claude lefort - democracy and political theory

8/21/2019 Claude Lefort - Democracy and Political Theory

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CLAUDE EFORT

Dcrcy d Plclry

Translated byDavid Macey

POLTY PRESS


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This Engs tanlan cpyit © Plity Pres 198K Fst pubd a Esai ur Ie polq pyht © dti u Seuil 96

Fst ishd n Engs 1988 y liy es in asoiat wt Bail lackwl

t Oce:Plity ess Dals Brwy Gwydi SCamrie CB 2L, UK

as Bawe Ld1 Cwly Rad, Oxfr OX4 F UK

All ig ts rrvd Ecpt fr e quta f ht asags f t purpse f cicm and viw ar t tis pubcat ay dced str i a

tal yst taitt i ay fm r by ay as, eectrchaical phtpyn crg tws wih the pi rsi

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Bii Lbay Cataluig i Pba Data

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Dcy ad Qia hry DracyI. Tl sas s tiqglish3. JC3

BN 0737-

Typst i Ti 10 pt

y ' graphc Ht Dvnritd Gt r y illi & Ltd, Wct

Translator NotItrouction

Contents

Par On Modern Democracy

I The Question of Democracy2 Hman ight and th Welfare Stat3 Hannah Arendt and th Qution of the Political

Part I On voltion

vi

7

9245

57

4 The Rvolutioary Teror 59 5 Iterpreting voltion within the ech evolutio 896 Eg Qint: Te Rvoton Tt Fle 57 The eolutio a Principle ad as ndivdual 135 8 readig Th Communist Mnifsto 149

Part II On Frdom 63

everibilityPolitical Fredom and the Frdom of th Individual 65

0 'Frm Equality to rdomrgments of an Intrprttion of Dmocracy in Amria 83

Pat IV O the Irrecible lmnt

The Pemannc of the Theologico-Politial12 The Dath of Immortality?

NoteInx

2

23256

283289


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raslator's ote

Te esss in is vlume were s lleed in lude Leor, Essissr poliiq (X/c-XX si/s) Pris Seuil, 198 eils oprevius publii e given belw

Te Quesi emry rigilly publised s L Quesionde l dmcrie i eis Kmbucner e L Rtrai dpotiq (Pris: Glile 983

Humn Rigs d e Welre Se riginlly publised s 'esis de lmme e pvidence', R itrdiscipiaird·tds jridiqs, 3 1984

nn rend d e Quesin e Pliicl, origillypublised s 'Hn Arend e l quesi du piique', hirsd Form por !idpdc t l pi, 5 Mrc 1985 Te essyis e ex f lecure given e enre Rci

Te Revluinry Terr' rigilly publised s eeurvluinnire Pss-Prs, (1983

Ierpreing Revlui wiin e renc Revuon', riginllypblised s Pese l vlun ds l Rvluin rnise',As 198

dgr Quine e evluin iled iginlly publised sdgr Quine vluin mnque PsPrst (983

Te evluin s Priniple nd s Individu riginly publiseds L Rvluin cmme principe e m e individu, in Dircvrs hirrchi Mlgs ors Lois Dmo Pris: coledes Hues udes en Scienes Siles 1984.

Rereding Th ommis Miso riginll publised s


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he Questio of eocrac

M purpse ere is enrge nd riue revivl pliil pilsp I m n lne in wring end Ournmers re, n du, smll, bu e ve been inesing r smeime, lug i mus e dmied ee is s e lile eusismr e sk W surprises me is ms se w ug be

esequipped uderke i euse eir inellel empermen,wi inlies em brek wi dgmi belies, beuse eirpilspil ulure, beuse ei desire nd me meningeind e eves, nused s e m be, e ple in urwrld, w mig be expeed ve eme sienl disenedwi e rivl dminn idelgies w disern e prendiinsr e develpme eedm, r ls sed sme lig esles snd i is w, e nd remi subbrl blind epliil reedm, e simple wrd I ve js used, is usullised rm sieni lnguge r releged e verulr, wen, is, i des n eme slgn r smll grups inelleulsw dere e ve en sides nd w re ne wi nimmunism e n be ignred n mer w mu nise emke, s we ve seen eir kind bere m mre erned wise ielleuls d pilspers w lim elg e le re r le Alug e live in n er in wi ew rm sie s emerged uder e bner sism n e ne nd nduder silism e er, e reuse emple reven pereive mmenus eve I rde d s, e wuld rse ve give new meing e ide reedm And ee bd i e vgries publi pii, pprenl n egrnds evere dees i in rdne wi eir wn wises ineress B ding s e u emselves , n rm pblipini, u m pliil pilsp even ug e lim ein ser rigru knwledg r e sle mivi beind

pliil pilsp s lws been desire espe e serviude lleive elies d wi e reedm ik bu eedm in


