J, l j Jacques Ranciee Dis- -) ageemen POLTCS AND PHLOSOPHY Tanslaed by Julie Rose Uolvecsly o Mloo<'oa Pee«~ Mlooeapoll> - loodoo
Peace The quesion we mus bea in mind is, equaliy o inequaliy in wha so o hing? Fo his is a poblem, and one o which we need poliical philosophy. Aisole, Poliics, 1282 b 21, s hee any such hing as poliical philosophy? The quesion seems inconguous o wo easons. Fis, heoizing abou communiy and is pupose, abou law and is oundaion, has been going on eve since ou philosophical adiion kicked o and has neve ceased o keep i vial. Second, o a while now, poliical philosophy has been loudly umpeing is eun wih a new lease on lie. Cobbled o a long ime by Maxism, which uned he poliical ino he expession, o mask, o social elaionships, subjec o poaching by he social and he social sciences, oday, wih he collapse o sae Maxisms and he end o uopias, poliical philosophy is supposed o be inding is conemplaive puiy in he pinciples and oms o a poliics isel euned o is oigina! pu~ iy hanks o he eea o he social and is ambiguiies. This eun poses a ew poblems, howeve. When no limied o commening on ceain exs, amous o ogoen, om ou o is own hisvii
PREFACE oy, his ejuvenaed poliical philosophy seems mos unwilling o go beyond he usual assomen o agumens oed ou by any sae adminisaion in hinking abou democacy and he law, igh and he legiimae sae. n sho, he main aim seems o be o ensue communicaion beween he gea classic docines and he usual oms o sae legiimizaion we know as libeal democacies. Bu he supposed convegence beween he eun o poliical philosophy and he eun o is objec, poliics, is lacking in evidence. A a ime when he poliical was conesed in he name o he social, o social movemens o social science, i was noneheless sill manies in he mulipliciy o modaliies and places, om he see o he acoy o he univesiy. The esuecion o he poliical is oday evealed in he disceion o such modaliies o he absence o such places. One may objec ha he whole poin is ha poliics puged has once again ound he pope place o delibeaion and decision-making concening he common good, in assemblies whee discussion and legislaion ake place, sphees o sae whee decisions ae made, supeme cous ha check whehe such delibeaions and decisions conom o he laws on which sociey is based. The poblem is ha hese ae he vey places whee he disenchaned opinion speads ha hee isn' much o delibeae and ha decisions make hemselves, he wok pope o poliics simply involving an oppoune adapabiliy in ems o he demands o he wold makeplace and he equiable disibuion o he pois and coss o his adapabiliy. The esuecion o poliical philosophy hus simulaneously declaes isel o be he evacuaion o he poliical by is oicial epesenaives. This cuious convegence obliges us o backack o poliical philosophy's evidence pemiee. Tha hee p.as (almos) always been poliics in philosophy in no way poves ha poliical philosophy is a naual oshoo o he ee o philosophy. Even in Descaes poliics is no lised among he banches o he ee, medicine and moaliy appaenly coveing he ield wheeve ohe philosophies encouneed poliics. The is peson in ou adiion o come up agains poliics, Plao, only did so in he om o a adical excepionaliy. As a philosophe, Socaes neve eleced on he poliics o Ahens. He is he only Ahenian o PREFACE "do poliics," o be involved in poliics in uh as opposed o all ha is done in Ahens in he name o poliics. 1 The is encoune beween poliics and philosophy is ha o an alenaive: eihe he poliics o he poliicians o ha o he philosophes. The sakness o his Plaonic disjuncion hus claiies wha emains appaen in he ambiguous elaionship beween he assuance o ou poliical philosophy and he disceion o ou poliics. Thee is nohing o say ha poliical philosophy is a naual division o philosophy, accompanying poliics wih is heoy, howeve ciical. n he is place hee is nohing o say ha any such philosophical coniguaion comes along and eihe echoes hough heoy o ounds hough legislaion all he gea oms o human acing-scieniic, aisic, poliical, o ohewise. Philosophy does no have divisions ha hen lend hemselves eihe o he basic concep pope o philosophy o o aeas whee philosophy elecs on isel o on is legislaion. Philosophy has peculia objecs, nodes o hough bone o some encoune wih poliics, a, science, o whaeve ohe elecive aciviy, ha bea he mak o a speciic paadox, conlic, apoia. Aisole poins his ou in a phase ha is one o he is encounes beween he noun philosophy and he adjecive poliical: "Equaliy o inequaliy, comes down o apoia and poliical philosophy." 2 Philosophy becomes "poliical" when i embaces apoia o he quanday pope o poliics. Poliics, as we will see,-isha aciviy which uns on equaliy as is pinciple. And he pinciple o equaliy is ansomed by he disibuion o communiy shaes as deined by a quanday: when is hee and when is hee no equaliy in hings beween who and who else? Wha ae hese "hings" and who ae hese whos? How does equaliy come o consis o equaliy and inequaliy? Tha is he quanday pope o poliics by which poliics becomes a quanday o philosophy, an objec o philosophy. We should no ake his o mean ha pious vision in which philosophy comes o he escue o he paciione o poliics, science, o a, explaining he eason o his quanday by shedding ligh on he pinciple o his pacice. Philosophy does no come o anyone's escue and no one asks i o, even i he ules o eiquee o social demand have viii ix
PREFACE esablished he habi wheeby poliicians, lawyes, docos, o any ohe body geing ogehe o elec, wheel in he philosophe as specialis o hinking in geneal. ha inviaion is o bea any inellecual ui, he encoune mus ideniy is poin o disageemen. We should ake d~sageemen o mean a deemined kind o speech siuaion: one in which one o he inelocuos a once undesands and does no undesand wha he ohe is saying. Disageemen is no he conlic beween one who says whie and anohe who says bjack. is he conlic beween one who says whie and anohe who also says whie bu does no undesand he same hing by i o does no undesand ha he ohe is saying he same hing in he name o whieness. The em is so boad i obviously calls o a ceain amoun o ine-uning and obliges us o make ceain disincions. Disageemen is no misconsucion. The concep o misconsucion supposes ha one o ohe o boh o he inelocuos do o does no know wha hey ae saying o wha he ohe is saying, eihe hough he eecs o simple ignoance, sudied dissimulaion, o inheen delusion. No is disageemen some kind o misundesanding semming om he impecise naue o wods. Ancien