, initial for the search static Rather than will. contract –the of the of whatismostfundamental contractual avisible manifestation of the effects look atthe should event, we of presence significant a without even function today societies social contract, since the of concept whole the rather thanbetraying that position . Therefore, my thesis supports the supports Therefore,mythesis a home – in the form in the – a home ‘Terms of for elaboration of the practices, we have therefore filtered contractual effect. After setting this as a theoretical filter – a contract of purposes the for expression (political) is agenuine which will the identify to able be in orderto mode ofitsexpression. This link has tobeestablished the of question second the with linked is immediately it and and practice) individual (his/herdeeds the at located is always will the This isbecause people. the of concept the on answer the requires question first the Answering which isalwaysandbynoexceptionclasspatterned. a society, within ideologies competing of assemblage total the already represents social contractalways of the we should always bear in mind that the final constitution over structure.Here of will precedence the establishing to opposed as exist, legally to practice for the context legal the creates - which to freedom),andstructure as themeans of autonomy(freedom a degree possesses and will of an expression always is which - practice of and interdependence dynamics ofinterplay think ofthe to come we lines in Althusserian think this try to if we But, established. socially already is what of reflection a merely is effect contractual the that seem again might and affirmation against the hegemony of patriarchy. This integration, recognition more representation, ideology: liberalmarketcompetition remains apoliticsofthe of women will of apolitical – expression in existence relations social of an expression as formulated can be Thus, ‘thewill’ of socialstructures. interdependency from the contract asamodeofreproductionresulting to treatthesocial I propose on ideology, the discussion again into entering Without ideology. to subordinated the expresses contract is social of the idea the can claimthat ‘will’ we that proper subject the always is it that and of interpellation again inmindAlthusser’sconcept Having formulation andexpression. in its freedom of issue is the will on the questions the to Pertinent Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left the individuals (collectives) that through that particular system of maintaining patriarchal asymmetric powers, kind of practical political expression (of the will) become and therefore enables one to pursue a radical political ‘a people’ for the purposes of the contract. We have to go vision which does not fight for a more progressive law, from the second question to the first one. The distinction but for a new society that sets up new laws for its citizens. of the political practice from other human practices makes it possible to identify the presence of a contractual will. We can claim that today in the Balkans we have a social While we can claim that all human practice reproduces contract which is to be found in the (contractual) effects the dominant ideology, it is only the expression of a produced by the expression of the will by those who particular political will which can amount to a will for actively participated in the transition process towards the purposes of a social contract, which can be in tension democracy. But, is this kind of a social contract in line with the established political system. Treating the social with the Rousseauian idea and is it not undemocratic contract in the lines of a Badiouan event, I claim that we to claim that a minority of political elites of man who can equate the concept of people in midst of an event participate in the political process of establishing the with the concept of people for the purpose of the social new political system can represent the genuine will of the contract. When Badiou claims that in the midst of an people!? At this point the Zizekian definition of the today’s event, the people is made up of those who know how political challenge that is not the on of representation of to solve the problems that the event imposes on them, the majority, but the creation of a new majority, becomes it seems logical to claim that when social structures substantially relevant. This contention upholds the are formed, the contract is established by those people thesis that a social contract always exists, if not clearly who bring those structures into existence. I use the established, than at least it can be extracted in the shape concept of people instead of citizens in order to mark a of contractual effects. But, what matters is the amount of theoretical/political difference. While the citizen is the people included in drafting that contract, or legislating one who is defined by his relation to the law/system as ‘a people.’ An invitation for mass participation in (established social contract), the people is the pre-law/ expression their political will would amount to masses system subject, the political sovereign proper subject entering the political sphere and confronting today’s capable of introducing a radical political change. But as mass depoliticization. The effectuation of the will would explained below, the concept of the people and citizens go through the dynamics of political practice affecting are correlative, since it is the people who express the the structures, which on the other hand set up the context will and who by virtue of that will immediately become for the practice, opening a progressive process of ever citizens. There is no subject outside of the political. This expanding process of adding new articled to the contract. difference has practical relevance as well. As long as Every time an article is added a new contract comes into subjects conceive themselves as people they set up the existence. But what are the other options available for theoretical horizon for the expression of their genuine a quite different process of a democratic contracting of political will – beyond the politically restrictive law. political systems in the Balkans!? Herein, fostering a feminist politics which conceives itself as a politics of the people does not fall within the legal It is not only the problem of a minority that through 71 restrictions put on citizens – inaugurated through the participation in the political event of system change 72 Artan SadikuIContractingaradicaldemocracyintheBalkans:The‘returnofpeople’aspossibilityforleftistinaugurationpolitics addresses the whole of the society. the of whole the addresses which unanimously will general of the expression in the persons all of equality the establishes only it but action not callacertainpolitical does of people will of the the genericcharacteroftheexpression general will,while as aresultofthe thatwaslaterpresented the newsystem in drafting elites) political male (the population the of Balkans involved onlyasmallportion transition inthe with each ofitsmembers. The modeofthe the society of body or politicalhierarchy,butitisacontractofthe social any established within emerges a contractthat social contractisnot ofthe establishment that sense,the expressionwhichactsasasovereignwill.In a generic remains a socialcontractalways establishes that people of thewill of thisthattheproperexpression It isbecause expression. the and natureof mode the way in any determines that system political any kindof of is empty takes place act ofsuchanexpression the where locus that the ofwill,itsupposes expression collective through sovereignty of apopular as aproduct emerges does in TheSocialContract. does into beingassuch,inasimilar manner that Rousseau people) (the brings them which act the of importance the out point in orderto term ‘people’ the use consistently of awill)largepartthesociety.I expression of socialcontract(throughpolitical for thepurpose of being‘a people’ in thecapacity substantial change the of character ofthis willwhichisunderminedasaresult democratic it isthe in action, but a socialcontractput as conceived today is what Balkans established in the 5 4 important forfeministpolitics. Thewomenhistorically is radically and citizens people of concepts the between battle critique. The via afeminist point this at intervene Verso, 2006). Alain Badiou,Polemics , trans. StevenCorcoran(London: Cranston (London:Penguin,1968). Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The SocialContract,trans.Maurice 4 If the social contract Ifthe 5 It is relevant to Itisrelevant the citizen. of way by only subject the to come could will, political a proper of expression forthe universality, asaperquisite the Balibar’s claim that not refuse I do a standpoint such pronunciation oftheirwill.Byadopting political the to equal is which subjectivity legal a establish they be correlativeinthat and thecitizen should the people of becoming of The processes themselves. with being into have brought they that law the virtue of by citizen become people the right that that of exercise the after only It is system. organization orpolitical social of mode for the will as ageneral counts that will their of andequalrightofexpression theirfree way ofexercising such by who become those in ordertoaddress people term the I use citizens, themselves call individually and who sovereign the with associated collectively are who name those to term people the uses who Rousseau to contrast In subject. Cartesian the of concept the for terms are merelyhistoricalinventionsasmediating and citizen people terms the in which one from the also differs term people the I use in which The sense for morerights. fight and integrate to had women which within politics, to maleconditionsof for man–leading reserved always rejected. eternally been their willwas who expressed The positionofthe‘people’ has people’ ‘a being of status their primordial because for example) right tovote (the have been forced to fight for their equal rights as citizens 6 elites, canamounttoarise ofanewpoliticalsphere. by atinyminority ofthe expressed will grip onthe the to as aclassantagonismdue tension, whichistobeseen the ‘social contract’produces the of frames current the of Nancy (London: Routledge,1991),45. Subject? Balibar,“CitizenSubject,” in Étienne 6 , ed.EduardoCadava, PeterConnor,andJean-Luc The expression of such will, which is outside of suchwill,whichisoutside Theexpression Who ComesAfterthe Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Addressing directly the people as a synonym for the there is an evident tendency to constantly exclude these people in their Hobbesian state of nature, without the groups from the policies through a constant decrease political system to prescribe their positions as citizens, of their rights by what their everyday life practices are allows us to elevate the discussion on the democratic increasingly illegalized. A direct result of such a process event in the Balkans from the site of the particular of exclusion is the mass depoliticization of citizens. states (which grant the people their citizenship) to the adequate site of the Balkans itself. The necessity for A research carried out in Macedonia by the Movement upholding this approach is further explained in the text for Social Justice “Lenka” that analyzes the legislation on as a requirement which is crucial for my thesis that the labor during the transition period from the independence Balkans itself is the lowest instance in which a radical in 1991 until 2010 finds that no matter which political political change can emerge. parties were constituting the government, they always legislated laws that shortened the rights of workers In order to be able to claim a new, democratic social and not even once there was a law passed that added to contract in the Balkan countries we must take into those rights. In an explicit move against the workers, account that the generic character of the will to be the current political systems in the Balkans have expressed requires this ‘equality of all’ and it is exactly at effectively restricted their legal capacity, which within this point that we face the greatest political challenge in the current hegemonic conviction that the politics in the the Balkans today. Is it possible to draft a new contract parliamentary democracy is allowed only within what the that will inaugurate a (new) democracy in the Balkans law prescribes, has resulted in a loss of sense of politics within the prevailing social and political conditions!? for thousands. In order to answer this question we must look at the political capacity of the people in the Balkans which is It is obvious that we are not talking of politics of minority the precondition for their equal and free expression of movements, because women’s movements have never will that addresses the political system. The conditioning been such – they represent half of the population. As the political capacity (of will) of a great number of people is the challenge in other parts of the world, feminism in the Balkans is a direct result the two main drives of in the Balkans is in no way to be essentialised to its the transition: (1) the implementation of the new market locality and culture, since “women, because of their long economy through privatization of the public services absence from the scene of knowledge and art, have been and property and commoditization – of the individual incompletely civilized, with no transcendence of their life, female sexuality and (2) the maintenance of the own, and for that reason they still bear within them a old traditionalisms in the culture – nationalism and coming political potential: they have been integrated social relations – heteronormativity and patriarchy. A into management and into capitalism, but not so much majority of exploited labor, oppressed woman and other into its political forms.”7 social groups being prohibited from belonging to ‘the people’ put into question the democratic character of the established political structures. In the two decades after 7 “Sonogram of a Potential,” TIQQUN #2, no. organ of liaison 73 the establishment of this system in the Balkan countries within the imaginary party: zone of offensive opacity (2001), https://tiqqun.jottit.com/. 74 Artan SadikuIContractingaradicaldemocracyintheBalkans:The‘returnofpeople’aspossibilityforleftistinaugurationpolitics of thesovereignpower). subject a (as obeys citizen the what and sovereign) the exact an be which establishes will of the expression (through the must there that legislates citizen the what between correspondence insist he subjects and citizens people, of howthebeingsaresimultaneously process When Balibar explains the addressed. explicitly to whichit correlate withthewillofthatpartsociety not did legislation that while ‘people’ the of name in the the parliamentdidclaimitssovereignrighttolegislate in represented system and lesbians.Thepolitical gays will tograntsuchrights public if itwasagainstthe as publicly social contract, this movewasdefended the of perspective elaborated Fromthe offenders. the to sue basis orientation asalegal on sexual discrimination based law onanti-discrimination which excluded the passed n 8 On 9 Agamben, 8 for achange will political their of initial expression their with consumed to havebeen are considered sovereigns to actas people mechanisms forthe the because contract ofageneralwill inthecountries,especially as a social termed is tobe regarding what conclusion out anykindoftheoretical tosketch in attempting obstacle Balkan isagreat in the today whiteness What we legally possible. is certain forms ofitfromwhat pint ofexcluding to the even life on acontractandwhichregulates not founded which is sovereign power very operationofthe by the established is system political the that argues ban. He on avirtualsocialcontract,butonethatis is founded originalpoliticalrelationisnotonethat claim thatthe Agamben’s that here persons. Itis gain aslegal they with what naturalfreedom citizen surrenderfromtheir the what between correspondence lack of the with Balibar, “Citizen Subject.” th f pi 21, h Mcdna Parliament Macedonian the 2010, April of Homo Sacer. 9

8 In this caseweareconfronted Agamben’s through societies the within political the actualize in the Balkan powers countries whichconstantly sovereign of operation as aunilateral described can be taking place currently What is regime. socialist the of has takenplace. Giventhecircumstances in which the of people status change inthe no political – therefore event political genuine e has notbeen mean thatthere it would the properexpressionof thewillofpeople, with not correspond did change above, this elaborated Balkans. in the If,systems as the changeofpolitical crucial momentof must again gobacktothe this actwe contract? Tostart social a new can amountto which event political for the site particular countries,the the and not intheBalkans and whyitistheBalkans into existence a newcontractcome social contract. How cantherefore democratic actswhichwillinauguratetheevent ofa radical new of possibilities analyzing the forward by must undertakeistomove act thatwe be found,thanthe to social contractisnowhere to theconclusionthat us Balkans push conditions inthe current political If the Radical possibility–theonlyBalkan construction. ideological a masculine market areexclusively the of terms the as equalmen–since have tocompete women market’ where ‘free the of competition deregulated the law, into the beyond pushed are constantly healthcare) and (education life citizen’s of important aspects two the that power sovereign the of operation the through It is property. private a is now and space a public be to used from what citizens the and expelling legislation changing and funds cutting constant through - education public and system healthcare to public access from the possible logic ofrestrictingasmuchcitizens the followed Balkans that in the transitional policies of core the . It is exactly the ‘ban’ that constituted ‘ban’ that the exactly ban. Itis Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left change took place in the Balkans, we witnessed the site within the space left vacant due to the lack of institution of the political being hijacked by small political elites, new efficient structures by the people’s plenums in the who after this act, have succeeded in their claim that Bosnian cities. But the new social conditions remain in the political system shaped in their interest represents existence, the people of Bosnia now represent something the product of a general will – a social contract. After else in relation to the legally defined citizen. two decades of building a hegemonic status, the post- transitional political system has failed to fulfill a basic This challenge is to be articulated nowhere else but in the democratic requirement, that of incorporation of the will political itself. Given the process of mass depoliticization, of people in the very mode of the political structure. They the main emancipatory act in the Balkans today seems have been thrown again into the bulk of legal networks, to be the politicization of the citizens in order to claim into the tiresome process of translation of ideological the capacity of being a people who express their equal codes/discourses in order to shape a proper systemically political will as a will that precedes – or in the given Balkan logical/legal leftist politics. context, is even indifferent to the established political system. The quest for a social contract or a democratic The argument that has been consistently advocated contact in the Balkans thus becomes a genuine issue of by the ruling elite is that the representation of the re-rendering the political itself. This political issue is general will is duly ensured through the process of to be located exactly in the tension between that what free elections. This argument has indeed narrowed the is established as a political system and the will of those democratic procedure of expression of the political will who are consistently denied of their capacity to shape of the people to a mere choice of the personalities who it according to their will. This is what Ranciere calls a will exercise the already given sovereign power of the politics proper when he describes the phenomenon which established political system. The will expressed for the occurred for the first time in history in Greece when representation through elections cannot be equated and the members of the demos, who had no firm position cannot count as a social contract. For Rousseau and determined part in the political system, beyond the Badiou, the general will cannot be represented by the protest of what they suffered as a result of being expelled available modes of political systems. For them, politics is and requested that their will be recognized as an equal not an issue of representation through electoral system in claim with that of those in power, they claimed that they a political system, but about the presentation of a people represented the whole people.10 Zizek claims that this to itself. Thus, the main challenge in our context is the act of a particular part which is a non-part (I claim that presentation of the peoples of the Balkans to themselves. ideologically the women are a non-part of the political - The dramatic events that occurred throughout Bosnia refused in the very act of democracy/politics), from the and Herzegovina in 2014 represented such a presentation viewpoint of the system, is the gesture of politicization of the people to themselves. The system was thrown in of those who were left outside of the formal politics. It is an out of joint position from which it could not claim in this sense that he claims that politics and democracy the social contract, the established representative are synonymous.11 Thus the process of contracting a new institutions, because they were simply burning. What 75 followed was a recuperation of the state institutions 10 Jacques Rancière, La Mésentente (Paris: Galilée, 1995). 11 Slavoj Žižek, The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Centre of Political Ontology (London: Verso, 2000). 76 Artan SadikuIContractingaradicaldemocracyintheBalkans:The‘returnofpeople’aspossibilityforleftistinaugurationpolitics via their fidelity to the event that produces themas that produces event political subjects, as militants of the the new political truth. to fidelity their via with iteternally this eventassuchandtolink themselves recognize to subjects the to up than is It situation. the of laws means nothingaccordingtothe truth which political a new sovereign power,aneventwhichinaugurates the the lawby outside the Balkanleft context is thespace situation, whichin the void of the of out appears that event forBadiouisan A proper political people. as themselves present thus and subjectivized politically can be groups these that provides event political proper that a opening social contract,itisonlythatthroughthe rule of the majority against the egalitarian concept of the a sovereignwhoestablishes nameofthe in the power only aimsthelegitimizationofcertaingroupstoexert that votes counting of process the through less even at all,and represented Balkans cannotbe in the groups Since subjectivization. of the willofwomenandworkers and othermarginalized concept Badiou’s Alain on here relies event. TheargumentationthatIuse political the Balkans today can only occurasaresultofproper will in of theirpolitical expression genuine from the banned are who those of subjectivization political The established intheformofAgambenianban. is relation political prime the which against those of politicization arising fromthe system established the of Balkans involvesadestabilization for the democracy 12 not amount to a proper political event, andassuch political a proper not amountto of citizens,I did claim that thechangeofsystems mass depolitization are witnessing contrary, we the to but truth, new the of militant a as act would that subject a political did notencounter Balkans we in the system political the of change the after that Having inmind trans. PeterHallward (London:Verso,2001). Alain Badiou,Ethics:AnEssay ontheUnderstandingofEvil , 12