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1 Mod Docrcy

sie i s ws bre in mid e esseni dieree beweene regime reedm nd despism r ideed rnn e nw we re ced wi e rise new pe despism widiers e i be ned rm nien desism s mu s mderndemrc diers m ssi demr despism wic smrever wrdwide mbiins despism ise is beming invisibeWenever e er e wrd iriism pispers sk We u king b? s i nep w d u dene i? es demcr msk e dminin nd epiin ne ss bner, e snddizi eive ie nd mss nrmism?Even i we d gree isr s give bir mnser wused e muin Ws i n enmi se egi use,r des i ree e rise se burerc?' m, s sid,surprised: w n e de ngi dieenes wi susube, vie wi ne er i epiig e cmbined resures eidegger, n, Jkbs nd viSrss, nd e bk upnsu rss reism wen e qesin piis rises? Mrism, urse, s been ug is sge ; i desred e d reinsip e eised beween pis nd nive b eing us e esbismen nenrinmp ssem e eermiin

miins men nd wme, e sppressin reedm ssiin nd reedm epressin, nd e bii nivessrge r is nversin in re wic gives ne r ninenine per en e ve, es us nig bu e re Sviesie Bu e ms remrkbe ing is e wiering w ideg s dne ie se ug ree r ep i reurn ii pisp m we be dmied i is n siism,r rue' siism s e quin s, is beig nsrued in eSSR, in Esern Eurpe in in, Vienm mbdi ub,b w mn ineeus re si uned b e spere erre er, b e beie i wi reve e ws gverne devepmen sieies nd i wi enbe em dedue

rm r rin prie? A bes we d epressins sm r e dissidens perseued b mmuis regimes r rppu uprisings. Bu su eeings ve sing inee ee.Te re unbe diser reedm in demc, beuse demris dened s brgeis. Te re unbe diser seviude inirinism

wud wever, be miske resri urseves riique Mism we re reinepre e iic we mus brek wisieni pins view i geer nd wi e pin view sme dmine w e knwn s e ii sienes nd iisig in pricr

Pii sigiss nd sieniss r eir p d n emp dene piis s suersrure wse bse is be und e

suppsed re eve reins prdin Te bin eibje knwedge b nsruing r deineing pii s wic

Th Qutio o Docrcy 1 1

e regrd s pricr s nd s disin rm e ricur s, s s e enmi, e juridi e eseic escieni r e pure si si being dened s designingmdes rens beween grps r sses Tis ppr imies surreps reerene e spe is designed s sie ims be be prvide deied srve r rensruin spe b siing nd riing erms, b rging secic ssems rens, r eve b mbining em i n ve ssem s ug

e bservins d nss did n emseves deive rm eeperie.ne sci ie, eeriee wi is ne primrdind uqe sped b ur inserin in isri d piicdemined rmewk One ee is in is immediebv: mdern demric sieies re reied b mnger ings e deimii spere insiuins reins ndiviies wi ppes be ii, s disin rm er speresw pper be enmi, juridi nd s n Pii scigissd sieniss nd e prendiins dene eir bje nd eipr knwedge in is mde pperne e iic,wiu ever emiing e rm sie wiin wi e divisin rei in vrius sers pers nd is egiimed Te

smeing ike poliic sd ve been irmsribed wiin sciie given ime s in ise pii mening, d meningwi is n riur bu gener Tis even rises e quesin e sun e si spe, e or sie, eessene w ws e ermed e i'. Te pii is sreveed, n in w we piic ivi, bu in e dbemvemen weeb e mde isiuin sie ppers nd isbsured pers in e sense e ress wereb scie isrdered nd unied ss is divisins bemes visibe is bscuredin e sese e us piis e us in wi priesmpee nd in wi geer gen pwe kes spe nd isreprdued becmes deed s pir, wie e prinipe wicgeneres e ver ngurin is eed