eceived wisdom, vey much in vogue again hese days, deploes he way people ail o undesand each ohe popely because o he ambiguiy o he wods exchanged, and equies us always, a all imes, o a leas wheeve uh, jusice, and good ae a sake, o y and give each wod a well-deined meaning, one ha disinguishes i om all ohe wods, discading wods ha do no designae any deined popey o ha ineviably lead o homonymic conusion. someimes happens ha his wisdom goes by he name o philosophy and manages o pass o his.ule o linguisic economy as philosophy's pivileged execise. The evese also happens, wheeby philosophy is denounced as he vey hing ha pomoes empy wods and ieducible homonyms; evey human aciviy, his wisdom goes, should ge clea abou isel, puging is vocabulay and concepual undepinnings o all philosophy's bilge. The agumens o misconsucion and misundesanding heeby call o wo ypes o language medicine, boh consising similaly in PREFACE inding ou wha speaking means. is no had o see hei limiaions. The is ype o eamen consanly has o assume he ignoan misconsucion o which i is he lip side, eseved knowledge. The second imposes a aionaliy ban on oo many aeas. Numeous speech siuaions in which eason is a wok can be imagined wihin a speciic sucue o disageemen ha has neihe o do wih a misconsucion ha would call o addiional knowledge no wih a misundesanding ha would call o wods o be eined. Disageemen occus wheeve conenion ove wha speaking means consiues he vey a ionaliy o he speech siuaion. The inelocuos boh undesand and do no undesand he same hing by he same wods. Thee ae all sos o easons why X boh does and does no undesand Y: while clealy undesanding wha Y is saying, X canno see he objec Y is alking abou; o else, X undesands and is bound o undesand, sees and aemps o make visible anohe objec using he same name, anohe eason wihin he same agumen. Thus, in he Republic, "poliical philosophy" comes ino exisence in he long poocol o disageemen ove an agumen in. which eveyone agees: ha jusice consiss in giving each his due. would no doub be convenien i, o say jus wha he undesands by jusice, he philosophe had eniely dieen wods a his disposal om hose o he poe, he mechan, he oao, o he poliician. Divine wisdom appaenly did no povide hese, and he love o sic and appopiae languages can unish hem only a he cos o no being undesood a all. Whee philosophy uns up agains poey, poliics, and he wisdom o hones mechans, i has o boow he ohes' wods in ode o say ha i is saying somehing else eniely. is in his ha disageemen lies and no mee misundesanding, which can be esolved by a simple explanaion o wha he ohe's senence is saying-unbeknowns o his ohe. Disageemen clealy is no o do wih wods alone. geneally beas on he vey siuaion in which speaking paies ind hemselves. n his, disageemen dies om wha Jean-Fanc;:ois Lyoad has concepualized as a dieend. 3 Disageemen is no concened wih issues such as he heeogeneiy o egimes o senences and he pesence o absence X xi
- ~-- PREFACE o a ule o assessing dieen ypes o heeogeneous discouse. is less concened wih aguing han wih wha can be agued, he pesence o absence o a common objec beween X and Y. concens he angible pesenaion o his common objec, he vey capaciy o he inelocuos o pesen i. An exeme om o disageemen is whee X canno see he common objec Y is pesening because X canno compehend ha he sounds ueed by Y om wods and chains o wods simila o X's own. This exeme siuaion-is and oemos_:_~;oncens poliics. Whee philosophy encounes boh poliics and poey a once, disageemen beas on wha i means o be a being ha uses wm:ds. o ague. The sucues pope o disageemen' ae hose in which discussion o an agumen comes down o a dispue ove he objec o he discussion and ove he capaciy o hose who ae making an objec o i. The ollowing pages y o deine a ew poines o undesanding disageemen wheeby he apoia o poliics is embaced as a philosophical objec. We will be esing he ollowing hypohesis: ha wha is called "poliical philosophy" migh well be he se o elecive opeaions wheeby philosophy ies o id isel o poliics, o suppess a scandal in hinking pope o he execise o poliics. This heoeical scandal is nohing moe han he aionaliy o disageemen. Wha makes poliics an objec o scandal is ha i is ha aciviy which has he aionaliy o disageemen as is vey own aionaliy. The basis o philosophy's dispue wih poliics is hus he vey educion o he aionaliy o disageemen. This opeaion, wheeby philosophy auomaically expels disageemen om isel, is heeby ideniied wih he pojec o "eally" doing poliics, o achieving he ue essence o wha poliics alks abou. Philosophy does no become "p,oliical" because poliics is so cucial i simply mus inevene. becomes poliical because egulaing he aionaliy siuaion o poliics is a condiion o deining wha belongs o philosophy. The book is oganized along he ollowing lines. begins wih he supposedly ounding sands o hough in which Aisole deines he. logos pope o poliics. hen aemps o eveal, in he deeminaion o he logical-poliical animal, he poin a which he logos splis, exii..) PREFACE vealing wha is pope o poliics and which philosophy ejecs wih Plao and ies, wih Aisole, o appopiae. On he basis o Aisole's ex (and wha his ex sops sho. o), we will y o answe he quesion, wha can be hough o speciically as poliics? To hink hough his speciiciy will oce us o disinguish i om wha nomally goes by he name o poliics and o which popose o eseve he em policing. On he basis o his disincion we will y o deine is he logic o disageemen pope o poliical aionaliy, hen he basis and majo oms o "poliical philosophy" in he sense o a speciic masking o his disincion. We will hen y o hink hough he eec o he eun o "poliical philosophy" in he ield o poliical pacice. This allows us o d~duce a ew landmaks o elecion ha will claiy wha migh be undesood by he em democacy and he way i dies om he pacices and legiimizaions o he consensus sysem, in ode o appeciae wha is paciced and said in he name o he end o poliics o o is eun, and wha is exaled in he name o a humaniy sans oniees and deploed in he name o he eign o he inhuman. mus declae a double deb hee: is o hose who, by geneously inviing me o speak on issues o poliics, democacy, and jusice have ended up pesuading me had somehing speciic o say on he subjec; and also o hose wih whom public, pivae, and occasionally mue dialogue has inspied me o y o deine his speciiciy. They know wha is hei due in his anonymous hanks. xiii