nationalist ideology had to bring in the historic myths had tobringinthe nationalist ideology group, the a certainethnic to belonging people the of contract as asocial status event, inordertoreinforce its contract. of aproperpolitical Since itwasnotaresult as areadygivensocial of ethnicity nationalist idea the with people the of will of the expression political the with nationalism. was loaded This loadingsubstituted by mass depoliticization created gap Balkans, the that in the system the of change of the event the of born out subject political a not was there because is It countries. separate the inside also Balkan asaregion,but in the thesocialmaterialnotonly in fundamentally splitting an importantrole play Balkans does transition inthe of the main by-products Nationalism asoneofthe obstacles. its contextual Balkan isnotwithout context proper. Thisundertakinginthe amount toapolitics does system political established the with a tension through theirpoliticizationthat and itisexactly people Balkan the of whole the represent labor canclaimto It isonlythroughpoliticaleventsthatthewomenand by thatlaw. subordinated later beequally law will new on the agree who all those that idea egalitarian Universal viathe the to tied this claimissubstantially people, of the whole of the asrepresentatives themselves who see of anevent midst in the claimismadebyapeople When apolitical event. political proper a as it categorizing of insufficient renders it that principle, egalitarian the majority, disregarding the over sovereign the of name the in power the exercise to minority a for pretext a just was novelty the ‘west’), andthat in the present already it was (since did notoccuroutofthevoid, that itwasnothingnew event thatit nature ofthe the but itisprecisely people, of the the whole change ofsystemdidactuallyrepresent also could One truth. event ofthe in the who participated argue thatthose political a produce not could it Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left and narratives which were enforced through the image I consistently speak of the Balkans in disregard of of ‘the other.’ It is because of the reinforced image of ‘the particular countries because I consider the Balkans itself other’ in the Balkans that a particular group will always as the lowest instance of a possible radical political change fail in its claim to represent all the people in events that for several different reasons. Agamben’s description of could amount to proper political events, since they are the original political relations as a relation of a ban and always recognized as being tied to only a certain ethnic not of a social contract, in the Balkan context means group which does not represent all the people. When that the establishment of sovereign powers (separate ethnocentric states re-appeared in the post-Yugoslav countries after the breakup of Yugoslavia) has aimed political and geographical space, the ethno-nationalist at splitting the fabric of the people of the Yugoslav reaction to the feminine was twofold: first as an internal federation exactly for the aim of introducing new repression within the ethnic groups – in line with the sovereigns to be ruled by the political elites. While the traditional patriarchy which fueled nationalism for people could have properly expressed their will within centuries and second as external attack on females of ‘the the existing federation, it was the political elites that other’ as a means of warfare during the Yugoslav wars. refused to keep sharing the federative power and thus forced the people into smaller parts, restricting the site I claim that it is not the ethnic composition of the for their expression. Any new political subjectivization of Balkans that influences the political systems which do the people in the Balkans would be a novelty in the sense not represent the will of the people, but on the contrary, that it radically escapes the splitting logic of the political the ethnic tensions are a reflection of the political elites of the Balkans through establishing a new site of elites attempting to elevate the ethnic aspirations into the sovereign that would be the Balkans itself. national ideals and national ideal into regional Balkan politics. Thus, the politics of a new democracy for the Another reason that makes this democratic movement Balkans is not to be founded within the solution to the into a new political site in the Balkans a viable one is current ethnic tensions as such, simply because they are the common inherited consequences of the transition. a product of the political system established against the If the real economic categories of life are similar will of the people. The political challenge in the Balkans throughout the Balkans (high unemployment, exploited today is to recognize the common political ground of labor, discriminated women) it is only the logic of the people as political subjects who politically express their ethnicity that keeps the Balkan people apart, which is will that produces the sovereign which is not a reflection the one that has been used to undermine the political of an ethnic claim. The women in all the Balkan states capacity of these people through depoliticization, represent a people’s potential which trespasses the than their political subjectivization should run exactly ethnic boundaries because they have been a victim of the on a path that escapes this logic. The act of popular capitalist-nationalist ideology by virtue of their gender expression of the will must always remain tied to a and not of an ethno/linguistic identity. The process of certain locality without establishing a particularity,13 entering the true political site is not concerned with the that means that a political event that occurs in one of ethnic issues as long as there are ethnic groups that as 77 such are not expelled from the political. 13 Peter Hallward, Badiou: A Subject To Truth, 1 edition (Minneapolis, MN: Univ Of Minnesota Press, 2003), 111–112. 78 Artan SadikuIContractingaradicaldemocracyintheBalkans:The‘returnofpeople’aspossibilityforleftistinaugurationpolitics (people) via of theirwill. Withoutthe the expression (people) such become have notyet people the of citizensbecause We canclaimthattodaywe haveamutationoftheconcept the politicalsystem. within positions asymmetric gendered them prescribes beyond genderidentity, that introducepolitics people Balkans, which in the absenceofbecoming in the a principle as introduced is heteronormativity event, thatthe the socialcontract, of thetruepolitical of absence of the as anaxiom. It isbecause - equality concept this to fidelity the through maintained be would event via a truepolitical expressed which ifithadbeen (that isofagroupbeyondgenderidentity) of thepeople will of the expression of equalitythe universal concept marginalizes the that system political the within of heteronormativeprescriptionpositions process in theBalkans, itisrathermoreimportanttonoticethe marginalized that aretoday claiming thatitisfemales Before Balkan society. in the values heteronormative the reinvented group of acertainethnic people among the of acontract idea the socialcontractwith of the concept political proper the of mutilating nationalist ideology the inordertosupport Balkan context Yugoslav post- in the introduced were The traditionalismsthat students fromSkopje. a universalvaluebythe with as an event recognized since itisproperly name ofallstudents speak inthe does in Belgrade, circumstances local the to is tied it that no matter Balkan politics, in the groups not-counted the as oneof of students will of the an actofexpression that provides event This University. Skopje the in movement has sparkedstudent by itsstudents of Belgrade Faculty that theoccupationofPhilosophical It wasrecently Balkans. of whole the of composition political the change to radically potential it hasthe ishappens, where locality the remains within that no matter Balkan countries the contract, I for asocial claim that thereisapossibility a social without of politics fetishization But, againstthe contract. current social of the is aresult violence ethnic heteronormativeand argument thattheexploitation, the supports Zizek’sin Balkan context, criticismfully of it. Put who donotconsent,remainoutside those to respect with theory in contract reappears all against constant threatofHobbesianviolenceall which the in as oneofitsprerequisites persons) hesaysisposited and equal free social contract(the ofthe law. Theoutcome the of advent brutal over the covers that fantasy a as sees he which contract social of theory the of Zizek’s criticism bear inmind should contract, we a newsocial of lines Balkans in the in the political to thinkthe In attempting 14 contradictions thatmakeourfreedomnecessary.” social the politics. Weourselves,sotospeak,invented receiving onefromfeminine before social formtothem no had her, andwhich inside individual womanhad social body,butonthecontradictionsthateach the within given contradictions,present not onthe herself leveraging by existence free her woman found that is a woman being about difference Have Rights’:“The You social relations are build. Or as we read in ‘Don’t Believe which of material a foreign them to is are challenging they that law the since in attempt’ rather ‘citizens but citizens, are notevenmerely are obvious–they here women for the consequences The a people. becoming correlative totheir be should which to theircitizenship ban other handperformstheroleof which onthe are merely such in the sense that they are subjects of law, they proper, but citizens cannot be citizens the therefore people, the necessary correlativity cannot be fulfilled and 1987. Difference],” YouHaveRights[translatedasSexual “Don’t Believe Libreria Delle Donne (Women’sBookHouse) , 14

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left contract in the Balkans that would be a product of the social contract in the Balkans is to be achieved through expression of the political will of the people in the precise proper political events. It is from Alain Badiou that we sense in which Zizek sees politics as being synonymous understand that real events occur in politics, science, art to democracy.15 and love, as unpredictable appearances that originate from the void of the situation and such establish new Marx corrects Hegel in his claim that history repeats conditions of the situation, unknown before the event.17 itself twice with the remark that the historical events Does this mean that it is impossible to engage politically first occur as a tragedy than they repeat as 16a farce. for contracting a new democracy for the Balkans since The breakup of Yugoslavia was genuinely a tragedy for the politicization of the people depends on the political the will of the people, because the path in which it took events that cannot be planned, prepared or predicted, place did not leave any space for that will to be politically that would confirm Lyotard’s doubt on whether a expressed. The establishment of new countries in the revolutionary discourse is possible at all!? If the territory of Yugoslavia was a clear farce in relation to the establishment of a social contract through expression will of the people, because it was based on the interests of the will of the Balkan people via which they bring of a minority composed of political elites that exploited themselves into becoming is of the same order as the true the idea of nationalism in order to conceal the general political event, than the political event is immanent in the will within the nineteenth century idea of national people. The political challenge in the Balkans today can state which was supposed to perform as the new social be formulated as a political undertaking of emancipation contract of the people who were already deprived of their that fights the current neoliberal depoliticization. It capacity to be a people. This capacity was substituted is only through the political subjectivization that the with the ethnic capacity through which they derived the current Balkan citizens can achieve the correlation with subjectivity as citizens. It is that perverse combination the concept of people which than can ensure a proper of the concept of citizen and ethnicity which through democratic drafting of a social contract. This process of the attempt to establish a kind of political correlativity politicization that leads to a free and equal expression between those two, resulted in ethnic cleansing and of the will of the people in the Balkans will no doubt war with the other ‘citizens.’ Without the universality establish a new field for the political as a new political of the egalitarian principle of political subjectivization, site that is indifferent to the particular political systems the politics was carried out as a bare militancy of one that cut through the social fabric in the Balkans today particular against another. and create irrational antagonisms between the citizens of the same people. It is the fight for the political claim I will conclude the argumentation on the political to politics as such, that the expelled groups of the void becoming of the people in the Balkans as a radical of the Balkan situation, through the local claim of the democratic challenge to the established political system, universal, can speak for the whole of the Balkan people, by reiterating the crucial points in my claim that a (new) thus bringing them into being as such in the very Balkan instance.

15 Žižek, The Ticklish Subject, 189–190. 79 16 Slavoj Žižek, First As Tragedy, Then As Farce (London: Verso, 2009), 1. 17 Badiou, Ethics. 80 Artan SadikuIContractingaradicaldemocracyintheBalkans:The‘returnofpeople’aspossibilityforleftistinaugurationpolitics ———. Slavoj. Žižek, “Sonogram ofaPotential.”TIQQUN Rousseau, Jean-Jacques.The SocialContract . Translatedby Rancière, Jacques. Hallward, Peter.Badiou:ASubjectToTruth as Sexual Have Rights[translated You “Don’t Believe In Subject.” “Citizen Étienne. Balibar, ———. References ———. Badiou, Alain.BeingandEvent. Translated by Oliver Feltham. Sacer: Sovereign PowerandBare Agamben, Giorgio.Homo ———. The SublimeObjectofIdeology The Ticklish Subject:The Absent CentreofPolitical . Polemics Translated byStevenCorcoran. London: Ethics: An Essay on the Understanding of Evil Verso, 2009. (2001). https://tiqqun.jottit.com/. opacity offensive of imaginary party:zone the within Maurice Cranston.London:Penguin,1968. Minneapolis, MN:UnivOfMinnesotaPress,2003. House), 1987. Difference].” and Jean-LucNancy.London:Routledge,1991. Subject? Verso, 2006. Translated byPeterHallward.London:Verso,2001. New York:Continuum,2005. Stanford UniversityPress,1998. Life Ontology. London:Verso,2000. . Translated by D.Heller-Roazen.Stanford: . Translated First As Tragedy, First Then As Farce. London: , edited by Eduardo Cadava, Connor, byEduardoPeter , edited La Mésentente Libreria Delle Donne Libreria(Women’s Book . Paris:Galilée,1995. #2, no. organ of liaison of organ no. #2, . London:Verso,1989. Who Comes After the Who Comes . 1edition. . Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Gianni Vattimo How to Weaken the EU Frame and Santiago Zabala

Gianni Vattimo is emeritus professor of philosophy Union will continue to lack the political debate that at the University of Turin and a former member of is at the center of any mature democracy. But if the the European Parliament. His most recent books Union has now reached a new record of unpopularity include Della Realtà (2012) The Responsibility of the it is because of this general neutering of politics, which Philosopher (2010), A Farewell to Truth (2011), and allows technocrats to prevail over politicians and Hermeneutic Communism (2011, coauthored with S. indifference over democracy. The logic behind our Zabala), all translated into several languages. thesis is not that countries cannot leave the Union but that doing so would create more harm than staying. Santiago Zabala is ICREA Research Professor of However, this does not imply there is no alternative; Philosophy at the Pompeu Fabra University. His books quite the contrary, a profound resistance to the include The Hermeneutic Nature of Analytic Philosophy Union has not only been discussed but also practiced (2008), The Remains of Being (2009), and, most throughout Europe. recently, Hermeneutic Communism (2011, coauthored with G. Vattimo), all published by Columbia University Europe will one day be a single bureau, and those who Press. His forthcoming book is Only Art Can Save Us: ‘work together’ will be the employees of their own The Emergency of Aesthetics. bureaucracy. Martin Heidegger, 1942 How to Weaken the EU Frame Although these words from one of the most important Abstract philosophers of the 20th century sound prophetic today, they must be interpreted together with the concerns Even though the European Union was created to of different contemporary intellectuals over the avoid new wars within the continent and promote subordination of society to technological measures. As social integration, it has never questioned its political the American economist Paul Krugman pointed out in horizon. This is why legal scholars are continuously a New York Times Magazine article when the global 81 reminding us that until our constitution is ratified, the financial crisis began, the problem with establishment 82 over politiciansandindifferencedemocracy. to prevail of politics,whichallowstechnocrats neutering Gianni VattimoandSantiagoZabalaIHowtoWeakentheEUFrame Institute demonstrated) Institute Research Pew the by study a recent (as unpopularity of record a new Union hasnowreached correctly. Butifthe in order toallowtheUnionfunction agreements and bureaucratic by technical substituted have been debates all know,these mature democracy.Aswe continue will Union the any of center the is at that debate political lack the to ratified, is constitution our reminding usthatuntil scholars arecontinuously legal why horizon. Thisis political its never questioned has within thecontinentandpromotesocialintegration, it wars to avoidnew Union wascreated the Even though We needmorepolitics,exchange,andinterpretation. is notenough. light. Science read inthis be must elections throughout success parties’ populist crisis. Therightwing cultural and its measures austerity Union’s current European the origin ofboth at the sits matters and social economic or reformpolitical, solve markets workperfectly.” is rationaland ofassumingthateveryone wrong solution neat but to abandonthe [and]need market system frictionless vision ofaperfect, by the “seduced were they economists was that they mistake mathematics for truth; 2 1 european-union/. pewglobal.org/2013/05/13/the-new-sick-man-of-europe-the- Center, May13,2013),accessed October28,2014, Global AttitudesProject, TheEuropeanUnion,” ManofEurope: “The NewSick Magazine/06economic-T.Html?Ref=Paulkrugman&_R=0 28, 2014, The NewYorkTimes,September02,2009,AccesedOctober GetitSoWrong?,” “How DidEconomists Paul Krugman, Http://Www.Nytimes.Com/2009/09/06/ (Washington,D.C.:PewResearch 2 it is because of thisgeneral itisbecause 1 The idea that scientists can scientists that The idea rp i 2014 in Europe http://www. in . ofe ad lvj ie hv rcnl encouraged Council,” the of “democratization recently have Žižek a for transformations: Habermascalls internal Slavoj and Mouffe, as JürgenHabermas, why thinkers as different Chantal Union. Thisisprobably have trying toleavethe would countries member various the difficulty the today: upon agree There isonethingmostEuropeanphilosophers 4 3 industrial and economic policies we’ve been submitted been we’ve policies economic and industrial ongoing the weaken to an importantopportunity be to Star Movement in Italy andPodemos in Spain aregoing Five rise ofthe in vitalsocialmatters.Thisiswhythe participation democratic greater create is, to them, that with theUnion, to putanendourtiesbutweaken meant are not resistances These Europe. throughout practiced also but discussed been only Union hasnot the to resistance profound a contrary, the quite alternative; is no there imply not does than staying.However,this create moreharm the Unionbutthatdoingsowould cannot leave countries is notthat our thesis behind Union. Thelogic framed withinthe has become Europe how arenototherwaystoemphasize these whether wondering can’t help we suggestions, our colleagues’ with bureaucratization of its political environment,” political bureaucratization ofits Žižek for a “socialization of its banks.” its of “socialization a for Žižek 5 most-countries-in-europe-are-in-a-post-political-situation/ europpblog/2013/09/16/five-minutes-with-chantal-mouffe- 2013, accessedOctober28, The LondonSchoolofEconomicsBlog: countries inEuropeareapost-politicalsituation,’” Chantal Mouffe of EUPolitics,” InBerndJürgen Habermas, Riegert,“APhilosophicalCritique Rotten-Eu Commentisfree/2013/Apr/08/Cyprus-Crisis-Symptom- October 28,2014, Rotten intheEu,” isASymptomofWhat Slavoj Žižek, “TheCyprus Crisis Deutsche Welle “Five Minutes with Chantal Mouffe: ‘Most withChantalMouffe: , “FiveMinutes Http://Www.Theguardian.Com/ The Guardian,April,8,2013,Accessed 2014, , April27,2013. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/ 3 Mouffe for a“de- Mouffe September, 16 5 While we agree Whilewe

4 and .

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left to. Together with Alexis Tsipras, they are our change social services. However, these same measures have given to request a profound social change within the Union’s birth to powerful protest and resistance movements, such policy. as NO-TAV and the “white tide” movement, and these have become spaces for solidarity among concerned As we can see, if we are framed within the Union it’s not citizens. Although the Italian and Spanish governments because its technicians remained neutral, but rather have begun to take violent measures against these because they have chosen sides, as the many neoliberal movements as the recent reform of the Spanish penal infrastructure projects and economic measures imposed code (against unauthorized protest) or the militarization upon member states demonstrate. While in Italy the of the Val di Susa (where the TAV is supposed to cross), government is asked to move on with the construction we must support and join these protesters in order to of a high-speed railway line (TAV), which will link Turin weaken our ties with the Union. and Lyon regardless of its environmental impact and popular opposition, in Spain, Mariano Rajoy has began Communism, Lenin once said, was “Soviet power plus to privatize a number of hospitals and health centers, the electrification of the whole country”; Europe today blocking hundreds of thousands of people from access is “electrification without soviets.” The communities of to medical treatments. These two measures are an Europe have technological programs but are without indication not only of the Union’s indifference when power. This power can be restored only when political it comes to political decisions but also of its persisting life prevails once again over the technocrats. This life can interest in framing Europe financially and physically. be restored through those weak, but visible deputes, that But what lies behind these measures? According to a today are represented in the Parliament. recent study by the Transnational Institute these (and many other) measures are meant to privatize public infrastructures and services as a condition for loans. We don’t think these measures should be opposed only because of the devastating effects they had on developing countries in the 1980s and 1990s (when the International Monetary Fund and World Bank called the shots) but also because of the cultural implications. The economic domination of the European Central Bank over these past ten years has affected us at a financial level, but also culturally. In order to promote competition and become more effective, we also had to become less human.

As we can see, the cultural problem of Europe does not lie in the education of its citizens, but in their social sensibility, which the Union is trying to undermine 83 through the privatization of public infrastructures and 84 we’re inthemiddleofavery deepcapitalistcrisis. because, precisely or perhaps booming eventhough, – are and Center-Left – Right-Wing,Centrist stripes and movementsofallpolitical Pro-capitalist parties Introduction Abstract materialism. of historical and theoreticalclaims methodological of the critiques core of Weberian and Post-Structuralist Slovenian journalBorec. His PhD thesis isonthe topic board ofthe and the editorial for LabourStudies of theInstitute Ljubljana, a member in Slovenia. Heis a PhDcandidateattheFacultyofArts is Rutar Tibor Tibor Rutar explanation ofthisphenomenon. of amaterialist attempt to anupdated relates second and politicalpartiesintimesofeconomiccrisis. The ideology forpro-capitalist workers’ rising support of account at providingasatisfactory Marxist attempts today. The first concerns the (non-)success of classical movement orparty for anyprogressive,anti-capitalist issues pressing two examine aim to we article In the of CapitalistCrisis:AMaterialistExplanation The RiseoftheRightinTimes

s h junls Rbr D Kpa pt i i his in it puts Kaplan D. Robert commentary onthe2014Europeanelections: journalist the As 1 e-acs ves n pplrt aog significant swathes ofthevotingpublic. among popularity and views neo-fascist garnered headlines the world over for their Jobbik flamboyant the Meanwhile, fifth. have party inHungaryandGoldenDawnGreece a got Austria in right the quarter May’selections,while of thevotein late a in FranceandDenmark got parties Right-wing movements. political dynamism ofnationalist-style Switzerland andSerbia, the onecommonalityis in Denmark, Netherlands, also Austria, Finland,the Le Pen’sNationalFrontinFrance.But Marine of most dramaticallybythesoaringpopularity symbolized right, the mainlyabout years hasbeen over recent story Parliament, the European the to elections recent in here andthere parties didwell Europe. Whileleftist in right wingis ascendant that the It isundeniable logic/. com/sites/stratfor/2014/06/04/europes-deep-right-wing- June 04,2014,accessedOctober 29,2014, “Europe’sDeepRight-WingLogic,” Robert D.Kaplan, 1 http://www.forbes. Forbes, Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

These parties are not only booming but are even voted for Two Classical Explanations of Workers’ Support for by the working class itself. How can that be? Isn’t it true, Pro-Capitalist Ideology as Marxists have always contended, that the interests of workers are in direct opposition with the interests of (1) The “Labour Aristocracy Thesis” capitalists and therefore in opposition with capitalism itself? Isn’t it true that this is especially so in the middle The fact that pro-capitalist ideas and parties are at least of a serious capitalist crisis, when the exploitative, crisis- sometimes (or even usually) supported by workers prone nature of capitalism is revealed in full? It seems has been explained by radical theorists oftentimes by that it isn’t true as it looks like workers don’t recognize referring to the so-called “Labour Aristocracy Thesis.” what their interests “truly are,” and they decide not to This theory has many formulations, but in general support anti-capitalist, Socialist parties and movements, there are three3 which have had a major impact: Marx’s but instead support various pro-capitalist parties. How and Engels’, Lenin’s and Zinoviev’s, and Elbaum’s and come there exists such an apparent contradiction? The Seltzer’s.4 All three of them turn on two key points: classical answers to this puzzle typically refer to false consciousness, manipulation and workers’ passivity, First, working-class conservatism is the result of or they flat-out deny the puzzle itself and blame the material differences – relative privileges – enjoyed so-called “aristocratic part” of the working-class for by some workers. Workers who embrace racism, the parliamentary success of pro-capitalist politics in nativism, sexism, homophobia and pro-imperialist general and the Right-Wing in particular. In this article I patriotism tend to be those who earn higher wages, will show that these classical answers are either too short experience more secure employment, and have access or just plain wrong. I will also argue that underlying to health-care, pensions and other forms of the social the success of pro-capitalist parties and politics are the wage. Second, the source of this relative privilege actual material interests and life-experiences of voters (‘the bribe’) is a sharing of higher-than-average (i.e. workers) and their rational behavior.2 profits between capitalists and a privileged labour- aristocracy.5