Tis bservin is in ise n ivii reur e quesin ne inspied pii pisp: w is e ure edierene beween rms sie? epreing e piic mensbrekig wi e viewpin ii science, beuse piicsiene emerges m e suppressin is quesin emerges rm desire bjeci, nd i ges n eemens, n eemenrsruures, n eniies (csses r segmes sses n enmic renic deemiis, nd n dimensins si spe eis unie ve been given rm Givig em rm impies b givingem mening (i ) nd sging em (i ). Tere given mening in e si spce unds s spce ineigibii riued in rdne wi speic mde

disiguising bewee e re nd e imginr, e re nd ese, e jus nd e ujus, e permissibe nd e rbidden e


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2 0 Mode Deorc

nrml d e plgil Te re sged i is spe cninswiin i qsirepesei f isel s being risri, mnridespi, demcric r liri As we knw, e crllr f edesire bjeif is e psiiig f sbje pble f perfrminginelleul perins wi we ing is invlvemen in sillife Suc nerl suje is erned nl wi deeing uslrelins beween penmen nd wi discvering e lws gvere gnii d e wkings f sil ssems r sssemsTe in f is subje is vulnerle mre n e rgmesf criicl scilgiss d Mrxiss w bje e disinieween fcul judgemens nd vle jdgemens, nd w sw e nls is wrking wiin perspeive fred p im b eneed defend is enmic r ulul ineess Wellfnded s im e is rgmen iself cmes p gis limiins wi willn be exmined ere I fils regnie n ssem f ug is nd p wi frm f sil life is grpplig wi sbjemer wi nis wii i is wn ierprei d wsemening is nsie elemen f is re B sribing nerli e sbjec, i deprives e sje f e mens grsp neperiene genered nd rdered b implii nepin f e

relins ewee m beings nd f eir relins wi e wrld prevens e subjec frm grsping e ne ig s beegrsped i ever m sie, e ne ig gives i is suss mn sie: nmel e differene eween legiim ndillegiim eween ru d lie s, beween enii d impsre,eween e prsui f pwer r prive ineess nd e prsuif e cmmn gd Le Sruss's ks n w mig e ermede srin f pliil g s resul f e rise f e silsiees nd f Mrxism re sufienl elquen fr us n dwelln e issue ere we ve nl urn e iiqe pesNtural Rght and Hitor Le me s simpl if we ignredisinis re bsi e exerise f e inelle n e grnds we cn sppl eir rieri nd if we lim be ble rede knwledge e limis f bjeive siene, we bre wi epilspil rdiin If we refuse risk mkig judgemens, welse ll sense f e differene ewee frms f sie We en fllbk n vle judgemens, eier priill, ene e clk f ierr in e deermins f w we ke be e rel rrirril i e rude semen f preferenes.

I wld like nw dw eni w reinerpreing e pliilmens in r imes

e rise f lirinism b i is fsis vrin wic s fre mmen ee desred, ug we ve n gunds ik i mig n repper in e fure nd i n is mmnis vin wi

is ging fm sreng sreng bliges s reexmine deme widespred view e cnrr nwisndig, lirinism

Th Qtio o Docrc 13

des n resul frm rnsfrmin f e mde f prducin ne se f Germn r Ilin fsisms, e pin des n ve besresed, s e dped emselves e minennce f cpilissrures, wever ges e m ve undergne s resul finresed se inervenin in e ecm. B i is imprn les rell e Svie regime quired is disincive feuresbefre e er f e silii f e mens f prdcin nd flleivii Mder liriism ises frm pliicl muin

frm min f smbli rder, nd e ge in e sus fpwer is is leres expressin W i f ppens is prrises climing e b is er nre differe frm diinlpries, represen e spirins f e wle peple d pssess legiim wi ples i ve e lw I kes pwer b desrngll ppsiin e ew pwer is cunle n ne nd is bendll legl rl Bu fr ur purpses e use f evens is f lileimpr; we re nerned wi e ms rerisic feures f enew frm f sie. A densin es ple e een e speef pwer, e spere f lw nd e sper f knwledge Knwledgef e ulime gls f sie d f e rms wi regule scilpries bemes e prper f pwer, nd e sme ime pwer