Chape 1 The Beginning o Poliics Le's begin a he beginning, meaning he celebaed senences in book o Aisole's Poliics ha deine he eminenly poliical naue o he human animal and lay he oundaions o he ciy: Naue, as we say, does nohing wihou some pupose; and she has endowed man alone among he animals wih he powe o speech. Speech is somehing dieen om voice, which is possessed by ohe anip.als also and used by hem o expess pain o pleasue; o hei naue does indeed enable hem no only o eel pleasue and pain bu o communicae hese eelings o each ohe. Speech, on he ohe hand, seves o indicae wha is useul and wha is hamul, and so also wha is jus and wha is unjus. Fo he eal dieence beween man and ohe animals is ha humans alone have pecepion o good and evil, he jus and he unjus, ec. is he shaing o a common view in hese maes ha makes a household and a sae. 1 The idea o he poliical naue o man is compessed ino hose ew wods: a chimea o he Anciens, accoding o Hobbes, who inended o eplace i wih an exac science o he moivaing oces o human 1
- --- -------~------- THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS naue; o, convesely, he eenal pinciple o a poliics o he common good and he educaion o he ciizen, which Leo Sauss conass wih he moden uiliaian aing up o he demands o communiy. Bu beoe challenging o umpeing such a noion o human naue, i migh be an idea o come in a lile ealie a he singulaiy o is deducion. The supemely poliical desiny o man is aesed by a sign: he possession o he logos, ha is, o speech, which expesses, while he voice simply indicaes. Wha speech expesses, wha i makes ev_iden o a communiy o subjecs who undesand i, is he useul and he hamul and, consequenly, he jus and he unjus. The possession o such an ogan o expession maks he sepaaion beween wo kinds o animals as he dieence beween wo modes o access o sense expeience: ha o pleasue and sueing, common o all animals endowed wih a voice, and ha o good and evil, exclusive o human beings and aleady pesen in he pecepion o he useul and he hamul. On his ess no he exclusiviy o a ben o poliics, poliiciy, bu a poliiciy o a supeio kind, which is achieved in he amily and he ciy-sae. n his limpid demonsaion seveal poins emain obscue. No doub any eade o Plao gasps ha he objeciviy o good is sepaae om he elaiviy o he pleasuable. Bu he division o hei aishesis is no so obvious: whee exacly do we daw he line beween he unpleasan eeling o having eceived a blow and he eeling o having sueed an "injuy" hough his same blow? We could say ha he dieence is maked pecisely in he logos ha sepaaes he discusive aiculaion o a gievance om he phonic aiculaion o a goan. Bu hen he dieence beween unpleasanness and injuy mus be el and el as communicable, as deming a sphee o c?mmuniy o good and bad. The sign deived om he possession o he ogan-aiculaed languageis one hing. The manne in which his ogan execises is uncion, in which language expesses a shaed aishesis, is anohe. Teleological easoning implies ha he elos o common good is immanen o eeling and expession as he "injuy" o pain inliced by anohe peson. Bu how exacly do we undesand he logical connecion beween he "useul" and he "hamul" hus expessed and he sicly poliical ode o 2 jusice? A is glance, he shameless uiliaian migh emak o he noble paisan o he "classics" ha his passage om he useul and he hamul o communiy jusice is no so a emoved om he uiliaian's own deducion o a common uiliy ceaed by opimizaion o especive uiliies and educion o whaeve is hamul. seems had o daw he line hee beween he communiy o Good and he uiliaian social conac. Le's gan devoees o he "classics" his much: his line can and mus be dawn. Bu i wends is way hough some pey die sais whee no only he so-called "uiliaian" denounced by Leo Sauss isks geing los bu also he peson he himsel shaes wih he uiliaians: whoeve assimilaes he logos expessing he jus o ha delibeaion by which individuals' paiculaiies ae subsumed in he univesaliy o he sae. The poblem hee is no o ennoble accepance o he useul o bing i up o pa wih he idealiy o he jus ha is is goal; ahe, i is being able o see ha going om he useul o he jus can only happen hough mediaion o hei opposies. is in he play o opposies, in he obscue elaionship o he "hamul" and he "unjus;' ha he hea o he poliical poblem lies-he poblem poliics poses o philosophical hinking abou communiy. The connecion beween he useul and he jus is indeed impeded by wo heeogeneiies. Fis, his is wha sepaaes such alsely opposed ems as "useul" and "hamul." Geek usage does no esablish any clea opposiion o he kind beween Aisole's ems sumpheon and blabeon. Blabeon, in ac, has wo acceped meanings: in one sense i is he lo o unpleasanness ha alls o an individual o whaeve eason, whehe i be hough a naual caasophe o human acion, and in he ohe, i is he negaive consequence ha an individual sues as a esul o hei acion o, moe oen, he acion o anohe. Blabe hus commonly connoes damage in he legal sense o he em, he objecively deeminable wong done by one individual o anohe. The noion nomally heeoe implies he idea o a elaionship beween wo paies. Sumpheon, on he ohe hand, essenially designaes a elaionship o onesel, he advanage ha an individual o a goup gains o hopes o gain om an acion. Sum- 3
THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS pheon hus does no imply elaionship o anohe, so he wo ems ae no genuine opposies. n geneal Geek usage wha is usually conased o blabeon as wong sueed is ophelimon, he help one ecs:iyes. n The Nichomachean Ehics, wha Aisole himsel conass o blabeon as a bad lo is ai eon, he good lo o be deived. Bu he advanage, he sumpheon, ha one individual eceives is in no way he coelaive o an equivalen disadvanage sueed by anohe. Fo Thasymachus such a coelaion exiss, o his is he alse conclusion he eaches in book o he Republic, when he anslaes ino ems o poi and loss his enigmaic and polysemic omula: jusice is he advanage o he supeio man (o sumpheon ou keionos). Fo Thasymachus he poi o he shephed is he loss o he sheep, he advanage o he govenos he disadvanage o he govened, and so on. We migh add in passing ha o anslae his concep as i is usually anslaed as "he inees o he songes" is o immediaely ge locked ino he posiion Plao locks Thasymachus in; i is o sho-cicui Plao's enie demonsaion, which plays on he polysemy o he omula o bing o a double disjuncion. No only is he "poi" o one no he "loss" o anohe bu, moeove, supeioiy sicly speaking only eve has one beneiciay: he "ineio" ove whom i execises