3 Charles Post, “Exploring Working-Class Consciousness: A Critique of the Theory of the ‘Labour-Aristocracy,’” Historical Materialism 18 (2010): 3–38. 2 Let us qualify this statement from the outset so as to avoid 4 Post summarizes their interpretation thus: “Elbaum and possible misunderstandings. Our claim is emphatically not Seltzer argue that the super-profits that account for the that conservative ideology is to be explained wholly in terms material privileges of the labour-aristocracy could not be of economic interests or, even more preposterously, that its ‘reduced to excessive profit gains from “overseas investment.”’ genesis is reducible to “the economy” or “the capitalist mode Instead, super-profits resulting from monopoly – industrial of production.” Our claim is only that a major part of the rise concentration and the limitation of competition in key-sectors of pro-capitalist ideology (and, with it, conservatism) can of the economy – produce higher-than-average wages and be convincingly explained by reference to material interests more-secure employment for a labour-aristocracy of unionised 85 and changing life-experiences of exploited agents in times of workers.” Post, “Exploring Working-Class Consciousness,” 7. economic crisis. 5 Ibid., 6. 86 Tibor RutarITheRiseoftheRightinTimesCapitalistCrisis:AMaterialistExplanation superprofit working class; and that the sources of this privilege is the part ofthe privileged by thehigherpaid,better-off, supported usually other, are each with in solidarity stand general, whichmakeitharderforworkerstouniteand in and conservativeideas is thatpro-capitalist The thesis 6 monopoly position of corporationsintoday’sso-called position monopoly is source labour costsarelower,inothersthe where economies developed in less intervention imperialist is superprofit of source the thesis, the of versions some In shared withsomeworkerssoastopacifyclassstruggle. artificially boost thepricesoftheirproducts. (mean) companies, orbymonopolistcompanies thatcan production costsarelowerthan theproductioncostsofaverage summarize, superprofitisenjoyed bythosecompanieswhose companies alsocatchuptoits levelofproductivity.To superior companyisgoneasall other(oratleastthemajority) innovation. Theextraprofitenjoyed bytheoncetechnologically in asectorthemselvesraiseproductivitythroughtechnological of competingcompanies.Thisissountilallothercompanies price whichissetbyaverageproductioncostsofthemajority implies higherproductivity–itcansellitsproductsatthe lower thanaverage–becauseitstechnologicalsuperiority the technologicallyadvancedcompany’sproductioncostsare under itsoastogainalargermarketshare).Eventhough price ofthelessadvanced,averagecompany(oronlyslightly can, inacompetitivemarket,stillsellitsproductsatthe technologically moreadvancedthantheaveragecompany Publishing, 1998),3:236.Inotherwords,acompanythatis [i.e. ‘superprofit’].”KarlMarx, employs assurpluslabour.Hethussecuresaprofit realises thespecificallyhigherproductivenessoflabourhe and yetsellshiscommodityaboveitsindividualvalue,thatis, before itbecomesgenerallyused,undersellshiscompetitors explains: “Justasamanufacturerwhoemploysnewinvention over andabovetheaverageamountofprofit.AsMarxbriefly technologically advancedcapitalistormonopolistinexchange is anamountofsurplusvaluethatappropriatedbya Superprofit 6 appropriated by capitalists in exchange and in exchange by capitalists appropriated (or, as originally termed by Marx, surplusprofit (or,asoriginallytermedbyMarx, Capital, 3vols.(International ) grounds. Firstly,heclaimsthat types all to as empirical aswell both ontheoretical of thisthesis challenge major a posed has Post Charles of theirmaterialrewardbysupportingimperialism,etc. source the of stability maintain the to also help they time same at the a bribe,materialreward,while receive they relative privilege. By ideologically privilege. relative workers retaintheir higher-paid conservatism these and ideas pro-capitalist supporting by because so is it “labour aristocracythesis,” of the supporters to the and fighting against their common exploiters? According conservative ideasinsteadofunitingwithotherworkers and pro-capitalist support workplace in the practices exploitative to subjected nonetheless are that workers higher-paid should Now, why capitalism.” “monopoly 8 7 well. as workers food-processing and garment- janitorial, clerical, construction-workers, andlowly-paid machine-making, truckingand automobile, steel, benefits South ‘aristocratic’ both – North global the workers in all global the in investment imperialist countries. Putsimply, capitalist industrialised the for allworkersin and risingwages unemployment falling technology), more capital-intensive in newer, investment by set (within limits for labour demand brings agrowing eventually investment More investment countries. industrialised economy inthe across the of rates higher in result profits [h]igher xploring Working-ClassPost, “Exploring Consciousness,”23. of theworld,no matterhowfalseortrueitis. as denotinganysetofbeliefsthrough whichagentsmakesense willbeused neutrally,simply In thisarticletheterm“ideology” 8

7 supporting capitalists supporting Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Secondly, (2) The “False Consciousness Thesis” or the “Dominant Ideology Thesis” Howard Botwinick’s study of wage- and profit- differentials reviewed the literature published since Sociological functionalism is a species of explanation that Semmler’s work was completed, and found similar explains the existence of social phenomena by invoking patterns. Industrial concentration, again, could not their beneficial effects for, typically, the reproduction explain profit- and wage-rate differentials. Not only of the existing social order (or a certain social group). were factors like labour-productivity and capital- Functionalism is tightly, however not inextricably, intensity of production more important in accounting linked to methodological holism, i.e. the notion that for profit- and wage-differentials, but many of the we can explain all social phenomena by referring only highly concentrated industries that had experienced to social structures, “social facts” and “social laws,” higher-than-average profits prior to 1970 were not individuals and their action. Holism relies on the experiencing lower-than-average profits in the 1970s explanatory power of social structures and “social and 1980s. More recent studies have confirmed the facts” – instead of wants, beliefs, needs and interests of absence of a strong correlation between industrial individual social agents – because it denies the existence concentration and higher-than-average profits and of autonomous human agents or, what is the same, wages. Instead, profit and wage-differentials were claims that agents are nothing else than the product of rooted in the differentials in labour-productivity and social structures, norms, rules and practices. capital-intensity of production.9 I have claimed that methodological holists are usually Thirdly and lastly, explanatory functionalists. This is so because in sociology there exist, in general, two species of explanations: [a] systematic review of the history of the workers’ intentional and functionalist explanations. Intentional struggles in the global North in the past century does explanations invoke agential wants, beliefs, interests not bear out the claim that well-paid workers are and needs. Because holism denies the existence of generally conservative and poorly-paid workers are autonomous agents and sees them wholly determined more radical. As John Kelly argued, ‘[h]istorically, by “social facts”, this type of explanation is ruled out a the most class conscious and militant sections of the priori. So holists are left with functionalism which, as working class have often been those whose earnings, we’ve already said, explains a phenomenon by invoking job security and status placed them in a position its beneficial effects for the reproduction of some other of relative privilege relative to many of their fellow phenomenon. We can demonstrate how functionalism workers.’10 works by examining Louis Althusser’s take on the capitalist state in his essay Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. For Althusser, the state in capitalist society is capitalist, i.e. it is tilted toward the interests 11 of the ruling capitalist class, because it simply has 87 9 Post, “Exploring Working-Class Consciousness,” 26. 10 Ibid., 28. 11 We’ve said that holists rarely invoke the needs or interests 88 13 Tibor RutarITheRiseoftheRightinTimesCapitalistCrisis:AMaterialistExplanation 12 being reproduced. are constantly existence of conditions its exist, unless – cannot of production mode – say,capitalist production of claims thatacertainmode production. Althusser conditions andrelationsof capitalist to reproduce The apparatuses. state and ideological repressive of help mechanisms: bythe by two relations ofproduction and conditions in reproducing succeeds The state societies isdonebythestate. in capitalist production of and relations conditions

State, andquitecertainlydefinesitsbasic‘function.’ the is quitecertainly proletariat, againstthe its allies and bythebourgeoisie conducted the classstruggle intervention ‘in of therulingclasses’in the interests defines the State as a force of repressive execution and Apparatus, which point. TheState essential is the really can there be any question of rejecting the fact that this moment one for not and point, essential the on finger has its State [T]he Marxist-Leninist‘theory’ofthe Louis Althusser, Leninand Philosophy Louis Althusser, York: Monthly Review Press,1971),137. question ofhowexactlythisis possible. the existingsocialorderhasto bereproducedbegsthecentral struggle, asAlthusserhimself affirms,merelyclaimingthat does infactgetreproduced.If therealsoexistsconstantclass see, isthatitnotatallcertain thattheexistingsocialorder fact, it’sabanaltruism.Theproblem,howeverandasweshall something canexistonlyifitsexistenceisbeingreproduced. In controversial tosay,asAlthusserdoes,that It isnotatall ostensibly supra-individual, social groups explanations cananddoinvoketheneedsinterestsof shall seeinthecaseofAlthusser,holiststheirfunctionalist irrelevant forexplainingsomesocialphenomena.Now,aswe of individualagents orinstitutions 12 This function ofreproducingthe becauseforthemindividualagentsare , i.e.theneedsandinterestsof collective entities. andOtherEssays (New 13

will beofmoreinteresttousaswell. and case more importantforAlthusser’s are the latter 14 system isstatic. otherwise: the never havebeen – itcould surprise either shouldn’t comeasa existing socialorderisreproduced fact thatthe according tofunctionalismthe Relatedly, products, thisconclusionshouldn’tcomeasasurprise. social are nothingbut holism agents to methodological according Because apparatuses. state ideological the by disseminated is being which ruling ideology the to have succumbed they parties simplybecause capitalist various pro- supporting workers are Namely, discussion. could arrive at aconclusionrelevant forourgeneral we to bottom.Fromthis are socialconstructs,top they rules; and norms social prevailing the i.e. interpellation, ideological of products the but else nothing are Agents of capitalistconditionsandrelationsproduction. reproduction the for primed subjects, willing construct and indoctrinationsimply of discipline power via the apparatuses state holism –theideological methodological with his – andconsistent According toAlthusser is realizedintheIdeologicalStateApparatuses. which ideology ruling the ultimately is [I]t . . . flocks. also their but ‘discipline’ notonlytheirshepherds, etc., to punishment, expulsion,selection, of methods suitable use and Churches Schools apparatus.) Thus ideological purely a as thing no such is (There symbolic. even and concealed, this isveryattenuated ultimately, but only secondarily byrepression,evenifultimately, also function butthey and predominantlybyideology, Apparatuses functionmassively State [T]he Ideological Ibid., 145–146. 14 Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

This whole argument is summarized by three theorists subject (or, in Althusserian terms, “individual”) to fully who are otherwise sharp critics of the Dominant Ideology socialized subject without presupposing what it set out Thesis: to prove. This is especially acute in Althusser’s theory of ideology which paradoxically presupposes the subject Through its control of ideological production, the who is “always already” capable of recognizing herself dominant class is able to supervise the construction in ideological interpellation, for the very purposes of a set of coherent beliefs. . . . The dominant ideology of explaining how such a subject is to arise. Another penetrates and infects the consciousness of the problem is that methodological holists cannot explain working class, because the working class comes to one of the most prominent socio-historical facts, see and to experience reality through the conceptual which is that, throughout human history, agents of all categories of the dominant class. The dominant cultures and societies have constantly struggled against ideology functions to incorporate the working class prevailing social structures, norms, rules and practices within a system which is, in fact, operating against the or have even questioned all existing social ways and their material interests of labour. The incorporation in turn continuation. Holists are also unable to explain how explains the coherence and integration of capitalist agents are able to construct for themselves entirely new society.15 ideologies and norms which have hitherto not existed.

One of the more influential proponents of this thesis Secondly, the applicability of functionalist explanations and a follower of Althusser, Nicos Poulantzas, seems to is much narrower than Althusser thinks. Simply accept such a characterization. This is what he says: “The claiming that phenomenon X exists because it has dominant ideology, by assuring the practical insertion of beneficial effects on the existence of phenomenon Y is a agents in the social structure, aims at the maintenance non sequitur, and such claims by themselves in any case (the cohesion) of the structure, and this means above all never explain how and why phenomenon X emerged and class domination and exploitation.”16 is being reproduced. There are many social phenomena that have positive effects on the reproduction of social This claim, I would argue, is profoundly mistaken. Firstly, order, but which have emerged and exist independently methodological holism was shown to be unsatisfactory of these positive effects. Gender inequality, for example, both on theoretical and empirical grounds a long time has positive effects on the reproduction of capitalist ago. Space limitations prevent us from presenting the conditions and relations of production because it divides main arguments against holism in any detail, but we the working class and acts as a powerful barrier against can at least outline them. One problem with holism is class solidarity between male and female workers. that it cannot explain the transition from pre-social However, it does not follow simply from this that gender inequality exists and is being reproduced for this reason. 15 Nicholas Abercrombie, Stephen Hill and Bryan S. Turner, The What is more, even if we accepted this “explanation” of Dominant Ideology Thesis (London: George Allen and Unwin, gender inequality for the sake of argument, we haven’t

1980), 1–2. really explained much by it. We haven’t explained 89 16 Nicos Poulantzas, Political Power and Social Classes (London: neither how gender inequality came to exist nor which Verso, 1974), 209. 90 Tibor RutarITheRiseoftheRightinTimesCapitalistCrisis:AMaterialistExplanation To conclude, the influential the conclude, To and howexactlythisreproductionoccurs. it, or social)mechanismsarereproducing (individual 17 materialist the rejecting a different, now present ideas andparties.Iwill capitalist for reasons few for pro- support ofworkingclass explanations classical a presented have We Materialist ExplanationsandTheirCritics persistence andomnipresence. for their reasons the about speculate reason, norcanwe influence positive for this came intoexistence cannot concludethatthey a have particular social order, we existing of the reproduction on the in ideas Wing and Right- in general ideas pro-capitalist that fact mere social orderisfalse.Fromthe the existing legitimizes successfully it that such is and epoch society in each ideas oftherulingclassor that thepredominant ideology are the which claimsthattherulingideasin each epoch thesis,” ideology form, Parsoninan)“dominant different 18 In . materialinterests.” TalcottParsons,Societies:Evolutionary normative elements aremoreimportantfor social changethan Parsons: “Iamaculturaldeterminist. .Ibelievethatthe explanations ismostclearlyand succinctlyindicatedby materialist explanationsandnormative-functionalist rather anormative-functionalist one.Thedifferencebetween Thesis empirically andtheoreticallyflawed.The it isamaterialistexplanationthatis,aswe’veseen,both Aristocracy Thesisisalsoamaterialistexplanation,but besaidthatthe To avoidconfusionithasto (London: Routledge,2002),5. name. SeeTerryEagleton, Dominant IdeologyThesis.SohasTerryEagleton,intheir Althusser andPoulantzas,alsomistakenlyendorsedthe The GermanIdeology , however,isnotamaterialist explanation,butis 18 explanationofthisphenomenonthatavoids MarxandEngelshave,besides Marxism andLiteraryCriticism 17 Marxist(and,inaslightly Dominant Ideology Labour 19 – are usually skeptical of materialistexplanationsthat skeptical – areusually ones who were forged in the holist fire of Althusserianism the Many theorists–evenMarxisttheorists,especially defending thefollowingthreetheses: point by on theiressential try toexpand will we Below of exactlysuchanalysis.Theywrite: and convincingstarting-point a succinct have provided beginning of1980sRobert andJohanna the Brenner from explanations. Inanarticle classical the of pitfalls the (c) (b) (a) serious threat. right a the and organizationof politics makes the which development long-run). Itisthis in the be may this disastrous (however run economicinterests short- immediate, their are – really important sense but what theyperceivetobe–andinalimited of because left of instead right Workers havemoved (1981), 29. the WorkingClass,” AgainsttheCurrent(OldSeries)1, no. 2 Robert BrennerandJohanna Brenner,“Reagan,theRightand 1966), 113. and ComparativePerspectives looking waythantheRight-Wing. more forward- and needs,butdosoinadifferent, interests same the address should Left The Socialist false, one-sided. it isnotsimply is, eventhough particular waythat in a so does it workers, but of interests and needs true, actual these The Right-Wingaddresses particular, especiallyintimesofeconomiccrisis. in and Right-Wingideas in general ideas capitalist pro- – forworkerstosupport material interests actual – i.e.their reasons” “good There exist 19

(NewJersey:Prentice-Hall, Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left refer to human needs and material interests. Therefore, However, as Chibber notes in a response,24 these claims let us examine the main arguments against materialist miss their target completely. It is, of course, true that explanations before we continue with providing such an conceptualizing agents in a Weberian way, i.e. as explanation. Post-Althusserian theorist Göran Therborn instrumentally rational, is unsatisfactory and mistaken, who sees himself working “on the basis of historical and it is even true that it was exactly this conception materialism”20 presents his skepticism towards that was adopted by some of the most eminent self- materialist explanations very clearly: proclaimed Marxists (Jon Elster, John Roemer and Adam Przeworski, to name just a few). But it does not This notion of motivation by interest assumes that follow from this bitter aftertaste that was left by Rational normative conceptions of what is good and bad and Choice Theory, Neo-Classical Economics and Analytical conceptions of what is possible and impossible are Marxism, that all references to material interests and given in the reality of existence and are accessible only their pursuit by “somewhat rational” agents have to be through true knowledge of the latter. In my opinion discarded. these are unwarranted and untenable assumptions. They represent a utilitarian residue in Marxism, which To reiterate, agents are not – pace homo economicus – should be rejected, explicitly and decisively, once for instrumentally rational, that is, they are not necessarily all.21 self-interested, they do not relentlessly maximize their personal utility and they are not blind to the This charge of “utilitarian residue in Marxism” is exactly moral dimension of their ends. However, this doesn’t what has been levelled against Vivek Chibber, the author of mean that agents are not at least attitudinally and a recent tour de force Marxian work Postcolonial Theory behaviourally rational. On the contrary, they usually and the Specter of Capital more recently. In this most act in a way at least consistent with (even if not optimal recent work Chibber presented a materialist, interest- for) their interests and beliefs, and they also tend to based Marxian analysis of Indian peasant and worker eliminate beliefs that are mutually inconsistent. They resistance.22 Critics (for example, Bruce Robbins23) are are, furthermore, not only concerned with the means for claiming – similarly to Therborn’s concerns 35 years achieving an end but also with the ends themselves. If ago – that such an impoverished analysis makes out we accept this non-utilitarian conception of agents we human agents to be pre-cultural rational automata can have an interest-based analysis which is crucial for who relentlessly calculate and maximize the personal examining the connection between social structures and utility of each and every social interaction and activity. human agents, without succumbing to the siren song of orthodox rational choice theory that is rightly repudiated by most social scientists. 20 Göran Therborn, The Ideology of Power and the Power of Ideology (London: Verso, 1999), 5. 21 Ibid.

22 Vivek Chibber, Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital 24 Vivek Chibber, “Subaltern Mythologies,” Jacobin (2014), 91 (London: Verso, 2013). accessed October 29, 2014, https://www.jacobinmag. 23 Bruce Robbins, “Subaltern-speak,” n+1 18 (2013). com/2014/01/subaltern-mythologies/. 92 Tibor RutarITheRiseoftheRightinTimesCapitalistCrisis:AMaterialistExplanation historian GarethStedmanJonesisapointincase: of agency.ThePost-Althusserian non-utilitarian theories existence deny theorists Robbins andTherborn. These than further even go that theorists some are Now, there 27 26 25 Mouffe: another ex-Althusserian, Chantal have yet And thenwe exist. don’t in itandbyit.” refers areconstituted which discourse discourse of “Objects Hirst: Post-Althusserian theorists, Barry Hindess andPaul pair of notorious a by claimed similar was Something

which conceives and defines interest in the first place. language of political discursive structure it isthe since interest of expression reach aprimalandmaterial to expression. . . . We cannot.language . political . decode their arena. it isassumed,pre-exist Such interests, political the in expression rational find will opposing interests whose orclasses groups social conflicting of field a as society civil of is assumption implicit The This iscontradictory.” articulated. and formulated are they in which discourse that can exist prior amounts tostatingthatinterests to the defined, are interests that politics through and in ideology is it In fact,since levels? and ideological which level represented be would economic the at defined interests have can agents economic that maintained be can it “How for Socialism,” Studies inPolitical Economy “WorkingClassHegemony andtheStruggle Chantal Mouffe, Formation ModeofProductionandSocial Barry Hindess andPaulHirst, University Press,1983),21–22. Working ClassHistory1832–1982 (Cambridge:Cambridge Jones, Gareth Stedman of material interests, even as conceptualized by even asconceptualized ofmaterialinterests, (Basingstoke:PalgraveMacMillan, 1977),20. Languages of Class: Studies in English Languages ofClass:Studies inEnglish 27 a posteriori at the political political the at 12(1983),9. tte to Entities the very 26 25