iself lims e e rgn f disurse wi ricues e rels su Pwer is embdied in grup nd, is iges level, in single individul nd i merges wi knwledge wic is sembdied in su w ning n spli i pr Te er r if n e er, e spiri f e mvemen, s i ism mwell urn everig n s irumses demnd, bu i cnnever be llenged b experiee. Se nd ivil sie re ssumed ve merged; is is brug b rg e gec f eubiquius pr wic permees everig wi e dminnidelg nd ds dwn pwer's ders, s irmsnces demnd,nd rug e fmin f mliplii f mirdies rgniinsf ll ids in wi n riil silii d relins f pwerfrmig e generl mdel re reprded A lgic fideiin is se in min, nd is gverned b e represeninf pwer s emdime Te prleri nd e peple re ne; epr d e prleri re e; e plireu d, limel, eegocrat, nd e pr re e Wils ere develps represeninf mgeneus nd selfrnspren sie, f PeplesOnesil divisin in ll is mdes, is denied, d e sme ime llsigns f differenes f piin, belief r mres re cndemned. Wen se e em despism rerie is regime, u nl if wespeif i is mdern nd differs frm ll e fms precedei Pwer mkes referene ning end e scil; i ruless ug ning exised uside e sil, s ug i d n limisese re e limis eslised e ide f lw r ru is

vlid in iself; i eles sie bed wi ere is ning,wi is ssumed be sie fullling is desin s scie


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4 0 Moe Democrcy

prdued te pepe w ie i it Te distintive mdern etue ttitrinism is tt it mines rdi rtiiist ide wi rdi rgniist ide Te imge te d mes t emined wit te imge te mine Siet ppers t e mmunit wse memers re strit intedepedet t tesme time it is ssumed t e nstrutig itse d b d to bestriving twrds g te retin te ew mn d t beiving in stte permnet miiztin

We ignre ter etures, wi ve desibed t engtesewee, su s te penmen te prdutin-eimintin te enem te eem witin being dened s n gent te enemwitt s prsite n te d r s itererene wit tewrkings te mie r m ting ere t eve tentrditins ttitinism mes up ginst Even tis brie utinews us t reexmie demr Wen seen ginst te bkgrund ttitriism, it quires new dept nd nt e redued t sstem institutins I its turn demr t is see t e rm siet nd tsk is t uderstnd wt nstitutes itsuniqueness, nd wt it is ut it tt eds t its vertrw d tte dvent ttitrinism

Anne w undetkes su prjet n ern gret de rmTquevie Te ting tt mrs im ut rm is ntemprries isin t is reizti tt dem is rm siet, nd erives t tt nusi bese, in is iew demr stds utgist bkgrnd: te siet rm wi it emerges d wi es ristrti siet term wi it wud t be pprprite tdisss ere Tquevie eps s t dei pe te experiene mderndemr b eurging us t k bk t wt me bere it ndt te sme time, t k ed t wt is emerging r m emergein its wke is investigtins re imprtnt t us i sever respetsHe psits te ide tt get istri mttin is tkig pe eventg its premisses d ng ee estised, nd e puts rwrdte ide n irreersie dnmi Atug e ttempts t te

te undmet prinipe demr in si stte equit nditin e expres nge i e diretin tkes n interest insi bnds nd piti institutis, in te individ in temenisms pi pii, in rms sensiiit nd rms knwedge, in reigin, w, nguge iterture istr, et isexprtins ed im t detet te mbigities te emocrticrevoltion in ever dmin, t me, s it wee, exprtr iisinint te esh te si At ever mment is nsis, e kst tings rm t sides mves rm ne side te penmenn tte te nd rees te ndeside bt te psitive new signs reedm nd te negtive new signs servitde

It is n reent tt Tquevie s beme sine tiner,

tt e s een dened s te pineeig terist mden pitiiberism But is intuitie visin siet ed wit te gener