dominion. n his demonsaion, one em disappeas-wong. Wha Thasymachus's euaion anicipaes is a ciy wihou wong, a ciy in which he supeioiy execised accoding o he naual ode poduces a ecipociy o sevices beween he guadian poecos and he aisans who povide o hem. Theein lies he second poblem and he second heeogeneiy. Fo Plao, as o Aisole, who is on his scoe aihul o his mase, he jus ciy is basically a sae in which h~ sumpheon has no coelaive blabeon. Pope disibuion o"advanages" pesupposes pio eliminaion o a ceain wong, o a ceain egime o wong. "Wha wong have you done me, wha wong have done you?" Accoding o he Theaeeus, his is how he advocae alks as an expe in ansacions and ibunals-in ohe wods, as a peson absoluely ignoan o he jusice ha is he basis o he ciy. Such jusice only begins wheeve uses sop being paceled ou, wheeve pois and losses sop being 4 THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS weighed. Jusice as he basis o communiy has no ye come ino play wheeve he sole concen is wih pevening individuals who live ogehe om doing each ohe ecipocal wongs and wih eesablishing he balance o pois and losses wheneve hey do so. only begins when wha is a issue is wha ciizens have in common and when he main concen iswih he way he oms o execising and o conolling he execising o his common capaciy ae divided up. On he one hand, jusice as viue is no a simple balancing ac o individual ineess o epaaion o he damage done by some o ohes. is he choice o he vey measuing od by which each pay akes only wha is is due. On he ohe hand, poliical jusice is no simply he ode ha holds measued elaionships beween individuals and goods ogehe. is he ode ha deemines he paiion o wha is common. Now, in his ode, he jus canno be deduced om he useul as in he ode o individuals. Fo individuals, he poblem o going om he ode o he useul o he ode o he jus can easily be esolved. Book V o The Nichomachean Ehics oes a soluion o ou poblem: jusice consiss in no aking moe han one's shae o advanageous hings o less han one's shae o disadvanageous hings. On condiion o educing blabeon o he "hamul" and o ideniying sumpheon wih hese "advanageous" hings, i is possible o give a pecise meaning o he passage om he ode o he useul o ha o he jus: he advanageous and he disadvanageous ae he mae ove which he viue o jusice is execised, he lae consising in aking he appopiae shae, he aveage shae o each and evey one. The poblem, obviously, is ha his sill does no deine any poliical ode. The poliical begins pecisely when one sops balancing pois and losses and woies insead abou disibuing common los and evening ou communal shaes and enilemens o hese shaes, he axiai" eniling one o communiy. Fo he poliical communiy o be moe han a conac beween hose exchanging goods and sevices, he eigning equaliy needs o be adically dieen om ha accoding o which mechandise is exchanged and wongs edessed. Bu he "classics" bu would be a bi ash o leap in and see in his he supeioiy o he 5
THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS common good, whose elos is conained in human naue, ove he haggling on behal o individual ineess. The oo o he poblem lies hee: o he oundes o "poliical philosophy;' his submission o he logic o exchange o he common good is expessed in a peecly deemined way, as he submission o aihmeical equaliy, which pesides pve commecial exchanges and ove juidical senences, o ha geomeic equaliy esponsible o popoion, o common hamony, submission o he shaes o he common held by each pay in he communiy!l he shae ha pay bings o he common good. Bu his shi om vulga aihmeic o an ideal geomey isel implies a cuious compomise wih he empiical, an odd way o couning he "paies" wihin he communiy. Fo he ciy o be odeed accoding o he good, communiy shaes mus be sicly in popoion o he axia o each pa o he communiy: o he value i bings o he communiy and o he igh ha his value besows on i o hold a shae o he common powe. Behind he poblemaic opposiion beween sumpheon and blabeon he essenial poliical quesion lies. Fo poliical philosophy o exis, he ode o poliical idealiies mus be linked o some consucion o ciy "pas," o a coun whose complexiies may mask a undamenal miscoun, a miscoun ha may well be he blabeon, he vey wong ha is he su o poliics. Wha he "classics" each us is and oemos is ha poliics is no a mae o ies beween individuals o o elaionships beween individuals and he communiy. Poliics aises om a coun o communiy "pas;' which is always a alse coun, a double coun, o a miscoun. Le's ake a close look a hese axiai". Aisole sees hee: he wealh o he smalles numbe (oligoi), he viue o excellence (aee) om which he bes (aisoi) deive hei na~e, and he eedom (eleuheia) ha belongs o he people (demos). Taken on hei own, each o hese aibues yields a paicula egime, heaened by he sediion o he ohes:.he oligachy o he ich, he aisocacy o he good, o he democacy o he people. On he ohe hand, he pecise combinaion o hei communiy enilemens pocues he common good. Bu a sece imbalance spoils his pey picue. Doubless one can measue ' he especive conibuion o oligachs and aisocas and he conol o he people in he ques o he common good. Book o Poliics aemps o make his calculaion concee, o deine he measue o poliical capaciy held especively by he minoiy o men o "mei" and by he majoiy o odinay men. The meapho o mixing allows Aisole o imagine a communiy nouished by he popoional addiion o especive qualiies "in somehing like he way," he ells us, "ha a combinaion o coase oods wih eined endes he whole die moe nuiious han a small amoun o he lae:' 2 The pue and he impue ae able o blend hei eecs. Bu how can hey basically be compaed wih each ohe? Wha exacly is he enilemen o qualiy o each pay? Wihin he beauiul hamony o he axiai~ one single easily ecognizable qualiy sands ou: he wealh o he oligoi. Ye his is also he one qualiy ha deives exclusively om he aihmeic o exchange. So wha does he eedom o he people bing o he communiy? And in wha is i peculia o hem? This is whee he undamenal miscoun eas is head. Fis, he eedom o he demos is no a deeminable popey bu a pue invenion: behind "auochhony;' he myh o oigins evindicaed by he demos o Ahens, he bue ac ha makes democacy a scandalous heoeical objec impinges. Simply by being bon in a ceain ciy, and moe especially in he ciy o Ahens once enslavemen o deb was abolished hee, any one o hese speaking bodies doomed o he anonymiy o wok and o epoducion, hese speaking bodies ha ae o no moe value han slaves-even less, says Aisole, since he slave ges his viue om he viue o his mase-any old aisan o shopkeepe whasoeve is couned in his pay o he ciy ha calls isel he people, as aking pa in communiy aais as such. The simple impossibiliy o he oligoi"'s educing hei debos o slavey was ansomed ino he appeaance o a eedom ha was o be he posiive popey o he people as a pa o he communiy. Thee ae hose who aibue his pomoion o he people and hei eedom o he wisdom o he good legislao, Solon poviding he acheype. Ohes ee o he "demagogy" o ceain nobles who uned he populace ino a basion agains hei ivals. Each o hese explanaions 6 7
THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS aleady supposes a ceain idea o poliics. Rahe han op o one o he ohe, i would be bee o pause o conside wha lies behind hem: he oiginal nexus o ac and law and he peculia connecion his nexus esablished beween wo key ems in poliics, equaliy and libey. "Libeal" wisdom smugly ells us o he pevese eecs o an aiicial equaliy ha came along and blocked he naual eedom o enepise and exchange. The classic auhos, howeve, encoune a phenomenon o a vey dieen poundiy a he beginnings o poliics: i is eedo112-, as an empy popey, ha came along and se a limi on he calculaions o commecial equaliy and he eecs o he simple law o owing and having. Feedom, in sum, pops up and splis he oligachy, pevening i om govening hough he simple aihmeical play o pois and debs. The law o he oligachy is eecively ha "aihmeical" equaliy should command wihou hindance, ha wealh should be immediaely idenical wih dominaion. One migh hink ha he poo o Ahens wee subjec o he powe o he nobles ahe han ha o he mechans, bu he poin is ha he libey o he people o Ahens educed he naual dominaion o he nobiliy, based on he illusious and ancien naue o hei lineage, o hei simple dominaion as wealhy popey ownes and monopolizes o he common popey. educed he nobiliy o hei condiion as he ich and ansomed hei absolue igh, educed o he powe o he ich, ino a paicula axia. Bu he miscoun does no sop hee. No only does eedom as wha is "pope" o he demos no allow isel o be deemined by any posiive popey; i is no pope o he demos a all. The people ae nohing moe han' he undieeniaed mass o hose who have no posiive qualiicaion-no wealh, no viue-bu who ae noneheless acknowledged o enjoy he same eedom as hose. who do. The people who make up he people ae in ac simply ee like he es. Now i is his simple ideniy wih hose who ae ohewise supeio o hem in all hings ha gives hem a speciic qualiicaion. The demos aibues o isel as is pope lo he equaliy ha belongs o all ciizens. n so doing, his pay ha is no one ideniies is impope popey wih he exclusive pinciple o communiy and ideniies is name-he name o he indisinc mass o men o no posiion-wih he name o he communiy isel. Fo eedom-which is meely he posiion o hose who have absoluely no ohe, no mei, no wealh-is couned a he same ime as being common viue. allows he demos (ha is, he acual gaheing o men o no posiion, hese men whom Aisole ells us "had no pa in anyhing" 3 ) o ideniy wih he whole o he communiy hough homonymy. This is he undamenal wong, he oiginal nexus o blabeon and adikon whose "maniesaion" hen blocks any deducion o he jus om he useul: he people appopiae he common qualiy as hei own. Wha hey bing o he communiy sicly speaking is conenion. This should be undesood in a double sense: he qualiicaion ha he people bing is a conenious popey since i does no belong exclusively o he people, bu his conenious popey is sicly speaking only he seing-up o a conenious commonaliy. The mass o men wihou qualiies ideniy wih he communiy in he name o he wong ha is consanly being done o hem by hose whose posiion o qualiies have he naual eec o popelling hem ino he nonexisence o hose who have "no pa in anyhing:' is in he name o he wong done hem by he ohe paies ha he people ideniy wih he whole o he communiy. Whoeve has no pa-he poo o ancien imes, he hid esae, he moden poleaia-canno in ac have any pa ohe han all o nohing. On op o his, i is hough he exisence o his pa o hose who have no pa, o his nohing ha is all, ha he communiy exiss as a poliical communiyha is, as divided by a undamenal dispue, by a dispue o do wih he couning o he communiy's pas even moe han o hei "ighs." The people ae no one class among ohes. They ae he class o he wong ha hams he communiy and esablishes i as a "communiy" o he jus and he unjus. So i is ha scandalizing men o subsance, he demos, ha hode who have nohing, become he people, he poliical communiy o ee Ahenians, he communiy ha speaks, is couned, and delibeaes a he assembly, causing wodsmihs o wie, ''E>ogc ~ Ll'lL~: "i has pleased he people, he people have decided." Fo Plao, he man who 8 9
THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS invened poliical philosophy o us, his omula easily anslaes ino he equivalence o wo ems: demos and doxa: i has pleased hose who know only hose illusions o moe o less ha ae called pleasue and pain; hee was simple doxa, "appeaance" o he people, appeaance o he people. The people ae he mee appeaance poduced by he sensaions o pleasue and pain manipulaed by heoicians and sophiss o soke o inimidae he gea animal, he moass o olk who have nohing, gaheed ogehe a he assembly. Le's be clea a he ouse: in his esolue haed o democacy, Plao delves much uhe ino he oundaions o poliics and democacy han hose ied apologiss who assue us lukewamly ha we should love democacy "easonably;' meaning "modeaely." Plao sees wha hey have ovelooked: democacy's miscoun, which is, ae all, meely he undamenal miscoun o poliics. Thee is poliics-and no jus dominaion-because hee is a wong coun o he pas o he whole. This impossible equaion is esumed in a omula Heodous lends o Oanes, he Pesian: l:v yap T~ 7TOAA~ cv ix 7TCXVTc., he whole lies in he many. 4 The demos is ha many ha is idenical o he whole: he many as one, he pa as he whole, he all in all. The nonexisen qualiaive dieence o eedom poduces his impossible equaion ha canno be undesood wihin he divisions o aihmeical equaliy, equiing he compensaion o pois and losses, o o geomeic equaliy, which is supposed o link a qualiy o a ank. By he same oken, he people ae always moe o less han he people. The well-bon and comoably placed may laugh o cy ove all he signs o wha looks o hem like aud o usupaion: he demos means he majoiy and no he assembly, he assembly and no ~e communiy, he poo in he name o he ciy, clapping hei ageemen, couning sones