interest inexplicitpoliticaldiscourseandaction. this express not do they diminished, evenif be least at for suchan inhumane treatmentofthemtostopor to have) they many the among (one interest objective an have and oppressed exploited who aresystematically agents and that our discourse, beyond there,” “out world is areal there that presuppose “dogmatically” merely us and nature human of thisarticle, let realism. For thepurposes metaphysical of existence the arguments reject to philosophical aim that and sociological flawed yet of someveryfashionable, help conclusion bythe idealist arrive Post-Althusserians atsuchanabsurd, These exploitation andoppression. constant to subjected be might they though even exist, doesn’t simply interest their action political through and language political in explicit interest their express workers unwarranted. Until theorists, aforementioned is, accordingto or atleastatoningdownofexploitation cessation in the haveamaterialinterest production of sphere the in exploitation to be subjected are who workers cannot definition, by in advance. that all Any Marxian insistence predicted that, constructs discursive are arbitrary They agent. the of i.e. independent material, and objective be cannot interests that means and action. This discourse only throughpolitical created are can onlybecreated,notgiven, and they Interests expression. politico-discursive their of in advance given aren’t interests claim,isthat theorists these What allof capitalist parties because of because parties capitalist pro- of promises the to positively workers react that argue ones. Iwould examined hitherto all with contrast is in that thesis our materialist We cannowturnto for Pro-CapitalistIdeology The ParadoxofWorkers’Support real experiences andlife- Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left situations. These experiences that tilt workers further ideologues claim. And we have to admit that they are towards pro-capitalist ideology in times of economic correct – at least in the case of capitalist societies, i.e. crisis are, paradoxically and for the most part, created by in the case of currently existing arrangement of property the very insecurities of the labour market (i.e. rising rates relations. of unemployment), stagnating or even regressing living standards, rising levels of exploitation in the workplace It is true that in capitalism new job offers can be made, and the tendency for intensity of work to rise, that emerge wages can be raised and the state can expand its welfare from the capitalist mode of production and its law of programs if and only if the economy is growing, and the competition. Said more briefly, one of the main reasons economy can be growing only if it is competitive and why workers support capitalist ideology is because of profitable enough. This is so because the overwhelming their real life experiences (not ruling class manipulation) majority of social production in capitalist societies is that are themselves produced by the mechanisms of subordinated to the impersonal principle of market capitalist organization of social production. This seems competition. This principle ensures that the companies utterly ironical, if not paradoxical. How is it possible which are not profitable or not profitable enough will, that workers should support the very social order that sooner or later, be bankrupt or taken over by other, more is oppressive to them, and do so precisely because of profitable companies: that is why no rational company experiencing how terrible it is, even though they are not which participates in the capitalist market would invest the passive Althusserian “Träger” or Parsonian “cultural in non-profitable or not-profitable-enough economic dopes”? In truth, it should not come as a surprise. Let’s activities. And, most importantly, in capitalism the see why. source of all new revenue (that is profits, rents, wages, social benefits, taxes and so on; i.e. value and surplus Pro-capitalist parties of all ideological stripes claim that value in Marxian terms) can only be the expanding in order for the unemployment rate to go down and for economic activity of private companies – or, more the new job offers to rise – or: for the crisis to subside – precisely, the wage labour of workers employed by those the economy should be growing. But the economy can private companies. So, to sum up the argument so far, grow, they say, only if it is competitive enough, i.e. if it even from a radical Marxian perspective it is safe to claim is conducive to profit-making. It is only in this case that that if one wants to get the economy (and consequently foreign and domestic investors will be willing to invest the welfare-state) running in capitalism one has to get in productive activities, and it is only when the rate of private business to invest in production. investment is rising that all economic actors (capitalists, workers, the state etc.) will see the rise of their revenue The gradual decline of the general rate of profit, i.e. the and personal income. Finally, it is only in such a booming ratio of newly generated profit to the value of invested economic situation that new jobs will be opening up, capital, is, in fact, the underlying cause of capitalist wages will be rising and the state will be able to sustain crises.28 This claim is, of course, part of the infamous and expand its welfare projects and provisions (if this is prompted by struggles from below, of course). This, at 28 See, for example, Andrew Kliman, The Failure of Capitalist 93 least, is what the pro-capitalist parties, movements and Production: Underlying Causes of the Great Recession (London: PlutoPress, 2012); Guglielmo Carchedi, Behind the 94 Tibor RutarITheRiseoftheRightinTimesCapitalistCrisis:AMaterialistExplanation is t itoue e tcnlg i theirproduction in new technology introduce to first are amongthe that for individualcapitalists no issue is labour-power of displacement Now, this technology. introducing of new,labour-saving with therelentless fall to tend will rate profit general the that means which companies is the only source of profits (i.e. surplus value) by private production. However,labour-poweremployed labour-power from tend todisplace capitalists innovations technological and introducing competitive it inMarxian To put terms, byaimingtobemore has beneficial short-term consequences for consequences short-term beneficial has it – eventhough rising productivity because declines gradually profit of rate The laggards. technological the and gainmarketadvantageover costs unit production per- lower to them allows productivity labour. Higher of expenditure same the or with period time same in the productivity oflabour, i.e. goods the amountofproduced raising the by advantage gain competitive as to so process production innovations intheir technological introduce as capitalists declines but thenitgradually high first at is profit of rate the War) World Second the after in the twodecades the onethatwasexperienced to profit of rate the (like boom economic of in times follows: as fall. Itgoes for tendency the of law Marxian 29 means thatthenominalrateofprofitfalls. increase, which costs than production less by increases revenue sales that means usually This inflation. of rate falling i.e. disinflation, implies – capitalists innovating

and theFailureofCapitalism 2009); PaulMattick, Cycles, EconomicCrisis.AMarxist View Brill, 2011);MichaelRoberts, Crisis: Marx’sDialecticsofValueandKnowledge 129. the MythofInconsistency Andrew Kliman, Reclaiming Marx’s “Capital”: A Refutation of Reclaiming Marx’s“Capital”: A Business asUsual.TheEconomic Crisis (Lanham: Lexington Books,2007), (London:ReaktionBooks,2011). The GreatRecession.Profit (LuLuEnterprises, 29

(Leiden: individual

parties, which strive to restore profitability and anti-capitalist alternative. profitability restore of aconvincing ideas intheshort-runandabsence to strive to such investment. Itisnotirrational tobeattracted which parties, pro-capitalist of ambitions and rhetoric the to attracted is working class paid part)ofthe least the (especially surprising thatalargepart shouldn’t be It therefore Grundrisse Marx toclaim,inthe conclusion thatledmostfamously dynamism, is atonceitsmain retarding force.Itisthis productive capitalist main driverof the otherwise Competition, secured. firmly is stagnation economic to road the and decline to start profit) importantly, (most point allformsofrevenue to drop.Atthat tends gradually rate ofinvestmentalso of investmentincapitalism,the criterion main the is profitability because and rising) is labour of productivity when happens (this drop to tends pressure of market competition – over time – profitability the under summarize, because and to words In other and thegeneralnominalrateofprofittendstofall. is lowered valueofproduct sales per-unit then thatthe across asectoror industry. Itis after itisgeneralized only an issue of labour-powerbecomes Displacement competitors. advanced technologically less their as price same at the product the selling same time at the while than theircompetitors, morecheaply by producing exchange of sphere in the more value or even same the appropriate to able are they because so This is process. 30 that state-funded investmentisnothingelse butinvestment like privateinvestment is.Thisargumentoverlooks thefact funded investmentwhichisnot vulnerabletotheprofitmotive suggestion isthattheeconomy shouldbereignitedbystate- and stagnatingeconomiesisstate-funded investment.Their proclaimed Socialists)arguethat thesolutionforcrisis (andalsosomeself- Social DemocratsandLeft-Keynesians , thatcapitalisinherentlycontradictory. 30 Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Still, it has to be said that an important part of pro- this growth is both limited31 and necessarily cyclical32 capitalist rhetoric is misleading or at least one-sided. which means that it goes against the interests of the Firstly, even though it’s true that new jobs can emerge working class at least in the mid- to long term. In other only in conditions of economic growth and that the words and as argued above, every period of sustained economy can grow only in conditions of a pleasant economic growth in capitalism is necessarily followed investment climate (i.e. conditions of high profitability), by a period of stagnation and crisis: no amount of state regulation and public investment can prevent this. This which has taxes, i.e. the amount of surplus value produced is so because, as we’ve argued above, capitalist crises by workers in private companies and then appropriated by are fundamentally caused not by contingencies such as the state, as its source. It should be obvious that state-funded wrong political decisions, excessive financial speculation investment can’t be the motor of economic growth because such investment is not an independent source but is itself or economic fraud, but by rational and sensible actions dependent upon the very economic growth that does not of individual capitalist who, under the pressure of obtain in times of crisis. The real source of economic growth in market competition, simply have to seek out more capitalism is profit. State-funded investment that represents, and more profitable investments if they are to remain directly or indirectly, a siphoning off of profit can be used, capitalists. Capitalist crises cannot be done away with so firstly, towards capitalist productive activity with the aim of long as economic activity is run along the axis of market generating as much new profit as possible. In this case the competition. Those who claim so are not, contrary to fact that the state (instead of a private company) expended what Milton Friedman and Richard Nixon famously money on production changes nothing, because the capitalist claimed, all Keynesians – there are sound theoretical company would do the exact same thing, i.e. it would seek and empirical reasons not to be one. out the most profitable investment. State-funded investment can be used, secondly, towards non-capitalist productive activity which won’t generate any new profit by definition as Secondly, pro-capitalist rhetoric conveniently overlooks it was not mediated by market competition. In this case the the very important fact that striving to raise the fact that the state expended money on production changes competitiveness of national economy in times of economic matters for the worse because now money was expended and no new profit which could be reinvested was generated. The 31 The economy will grow only to the extent that capitalists are only remaining option is the intermediate one. That is, for willing to invest, and they will invest only if this helps them the state to use money towards capitalist productive activity survive market conditions. It would be irrational for them to which is less than optimally profitable but which has explicitly increase investment when the prospects are gloomy. beneficial effects on human lives and the environment. In this 32 As Marx put in Capital, Vol. 2: “one could only remark that case the investment would generate, logically, less profit than crises are always prepared by precisely a period in which it would if the state acted like a capitalist and searched for the wages rise generally and the working class actually gets most optimally profitable activity. The fact that it would have a larger share of that part of the annual product which is beneficial effects on human lives and environment changes intended for consumption. . . . It appears, then, that capitalist nothing as far as ending the economic crisis goes. (State- production comprises conditions independent of good or bad funded investment can be, alternatively, financed by the state will, conditions which permit the working class to enjoy that

going into debt. However, borrowing money can’t be the means relative prosperity only momentarily, and at that always only 95 of ending a deep investment crisis, because all debts have to be as the harbinger of a coming crisis.” Karl Marx, Capital, 3 vols. repaid and the interest rates are usually extraordinarily high.) (International Publishing, 1996), 2: 409–410. 96 Tibor RutarITheRiseoftheRightinTimesCapitalistCrisis:AMaterialistExplanation that are at the heart of the sudden rise ofworkers’ anti- sudden heart ofthe that areatthe labour-power foreign” “cheaper workers againstthe domestic of position improving the for need the and labour market, of conditionsonthe worsening the of experience real (not imputed!) it isthe Relatedly, way –somethingthattheyreallyneedandfeel. one-sided in however – express they because appealing somewhat least at ideas these find workers words, other nationalism andpatriotism.In explicit not if implicit least at form of the takes usually economy. This“emphasis” national of the competitiveness importance ofraisingthe the of workersbyemphasizing realneed this desperate, on andaddress Right-Wing inparticularseize and the important having a job really is. Pro-capitalists in general of crisisworkersaremoreawarethaneverhow times In live. to are they if job a out seek to have usually they virtually allmeansofmakingalivingontheirown, of stripped have been they Because employment. for need workers haveadesperate In capitalism general andRight-Wingideasinparticular. ideas in for pro-capitalist crisis toincreasetheirsupport of workers intimes reasons thatlead expand onthe let’s it. Buttoreturnanearlierpoint, support workers who by overlooked also rhetoric, andusually pro-capitalist by sidestepped These aretwoofthemostimportantissues fought forinordertoberestoredatalatertime. again seriously have tobe they rights aredowngraded once mid- tolong-termconsequences: it hasdisastrous worrisome as transfers isespecially social of lowering and of workers’rights downgrading increased. Butthe competitiveness and, consequently, lowered can be costs labour that this doing by only transfers. Itis social of and lowering of workers’rights standards, downgrading meansanotableregressionofworkplace crisis usually 33 such as stagnating private investment are glossed over. private investmentareglossed such asstagnating factors more systemic sector,whilethe expansive public of atoolargeand asaconsequence is presented debt parties. Risingpublic pro-capitalist by the one-sidedly presented again is crisis the before just countries most Lastly, has increasedfor the realfactthatpublicdebt of people. torealexperiences appeal they in thisbecause successful partially Theyareatleast decisions. investment the crisis, the rise of financial speculations and other bad behind causes systemic the mystify inadvertently they bureaucrats and state capitalist individual of defects on personal it blaming crisis, by the personalizing by words, In other exist. do really capitalist greedy and corruption, taxhavens andpublic-sector state because which system, juridical corrupt inefficient, an and values (Christian?) social of disintegration supposed the by caused was it say They happened. crisis the why of quasi-explanation their substantiate to and use grab onto parties capitalist pro- that crisis hit the before corruption someyears rising and speculations financial scandals, tycoon many witnessing of experience real again the is Furthermore, it trickery. manipulation and outright among workers,notby and anti-immigrantviews xenophobia strengthen they that discriminatory, It isthus anti-immigrant policies. workers, andpropose of and need real experience on this seize who and ideologues parties, movements in timesofeconomiccrisis. It isagaintheRight-Wing immigrant leanings, xenophobiaanddiscrimination income taxrates] fellpartlybecauseofarelative declinein corporate income taxrates. falling profitabilityofU.S.corporations andreductionsin ratio ofTreasurydebttoGDPsince1970isattributable to the at leastfortheAmericancase: “ evidenceforthislastclaim, Kliman presentedstrongempirical seems wholly plausible wholly facie seems prima . [Staterevenue fromcorporate [a]ll oftheincreasein 33

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

In such circumstances – i.e., general economic crisis Socialist organizations should do is to continually show and increasing competition between workers on the one (not merely declare) why exactly striving to increase hand, and a failure of the Socialist Left to rigorously and competitiveness of the national economy and forcing convincingly address these issues on the other – it is not immigrants out of the country will not in fact improve irrational for the majority of (worse-off) workers to rally the economic34 position of the working class – at least behind the pro-capitalist Center-Left and Right-Wing. not in the medium and long term. The needs, material interests and life experiences that motivate their support are not false and imputed. It is, Socialists should, firstly, convincingly show why however, true that the Center-Left and Right-Wing are supporting pro-capitalist parties and movements will addressing these needs and experiences one-sidedly. worsen the economic position of the working class Pro-capitalist ideologies, parties and policies can be in the medium and long term. It has to be shown that thriving only when the Socialist Left is down on its market competition itself, not greedy bankers and rich knees. Now, this last point is usually not overlooked by capitalists, primarily causes serious economic instability Socialists. But what is usually overlooked, is the fact that and non-legitimate wealth inequality. This also means rising nationalism and xenophobia, to mention just the that Socialists who present socialism as a kind of two most atrocious trends in the last few years, are two “competitive advantage,” something that will ostensibly depressing phenomena that are, however, expressing solve the current crisis and pave the road to market actually existing social circumstances. They are neither success are missing the point completely (this is usually the expression of workers’ false consciousness nor how socialism is presented by Social Democrats and capitalist conspiracy, as is so often claimed by Socialists, Left-Keynesians). if only implicitly. To expand on this first point, let’s briefly examine the Conclusion case of workers’ cooperatives under capitalism. Richard Wolff, a prominent Marxist economist, has been one of Putting this argument aside, it has to be admitted that the the more outspoken Socialist proponents of cooperatives Socialist Left has traditionally called for internationalism in recent years. Like the majority of proponents of and solidarity with migrant workers, even though it cooperatives, Wolff is also quick to defend them on the has often overlooked the real causes behind the rise basis of their economic success and the resilience they of nationalism and xenophobia. This call is, of course, shown in the face of current economic downturn. This, wholly commendable. Yet it is not nearly enough, in however, is very problematic. Even though no Socialist itself, if it is to be convincing and mobilizing. What would doubt the importance of lower pay differentials that are characteristic of cooperative enterprises, there corporations’ before-tax profits and partly because of reduced exist three major problems with regards to cooperatives. corporate tax rates. On average, before-tax profits equaled 11.6 percent of GDP between 1947 and 1969. Between 1970 and

2007, the average fell by almost one-fourth, to 8.8 percent.” 97 Kliman, Failure of Capitalist Production, 64; emphasis in the 34 Let alone the cultural and social devastation such conservative original. ideology leaves behind. 98 Tibor RutarITheRiseoftheRightinTimesCapitalistCrisis:AMaterialistExplanation empirical evidence. recent by is supported ones. Hisargument successful inefficient as more bankruptandtakenoverbythe companies get hands fewer and fewer in production of means to, overtime,concentrate tends itself competition What ismore, as MarxarguedinCapital,vol. 1, the coercion. on relying it, by do doesn’t that and, if law on relying by first at ownership to right their back own meansofproductionandarewillingto Capitalists of characteristic defining production. means of of is privateownership capitalism The capitalism. in rule the not exception, the Firstly, cooperativesareusually 35 the roadtogeneralizedeconomiccollapse. of workers, and paving rateofexploitation increasing the environment, the be threatening might they this by doing produce in order to stay afloat on the market even though non-capitalist ownersare. This means thatthey’llstill profit the supposed their kind andnice how motive, nomatter to subordinated be will these cooperatives, relations prevailbetween property words, untilcapitalist In other market competition. of laws by regulated be) is (orwould enterprises economic activityofcooperative productive even the This meansthat is based. capitalism on which relations of property distribution underlying not andcannotchangethe ones does cooperative into conversion oftraditionalenterprises mere the of thishappening, case unlikely even inthe Secondly, ones. into cooperative enterprises of traditionalcapitalist workers would be able to peacefully convert the majority wealth-gap. obamas-state-of-the-union-speech-will-be-call-to-arms-on- Canada.com, accessiblevia:http://o.canada.com/news/ State oftheUnionSpeechwill becalltoarmsonwealthgap,” inWilliamMarsden,“Obama’s forexample,thefigures See, 35 Itis, therefore, unlikelythat

market

the immigrants mass strikes with and practicalexample,how theoretical show, by onSocialistorganizationsto is, secondly, it section, this of beginning the back to Returning living standardofworkers. improve the road to short-term goalonthe unworthy are an means they this of none can beremedied.But investmentcrisis, of whichaserious like thepresent, mechanismbymeans They arenotevenan economic end. its capitalism, norarethey alternativeto the not are Cooperatives honest. be should we that is however, characteristics ofcooperatives.Theupshot, progressive many are onlyoneofthe Lower paydifferentials arsenal. Socialist in the place no have cooperatives The upshot of all this is most definitely capitalist organizationofproduction. an alternativeto Mondragon isnotandhasneverbeen shouldnotcomeasasurprisebecause of explanation by Wolff. This lack isneverexplained of production” organization capitalist Corporation an“alternativetothe make Mondragon possible market as on the competitive in ordertoremainas producers” least-costly from “the MC enterprises.” are also or not those producers –whether least-costly and are tosourcetheirinputsfrom thebest enterprises all that rule “a as has it because precisely production” organization of capitalist the alternative to successful i.e.Mondragon,is“astunningly cooperatives, noted most the of one that admits himself Thirdly, Wolff 36 economic position. Strikes are one of the only effective economic position.Strikes areoneofthe mondragon. com/commentisfree/2012/jun/24/alternative-capitalism- accessed October29,2014,http://www.theguardian. Mondragon showtheway,” analternativetocapitalism: Richard Wolff,“Yes,thereis canimproveevenworkers’ 36 How exactly does sourcing inputs does Howexactly The Guardian,June24,2012 not thatworkers’ short-term

Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left tools in securing short-term economic improvements for “reformist” struggles where solidarity is on display workers, because it is only by hitting capitalists where etc. Socialist organizations can’t (and mustn’t) impute they’re most vulnerable – their profit-making ability socialist consciousness to workers from above, without – that some concessions can be granted even when it having any anchorage in their real experiences and times are tough. This is so because if it is more costly material interests. for capitalists to let the strike continue than to end it by conceding to workers’ demands, they will go for the latter option. For strikes to be a real possibility workers have to, of course, be guaranteed at least the ability not to lose all their (meagre) personal savings amidst the strike when they’re not getting paid by their employer. They also can’t stand alone, if they are to avoid imminent defeat. This is where Socialist organizations can come in: by helping to provide a strike fund, and by helping with organizing and spreading solidarity.