T Qetion o Dmocry 5

ntrditin tt ris wen te si rder n nger s sisseems t me t be m mre imprtt t is reputtin e trestis ntrditin b exminig te indiid w s been reeserm te d netwks persn depede nd grnted te eedmt tik nd t in rdne wit is w rms ut w is n teter d isted, imperised d t te sme time trpped bte imge is ews, nw tt ggutintin wit tem pvides mes esping te tret te dissutin is identit e te

exmines pubi piin s it nquers te rigt t expressin ndmmuniti nd t te sme time emes re i its w igt,s it emes deted m subjets tins d speks itse ndemes n nnmus pwe stnding ver tem He exmines wwi, euse it is drwn t te pe te etive wi eptste ew demds tt re rn ges in mentities nd prties,nd wi s rest equit nditin is inresing deditedt te tsk o stndrdizing nrms evir nd n, eexmies pwer, wi s een set ree rm te ritrriness persn rue but wi preise euse it destrs te individinstnes utit ppers t beg t n ne, exept t tepepe in te strat, d wi tretens t eme nimited,

mniptet t quire n mbitin t tke rge ever spet si ieI m nt sing tt Tqevie's nsis tis ntrditin,

wi is ierent in demr, is irrete t it des pen up aver ruitu ine eser wi s nt been pursued Witotwising t disuss te diuties int wi e stumes - I ve givensme inditin tese esewere - et me simp sere tt isexprtins re s restrited t wt I ve termed te underside te penmen e beieves t be rteristi te new sietnd tt e des nt pursue is exprtins b exmining te nderside te underside Te, entr d ve gne b sine tepubitin Democry in meri We terere enj te eets experiene nd ve te pit t deiper tings tt its tr

d n gimpse Bt it is nt simp is k experiene wirestrits is iterprettin tere is s, [ beieve, n inteetreute wi is und p wit piti prejdie) t ntte unknw eement in demr As [ nnt devep m ritiismsere I wi mere stte tt i is ttempt t ring ut te miguuseets equit diti, Tquevie us tries t unvern inversin menig te new ssertin singrit des in tee te re nnmit; te ssertin dierene beiepinin r ms) des in te e te re nirmit te spirit innvtin is steriized b te immedite ejment mteigds nd b te puveriztin isti time te regnitin ttumn beings re mde in ne nter's ieness is dested te

rise siet s bstrt entit, nd s n Wt e is t see, ndwt we e in psitin t serve is tt ter inee r


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20 Mde Deay

e ineress d ppeies vulgr miin nd wen, in wrd, ippers i sie, d we e sme ime sie ppers ergmened en we see e develpme e s e PeplesOne, e begiigs ques r susil idei, r scilbd wic is welded is ed r n embding pwer, r se ree rm divisin

I is smeimes sid demcc isel lred mkes rmr liri insiins, mdes rgiin nd mdes represenin. Wils is is erinl rue i is ls sil re s cge in e ecnm pwer is reqied i e liinrm scie is ise.

I nclusin I reurn m iiil csiderns. seems srnge me ms r cnempies ve sese w mupilsp wes e demcric eperiene e d n explreis mri r ke i s eme r eir reecins, e il regnize i s e mi eir invesigins. Wen e rells werin gre pilspers were drwn Nism, les i is erlsges, nd, mu geer nd lsing een, Slinism ebegins wnder weer, i mdern pilsp, e bili brek

wi e illsis b elg nd eigeen d ineeencenur rilism des crr wi i, in rn, qsireligius i, nslgi r e imge scie wi is ne wi isel ndwi s msered is isr, r e imge n gnic cmmuiBu cn we esri disssin e ide seprin beweenpilspil g nd pliil elie n eier remi ueed,ne e ve me in cnc ppers me e quesinis wr sking, nd we mig be le sed sme lig n ib llwig e evli e ug MerleuPn A similnecessi led im mve m e ide e d e ide e es nd dispelled e rcis e mmuis mdel bllwing im ediscver e indeerminc isr nd ebeing e sil.