insead o aking decisions. Bu all hese maniesaions o he people's being unequal o hemselves ae jus he small bee o a basic miscoun: ha impossible equaliy o he muliple and he whole poduced by appopiaion o eedom as being peculia o he people. This impossible equaliy has a domino eec on he enie deducion o shaes and enilemens ha make up he ciy. Following om his singula popey 10 '. [,, '~" ly o he demos, i is viue, he popey o he aisoi, ha emeges as he space o a cuious ambiguiy. Who exacly ae hese men o subsance o hese excellen ones binging viue o he communal po he way he people bing a eedom ha is no heis o bing? hey ae no he philosophe's deam, he coun o his deam o popoion conveed ino a pa o he whole, hey may well be meely anohe name o he oligoi -in ohe wods, quie simply, he ich. Even Aisole, who is a pains in The Nichomachean Ehics and book o Poliics o give subsance o he hee pas and he hee anks, eely admis in book V and also in The Ahenian Consiuion ha he ciy acually has only wo paies, he ich and he poo: "almos eveywhee he wellbon and he wello ae coexensive." 5 The aangemens ha disibue powes o he appeaances o powe beween hese wo paies alone, hese ieducible pas o he ciy, ae equied o bing o ha communiy aee ha he aiso"i will always be lacking. Ae we o undesand by his simply ha he scieniic couns o geomeic popoion ae meely ideal consucions by which philosophy in is good will oiginally seeks o coec he essenial, inescapable ealiy o class suggle? This quesion can only be answeed in wo pas. mus is be emphasized ha he Anciens, much moe han he Modens, acknowledged ha he whole basis o poliics is he suggle beween he poo and he ich. Bu ha's jus i: wha hey acknowledged was a sicly poliical ealiy-even i i mean ying o ovecome i. The suggle beween he ich and he poo is no social ealiy, which poliics hen has o deal wih. is he acual insiuion o poliics isel. Thee is poliics when hee is a pa o hose who have no pa, a pa o pay o he poo. Poliics does no happen jus because he poo oppose he ich. is he ohe way aound: poliics (ha is, he ineupion o he simple eecs o dominaion by he ich) causes he poo o exis as an eniy. The ouageous claim o he demos o be he whole o he communiy only saisies in is own way-ha o a pay-he equiemen o poliics. Poliics exiss when he naual ode o dominaion is ineuped by he insiuion o a pa o hose who have no pa. This insiuion is he whole o poliics as a speciic om o connec- 11
THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS ion. deines he common o he communiy as a poliical communiy, in ohe wods, as divided, as based on a wong ha escapes he aihmeic o exchange and epaaion. Beyond his se-up hee is no poliics. Thee is only he ode o dominaion o he disode o evol. Heodous seves up his simple alenaive in a ale ha akes he om o an apologia. This exemplay hisoy-apologia is devoed o he evol o he Scyhian slaves. The Scyhians, he ells us, cusomaily pu ou he eyes o hose hey educed o slavey, he bee o esic l,.lem o hei ask as slaves, which was o milk he livesock. This nomal ode o hings was disubed by he Scyhians' gea expediions. Having le o conque Media, he Scyhian waios plunged deep ino Asia and wee held up hee o a whole geneaion. Ove he same peiod, a geneaion o sons was bon o he slaves and aised wih hei eyes open. Looking aound a he wold, hey eached he conclusion ha hee was no paicula eason why hey should be slaves, being bon he same way hei disan mases wee and wih he same aibues. Since he women who emained behind pemanenly ook i upon hemselves o conim his naual similaiy, he slaves decided ha, unil poved wong, hey wee he equal o he waios. They consequenly suounded he eioy wih a gea big ench and amed hemselves, eady o hold hei gound when he conqueos should eun. When he lae inally showed up wih hei lances and bows, hey hough hey could easily clean up his lile cowheds' evol. The assaul was a ailue. One o he shape waios ook he measue o he siuaion and summed i up o his bohes in ams: "Take my advice -lay spea and bow aside, and le each man ech his hosewhip, and go boldly up o hem. So long as hey see us wih ams in ou hands, hey imagine hemselves ou equals in bih and bavey; bu le hem behold us wih no ohe weapon bu he whip, and hey will eel ha hey ae ou slaves, and lee beoe us." 6 And so i was done, wih gea success: suck by he specacle, he slaves ook o hei heels wihou a igh. 12. THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS Heodous's ale helps us o see how he paadigm o he "slave wa" and he "ebel slave" became he ohe side o any maniesaion o he suggle beween he "poo" and he "ich." The paadigm o he slave wa is one o a puely wa-geneaed achievemen o equaliy beween he dominaed and he dominao. The Scyhian slaves occupy he eioy o hei ome seviude as a oiied camp and oppose ams wih ams. This egaliaian demonsaion a is hows hose who hough hey wee hei naual mases. Bu when he lae once moe show he signs o hei dieence in naue, he ebels have no comeback. Wha hey canno do is ansom equaliy in wa ino poliical eedom. This equaliy, lieally mapped ou ove he eioy and,deended by oce o ams, does no ceae a divided communiy. canno be ansomed ino he impope popey o ha eedom ha esablishes he demos simulaneously as boh pa o and as he whole o he communiy. Now, poliics comes abou solely hough ineupion, he iniial wis ha insiues poliics as he deploymen o a wong o o a undamenal dispue. This wis is he wong, he undamenal blabeon ha philosophical heoizing abou communiy uns up agains. Blabeon signiies "ha which sops he cuen," accoding o one o he invened eymologies in Caylus/ which wouldn' be he is ime such invened eymologies ouched on an essenial cux o hough. Blabeon signiies an ineuped cuen, he oiginal wis ha sho-cicuis he naual logic o"popeies." This ineupion obliges one o hink abou popoion, he analogia o he communiy body. also spoils in advance he deam o such popoion. Fo he wong is no jus he class suggle, inenal dissension o be ovecome by giving he ciy is pinciple o uniy, by ounding he ciy on he akhe-saing poin o basis-o communiy. is he vey impossibiliy o akhe. would be oo easy i hee wee jus he calamiy o he suggle beween ich and poo. The soluion o he poblem would have been ound pey quickly. All you have o do is ge id o he cause o dissension, in ohe wods, he inequaliy o wealh, by giving each an equal shae o he cake. The ouble uns deepe. Jus as he people ae no eally he people bu acually he poo, he poo hem- 13