In sum, if Socialist organizations are to gain in numbers, if they are to be again recognized by workers, rallied behind and mobilizing, they shouldn’t primarily appeal to good faith and revolutionary spirit in times when a revolutionary event seems wholly implausible, if only because there are no revolutionary workers to begin with. They should first and foremost address the actually existing immediate needs and interests of workers (in a way radically opposed to Liberal-Left and Right-Wing proposals), not condemn the so-called “reformist” struggles for higher wages and more jobs as unworthy. Relatedly, they should be honest in their explanation of the crisis, the rise of the Right and in their calls for socialism. The crisis really is a crisis of investment and competitiveness, as some of the ideologues claim; the Liberal Left and Right-Wing haven’t achieved such quite large working-class support by outright trickery or magic; for socialism to be back on the agenda, workers will have to rally behind the socialist project, but this can only happen if workers themselves start developing such 99 socialist consciousness through mass strikes, various 100 Abstract and Actualities”(2011). of Labour” (2010) of “Strike:Experiences and editor (2011). also coauthorof “Devaluation Dilemmas” He is Union ofEducation.He is authorof “Beyond and secretary oftheMultiethnic and “Solidarity” Movement Zdravko Saveski(1976) isamemberofLeftist Bionote Saveski Zdravko n i te ia pr w wl ofr eti ideason certain offer we will part final the in and issues, the locate will workers, we at the unions, then trade look atthe analysis we is created.Inthis circle vicious the how unions. Thatis trade the distrusting workers tocontinue for the unions isareasonenough trade the of inefficiency this Precisely rights. workers’ and advance defend in ordertosuccessfully enough not weakness thatissimply gun,showing an empty owners with with the go tonegotiate representatives threaten withasanction,tradeunion the realistically support. Withouttheirsupport,notbeingable to the workers’ unions cannotachievethatwithout trade the and advancetheirrights, while them protect them, workers waitforthetradeunionstodefend workers’ of the rights isthat the and protection trade unions,workers the with The overallproblem of Workers’Rights:aViciousCirclewithNoEscape? Trade Unions,WorkersandtheProtection them, protect them and advance their rights, while the rights, while and advancetheir them them, protect unions todefend trade for the workers wait the is that workers’ rights the of as defence) (as well protection trade unions, workers and The overallproblemwith the rather anecessaryinitial phaseofproblem-solving. of theproblemisnotanoverturetolamentation, but locating mere the solved, then be to are located problems end intocounter-productivity. Ifthe not necessarily portrayal ofthingsdoes pessimistic the and therefore case the is sobad.However,thisnotalways situation to lamentationswhythe isreduced discussion the there is a burning issue, and instead of finding solutions, when is reEveproduced is noescape view thatthere the when especially things canoftenbecounterproductive, approach to pessimistic As amatterofprinciple,the workers, isnoescape. and the from whichmaybethere unions trade the by workers’ right,created of protection to the that thereisacertainviciouscircleconnected It indicates The titleofthisanalysisisquitepessimistic. improve. approach whichcriticizesin order to the pessimistic from approach pessimistic counterproductive the solutions itselfiswhatdifferentiates of suggested offering problem. Actually,the how toovercomethe Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left trade unions (even if they themselves have no additional Macedonia [Konfederacija na sindikalni organizacii na faults) can not achieve that without the workers’ support. Makedonija – KSOM]. They are all made up of branch Without their support, not being able to realistically trade unions, where the SSM has the most branch trade threaten with a sanction, the trade union representatives unions - 18. Independent branch trade unions which are go to negotiate with the owners with an empty gun, not part of trade union confederations are: Independent showing weakness that is simply not enough in order to Union of Journalists and Media Workers, Union of the successfully defend and advance workers’ rights. Macedonian Diplomatic Service, Independent Union of the Employees of University Clinics, Centres and Clinical Precisely this inefficiency of the trade unions is a reason Hospitals and other Public Health Organisations, Union enough for the workers to continue distrusting the trade of Music and Scene Artists and Union of the Workers of unions. That is how the vicious circle is created. The Financial Organisations. trade unions cannot do anything without the support of the workers and the workers do not give their support Branch trade unions in their composition have trade until they see the results of the trade unions’ work. In union organisations at the level of employees, as the the meantime, workers’ rights are decreased with the main form of self-organization. In October 2009, in changes in the legal provisions and violated in practice. Macedonia, it was legally enabled for the trade union organisations at employer level, to receive the status of In this analysis we look at the trade unions, then at the a legal person,1 and with that, to exist as independent workers, we will locate the issues, and in the final part we syndical organisations that would not be part of a will offer certain ideas on how to overcome the problem. branch trade union (nor of a trade union confederation). Actually, the offering of suggested solutions itself is However, after two years, in January 2012,2 this option what differentiates the counterproductive pessimistic was revoked and since then, once again it is not legally approach from the pessimistic approach which criticizes possible for a syndical organisation to exist at employer in order to improve. level without being part of a branch trade union.3

1) A Look at the Trade Unions in Macedonia

At the moment, in Macedonia there are four trade union 1 Article 23 of the Law Amending and Supplementing the Labour confederations and at least five independent branch trade Relations Law, “Official Bulletin of the Republic of Macedonia, unions which are not part of trade union confederations. no. 130/09. Trade union confederations are: Federation of Trade 2 Article 8 of the Law Amending and Supplementing the Labour Unions of Macedonia [Sojuz na sindikati na Makedonija Relations Law, “Official Bulletin of the Republic of Macedonia, – SSM], Confederation of Free Trade Unions no. 11/12. [Konfederacija na slobodni sindikati – KSS]; Independent 3 At the end of 2012, there were around 2,000 syndical and Autonomous Trade Unions of Macedonia [Unija na organisations in Macedonia. Aleksandra Filipovska “Blocking nezavisni i slobodni sindikati na Makedonija – UNASM] the accounts of the syndicates that failed to renew their 101 and the Confederation of Trade Union Organisations of registration”, “Dnevnik”, 27.12.2012, http://www.dnevnik.mk/ ?ItemID=5768726382A01D4F8F25135514316AEB 102 Zdravko SaveskiITradeUnions,WorkersandtheProtectionofWorkers’Rights:aViciousCirclewithNoEscape? Constitution, laws and collective agreements by the by agreements collective and laws Constitution, by the to theviolation of therightsguaranteed are due workers’ problems the only partof organisations, because syndical of independent aspect also importantfromthe is This workers. the of benefit the for changes legal win to potential their part of loose that and with weaken considerably organisations, would syndical independent number of of ahuge presence to the confederations, due appear. Firstofallbranchtradeunionsand union be awareofisthatinsuchacasetwoimportant issues syndical organisationtowork like this,whatonehasto and usethe for anindependent it is verypossible workers. Although the of benefit the for fee theemployer membership the with from money rights their for fight themselves organisations could syndical Iindependent anything fortheworkers, even harming their interests. doing not money, workers the with positions their enjoy to in order bureaucracy for syndical fee membership be membersofbranch unions andtogivepartofthe not haveto syndical organisationswould Independent yes. glance, first At organisations? syndical independent in unions option toestablish to onceagainprovidelegal Macedonia trade the of inefficacy and “yellowness” the for solutions the of one it work, is on bureaucratic unions trade the of energy of a lot wasted unnecessarily which laws, the with game tactical from this one. Aside a promising with unpromising president the replacing after union confederations, trade the of position the the abolition and of this 2009 possibility in in 2012 SSM intended union, to strengthen syndical numerous most of the government toweakentheunpromisingpresident the a tacticsof was level on employer union organization trade have independent to possibility the of introduction the aware ofthesyndicalrealitiesin Macedoniathat is aconvictionamongpartofthose Macedonia. There unions in of trade image for improvingthe solutions finding to regard with dilemma first the face we Here, are, let’s see how numerous they are, i.e. how many are, i.e.how they numerous how see are, let’s branch trade unions the syndicalunionsandindependent know whichandhowmany in Macedonia.Nowthat we of thesyndicalmovement Let’s goback to the description of corruptedandpassive syndicalists. way intentiontostandinthe unsuccessful the following step next the be must movement syndical the of splitting it meansthat at anycost,but structure syndical a corrupted of remain part to needs one mean that not does that course, Of improve. will interests workers’ of that therepresentation that automaticallyguarantees solution branch tradeunions is notthe independent and unions syndical new establishing Obviously, union? syndical only one was there when level regarding the improved of workers’interests representation Has the with inMacedonia, four syndicalunionsandseveralbranch trade unions. pluralism syndical (significant) or branchtradeunionssyndicalunions. There is level organisations atenterprise it concernssyndical workers’ whether interests willbe. This isregardless the of representation the more successful are, the there unions trade separate more the think that to false It is for thebadefficiency. reason the be to dividedness the employer, the to respect organisation in the sameenterprise/institution,andin energy totakeovermembersofothersyndical wasting organisations and moresyndical four three, having two, syndical organisationscarriesthedangerof independent fight establishing of possibility organisations. Second,the can’t organisations syndical other the with cooperating against thiswithout syndical independent The company/institution whichisdamagingtotheworkers. in the a practice provisions, introduces legal worsened the respecting employer, the provisionswhere legal the of changing the to due is problems the Part of employer. Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left employees in Macedonia are members of trade unions. level that Greece (21.3%), the European example of an Also, let’s see where syndical organisation dominates. organised and militant workers’ movement.

It is difficult to even approximately determine the However, as with all other rankings of the countries in the percentage of the workers who are trade union members. world, where Macedonia is in a good position compared What is definite is that the percentage is low and that it to the rest, there is an explanation for that which is not is in decrease. The trade unions themselves don’t usually advantageous and that is not revealed by the statistics. reveal the number of their members mainly because that Regarding the “high” level of union density, it should would indicate how weak they are and how weak they be emphasized that this happens, among other things, have become. The estimate (which does not have to due to the pressure put on the employees to become a be very precise) is that in 2014, 120,000 workers were member of the trade unions by the state as an employer syndically organized.4 If one has in mind that in 2013 and, paradoxically, by the private owners. In both cases, in Macedonia there were 488,110 workers,5 then we can the condition for that is the existence of another, at least estimate that around 25% of the workers in Macedonia a bit active trade union. If such a trade union exists, the are syndically organised. Of course, the level of union state as an employer, and the private owners can start density in which only one of four workers is a member pressuring the employees to become members of the of an union can not be estimated as good, but it should “yellow” trade union that they control in order to, by be taken into account that this level of union density is making it more numerous and representative, “negotiate” better than the level of 21 of the 34 member-states of with it and make legal changes and collective agreements OECD.6 Macedonia has higher level of union density than that realistically don’t mean much to the workers. In fact, Germany (17.7%) and of all Eastern European members especially in the private sector, establishing “yellow” of OECD (Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary trade union and enlarging its membership by pressures, and the Czech Republic). It even has a somewhat higher is the reserve plan of the employees for dealing with the authenthic syndical organisations. If they don’t manage to prevent the workers from realising their constitutional 4 The estimate is mainly made on the data from Mare Ančeva right to form and join an union, and the workers who mentioned that in 2012 SSM had 76,000 members and KSS – 43,000 members. In 2013 a decrease of members manage to form an union with considerable power, then is noticed in several larger branch syndicates of SSM. See employers can support the already existing “yellow” “Annual reports on labour relations and the social dialogue trade union or even establish their own “yellow” trade in South East Europe for Macedonia”. http://www.fessoe.de/ union and in that manner marginalise the authenthic srpski/annual-review-2013.html trade union from collective negotiation and natural 5 This is a figure only of the employees, t.e. those that are not growth. Not completely unimportant, membership in employers, self-employed and unpaid family workers, that are this type of controlled trade unions means a small, but also included in the general figure of 678,838 employed persons. not insignificant, decrease of the salary because that 1% See State Statistics Bureau, “Anketa na rabotnata sila” [„Анкета of the salary that is taken for membership in the trade на работата сила], 2013“, June 2014, 47. union goes to the employer and not to the workers, so in 103 6 OECD, “Trade Union Density”, http://stats.oecd.org/Index. reality it can not be treated as part of the salary that the aspx?DataSetCode=UN_DEN workers spend as they see fit. 104 Zdravko SaveskiITradeUnions,WorkersandtheProtectionofWorkers’Rights:aViciousCirclewithNoEscape? but are here to protect the interests of the owners or the owners of the interests the to protect are here but workers’ the interests, that don’trepresent themselves, trade unions, trade unionsthathavesold are those “yellow” category, first the In unions. trade anti-system narrowly focused 6) efficient and solidary 7) efficient and 2) bureaucratic, 3) inactive, 4) inefficient 5) efficient, but 1) “yellow”, into sevencategories: divided unions canbe of their activity. According to this classification, the trade effect on the based and workers’ cause the to dedication of tradeunionsthatcanbemadebasedon their unions in Macedonia in accordance with the classification trade the of position the determine shall analysis, we next partofthe and asakindofintroductionintothe the portrayal oftradeunionsinMacedonia To complete medium companies. and small of category in the fall in Macedoniausually And originallyprivatecompanies employees. with fewer ones than inthe in thecompanieswithmoreemployees syndical organisation is moreoften there in Macedonia countries, other in the like a factor.Just also is company size ofthe the but ofMacedonia, Republic of the Constitution above the themselves position owners the that is for that main reason The rarely happens. it shows, in Macedonia reality and where,asthe a new established be should unions trade where companies private originally the with case the not company. Thatis the of privatisation the after even exist to continued often which syndical organisation was often privatisation, there the privatised companies,before private companies.Inthe originally one inthe privatised companiesandthe in the union density between a difference also is there private sector for that,inthe Aside sector. state the in is greater union density private sector, where the one in to the as opposed sector, state in the density union in the difference a huge is there that mention to in Macedonia,itisnecessary Speaking ofuniondensity trade unionsinMacedonia. or solidary.There arenoanti-capitalist narrowly focused efficient, are them of part small a only and inactive inefficient or are them of majority the that bureaucratised, or “yellow” are Macedonia in unions trade of majority the cansaythat classification inmind, we If onehasthis system. with another,fairersocioeconomic to bereplaced needs improve, capitalism essentially to workers’ situation the Theylocate in orderfor andthinkthat as aproblem itself capitalism thesystem. against oriented and efficient that are unions isofthose of trade category seventh the and informalcitizens’initiatives.Finally, associations with othertradeunionsandworkers, and alsowithother solidarity express also workers’ rights,but the protect the efficient and solidary trade unions not only efficiently only intheirmembers’rights.Unlikethem, interested of in theprotection are - they narrowly focused are quite workers’ rights,but are efficient which category fifth unions inthe trade for the work. That isnotaproblem from their is nobigeffect reason, there tosome due but workers’ interests, of the protection work on the actually that unions trade the are which unions trade inefficient in reality toachievethis. are the The nextcategory or nothing little do they workers’ rights, but the protect to want they in general orbureaucratised, yellow are they ones forwhichitcannotbesaidthat trade unionsarethe inactive the own. Thethirdcategory, only their interests, workers’ the represent not do who side, but other the to themselves sold have not leaders unions whose trade unions arethose trade bureaucratised category, second government andtocontrolswaytheworkers. In the Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

2) The Lack of Trust in the Trade Unions and the At first glance, the fault is at the top. The fish stinks from Reasons for That the head. That is definitely true in certain cases, but not always. In general, the reasons for the unsuccessfulness The trust in trade unions is weak and in principle it is of the trade unions can be located in all four concerned not necessary to argument that.7 Convictions such as factors: the central syndical management, the syndical “trade unions are not worthed”, “they don’t care about representatives, the ordinary trade union members the workers”, “they care only about their positions”, and the unorganized workers. The central trade “they are one with the government” are dominant in union management (branch union or trade union all three categories relevant for the trade unions: the confederation) can be “yellow” and/or bureaucratised, general public, the workers as a whole, and the workers not actually doing anything for the workers and acting that are syndically organised. There is lack of trust that as an arm of the government aimed at controlling and the syndicalists have the will to act in the interest of the swaying the workers. However, it can have completely workers, and when that is not questioned, there is lack honest intentions and be blocked in its activities by the of trust that they have the power to act in the interest of lack of interest and the apathy of the ordinary members the workers. Where can we locate the problem related to of the trade union. Syndical representatives, i.e. the trade this situation? union presidents at the level of enterprises/institutions can be sold, can deal with the owner/employer, use 7 The Macedonian Centre for International Coperation in its their position as an additional basis for getting extra report on the trust in Macedonia, determined that in 2010 payment, and nothing more than that. Even if this is the syndicates had the trust of only 25.3% of the respondents. not the case, they can, which is also unacceptable, care From all of the state and public institutions and organisations, only the political parties had somewhat less support (23.3%), only about new years’ parcels and pork halves. But on and, paradoxically, even the employers’ organisations the other hand, union representatives can be the most had higher support than the syndicates (27,2%). See, Saso active syndicalists in the enterprise/institution who are Klekovski, Emina Nuredinoska, Daniela Stojanova, “Doverbata completely dedicated to fighting for workers rights and vo Makedonija” [Сашо Клековски, Емина Нурединоска, are ready to dedicate significant time for that purpose Даниела Стојанова „Довербата во Македонија“], MCMC, and put themselves at additional risk. Concerning the Skopje, 2010, p.6, http://www.mcms.org.mk/images/ ordinary syndical members, they can be watch dogs of docs/2011/doverbata-vo-makedonija-2010.pdf According to the corrupted syndical representatives, but they can the same report for 2013, the support for the syndicates shows also be uninterested in anything, to avoid and to wait significant increase (35.9%) and is slightly higher than the trust for someone else to do the job for them. In the end, the in the employers’ organisations (35.6%). However, the increase of the distrust in almost all state and public institutions unorganised workers may be unorganized because they and organisations throws a shadow on the complience with can’t manage, due to the pressure from the employer, to scientific standards in this research. See Aleksandar Krzalovski establish or to be members of a trade union, or they do [Александар Кржаловски], “Doverbata vo lugjeto I vo not want to be members of a corrupted trade union at instituciite” [„Довербата во луѓето и во институциите”] 2013 their workplace, but they can also refuse to be members

(Skopje: MCMC, 2013), http://www.mcms.org.mk/images/ of a trade union because they are taking the side of the 105 docs/2013/doverba-vo-lugjeto-i-vo-instituciite-2013.pdf, owner, wanting to get the rights without effort, or they accessed on August 2013 simply do not believe in the efficacy of collective actions. 106 Zdravko SaveskiITradeUnions,WorkersandtheProtectionofWorkers’Rights:aViciousCirclewithNoEscape? b) Lacking mobilisation potential. When the ruling When the b) Lacking mobilisationpotential. а) following: are the unions aresoweakinMacedonia trade the reasons why the more precisely, speak to want If we to lead thetradeunions. people” “right the putting just by solved be not will unions trade the with problems the that workers. Itshows ordinary membersandunorganised representatives, of syndical level but alsoatthe central unionleadership, the of level the at only not are problems the Macedonia, unions in trade Concerning the is rarelyapplied. rule,which,unfortunately, golden them. Thisisthe of ask have donewhatisrequired they whether themselves first must criticise who those All actions. syndical passive andifalargenumberofworkers stay asidefrom are members regular the if representatives, syndical by can notdomuchifitissupported leadership central union best workers. Eventhe unorganised the withthe not is and ordinary members the representatives, syndical the problem whether check first must the blamewitharguments,one in ordertosupport However, unionleadership. to blamethe It iseasiest ht h mblsto ptnil f VMRO-DPMNE of potential mobilisation the what point at this comment not that .Wewill do to time of offices did’t waste they the Commission,but Electoral State the crowded members the did only year. Not last Ivanov Gjorgje president old-new the of candidature for the signing the was for that example best the Maybe huge. is members the of response members its of in acertainpartisanactivity,the involved get to requires VMRO-DPMNE, party, certain numberofworkers. unions ofa trade in “yellow” memberships forced and decreasing is it the to lower, due is realistically even thispercentage 25%, about is density union mentioned, already have we As density. union Low d) c)

the trade unions. Horizontaltrade organisation hasits the to recommended be not forward, itshould step horizontal organisingis animportantdemocratic organisations inMacedonia, that,although leftist for the horizontal organisationtypical to respect add, with shortly only would we and democracy, trade union. In context withthetopicoftradeunions to createahealthy has notmanaged then he/she irreplaceable, himself/herself made has he/she if union, but trade their to much contributed have may hold the same position more than 20 years. Someone that areexamplesofsyndicalleaders small andthere not is functionaries syndical “eternal” of number a just is democracy The syndical documents. in the value proclaimed cases, of number small a for Low levelofintra-syndicaldemocracy.Again, except represent. workers thatthey of the interests of the defence the than positions their more about much care or side other to the sold themselves that either by people unions aredominated trade the exceptions, a few of Aside leaders. syndical the of Weak moralintegrity should bedone. think such actions, they even whentheythemselves take partin to them avoid calling they therefore etc.), event Day strike, May (protest, actions their in participate workers, will the of rest mention the union, notto their trade of members that doubt seriously leaderships very small.Union is unions of thetrade the members,mobilisationpotential of identification of lack the of consequence a As of. are members union they trade know which to not members workers. Itisnotrareforsyndical of the rest trade unionsbothamongthemembersand the with identification of lack a is There potential. to suchmobilisation in Macedoniaarenotevenclose unions trade the that mention only to. Wewill due is Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

advantages, but its disadvantages as well. The main through social dialogue only if it has the capacity to disadvantage is the vulnerability to takeovers. In mobilise a larger number of workers to protests and syndical context, that would mean that the minority strikes, in case they are not fulfilled. If it lacks that dedicated fighters for workers rights within a trade capacity, or even worse, if it deprives itself from that union could be overruled by the majority of workers capacity, then the position of the trade union in the acting in accordance with the employer’s directions. social dialogue can easily be neglected by the other Aside for that, within the syndical movement, it side. must be insisted that the decision of the majority f) Orientation towards defensive strategy. Due to the must be obligatory for all members. If the opposite orientation of all governments in Macedonia and the is allowed, that everyone should decide whether employers to decrease workers’ rights and violate to participate in a certain action, as he/she finds them in practice, the trade unions are forced to use fit, it will additionally weaken and disable effective a defensive strategy, to protect the existing rights syndical actions. and to demand their implementation in practice. e) Unconditional commitment to social dialogue. This fight for defending workers’ rights is so long It is certainly better to succeed in achieving that it seems as if the trade unions have forgotten workers’ rights through negotiations than through to complement their defensive strategy with an confrontation. But what if social dialogue can not offensive one, and aside for defending existing be achieved through social dialogue? For many rights, to require introduction of new rights. Limited trade unions, that is where the fight ends. Simply, if to only a defensive strategy, the trade unions allow they don’t manage to protect the workers interests the other side to define the public discourse which through dialogue, they give up on taking further instead of introducing a new right, concentrates on steps. What they fail to understand in that process is the defence of a right that is going to be decreased or that the voluntary abdication from “confrontation” abolished. measures due to the blind ideological dedication to g) The trade unions are typical Macedonian institutions the “dialogue” is exactly what limits the negotiating with Macedonian mentality. Complaining and power of the trade unions. For a trade union to be lamenting have unfortunately become a national successful in the social dialogue with the other sport in Macedonia. The huge majority of people “social partners”, it must have negotiating power. often complain and lament without trying to That negotiating power greatly depends on the change the situation that they are complaining and ability of the trade union to mobilise the workers to lamenting about. This complaining and lamenting strike or protest in case the employees or the state are so widespread among Macedonian citizens, do not want to fulfil its requirements. Because of as well as the insisting that their problems are the that, the negotiating power of the trade union is greatest; one could easily think that maybe the necessarily dependable on its protesting power. passion of Macedonians is greater than the one of If the trade union limits itself to social dialogue, it Christ! Then, these troubles are treated as an excuse