2

uma ihts ad he WefareState

As sn s we egin s rselves b m igs, we ndrselves drwn in lbrin qesins We mus rs srselves i we cn in c ep e rmul wi mkig reerence mn nure Or, i we reje e nin umn nurewi srrendering elelgicl visi isr. r n we in

c s mn beings ve embrked up vge seldisver e ree emselves b disvering nd insiuingrigs in e bsence n priniple mig llw us deide s eir re ure nd s weer eir evlin des r desn nrm eir essene ve is erl sge, we cnnignre e qesin. Even i we emp vid i nd simpl exminee impr n even su s e prclmi e end eeigee enr e igs knwn s e rigs m, erdiulies lie i sre. I we dp e ler urse, ur invesiginspper be gided, i b bservi, les b redig ndinerpei e s We egin sking urselves bu emeig e muin rred in e repesenin eindividl nd sie. T quesi leds ner cn eees min eide e urse isr up e presenime T be mre specic: is i e cse umn rigs merelserved disguise relins eslised in brgeis sie, r dide mke pssile r eve give rise , demds d sruggles wiccnriued e rise demcr ve is is rude seme e erms e lerive ven i - nd believe ergniers is de e wuld ccep e pesis - we gree e insiin umn rigs s me suppr dnmi rigs, d we n ve ivesige e eecs develpmeI is ne ing s sil, ecmi nd ulurl rigs (nblse menied in e ied Nis re rise s n exensin se iginl rigs I is qie ner s e derive rm

e sme ispirin nd i is e ner ke e view eprme reedm Te quesi kes us urer sill i we sk weer


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24 Mon Doy

Te nme o Bejmin ost is oe metioed in disussionsbout te birt o politicl liberlism And i is coue true tt nooter tiker so clrl delieed i teor, te preogtives oetrl govenment, so rml sseted te soveeignt o rigt sopposed to te sovereignty o one mn, one group or even te peopleor so extolled e reedom o te individul Bt, i we loo t rnceGizot did more tn onstt to ormulte te prctie o liberlismGuizot proclims te sovereignt o rigt jst s loudl but t te

sme time e tempts to orge stong govermen wi will boemnte om te bourgeois elite d become e genc witrnsorms i rom beig poetil istocrc to beig relrisocrc ltog it will o course be new kind o ristor,s me wll no longe be rnked ccording to birt but in ordncewit teir utions d tei meris Ad do ot tink m mistkenin tking te view tt Guio!'s libelism led implies te notiono stte bsed upon e powe o norms d ontols Tt is stteis ver dierent rom ours need scrcel be stressed But e tendencwose eects we re ssessing is led visible d it is importt onote t i tes spe o rul politicl egiser s result o teccelerion o wt Tocqueville will term te dorti rvolution.

t seems to me tt wt onstnt ils o see is tt te inrese inpower is no te result o istoicl idet, o n t o usrptiontt gives rise to n bitrr govenment but tt it goes nd innd wit te irreversible movement wic brings into being niedsoiet o, more rtel, soity uch rom te is o te oldierrcies d tt tis mvement itsel goes nd i d wit teemergence o individls wo re dened bot s beig idependetnd s being sped in oe noter's likeess And wt ppers tove escped Gizot is t te conspiuos rmprts e wnted toerect roud te ruling sttm, primril b estritig te exeiseo politicl igts, nd te distinctio e mde between itizens,beween te men wo were wort o t nme nd tose wo ouldbe rned o scle rging rom mediocri o per ormed nedie wi would not be ble to witstnd te grdl onslugtso e exlded - ssults wi would be led b tose members ote bourgeoisie e exludes Te m wo did so muc to bingbougeois soiety into te wold did not understd t i equireddivisions tt wee m less conspicuos nd mu less rigid, orltoug it ws clss societ, i d te eues o demo

Guiot nd onstnt re liberls wo see demor simpl s om o govement or tem demorc is w it ws or Aistotled w it ws or Montesie egime i wic te sovereigno te people is sserted d in wi te govenment cts in te meo te people Neiter o tem s n ide tt it implies nunpeedented istoricl dvenre wose cuses nd eecs cnnot

be loclized witin te spee tt is cventioll dened s tt ogovernmet

Hn Riht n Th Wer Stt 25

et us no ten sccumb o e illusions o liberlism or to teillusion tt model o e stte is sucient to idie te dieenebetwee te Old d e New tt ws introdced b te esblismento e igts o m Te libel stte m well beome n bstrctioni we tr to etr it om te congurion o te new demoisoie b isolting cerin o its pertiet etures et s turn insted,to Tocqeville, wose works tec us tt te questions we re singd lred risen i te rst l o te ieteent centu I we

ling to te conventionl imge o te liberl ste we will il toundestd tt e ws lre expressig te ers tt we reormlting, tt e oesw te posibilit te regime o eedommigt tun ito despotism or rter d sice e ultimtel ejetst term - into ssem o oppression o new kind wi e nnotnme