--------------------------------------------- ------------ THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS selves ae no eally he poo. They ae meely he eign o a lack o posiion, he eeciviy o he iniial disjuncion ha beas he empy name o eedom, he impope popey, enilemen o dispue. They ae hemselves in advance he waped conjuncion o wha is pope o hem ha is no eally pope o hem and o he common ha is no eally common. They ae simply he consiuive wong o osion o poliics as such. The pay o he poo embodies nohing ohe han poliics isel as he seing-up o a pa o hose who have no l?a. Symmeically, he pay o he ich embodies nohing ohe han he anipoliical. Fom Ahens in he ih cenuy B.c. up unil ou own govenmens, he pay o he ich has only eve said one hing, which is mos pecisely he negaion o poliics: hee is no pa o hose who have no pa. This undamenal poposiion may o couse be inleced in dieen ways accoding o wha is known as he evoluion o moal values and aiudes. n he old ohigh one o he Anciens ha pesiss among "libeals" o he nineeenh cenuy, i goes like his: hee ae only chies and indians, hose o subsance and hose o no accoun, elies and unwashed masses, expes and ignoan ools. n conempoay euphemism, he poposiion is pu dieenly: hee ae only pas o sociey-social majoiies and minoiies, sociopoessional caegoies, inees goups, communiies, and so on. Thee ae only pas ha mus be conveed ino panes. Bu unde he policed oms o conacual sociey and o govenmen by consulaion, as in he sak oms o nonegaliaian aimaive acion, he undamenal poposiion emains he same: hee is no pa o hose who have no pa. Thee ae only he pas o paies. n ohe wods, hee is no poliics, no should hee be. The wa o he poo and he ich is also a wa ove he vey exisence o poliics. The dispue ove he coun o he poo as he people, and o he people as he communiy, is a dispue abou he exisence o poliics hough which poliics occus. Poliics is he sphee o aciviy o a common ha can only eve be conenious, he elaionship beween pas ha ae only paies and cedenials o enilemens whose sum neve equals he whole. 14 THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS This is he iniial scandal o poliics ha he acs o democacy invie philosophy o ponde. Philosophy's aomic pojec, as summed up in Plao, is o eplace he aihmeical ode, he ode o moe o less ha egulaes he exchange o peishable goods and human woes, wih he divine ode o geomeic popoion ha egulaes he eal good, he common good ha is viually each peson's advanage wihou being o anyone's disadvanage. Fo his, a science, he science o mahemaics, will povide he model, he model o an ode o numbeing whose vey igo deives om he ac ha i escapes he common measue. The pah o good lies in subsiuing a mahemaics o he incommensuable o he aihmeic o shopkeepes and baees. The only hich is ha hee is a leas one sphee in which he simple ode o moe o less has been le hanging, eplaced by a speciic ode, a speciic popoion. This sphee is called poliics. Poliics exiss hough he ac o a magniude ha escapes odinay measuemen, his pa o hose who have no pa ha is nohing and eveyhing. This paadoxical magniude has aleady pulled he plug on make measues, sopped he "cuen," suspended he eecs o aihmeic on he social body. n he ciy and in he soul, as in he science o suaces, volumes, and sas, philosophy sives o eplace aihmeical equaliy wih geomeic equaliy. Bu wha he empy eedom o he Ahenians pesens philosophy wih is he eec o anohe kind o equaliy, one ha suspends simple aihmeic wihou seing up any kind o geomey. This equaliy is simply he equaliy o anyone a all wih anyone else: in ohe wods, in he inal analysis, he absence o akhe, he shee coningency o any social ode. The auho o he Gogias pous all his scon ino poving ha his paicula equaliy is nohing moe han he aihmeical equaliy o he oligachs, in ohe wods, he inequaliy o desie, he boundless appeie ha makes vulga souls go ound in a vicious cicle o pleasue endlessly accompanied by pain and ha makes egimes go ound in he vicious cicle o oligachies, democacies, and yannies. The "equaliy" ha he leades o he popula pay have besowed on he people o Ahens is no moe o hem han an endless caving o he always moe: always moe pos and ships, moe mechal)dise and 15
THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS colonies, asenals and oiicaions. Bu Plao knows ull well ha he poblem lies deepe. The poblem is no his insaiable hunge o ships and oiicaions. is ha a he people's assembly, any mee shoemake o snihie can ge up and have his say on how o see he ships and how o build he oiicaions and, moe o he poin, on he jus o unjus way o use hese o he common good. The poblem is no he always moe bu he anyone a all, he sudden evelaion o he ulimae anachy on which any hieachy ess. The debae abou naue ve!sus convenion ha pis Socaes agains Poagoas o Callicles emains a eassuing way o pesening he scandal. The oundaion o poliics is no in ac moe a mae o convenion han o naue: i is he lack o oundaion, he shee coningency o any social ode. Poliics exiss simply because no social ode is based on naue, no divine law egulaes human sociey. This is he lesson Plao himsel oes in he gea myh o Poliics. is poinless o y o look o models in he age o Khonos and he inane eveies o he shephed kings. Beween he age o Khonos and ouselves, he disconnecion o wong has aleady happened. Wheneve someone hinks abou esablishing he heoeical ules o a ciy's popoions, i means ha democacy has aleady passed ha way. Ou wold goes ound "he ohe way;' and anyone who wans o cue poliics o is ills has only one available soluion: he lie ha invens some kind o social naue in ode o povide he communiy wih an akhe. Poliics occus because, o when, he naual ode o he shephed kings, he walods, o popey ownes is ineuped by a eedom ha cops up and makes eal he ulimae equaliy on which any social ode ess. Beoe he logos ha deals wih he useul and he hamul, hee is he logos ha odes and besows he igh o ode. Bu his iniial logos is ained wih a pimay conadicion. Thee is ode in sociey because some people command and ohes obey, bu in ode o obey an ode a leas wo hings ae equied: you mus undesand he ode and you mus undesand ha you mus obey i. And o do ha, you mus aleady be he equal o he peson who is odeing you. is his equaliy ha gnaws away a any naual ode. Doubless ine- 16 THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS ios obey 99 pecen o he ime; i emains ha he social ode is educed heeby o is ulimae coningency. n he inal analysis, inequaliy is only possible hough