cuts the branch it is sitting on. The trade union can enough not to take action. The Macedonian syndical 107 manage to achieve the fulfilment of its demands representatives are not the exception from the typical 108 Zdravko SaveskiITradeUnions,WorkersandtheProtectionofWorkers’Rights:aViciousCirclewithNoEscape? i) h) rights that the governmentwants todecrease/ workers’ some manage toprotect members, they for their interest and loanswithout assistance monetary for non-refundable funds have solidarity of the members, they their to assistance legal free provide visibility insufficient of unionactivities.Thetradeunions aspects positive or nonexistent The halves. Perdefinitionem. and pork Year’sparcels that, New with only deals think that thetrade unionisan organisation that uninformed citizens that partofthe so widespread is and porkhalves.Thatpractice parcels Year’s New only to union isrestricted of the activity syndical whole the a problemwhen it becomes but in itself, the tradeunionmembers.Thatisnotaproblem for discounts consumer collective provision of the workers in Macedonia,is impoverishment ofthe important inconditionsofconsiderable undoubtedly importance. Partofthesyndicalactivities, secondary of issues with much Dealing too and advanceworkers’interests. defend to intention in the succeed action, to syndical limitations andrisks that appearonthepathof the having inmindall and well, union as trade definitely is courage but other membersofthe the required, to encourage on, head go not should but alsobrave. is honestanddedicated, Surely, one representative syndical situation. Agood the change taken to can be steps slightest not eventhe which to due obstacles the of issue the to and againreturns again discussion limitations, canbedone,the the directionwhat,asidefor the discussionin the guide with. Evenwhentryingto he/she isfaced obstacles king of activities andwhat in theirownsyndical are there problems unsurpassable of kind and what meet, bothofthemtoexplaineachotherwhich representatives Macedonian syndical two when happens, citizen. Itoften Macedonian the of image j) not be expected from all others, and especially from from the all others, and especially not beexpected It cantherefore workers’ rights depends. of the status The workers are alsoone ofthefactorsfromwhich requests. syndical/workers’ the fulfil to refuse they case in sanctions with state) and the owners (the employers the threaten seriously union cannot trade workers, the of the the support workers. above, without As mentioned the on also but unions, trade the on depends definitely workers’ rights and advancingof defending The Rights 3) WorkersandHowthey(Don’t)ProtectTheirOwn become theirgreatestproblem. Macedonia last,itistheonethatthreatening to unions of trade the of problem this mentioned blood inthetradeunion.we than new Although of youngworkers. They aremoreofan ornament activities andnotawareenoughofthecurrentissues the syndical in involved insufficiently passive, are branch unions),they not the union confederations, trade organisations (usually youth unions havetheir some trade evenmorereal. Although dying becomes danger ofthatorganisation years pass,the as the organisation. Therefore, for every is adisadvantage That leaderships. syndical one ofthe the especially The averageageofthesyndicalmembersisquitehigh, organisations. geriatric into unions trade Turning activities. union of the positive aspects to informaboutthe will have the problem isthatmostofthemediadoes the other partof public, andthe informing ofthe to the attention enough do notdedicate unions themselves trade the is that problem the unions. Part of trade and qualitiesinthework of the rare successes these of aware workers arelittle and the wider public the and advanceworkers’ rights. However, boss torespect manage topresssome they abolish, andsometimes Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left trade unions, the Labour inspectorate and the political advancing workers’ rights definitely requires overcoming parties, to defend and to advance workers rights, while the typical mentality of the workers in Macedonia, the workers sit with folded arms. Not only is it morally therefore, it is necessary to talk about the problems on problematic someone to expect others to fight for their behalf of the workers. right, without that person giving his/her contribution, a) Being unaware of one’s own rights and lacking but also the other factors often can not manage to achieve interest of learning about them. The typical worker someone’s rights, even when they really want it, without in Macedonia is not acquainted with his/her rights, the contribution of the person concerned. and even more, does not want to get to know them. Everything else is more interesting than that: It is important to underline that the strength of the trade football, Turkish series, the name dispute, the union does not depend only on the union leadership, but abuses of government. The legal language that the on the members as well. Not only the union leadership workers’ rights are communicated in can be difficult has to be dedicated to the cause, but the ordinary to understand, the laws are changed all too often, members as well. The inactive, bureaucratic, and so on, but all of these can not be regarded as sufficient leadership makes the trade union passive, but so do the reason because it concerns issues that directly apathetic members as well. For example, a strike can not affect their lives. Aside from that, if the situation be successful with five or six people, however dedicated in the company/institution is generally good or to the cause they might be. That is why it is difficult for a acceptable, especially if the salary is regularly paid, trade union to be able to complete the task. The leadership then, the typical worker in Macedonia is not very should be good, but so should be the members. If only interested in whether and which of his/her rights one of the sides has a problem (meaning, the leadership are respected. If it worsens, then the interest rises, or the members), the trade union shall be unsuccessful. but even in that case it is only a concern about one’s own rights at the workplace. That the workers’ rights In Macedonia, not only do the workers have complaints can worsen or improve by changing the laws, that it against the syndicalists, but the syndicalists have is possible, through influence of political parties, to complaints against the workers. One of the better achieve improvement of his/her workers’ rights – is syndical activists in Macedonia has said that with this something that the other people should deal with. kind of workers, even if the best syndicalists in the world Concerning the workers’ rights of others, there is a would come to Macedonia, they couldn’t do anything. readiness to express empathy (if an acquaintance It is important to mention that this kind of perception is concerned), but solidarity is something that is has an effect on the trade unions themselves, i.e. on the simply unthinkable. Typically, 1st May is perceived amount of pressure that they are prepared to put on the as the day when we have a barbeque with our family employers. and friends, not as a day to express dissatisfaction from the status of one’s own rights and request for For everyone that is openly on the side of the workers is them to be advanced. uncomfortable to talk badly about the workers. However, b) Passively awaiting help from outside. The typical 109 without pointing out to the problem, as the first step in worker does not see himself/herself as a factor on overcoming it, no progress will be made. Defending and which his/her workers’ rights depend upon and 110 Zdravko SaveskiITradeUnions,WorkersandtheProtectionofWorkers’Rights:aViciousCirclewithNoEscape? c) and when the ordinary trade union members see how see union members ordinary trade the and when president, syndical oflooking atthe them, instead than engaged ordinary membersareless how the see other membersofthesyndicalleadership when the Taking those thatareworseasrolemodelshappens to fail. destined be probably actions will syndical than them,thenthe that arebetter instead ofthose as rolemodels, than them that areworse taking those hierarchy start syndical in the down lower those management, andthen,theordinary members. If syndical rest ofthe andthenfollowsthe busiest, is the trade union of the strikes andsimilar, president the as actions, such are syndical there when especially or bureaucraticleadership, not have“yellow” does In minimal a tradeunionthat personal engagement. what oneislookingforwith to get tendency from the as workers rights,aswell one’s own of advancement and protection of a factor as self-exclusion from the stems This feature better. are that those not models, Taking those thatareworsethanthem asrole but them. guilty, is else everyone that turns out It rights. their can improve that actors as themselves include not worsening oftheirrightsanddo party forthe guilty the as themselves exclude workers the that happens it upon. Veryoften factor thathis/herrightsdepend as a the sameistrueforhis/herownself-perception tothe workers, and of the disadvantage advantage orthe thelegislation to change power significant are inpower,have they when especially though, upon, even depends workers’ rights of the status the parties asafactor that political not identify she does he/ Labour Inspectorate, unions andthe trade the of activities of the effects and the efforts from the silver platter. He/she is usually extremely dissatisfied Labour Inspectorate, toserve themtheirrightsona unions andthe trade the all others,especially expects e) d)

but also because a significant part of them is phobiat. of theworkersareprecariat, a greatpercent because problem have aserious we do only not unfortunately, worker. InMacedonia, a phobic becomes rights her his/ protect to order in one, joining from or action, refrains fromtaking worker that the and evenless, 10% is rights ones’ defending for consequences of risk the when However, vacuum. in act to fit is it as act on andto head workers togo urge activist would certain action is 90%. No normal syndical or workers’ risk from takinga to refrainfromtakingaction,ifthe it isreasonableforallthatarenotgamblers Surely a phobia. reason andbecome beyond can oftengo of fear feeling it isnecessarytounderlinethatthe contracts aredefactoprecariousworkers. However, employment have typical who those also but contracts, employment have atypical that and those registered as freelancers, are engaged who those as employed, officially not are who those by only not felt is job losing of danger the to related uncertainty precarious, uncertain,therefore became workplaces rate, owner. many Due tothehighunemployment the of practice unacceptable some against protest to salary try toorganisetheirco-workers rightsifthey and the the lowering to job their losing from place, work the at fear feel to reasons workers haveenough enormousfear. Without anydoubt,the Feeling than the current one, regardless whether it is ona whether one, regardless current than the reality of amoreacceptable establishing the to help person that can motivate it than today,then better can be life that a hope has block it.Ifsomeone also feeling. However, action, it can but itcan instigate is apositive hope. In general, hope Nurturing false the syndicalleadership. of engagement of lookingatthe instead themselves, rightsforwhichthey,themembers,engage the get and risk effort unorganised workerscan without the Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

micro or macro level. The destruction of this type of (due to colleagues’ snitching, their fear and/or hope is the reason why the losers of the system largely apathy), even when the worker thinks that it is accept their present situation, although it is to their possible, he/she does not believe that it is possible to disadvantage. The typical worker in Macedonia not achieve something through collective action. What only lacks this hope, but is inclined to nurture false the owner is faced with is a mass of atomised workers hope: that the boss will have an understanding for that have lost their faith in collective opposition, and their suffering, that the boss, by definition, working in such case it is easy for him to violate their rights. for his/her own benefit, works for the benefit of g) Having no class awareness. Lastly, but equally the employees as well, that things will take care of important, it should be mentioned that the class themselves, there is no need for him/her (the worker) awareness of Macedonian workers is low. This is true to interfere and to put himself/herself at unnecessary for both the “real” workers and the other ones, of risk. The outcome of this kind of reasoning is almost which many (for example, university professors) do always: worsening of the workers’ situation and not consider themselves as workers, although they getting crumbs from the boss. However, because work for a salary. Even when there is one, it is what of self-pity, rationalisation of one’s own passivity Vladimir Lenin calls trade-unionist, i.e. syndicalist and believing the boss’ propaganda, these crumbs awareness, which shows interest only for the most often are enough for the workers not to rebel. This is immediate problems not for the general problems of because hope that things will take care of themselves the working class and its ability to change society. The in the future is strong. low awareness of the workers in Macedonia is in the f) The feeling of powerlessness and distrust in the deep shadow of ethnic belonging, which the workers collective action. The typical worker in Macedonia in Macedonia, as the rest of the population, regard feels powerless, hopeless. Not only does he/she as their primary, and even the only identification. not believe the organisations and the institutions supposed to help him/her (the trade unions and the Labour Inspectorate first of all), but he/she does not 4) What is To Be Done? believe in his/her own strength. So, not believing that it is possible to change the situation which is As one can see, the vicious circle situation in which bad and is getting worse, the workers contribute the trade unions and the workers find themselves in is to the worsening of their own situation. The axiom quite bad and results with open space for the other side of workers’ organisation – that one worker is weak to continue decreasing and violating workers’ rights. If opposed to one owner, but that all the workers one of the factors, the trade unions or the workers, is at together are not - is usually regarded as a nice the necessary level, then there are chances that it could fairytale. The typical worker is not only unready to result in an effective resistance to further violation and solidarise, to take action, for example, when a co- decrease of the rights. But, as we have seen, there are worker unrightfully loses his job, but has also lost his serious problems both concerning the trade unions and

faith in collective action. Convinced that collective the workers. The syndicalists, faced with the apathy 111 resistance against the owner can not be organised and passive endurance of the workers, feel unmotivated 112 Zdravko SaveskiITradeUnions,WorkersandtheProtectionofWorkers’Rights:aViciousCirclewithNoEscape? b) a) are caughtupin. workers unions andthe trade the that circle vicious the break to on inorder worked be should what about follow will suggestions Therefore, incontinuation,several and dedication. interest personal by both motivated workers, of the side on the themselves have engaged for allwho “tactics” an unsatisfactoryandunacceptable is this of have to.However,all simply they because but moment the for want to, they notbecause workers riotspontaneously, the when wait and much too becomes passively just everything when and project whole on the to giveup In thiskindofsituation,itiseasiest actually havethecapacitytohelpthem. they that trust, that have they when and them, help to passively theworkers, are ready lost trustthatthesyndicalists considerably and rights, to solvetheirproblems,have else for someone waiting their for fight to

were concentrated (almost exclusively) on defending on exclusively) (almost concentrated were So far, strategy. trade unions Building an offensive abilities) shouldbereinstated. their working ondeveloping are atleast that they (or help to are able they that trust the established, is want toimprovetheirposition. If (when)that trust theworkers’ is toreinstate trust thatthesyndicalists place first the in needed is What fees. membership workers’ salariesas from the get they that money the earn to be, may it difficult however called, are they of workers’ interests, so is theprotection existence reason fortheir the action plans.Futhermore, prepare of that,canmoreeasily and because entity unions areorganised trade the syndicalists, of the the dedication may bethatworkersdonotdeserve feeling the workers mayhave, no matterhowpresent the many weaknesses how matter No circle. vicious break the to called ones unions. Tradeunionsarethe trade mainly with workers, but unions andthe trade with both things of improvement Gradual d) c)

workers inthose companies. the organise try to organisation andto syndical without companies in the employees the with contact establish to organisations. Itisnecessary syndical originally privateones, arewithout the Many companies,especially and institutions. Forming syndical organisations inmorecompanies eventually othertradeunionsshouldbeincluded. and on andinitshouldbeextended, the future further signatories oftheSyndicalChartercontinued the between cooperation The demands. key three on MayDayandcameoutwithalist of protest successful a held they 2014, in things, other Among workers’ rights. that areparticularlyintodefending organisations and two trade unionconfederation unions, a Charter byseveralbranchtrade Syndical the of signing the with 2013 in made was direction trade unions. In Macedonia, advancement in this non-“yellow” the of Networking andcooperation realise them. and totry is onthem focus the workers why the keydemands,toinform the to determine necessary doing andwhataretheirproposals.That is whyit are workers donotknowwhattheirrepresentatives The spheres. these work (or don’twork)inall equally unions trade a situation,the Insuch many spheres. to improveworkers’ that itisnecessary rights in is such situation the for theirrealisation.Usually, to make campaigns in thatsense,tostartfocussing, improving currentsituationoftheworkersand, the for key demands the todetermine It isnecessary your ownhands. means tying (as inallspheres) strategy on adefensive exclusively concentrating because but defend, to left rights less continuously is and there or decreased, abolished rights were meantime many in the for thatisnotonlybecause reason The changed. be workers’ rights.Thatmust Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left e) Not hiding the criticism aimed at the workers. When workers’ rights by principle and from outside, but, dealing with workers, it is necessary not to hide the when they are employed, they should try to form things that are problematic in their behaviour, that a syndical organisation in their work places or, if actually hinder their involvement in the defending of there is a syndical organisation, to become part of their labour rights. It is necessary to underline that it it. Establishing of a syndical organisation is not at is neither possible nor morally correct everyone else all easy and is not always possible, not due to the to deal with their rights, except they themselves; it lack of engagement by the leftist, but due to the should be stressed to them that they sometimes fear lack of interest or passivity of the co-workers. In too much even when the risk from the consequences such a case the leftist should try to create a climate is not so high; it is necessary to warn them not to for establishing a syndical organisation and, when nurture false hope, etc. No one likes hearing bad there is a serious violation of the rights, to try to things about one. Therefore, when the syndical and organise the co-workers. In cases when there is workers’ activists mention this type of things, there is already a syndical organisation at his/her work a risk that the worker might build a negative image for place, unless it is a “yellow” trade union, the leftist them. However, if problems are not acknowledged, should get involved in his/her work and help the they simply can not be solved. Defending workers’ union to become better and more efficient. If the rights and their advancement is not possible without union is “yellow”, then he/she should work on the involving the workers in that struggle. That is why establishing of a new syndical organisation. The syndical and workers’ activists must take the risk employed leftists in Macedonia, unfortunately are of mentioning negative things, even at the price of not involved enough in the trade unions. They often workers having an impression that they are not on have the same negative opinion about the trade their side. Hoping that the workers will recognize unions, as the other workers. Experience shows that, who really works for their benefit. in the cases when they got involved, it happened that f) Making workers believe in themselves. Workers they often came upon a positive feedback from the do not believe in their own strength and they do syndicalists. That is why no assumptions should be not believe in efficient collective action. Their faith made, but conclusions should be made based on in both must be restored. This can be helped by personal experience whether a certain trade union is positive examples of defence of workers’ rights, “yellow” and closed or not. Maybe the example with especially through workers’ collective action. These the entry of the Communists in the so called URS examples are maybe not many, but they exist, should unions in the 1930’s can serve as a relevant example. be identified and transferred to the workers, to serve Although they had many remarks on the work of them, aside for all the differences, as examples and the URS unions, especially for their leadership, by inspiration. the end of the 1930’s the Communists in Macedonia g) Participation of the leftists in the establishing of massively joined these trade unions and became trade unions and taking their entry in already prominent workers’ activists and strike organisers.

established ones. The leftists, who by definition are Many of them later join People’s Liberation Army 113 on the side of the workers, should not only defend during the World War Two and gave their lives for a brighter future. 114 in conversation with Artan Sadiku on 16 Artan Sadiku with conversation in Transcript of apublictalkgivenby Richard Seymour Perspectives oftheleft inEurope Abstract Guardian andrunsthepopularblogLenin’sTomb. Defence (2008). regularly forthe of Murder His writes The Meaning of David Cameron(2010) and The Liberal (2012), A BriefHistoryof American Anti-Imperialism Hitchens (2012), of Christopher American Insurgents: of Unhitched: the Trial the author is Richard Seymour Bionote Seymour with Richard Conversation be thrownintocrisis. themselves bycrisis,would are affected formation that social in this being embedded Left of the institutions the that expect you that follows, logically it think that are amaterialist,ifyouMarxistinanyway, I you Left. And,if the of crisis also it’s purposes, our tohearing,butmostimportantly, for as weareused followed from that has not 2008, been And, just a Left. crisis the that crunch andeverything credit Recession, the the of of capitalism crisis the is that and mind, in have toget framework thatwe There isageneral Perspectives oftheleftinEurope th January be today asThe considered Left, Leftthe political in Can we startwitha brief of what description can coming along. for acting. strategies Welcome, Richard, thank you for and means our alternatives, political our find to trying while perspective have awider and to Europe the Left in dynamics of get aperspectiveofwhatarethepolitical for usto thistopicinorder should openthe School with Perspectives of the Left in Europe.”We believe that we “The is title Tonight’s talk’s the UK. in of LeftUnity a member the Guardian for a columnist activist, RichardSeymour,author,academic, the UK, from month. It ismy guest pleasure tonighttowelcomeour per seminars two one to you know,in be organized,as of Macedonia. of theThe left wingactivists School will and which aims toboostthe capacities and knowledge of Skopje withthe Rosa support LuxemburgStiftung Sciences and Humanities- of Social by theInstitute which organized and critique, is politics to the School for evening Artan: Good everybody, let mewelcomeyou all Luxemburg FoundationSouth-easternEurope. of theRosa the support Skopje with – and humanities organized by thecritique Instituteofsocialsciences and politics of theSchoolfor of seminars a series 2014 in Skopje, Macedonia. The talk waspartof Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

Europe, while remaining aware of the diversities that Then there’s the old communist party. Aging, very sub exist within the different formations across Europe? cultural, they are not the kinds of routines and rituals Can we give a sort of a general frame of the politics they are interested in, are the kinds of things that don’t which we might consider a leftist politics in Europe? interest, particularly newer generations of leftists. They are very conservative tactically; generally speaking Richard: I think before answering that question, there politically far more moderate than their rhetoric and is a general framework that we have to get in mind, and their formal ideological commitment would allow. Two that is the crisis of the Left. And, 2008, the Recession, examples where communists actually go into government the credit crunch and everything that followed from that – Cyprus and Moldova. I mean, did you see any serious has not been just a crisis of capitalism as we are used challenge to market based neoliberalism? I don’t think to hearing, but most importantly, for our purposes, it’s so. also crisis of the Left. And, if you are a materialist, if you are a Marxist in any way, I think that it logically follows, So, you see those parties also experiencing a long turn that you expect that the institutions of the Left being decline, not just decline in their formal substantive embedded in this social formation that are affected by politics, but a decline to their ability to relate to a wider crisis, would themselves be thrown into crisis. audience in most cases. The various remedies adopted to fix that, Euro-communism being one of them, did So, it’s three ways in which this manifests itself, which nothing really except accelerate and accentuate the crisis. partly answers your question by just talking about it: Then there is the Far Left, the various parties of First, it sharpens and throws into relief the dimensions revolutionary Left which more or less most of them thrived of a structural crisis which is already one of the Left. So since this 1960-es. At least, I think, in Western Europe, it’s not just a conjunctural crisis, it’s a structural crisis in and in the context of revolutions in Southern Europe, three ways. First of all, the traditional social-democratic but also just general tumult in North-Western Europe left has been losing its base; it’s been losing its connection too. And, these organizations have singularly failed with its voting base, which has been fragmenting across to respond effectively to the crisis of capitalism. They various different directions for about 30 years now. It failed, I think, largely because they did not, in a general is been losing its ideological distinctiveness, as is been way, their analysis of capitalism and neoliberalism was colonized by neoliberal ideologies and practices, and it not up to date, that, in order to preserve their ideological has been losing its historic sort of a repertoire of tactics purity and rectitude all too often they refused to face and strategies. In other words, the social democracy has up to certain changes taking place in the composition been the major form in which leftist politics has been of the working class in the way in which capitalism was expressed in constant, and it currently has no ability organized. So, you had a defence of treasure orthodoxies, to answer, to analyse or explain the current crisis of rather than an attempt to face up to realities. They started capitalism, or to pose any solutions other than mile with the good old things rather than bad new things. diversions of the austerity remedies that the parties of 115 the Right have been pushing. So, that’s social-democracy. There’s three sectors of the Left, all of them in a crisis. I mentioned the crisis in far Left, I just want to specify 116 Conversation withRichardSeymourIPerspectivesoftheleftinEurope is an infrastructure – they don’t have anyinfrastructure! is aninfrastructure –they lack, andthat actually movements social day present the look at them, what you find is that there is something that is. Butifyou my area ofstudy that’swhere because based American largely be will examples My Movement. Rights anti-Vietnam the War Movement, theCivil successful, thing abouthistoricsocialmovementsthathave been pessimistic: the Richard: called This iswhyI often get of theleft,i.e.,farleft? the parties form ofstructures association withpolitical have emerged, and inparticular,theirresistancetoany you explain the social context in which these movements Could outcome. final the of idea clear no with alliances on kicking off, and advocating for broader resisting of these which social movements only focus limitations damage on austerity.Youhave pointed outtothe single a even inflict to succeeded not have movements that these social have written You movements. of social consisted is and it as anoccurrencethroughoutEurope emerged. It has been spreading asa strategy, as a tactic, throughout Europe,amovementhas the economic crisis of theLeft which coincideswith the crisis Artan: During Workers PartyfromwhichIcome. happening in several organizations, not just the Socialist way, is way. Thisfragmentation,bythe destructive back inaseriously Marxist commitment.Thathascome of the purity conserve the to sortof and attempt posture and reactive defensive a largely was movements feminist to incorporateandunderstandthecontributionof refusals Again, the politics. as gender such politics of you havealreadyknow, with failuresonotherforms of Far-Left andit’slinkedup,assome Anglophone of itinthe is averyparticularelement there that, but Far-Left. I Anglophone don’t knowmuchbeyond to the Far-Left isveryparticular crisis ofthe something. The on, given the every single attempt has either failed or has failed has either attempt every single on, giventhe and so a struggle lead form, help in apolitical interests their concentrate population, of sections significant fuse democratic form of organization of genuinely which can form akind to or anyattempt collapse, historic the give say to and fragmentation. That is defeat of pathology a it being of is anelement there I thinkthat be! to going am I hand, other the On this. about sectarian be to is this,sortof,anti-political.Idon’twant The other kinds ofleft-winggroupsaswell. one ofthe is certain whit this get symptoms. Andyou pathological This has changed! nothing and satisfied home, areapparently go they then happening!”—and have abigorgasmicexplosion—“it’s concert, andthey which everybodymeetin a bigpark, and thereisarock of reckoning in day glorious is abig and there excitement a big create and they and advertisements, tele-broadcast celebrities, have They one! of appearance the simulate is nosocialmovement,butthey social movement,there – an anti-poverty thingin London, simulate a and they If” “Big the like protests calling NGO-s get literally you well branded. And they can project inordinate influence, organized and nit andreasonablywell are tightly who who aremedia-savvyand of people small groups get you is, That politics. Left-Wing of NGO-aization the is waysin which thisisbeendone:one,there There aretwo symptoms. is pathological you’ve get extent. So,what some to run down has people mobilize to churches wake ofneoliberalism.Eventhetraditionalrole organization in the a breakdownofcommunitybased parties, political movements, abreakdownof political that havetraditionallybeenabletosustain institutions and soon. publicity But, there isarealbreakdown ofthe raise moneyandproduce number ofpeople, a large are there organization, stay intouchandpulltogether ways inwhichpeople of forms are there course, Of Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left resulted in some sort of bizarre bureaucratic distortion slowly retrieved or ended up without a significant effect, then logically there is an element of giving up, we don’t or as you say – without inflicting even a single damage need that level of organization, we can rely on people’s to austerity? Can we expect that after an eclipse of the individual initiative and somehow out of the interaction social movements and protests across Europe, a new and collective interaction hopefully through internet— space for the Left will emerge? Can we expect different you know, this is not a fetish that’s come about now— structures of the Left to take on and build alliances with mediated by the Internet, we will spontaneously generate whatever structures that will remain from these social the types of organization that we need. movements by either incorporating them or building large socially based alliances? I am aware that there I feel this overlaps with a kind of neoliberal ideology. are different contexts across Europe. Might this be a A central claim that a neoliberalism makes is that moment in which the Left might attempt to use in order the last thing we need is a social organisation, this to build such coalitions and such blocs? necessarily leads to tyranny, it leads to inefficiency, leads to distortion therefore what we need is to allow Richard: I should correct myself. There is one the spontaneous order of the market to do its job, and instance where austerity has been defeated, an austerity if you can create market-like structures in every area of government implementing a savage austerity measure, life, from the government to the internet and wherever. and that’s in Québec in Canada! You could argue that People interact on that basis and somehow information belongs to a different cycle, that it belongs to the cycle of is spontaneously accumulated and sent out again in student protests from the 2000’s. Possibly, however, it signals a bit like price signals, so on Twitter you have a was an explicitly austerity lead measure, so the question trending topics, a hash tag. These are almost like price is – how did they win? Because they did win, it was a signals; they tell you what’s hot and what’s not. Well, provisional success. It’s susceptible to roll back, there’s there is a certain overlap there, there’s a way in which all sort of problems, but, you could look in what they did. people can end up rationalizing the very irrelevance, the These student movements did have an infrastructure. very powerlessness that has been inflicted on them. They They had a long history of building a direct democracy, can end up treating as if it is a virtue, as something to be and they had real organisational campuses. So, it wasn’t embraced, rather than a problem. like in United Kingdom. In UK, the national union of students is effectively turning itself into a lobby, it Artan. Basically you consider that in some sense the presses a little for students, it’s not really democratic Left has retreated from the public space during these institution, it’s very difficult to be involved, and its mostly social movements across Europe. Do you think there direct political role is to catapult certain ambitious and was a genuine withdrawal of the Left from the space attractive young students into the role of a Labour Party in order not to be conceived as sectarian, or as hawks candidate for the election. that come in and try to kidnap the movements? How do you think, how do you evaluate the fact that this kind of In Québec it was different! They had forms of direct springs of movements across Europe had their points of democracy, they set up to build social alliances, and they 117 increased resistance, disobedience, and then they kind of went out looking for alliances with organized workers. 118 Conversation withRichardSeymourIPerspectivesoftheleftinEurope through difficult times and can help propel new help propel can and times difficult through and certaindiscussions andstrategies sustaining ideas of capable be that would form ofinstitutions in the leave they do traces what residue, what is question the happen, to that’s going dissipate, always will movement The social the socialmovementismuch moredepleted. in didn’t haveanythinglike So, whatIamsayingisforus,we one ultra-neoliberalandsoon. parties, different two between movement, soitsbasesplit student the by incapacitated totally was it because split base government the Actually pathetic. pretty were they It didn’t just lose because of the left nationalist grouping, way. in aserious government losing the to led end in the which a militant struggle wage to and continue to go able were of lawandordermeantthatthey the consensus within be received media, howthey’ll from the received be they’ll for how their disregard But Iamsayingthat finger). I am not encouraging this behaviour, good Lord! of theirroutewhichwasrightly(animageamiddle an image police the send marching, they going were they where to tell the police refuse fuck off!”Notonlydidthey said: “no, movement inQuébec protest. So, the student violence; it is a normative and ideological pressure not to government says a protest is illegal, it’s not just a treat of the – when media? Wehaveaproblem the appease try to you and order?Do law of forces the appease try to you do point is aquestion:atthat them. Here after police the out Government sent it. The to opposed powerfully are that thepeople and pans.Thisbasicallysignalled at nightandbashingtheirpots streets coming outonthe a famousPotsandPans Protest –aworking class people in theircommunities. Youhad over workingclasspeople won workers, and they from the actions on solidarity call could they like that,but strikes andstuff call actually trade union’sbureaucracyto the not get They could England; but, generally speaking, the infrastructure of something that’s happened since 1989 or even the 1979- since1989 oreventhe that’s happened something just it’s think don’t I and weakened and attacked been layers have of those working class. Allthree the it, usually implementing of capable is that agency the is and there capitalism, revolutionary overthrowof or sortof state it isformed throughthe weather is alongtermstrategy, else. There or workerscontrol something controlled a state is, whether socialism what of view is ageneral normative goalofsocialismand there ideological the is vision, there legged is atraditionalthree there But wrong. went what out figure and it to assimilate to have we it, about Left, andwe are onthe I thinkifwe cannot. It’sourlegacy forget just can we that say to mean don’t the that think really I I and collapsed, utterly has socialism of model classical 1989. just not It’s something. and means alternative isfeasible within whichaleft I think we needareconstructionofthatsymbolicspace politicized. are and whoknowthatthey politicized are explicitly who than those layer ofpeople much largerandwider a That cancalltogether waytogether. in ademocratic and to actcollectively people get can actually that, you like spaces find could you If apart. them keep to prefers in a waythatneoliberalism together bring people they tax”… These are a local, very issue specific campaign, but “bedroom so called campaigns againstthe up build can you areas in workingclass Kingdom, United In the to ordinarypeople. count that on issues communities in that, Imeanbuilding like think-tank orsomething social movement.Bythat,Idon’tthinkhavinga have asuccessful to makes itpossible that infrastructure Rebuilding ofthebasicgrass-rootsfrom bellow propose threestrategicorientations,theyalltaketime: and thisisaproblem.Therefore, I don’t help they speaking, And generally success? towards movements Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left ies. I think it’s something to do with the post-war period labour movement in the 1980’s and in the wake of the and the collapse of what used to be called the vanguard. collapse of the USSR and the ideological horizon that I think rebuilding that space means building in a space that represented. So, that has opened up a space in which where social democracy used to be. it’s possible to build radical left organizations. But we can learn a lot of the successes and failures thus far. One Artan: You talk about the failure of social movements model we definitely don’t want to imitate is that of the to build sustainable social institutions. On the other Rifondazione Comunista, and the reason why it’s such a hand, we have the traditional social democracy, the disaster is not just that they were to the right wing, that reformist left, which is dramatically falling apart all they were of the quite radical, in principle. It’s because around Europe. Do you consider that the new Left has they joined a government that was neoliberal, they the capacity to address the social base of the reformist joined the government and they implemented neoliberal social democracy? Do you think the crisis has made policies. They destroyed their whole historic purpose. it possible to address this kind of social base with the arguments of the the Radical Left?? Artan: Then there is the model of SYRIZA which basically has inspired some enthusiasm, not only in Richard: I would say, it depends on what you mean by Macedonia, but throughout the Balkans. But the way in being pulled to the Right. I think that it depends also which SYRIZA have managed itself through the political on the conjuncture of the social formation, all sorts of process has brought about a sense of dissatisfaction things. But, for example in United Kingdom, Left Unity and demoralization with the easing of their rhetoric. is well to the right of where I am, but I am the member As they went inside the political process, as they went of it nonetheless. The reason, I think, is because if you in the elections, and now the latest polls show they are want to relate to people who are essentially ordinary the first party by support in Greece and basically they people who have always voted Labour, they got certain are a government in waiting, it seems that they have ideas, they believe in public services, they believe in slowly shifted to the right in order to accommodate the nationalizing key industries, banks and so on. These different challenges that the political process offers to aren’t hugely radical things but they well to the left to them. Would you see this model as a viable model for the mainstream consensus and they are alienated by the similar parties in contrast to Rifondazione Comunista neoliberal direction of the dominant Social Democratic in Italy? Party. You need to somehow effectively mediate between where you’d like to be and where things actually are. And Richard: Well, we don’t know what the viable model you need to somehow find a structure that can mediate is yet. We are only at the beginning of the pedagogical between your maximalist revolutionary goals and process. What I would say about SYRIZA is two things, where the people you want to talk to are at the moment. first of all, I’ve spoken to a number of SYRIZA members So I think the radical Left formations that have been and their perspective, when I spoke to them, was that emerging, the fact that they did start to emerge in the the majority of the membership of SYRIZA prior to the late 1990-s and 2000’s is not accidental, it has to do with elections had not really had to face up to the idea of – what 119 the defeats that have been inflicted on the Left and the would you do if the sticking to the austerity, or leaving the 120 Conversation withRichardSeymourIPerspectivesoftheleftinEurope least more correct than the Rightone,is thatitrequires least morecorrect thanthe I thinkismorecorrect,at Poulanzianism, which Left of Greeks. Thesort Independent SYRIZA the aligning with measures, like with opportunistic up end will means you basically which project reconciliationist and performist for agradualist, is anargument road.” Imean this the down there, somewhat get you know–“we’ll “eventually,” kind ofstate, can graduallyconvertittoasocialist you if youwork apparatus on certainissueswithintheState allies withinthe State, lead toconclusionthatifyouget basically will version which in myopinionabastardized which isessentially of thestate Poulantzian interpretation to bearinmind. There isaRight-Wing of thestate materiality is the emerge. Theotherthingisthatthere to yet is model successful the that But, Isuspect see. to have know, we’ll Well, you model? a successful it So, is alongside themembersofSYRIZA. orworking organization, the within fighting by win to have you exhortations orpropaganda.It’ssomething with overcome can be that something it’s not But weakness, andIthinkit’saproblem. it’s afundamental And Ithinkthat Eurozone.” the with commitment the rather thanbreak commitment anti-austerity the down water we’ll necessary, are sacrifices the all for Eurozone the with stick know we’ll “you actually, decided issue this on and so forth. And the majority of members faced with country’s economyandso not beseenasdamagingtothe have beenontoSYRIZA Right inorderto to movethe pressure the elected, SYRIZA prevent being in orderto rulers EU by the economic blackmailthatwasbewitched campaign of and the elections Eurozone. Sincethe the euro and the question ofdiscussing the whole sell slightly to able were that, they idea the was know, this idea, you the was this But elections. for the dropped quietly was the to sacrifice one “not of were abletogowiththisslogan Union? European Sothey uro,”although in practice it practice in Euro,”although small groups in SYRIZA, if they intervene at the correct in SYRIZA, intervene atthe small groups if they are there certainly and groups, small comparatively for not easy,but,possible for, well quite easy become talking about. Itdoes I was infrastructure of absence Left, giventhe of the state general depleted given the mean, I conjuncture, of feature a it’s think I Richard: reference ofthe(new)radicalleftpolitics. tothe common Europeanpolitical strong implications be for SYRIZA dramatically therewill crumbles support which actindependently? If the structures social with might crumbleifthey succeed up alliances don’t to build base. a kindoffalseimagewhich Do youthinkthisis increase which does notcorrespondwithitssocial the of SYRIZA, sudden raiseandincrease in popularity engagement of the State. outside A challenging issue is activity, struggleand strong degree oflevelpolitical a maintain also must party Such aradical against it. the state working within of sectors be a lot there will crisis, a precedinggenuineinstitutional without through elections, party takesthepower revolutionary the state.Incaseasocialist, outside or of actingwithin is nottochooseradical politics between these binaries our Artan: So,basicallyoneofthevaluablewaysfor state apparatus,itwouldbeSYRIZA! the be not will reformed will be who people most, the will thatthe they which isquitepossible elected, get they once is that problem commitments. Andthe their down theiranalysisandwatering result for them, tempering any positive be to going not is there that know forsure try tocreatesomesortofcrisiswithintheState,butI for themto be effective I itwould have noideawhether know, you pursuing, SYRIZA is that is problem the And by serious antagonism. to, andthathastobeinduced you have block andtherefore power crises withinthe and apparatuses, state the creation ofcrisiswithin the Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left moment with a correct slogan to suddenly acquire huge Artan: You mentioned some issues that I would like to influence in that situation. I’ll give you an example, not focus a little bit more before we go to the next step. You as contentious as SYRIZA, in the United Kingdom when mentioned the trade unions and we’ve seen a decline the student movement kicked off in 2010. And when in trade union activity and trade union revolutionary I say “kicked of” I mean there actually was a student politics throughout Europe. Here we talked about movement as opposed to there’ve been nothing. The the trade unions, we even had a protest in front of nature of sort of organized grouping that was doing their headquarters because they don’t use protest and anything and setting the dates of protest and where they because they have been occupied by the union’s elites would be, was a small group of people of couple of Far- which are in tight relation with current government Left organizations which are actually miniscule. They structure, or whatever government, or whatever party are marginal, they’ve got no social win at all, but they is in government in the country. It seems that you launched a couple of front campaigns and they set up the kind of advocating for more wider approach to social Facebook page, and these kids were coming from poor movements which means that in the context of class outer suburbs of London, who just responded to what war we should not only focus in the unionized workers was posted on the Facebook. And that was the influence in the current unions, but we should use wider struggles they had. The result of this was the leader of one of these which spring throughout different issues and try to fronts, a guy named Michael Chessum, came to believe bring in the class rhetoric, the class argument inside this that if he called a protest, he could have summoned 50 struggles. You believe that it is still possible to politicise 000 people to the streets of London. But essentially this and to mobilize trade unions and unionized workers is the sort of situation that conjunction that we are in. in alliances with the Left or they should be considered There is always going to be an inherently fragile situation as one of the many social actors, social formations until we reconstitute some of that structure. and social movements with which we should work with. Should we still maintain the classical Marxist And SYRIZA is definitely in a paralysed situation. That political praxis of insisting only on the revolutionary does offer opportunities. One of the things that you politicization of the working class? can say is that if SYRIZA were to win, there would be pressure on them to sort of try quieting their base, to try Richard: Yes, there is a potential, but I mean, when we to sort of keep struggles under control and so on. But if talk about the working class, the reality is, I don’t know they did have a base in a trade union movement, if they what the situation is in Macedonia, but in the United did have a serious relationship with several trade unions, Kingdom of all private sectors, working places, 90% I mean serious, in the way that the KKE has historically have never seen a trade union representative. The truth done, or the PASOC, you know, I mean, if they were able is that the most working class people have never seen a to do that, they would have been much more successful strike, never seen a picket line; don’t know what is like in their strugles. So the weakness of their relationship to to be in the trade union or what benefit you get there. social movements and to trade unions and so on, might So there is no real historic disconnection there. Even actually be strategic opportunity, to bear in mind. though the trade unions in Britain are the largest social 121 organisations, they have 6 million members (which is 122 Conversation withRichardSeymourIPerspectivesoftheleftinEurope n agmns f h 20 the of arguments and of rethinking, debates process thinking throughallthe very still are for is aneed they So Ithinkthere very diffuse. nebulous, but on, so and movements Occupy subsequent the movement, with anti-capitalist the with bit reborn little germinally, basically has been capitalism to challenge a fundamental of idea The reconstruction. a revolutionary is alsorevolutionaryregroupement, there of organization, type social-democratic Left, orthe the is reconstructing, thereisthesocialmovements, there this isthattherethreelevelsweneed tobe about thing other The objective. term long a that’s So, we aretalkingabout. project reconstruction term long the of way another it’s and Ithink unorganized workersaswell to organize way a find to is way obvious The difficult. very is unionizing trade unions, actually trade make the to way a such neoliberalism haverestructuredthespaceofwork in majority the since and have neverseenatradeunionandsincethe of people that, doing of capable not are unions trade the and since together, put somehow to need we that majority class working overwhelming the it’s and majority working overwhelming establishes the of it idea the does, it thing One slogan. populist of a 99% it’s a not it’s know we who areagainsttheausterity,or whatever, but people 99% The 99%”. “the like working class. I mean, aren’t we talking aboutslogans range ofthe the broadestpossible to bringtogether order in movements, social yes, all, of first need we that be would you to So, myanswer manufacture. of bit little sector, anoccupation,a certain public are particularto and they very specialized, are not insubstantial),they were appropriate in the era of when the mass press the when era of in the appropriate were organization that of methods the that I cannotbelieve for ustoorganizeinthisage,because it isappropriate is stillvaluable,what not. Butalso,workingouthow th century,workingoutwhat European working classes. structure, whilemaintaining thedisorganisationof ruling class inasortofhierarchical of theEuropean centralisation a political a degree to organisation and successful upon the Union isbased that theEuropean fact the is face we problem words, the In other class. national working European workingclass,it’sthe the has toresist,it’snot someone level. Butwhen European at the are organised Bank, Central they European the the and IMF it’s the are inGreece, it? Ifyou implement to comes there isaquestionofprivatisation or austerity, who when struggle, is asocial there moment when is: atthe problem ruling class.Andthe on anddisorganizingthe and so working class, the subordinate classelements organizing the of one is question one. The a real is Richard: I think your problem,whatyouareaddressing in Europe.Canyouelaborateyourpointabitfurther? of thebourgeoisie of theproject example ofthevictory an is Union that European night youmentioned last because it operatesthrough neoliberal logicand I think simply as savior cannot be considered Union European claimed thatthe are infavourofjoiningthe EU. You’ve Left, themselves tobe of the leftist, people whoconsider tendency: fraction ofthe the largest the opposite witness such as Syriza.Onthe other hand, in Macedonia, we and parties of movements Union, onthepart European the Artan: We’veseen some kindofresistancetowards reconstruction process. part ofthe and focused,butI are allessential think they that’s anotherpartof,I narrowing think it’s progressively communication whicisnowbecomingthenorm. So, cell know, mass you and Internet the of era the of those same as the be should television the era of the before was relativelynew, new,massliterature was relatively rpa Union, European uropean finance ministers, finance European Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left