equaliy. This means ha poliics doesn' always happen-i acually happens vey lile o aely. Wha is usually lumped ogehe unde he name o poliical hisoy o poliical science in ac sens moe oen han no om ohe mechanisms concened wih holding on o he execise o majesy, he cuacy o diviniy, he command o amies, and he managemen o ineess. Poliics only occus when hese mechanisms ae sopped in hei acks by he eec o a pesupposiion ha is oally oeign o hem ye wihou which none o hem could ulimaely uncion: he pesupposiion o he equaliy o anyone and eveyone, o he paadoxical eeciveness o he shee coningency o any ode. This ulimae sece o poliics was expessed by a "Moden;' Thomas Hobbes, who ook he isk o ebapizing i, o he puposes o his cause, "he wa o all agains all." The ''Anciens" cicle in on his equaliy quie pecisely while avoiding naming i, because eedom o hem was deined in elaion o a mos speciic conay, slavey. The slave is he one who has he capaciy o undesand a logos wihou having he capaciy o he logos. He is he speciic ansiion om animaliy o humaniy ha Aisole deines mos pecisely as paicipaing in he linguisic communiy by way o compehension bu no undesanding: 0 KOVWVWV Aoyou oaou:ov OO"OV aia()avca()m l:xaaa LiJ cxcw, he slave is he one who paicipaes in eason so a as o ecognize i (aishesis) bu no so as o possess i (hexis). 8 The coningen naualness o he eedom o he man o he people and he naualness o slavey can hen be disinguished wihou eeing back o he ulimae coningency o equaliy. This is also o say ha such equaliy can be posied as having no beaing on somehing like poliics. is he demonsaion ha Plao had aleady peomed by having Menon's slave discove he ule o he squae oo. Tha an insigniican slave can aive as well as Socaes a an opeaion sepaaing he geomeic om he aihmeical ode, ha he migh shae in he same inelligence, does no deine o him any om o inclusion in he communiy. 17
THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS The "classics" clealy home in on he oiginal equaliy o he logos wihou naming i. Ye wha hey do deine, and in a way ha emains incompehensible o moden heoiss o he social conac and lie in he sae o naue, is he osion ha his pinciple ha is no one ceaes, when i akes eec as he "eedom" o people who have nohing. Poliics occus when he egaliaian coningency disups he naual pecking ode as he "eedom" o he people, when his disupion poduces a speciic mechanism: he dividing o sociey ino pas ha ae no "ue" pas; he seing-up o one pa as equal o he whole in he name o a "popey" ha is no is own, and o a "common" ha is he communiy o a dispue. This is ulimaely ha wong ha slips in beween he useul and he jus and ules ou any deducing o one om he ohe. The seing-up o poliics is idenical o he insiuion o he class suggle. The class suggle is no he sece moo o poliics o he hidden uh behind appeaances. is poliics isel, poliics such as i is encouneed, always in place aleady, by whoeve ies o ound he communiy on is akhe. This is no o say ha poliics exiss because social goups have eneed ino bale ove hei divegen ineess. The osion o wis ha causes poliics o occu is also wha esablishes each class as being dieen om isel. The poleaia is no so mu~_h a class as he dissoluion o all classes; his is wha consiues is univesaliy, as Max would say. The claim should be undesood in all is genealiy. Poliics is he seing-up o a dispue beween classes ha ae no eally classes. "Tue" classes ae, o should be, eal pas o sociey, caegoies ha coespond o uncions. This is no he case wih he Ahenian demos, which ideniies wih he enie communiy, 0 wih he Maxis poleaia, which declaes i~sel o be he adical excepion o he communiy. Boh bing ogehe, in he name o one pa o sociey, he shee name o equaliy beween anyone and eveyone by means o which all classes disconnec and poliics occus. The univesaliy o poliics is ha o each pay's dieence om isel as well as o he dieend as he vey sucue o communiy. The wong insiued by poliics is no pimaily class waae; i is he dieence o each class om isel, which hen imposes on he vey caving up o he social THE BEGNNNG OF POLTCS body he law o mixing, he law o anyone a all doing anyhing a all. Plao has a wod o his: polupagmosune, he ac o going on "a bi," o going "a bi oo a;' o anyone inding hemselves peoming any uncion whaeve. he Gogias is an ineminable demonsaion ha democaic equaliy is jus he inequaliy o yanny, he Republic goes abou endlessly acking down his polupagmosune, his conusion o aciviies, i o desoy any odeed allocaion o sae uncions and o cause he dieen classes o lose hei pope chaace. Book V o he Republic, a he poin whee i deines jusice-ue jusice, ha which excludes wong-solemnly wans us ha such conusion "does he geaes ham o ou sae, and we ae eniely jusiied in calling i he wos o evils." 9 Poliics begins wih a majo wong: he gap ceaed by he empy eedom o he people beween he aihmeical ode and he geomeic ode. is no common useulness ha ounds he poliical communiy any moe han cononaion o he oming o ineess. The wong by which poliics occus is no some law calling o epaaion. is he inoducion o an incommensuable a he hea o he disibuion o speaking bodies. This incommensuable beaks no only wih he equaliy o pois and losses; i also uins in advance he pojec o he ciy odeed accoding o he popoion o he cosmos and based on he akhe o he communiy. 18 19
Chape 2 Wong: Poliics and Police The billian deducion o he poliical animal's ends om he popeies o he logical animal paches ove a ea. Beween he useul and he jus lies he incommensuabiliy o wong, which alone esablishes he body poliic as anagonism beween pas o he communiy ha ae no eal pas o he social body. Bu in un he alse coninuiy beween he useul and he jus poins up he alseness o evidence o any decisive opposiion beween human beings endowed wih he logos and animals esiced o sole use o he ogan o he voice (phone). The voice, Aisole ells us, is an ogan designed o a limied p4pose. seves animals in geneal o indicae o show (semainein) sensaions o pain o pleasue. Pleasue and pain exis ouside he disibuion ha eseves o human beings and he body poliic a sense o he poiable and he injuious, and so he placing in common o he jus and he unjus. Bu, in disibuing so clealy he odinay uncions o he voice and he pivileges o speech, suely Aisole has no ogoen he uious accusaions leveled by his mase, Plao, a ha "lage and poweul animal," he people? Book V o he Republic acually akes pleasue in showing us he lage and poweul animal esponding o wods ha 21