So, I mean, one thing you could see underpinning the think those two ends are in conflict. Europeanization of whole process of Europeanization, the convergence of the labour movement and of the Left and so on, can be currencies and so on and so forth, is the development institutionalized in various ways, it doesn’t have to take a of what sociologists call an interlocking directorate. That form of being in favour of the expansion of the monetary means that companies are increasingly sharing directors union, which if implemented, means that you’re going across different companies and that is expanding across to have a fiscal strait jacket imposed on any state that Europe. So you’ve got this network of firms, large participates in it. Quite probably, the imperial structure transnational firms across Europe which effectively of the system will mean that, you know, you’re going to are dependent on one another for supply chains, for have a German capital, French capital and so on, bashing expertise, etc. And they form basis across which the down the door to get you to lower the wages and so on, political institutions of, I think, European Union are but the they’ll lead you to buy their stuff, so you’ll have formed. Labour, organised labour, the working class to borrow a lot in order to buy their stuff. And eventually is by large excluded, I mean, you know, occasionally at some point you’ll find you can’t pay the debt and corporate or some very junior apparatuses and the they’ll say: “lazy bustards, they can’t pay their debts”, European Union, and then only on consultative basis. you know. So, I mean, you’re going to end up in a sort The democratic institutions of the European Union of Greek dilemma, I think, if you go down that route. It’s are extremely week, and that’s by design. Increasingly surprising that more countries haven’t found themselves what’s happening therefore is that the European Union in that severe crisis, but I am certain that they will. forms, and it’s institutions, forms one of the ways in which electoral potencies of national elected bodies are Artan: And now we can start taking questions. But taken away, delegated upwards to the European federal before we take the first one, I have just one last question level, and this has the effect of seriously restricting even related to the rise of the Far-Right and especially the limited choices within the parliamentary democracy. tendencies of its political mainstreaming through the electoral victories throughout Europe. You said that The question is: can you somehow occupy the European you don’t see a kind of direct causality between the Union? Can you get into their apparatuses, can you join crisis and rise of the far left. Is there a link between the European Union and hope to get elected to European rise of the far right and the crisis? institutions and get your man, and maybe get Tsipras in one of these institutions and thereby hope to reform Richard: there is a causality of this, just not a simple it? I would say that if you get a national capitalist and an immediate one. I mean, I think there are the state is hard to reform, the European Union is going structural causes and the conjuncture causes. The same to be way, way worst because of its susceptibility, it’s thing with SYRIZA actually: I mean, the parties of the vulnerability from the pressure from bellow, from the radical left have been developing for a long time and working class. So, it is much, much weaker. It’s far more you get the credit crunch and the crisis and you get the self-consciously, institutionally a ruling class project. implementation of austerity and that opens the space in

So I think it’s doomed. You know, Europeanization is which SYRIZA can grow. And, you know, before them 123 possible answer, or a regionalization, but actually I don’t the Left Bloc has been growing, Die Linke has been 124 Conversation withRichardSeymourIPerspectivesoftheleftinEurope representative institutions are in crisis,arealways there institutions representative of economiccrisis. When the is mostsevereincases which appearsascrisisof thetraditionalauthoritywhich institutions claim ofthecrisis therepresentative the is veryculturistandsoon. I thinkPoulantzas isrighton one racism, this kind of somatic determinist, biologically traditional sortof look likethe far right.Anditdoesn’t thedominantformofracism and thatbecomes projects put forwardthisnewkind of Islamophobicarticulation, These administration. Bush the under know, interventionist project of trying to remake the world, you risky extremely so undertake States United the that fact right can profit. There is the crisis of imperialism and the far than meansthatthe take onaracialdimensionwhich to areas forstruggles in certainformallyindustrialized the crisisofworkingclasspoliticswhichmakesit possible is and representativedemocracyinneoliberalism,there representation, the of collapse the a crisisof is on, there America. that therearevarious You couldsee crisis going hisideas fromthelibertarian right think-tanksHe gets in like Breivik, his ideasfrom? someone he get where does in look in America.Ifyou radical right the of culture imperialist upon predicated far more is today far right The blocs. imperial dominant norm of those Anti-Semitism wasthe system, global the into built supremacy white had still dominant worldsystem,you had colonialismasthe still thanitwasinthe1930es. different In totally 1930 you of imperialismtodayis way,theculture and systematic that analysisinaserious is thatifyoureallyapply effect ofimperialism. And whatthatmeansin of theculture pure distillation that saidfascismisachemically Now,therewasan old Trockist else. something analysis have rootsin they that see could I thinkyou Europe, across of farrightparties growth far right,the look atthe growing. Samethingwiththefarright,ifyouwantto far more powerful, much more an immediate problem more animmediate much far morepowerful, are who from people resistance tremendous against up are in there,you get you broad coalitionsgoing, once keep trying to anyone, of offend trying to not of strategy the with in there go you if that such left, radical the of uses the to is than it uses pro-neoliberal capitalist, pro- to it isfarmoremeaningful that is such state the of materiality the apparatuses, state is thatthe problem take thatgovernmentdown quiteeasily.The would they on, and so apparatuses, state media, the the Greece, within arrangements ofpower creating acrisis.Giventhe risk you Then, further.” way go to going are we lied; we base, “actually, your lost you’ve immediately base, well, popular upon are dependent you that, andif do you if will havethepower.Theproblemwiththatis, of course, once they change rhetoric will are moderateandthe they that be might it a strategy, be might Richard: Well,it project forsocialism? can a as asocialbase theyfor building beconsidered and thesocialmovements be donewith to Q2: Whatis the governmentinGreece? once they radicalism get tolead space more more for machinery for the same purpose.Doyouthink there is can also be easily usedby the neoliberal propaganda scare the potential votersoff with aradicalrhetoricthat to a strategynot is I believethis power. to closer moving as they are talked aboutSYRIZA’smoderation Q1: You Discussion withtheaudience their formalproxy. as acted in dealingwiththemigrantsand often especially police, the replaced effectively Dawn Golden The Greece, in happened what exactly is This apparatuses. repressive the far rightwho comeintosubstitute of the institutions Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left for you, that the voters. You only have to talk to the in that strategy. They will need the social movements, voters for a couple of months before the elections. Now they will need the workers and the problem is that a lot you have to talk to the civil servants, now you have to of the people that voted for them will say: “we didn’t vote talk to the “Inner Troika” as SYRIZA calls it. And you for you to do this, we voted to implement the moderate know that they are congenitally hostile to your goals. policies, and to come along with Washington, and so on.” Now you are also going to talk to the European Union’s And I think it would be a strategy that would collapse leadership. You’ve got to find some way of not alienating in incoherence as soon as they get into the government. them, and you got to talk to Obama. And this accounts . And, to be honest with you, I don’t think it is just a for this curious dance that SYRIZA leadership has been strategy, I think they’ve decided that better of something doing. They’ve been trying desperately to say the right than nothing, I think they’ve decided that for Greece things, “if we could send the right signals, yes we are to get kicked out of European Union, or rather of the going to try to pursue a project of social justice, no, don’t Eurozone, would be so catastrophic, the only alternative be frightened, we are not going to affect/offend your been offered, as far as they can see is some sort of Cuba in fundamental interests, you should actually be in favour the Mediterranean. So they’ve decide, I think, to accept of us because only we can deliver a real resolutions the European Union and the Eurozone sort of dominant to Europe’s problems, austerity can’t deliver a real policies and to try and mediate between where they want solution” and so on, and so forth. The problem with this to be and where the European leadership actually is. is, of course, they’ve misunderstood Obama, Merkel and all the rest of it. They are not bothered about the solution On the second question, the challenge is that if you’ve to unemployment, they are not that bothered about the got a social movement that really resonates with the solution of the social instability, I mean, it’s pain, but interests of the people with something that has to do with they are bothered about the solution for the banks, urgent need of theirs, than you would have much more because ultimately for them the banks are at the centre chance of withstanding the attempts to hijack, to control of any growth strategy, they are at the centre of any things by small unrepresentative groups. The more future for an expanded European capitalism. And they you could build up a sort of grass-roots democracies, would be quite happy to have a government implement something from below, the better chance you’ll have for socially catastrophic policies, policies that would result in a sustainable thing. The problem is that in trying to find a considerable political instability, provided that they can way to mediate between the fact that we don’t have much actually get away with it, and that’s what they’ve proven. infrastructure at the moment, and that we, ourselves are So finally this strategy of moderation with the idea of small unrepresentative groups, and therefore for us to be radicalisation once in power, is one that is likely to fail. able to reach out to people and help the people to build The resistance to any attempt to be too radical once you the kinds of connections and sort of social structures and get in to lead the government would be overwhelming, infrastructures and democratic forms of organisation, I think that they would have to put up a hell of a fight we would have to avoid being the kind of manipulative against the entrenched power of the state and of the organisations.. So we have to be somehow implanted in international capital, European capital and so on. In that struggles, implanted in movements and very much part 125 case, who would be their allies? This is another challenge of them but respecting their specific ecology, respecting 126 Conversation withRichardSeymourIPerspectivesoftheleftinEurope and thenothersjoinin? agency of initial again anissue a socialmovement.Isit like looks led bystudents, butit are primarily protests the broader sectors ofsociety, for examplethe Quebec Q3: and Ithinkovertimeyouwillbuildupthatnew space. into, inflated is it that groups various the of goals social and interests expressed should alsocontainthe ideology dominant its organisation’s policy in that time same the you.” Andat want toworkalongside you, we with to be want we don’t claimtoownyou,but you, we dominate says “wedon’tclaimtospeakforyou,we think to that in away this do to able are they if students, among movement, feminist in the environmental movement labour movement,inthe in the themselves embed should they I thinkthat also But take place. to dialogue sort of for some it ispossible in which are spaces these answers. ,Ithink knows the already everybody when difficult to have a process of rethinking andso it’svery homogeneity, ideological degree great in the reconstructing, organisations revolutionary socialist the thing about the you know, answers arenotknowninadvance, because the can happen,where a debate organizations where are I thinkthey revolutionary left. parts ofthe and the reformism traditional sortofsocial-democratic between somewhere means something and radicalleft possible, organisations wherever favour of buildingupradicalleft On rebuilding the system base of socialism, I would be in returns relatedlyquickly. ifyou that think definitely some start tosee could you a strategy commit tosuch I but project, term long a is control it.Ithinkthis to want somehow who people and participatingasco-equals,ratherthan their needs My question is aboutthe Myquestion social movementsand to have a parish commune that would remind us of remind us would that have aparishcommune to lucky be centre, we’d community a local build to lucky be would we matter isthat the of already. Thefact anything likethat, I to rebuild think we’d hadsocialism or people resources material the had Yugoslavia. Ifwe and Left the to rebuild is going Yugoslavia.Nobody even rebuilding of matter the On shutting downthegovernment’splans. majoritarian, and disruptive, disobedient and capable of simultaneously was that it, alliance fraise to want you way in what or contra-hegemonic, a hegemonic, formed they is that main thing choice. Ithinkthatthe disruptive thiscomesback to thecommunicativeor being effective, in interested were they presentable, to make themselves totherich,didn’t try didn’t pandered they media they the to pandered of sort didn’t they but cared they maybe said, media the didn’t carewhat media, they the to friends didn’t make is somefriendsthatyoudon’tneed.Sothey media andsoon.There and the bourgeoisie rich andthe means ismaking and whatitactuallyfriendswiththe alliances hearaboutbuilding often way thatwasn’taswe so ina did they an ally,but become potentially could that anybody to reach out to tried They streets. in the people constituencies, students, sections of labour, just ordinary diverse bring together matter ofstrategy,consciously as a to, precisely able were they is that movements with other Quebec between Richard: The difference build newalliances? For example–rebuildYugoslavia? atrocities of ethnic cleaning might happen or shouldwe and dominant be quite elites would where conservative’s should wegoback to the old modelof the national states the inside, from it reform and tryto Union European stay inthe Left, the futureofit European would be: whatis theEuropean will and theLeft, my question Union so of question the opened briefly You Q4: rpa Uin or Union, European Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left the Paris Commune. We don’t have much choice at the Q5: Do you think that anarchist practices are disruptive moment about whether to act on the national state or the for a social movement? European Union. But we do have a choice about how we relate to these institutions, and what, my suggestion is Q6: I am wondering with all the new talk of the that if there is an argument about whether to enter the left, on the issue of the new language of the left, one European Union, don’t embrace it, don’t say “this could which will not be elitist and “intellectualized” and will be a way forward for us.” It might be, it might, despite communicate with the ordinary people, those with not everything, hold opportunities for you but the dangers too much access in this society, who I believe to be the are, actually, I think much more severe. The dangers of base of voters for the new left being co-opted into the institutional format that actually, more fundamentally and at the more severe scale and Richard: I think that anarchist tactics are effective, but I long term way stretch your politics. We have this thing, think that some time they can be disruptive in a way that a situation in the UK which is slightly different, we is not useful for the movement. One way in which it can are in the EU but we are not in the Eurozone, and the be disruptive is the tendency towards elite actions – “we dominant sort of tendency is eurosceptic. The majority are going to have an action!” – What does that mean? of people in the UK would walk out of the EU because – well, “there is a group of protesters, we are going to they believe that somehow Britain can return to the march in the centre and a bunch of anarchist are going glorious private hedges of the 1950es. So we are in a to sit down in the middle of the march, we are going to slight different situation, but when pressed on this issue, have a sit-down, we are not going to move, and the police it is possible to say – “neither the European Union, nor is going to have to come down and fight us, and we are the United Kingdom, neither London, nor Berlin,” and I going to try to radicalize the march.” Now, this is done think that you might find that a kind of slogan like that without any reference to the rest of the march, it’s done might work for you. In other words, you are not in a in an elitist way, it’s quite macho and is unhelpful, even position to propose a concrete organization of political if the march from A to B is boring, predictable, easily authority. Were you in that position, we’d be having contained, this way of trying to radicalize the situation a different kind of discussion. But it is about how you doesn’t work and is not helpful. That said, I know a lot relate to propaganda, and I think defining independent of anarchists in the United Kingdom and I know the niche for yourself which is distinct from nationalism, kinds of ways that they are effective, for example there but also distinct from being servant to the European is a lot of road campaigns, and one of the ways that they Union, dependant to the European Union, keeping the are good at, I don’t know why anarchist are so good at independence would be a good approach to that. That’s arts and crafts and technology and so on. They form little what I suggest. communities and they are impossible to borrow out and companies who try to sort of build the road find them very difficult to move. Now, they cannot alt their nature and found a mass movement or something like that, they

just can’t, because it’s very individualistic, is very elitist 127 it’s a small group of people substituting themselves for a 128 Conversation withRichardSeymourIPerspectivesoftheleftinEurope relate, it didn’t work, so it wasn’t effective. In the United In the wasn’t effective. it didn’t work,so it relate, gap, nowayto cultural a complete was There done.” well and… shot been you’ve eye, no got you oh, “hello, like – going intellectuals communist well-read these catastrophic, workers, orwhatever.It didn’t work, it was authentic are the that they gangsters, withafeeling the to reachout CommunistPartytried in whichthe 70es in the was anexperiment there Africa In South it’s verydifficultfortheLefttorelatedothem. and passive politically is wing, but Right not is that class working class. There’s alsoalargesectorofthe working the can penetrate Right the in which way one the that’s in there. So, bourgeois mentalitygets And acertainpetty most. from the are better want tosayprivileged,butthey are relatively,withintheworkingclass, I don’t but they by large, working educated class whoarenotverywell skilled the of a sector is actually Right, it the gravitate to workers who poorest it isnotthe Kingdom atleast United things, but,Icansaythatinthe shouldn’t overestimate shit.” Ithinkwe them dark andfeed them inthe keep like mushrooms, them is “treat Kingdom United in the in acertainway,I think this slogan the people manipulate very effectively First ofall,theRightdoes speak sowell. tothe connect to fight that don’t to those totheuneducated, ordinary people, the lost has Left the poor, the to connect to fight the lost has Left the that said was It centralized! – it I said organization. There centralized have formsof to prefer are unworkable,andIdo anarchist tactics the that general in think just I but something, or anarchists in condemning this about indiscriminate be to want this. So,Idon’t in favourof I amverymuch from bellow, strength up building about also are who and oriented very labour are that anarchists kindsof other are there incertaincontexts.Also mass, canbeeffective but they to, itdoesn’t work anyway, anditonlyvalidates theRight don’t have version” ofnationalism,you a “softer to put have you ideas, don’teverthinkthat to these capitulate interventions. Don’t ever think precise that youhaveto very need I thinkyou apart thatchainofequivalence? pull you do How that?! disrupt you do How thing. kind of This – smell!” here, they them don’t want not, we are they if even and wages, your down pushing are they and jobs are taking your are doing–they and youknowwhatthey immigrants arecomingoverhere saying: “these poor by to the can reachout immigration, it hastodowith they Kingdom United the In project. nationalist this through together pulled domains can be diverse ideological thus and class middle lower and tothe business big to those of thepoor, through nationalism linking theinterests chains ofequivalence, do is tocreate think whatthey poor, I the reach to to able has been Right Were the we talktoaretheintellectuals. people only the if worried be should we intellectual, too afraid ofbeing shouldn’tbe is changing, sowe leftism the socialbasisof and therefore university degree to atleast of theworkingclasstobeeducated sectors is forlargerand The trend educated, are who shouldn’t betooworriedaboutreachingtothepeople we – is thing other Left.The the of reach the of are out out to reaching sectors oftheworking class andsectorsof thepoorwho in difficulties objective real are there argument, I mean what you are saying is a serious thing; and murderingthem!Idon’tmeantocaricatureyour people care aboutexploiting the community,they don’tcareaboutorganizing community” –gangleaders could organizethe could reachouttothem,maybethey we “maybe - thing, Occupy the during this about talk a was to gangmembers,”there reach out could we “maybe idea thatwe’regoingtoreachout, “urban poor,”the the about talk always thing, they same the tried they States Identities Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture / Vol. 11 / 2015 / The Future of the Idea of the Left wing when you do that. But the other thing is – there are states which are mainly southern European states, where always antagonisms, these chains of equivalence are very the contradictions of the Europeanization and austerity fragile, there are always points where they are week, so have reached their highest level. Elsewhere it’s not the working class, sectors of the working class are racists, kicking off, it really isn’t, and the situation is notorious sectors of the working class are nationalists, you can for the complete lack of any kicking off that takes place bet on that, that’s always going to be that case, some of as a struggle. And what is the result of everything being them are Right wing and buying to competitive ideology. left to unorganized and dispersed groups of young people But there is always going to be something, whether it’s who are basically not rooted in any institutional form, a privatisation of a key industry or whether there is who are not rooted in any party and who don’t have any shocking state of wages, or whether it’s the energy prices permanent apparatus to relate to, to mobilize?! It is that or something, something that people are angry about, they get the crap kicked out of by the Police and then and that’s where you can intervene and you can say – they go home and they stop going to protest and they that’s you strategic moment, you can say: “no! We are walk away demoralized. The movement dies, and all not in it together. This is not one big happy nation, we that it leaves behind is a scar, an intense psychological are not a family, this is a struggle, and the people who scar. It’s not just the student protests, we saw that the have been making up, like bandits are the rich, and we environmental movement, there was a big massive green need too stand to the poor together, wherever they come camp very much organized around NGO’s actually, the from” and that’s when you have moments of intervention. well-meaning, sort of left wing activists, who went out So that would be my advice. and formed a green camp. The police infiltrated them, they broke up their organisation and they framed them Q7: Can we consider that the last two decades of for conspiracy. And the process of dragging them across neoliberalism have changed completely the social the courts, it just ruined them, their organisation and environment where the Left cannot find an easy way to left them at the end of it demoralized and not wanting mobilize and organize a new project? to do anything. So, I think you need something resilient and therefore although it seems like I am hawking back Richard: Neoliberalism has brought real changes in the to a past, some glorious past or something, I can see no work force, in behaviour, in terms of governmentality, of alternative but building something of a form of a party the way in which people understand themselves. I think and something like a trade union, even if the types and that’s very true. Actually, because of neoliberalism, the the ways in which they are organized today might have real forces for opposing the system will come from the to be quite fundamentally different to the way in which people that are immersed in that ideology and immersed they were organized in the past. That’s why, coming from in that tradition, and who are disaffected and breaking a Marxist background, coming from the revolutionary with that, disappointed in some way. We see this in left, I am very much in favour of rethinking and trying to countries with a neoliberal development project like in break with this tendency to solve everything by quoting Turkey, Egypt, Brazil, and to an extent in China. And someone, somebody from the 1920es, 1930es, like they there are various contradictions arising there resulting have all the strategic answers to today. They don’t! 129 in serious social struggle. And there is the other group of

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