He writes:

tin ten, tt te species o oppession b wic democrticntions e menced is unlie nting tt ever beore eistedin e world; or otemprries will nd o prototpe o it inteir memories seek in vin or n expression tt will ccrtel

cove te wole o e ide I ve omed o it: te old wordsspoti nd tyrnny e ipproprite te ting itsel is newnd sice cnot nme, mst tempt to dee it

Tocquevilles work etinl lerts us o tese questions s it menstt we ms t to uderstnd ow knowig notig o te eonomid socil upevls we ssocite wit e ormio o te welrestte, e ws ble to coneive o individuls being subjged b nllpoweul stte nd o reedoms beig lost beind cde oeedom

m tiking in prticulr o te pitre e pits in te l setiono Deorcy in Aeri, were e invites us to imgine e noveletres nde wic despotism m ppe in te world' Hvingmetioed te isoltion o ities (Ec o tem livig pt is s stge to te te o ll e rest) e goes on:

Above tis re o me stnds immense nd ttelr powerwic tkes po itsel loe to secure tei grictions nd towtc ove teir te Tt power is bsolute, minute regulrprovident nd mild It wold be lie e uori o prent i,like tt uoi, its objec were to prepre men or mnoodbut it sees, on te otr, to eep tem in perpetl ildood:it is well otet t te people sold rejoice, provided tetink o oting bt ejoicing o teir ppiness su governmet willingl lbours but it cooses to be te sole gent

d te ol rbiter o tt ppiess it povides or teirseurit, oesees d supplies teir necessities mnges eir


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8 0 Md Docac

Toqueville o reje e ld wods despism' nd rnn in isdesripion f e new ind of ppression wi ened demorisoieies Ad i is is wi leds me riiize e of e judgemenswe ve menined i is inpprprie o spe frm of serviudebeing mbined wi e wrd frms f freedom S lng sinsiions re s reguled me i impssible r e ler rrues ppoprie pwer we no s e e mer ofpure form W I ve ermed e operi negivi is less

onsiive o e demri spe e ereion f e se in elr pwer e ssem rives on is nrdiin d s lngs e ssem is perpeued, neier of is erms n lse is ef is in f qie er Tquevile imsel sw i wsimpssible reslve lis is nrdiin despie e impulse ed im imgine sr f demri despism f peviusnnw ind mmers wo dwel imge end frgeis onlusin

A onsiin repubi i is ed nd ulrmonril in llis er prs s lws ppered me be srlivedmonser e vies o rlers nd e inepide e peple

wuld speedi bing bu is ruin nd e io wer f isrepresenives d of iself, wuld ree fee insiis rsn reurn o sre isel e fee f single monser

is ide is obviosl f gre imporne oqeville s eeformules i ers ler in frgmen wrien we e ws pepringe nl sei f LA gme e voo Hving fullreesblised e disne sepres demr rm bsluisgvenmen wi rules b lw nd in e mids of insiins wifvor e ndiin o e peple e ses Is mening [ fdemr] is inimel bund up wi e ide of pliil freedomo ppl e epie demori gvernmen gvernmen inwi ere is no poliil freedm is plpbe bsrdi' e poin

need sre be sressed: e freedm e is ling bou is nreduible e owrd frms freedom

W do I su imprne is ls pin? M udienewill sspe ve red relized w n ur d we fen erdi sid e l differene bewee demr nd e olirinssem is e degree of oppressin eri riis even g s r s l bu lirin demr' ie oqeville gin, hs

a palpbl absurd We d f urse ve gd resn believe e evoluin f der s mde pssibe e pperne f new ssem f dominion e i sism, zism or w is nowns soilism wse eres were previsl inneivle B wemus les reognize e frmio f ssem implies e

ruin of demr I does no represen e ulminion of e isridvene inugured b demr i invers is meing e

Hun gh d Th Wear Se 9

mbigiies demr no be reslved b frerig ne eendenies eis wii i, nmel e enden reifre epower f e se pprs For e se pprs iself is dismledfr e bene e pr pprs, d e im f e pr iseril n o ense e welleing iizens We mus never iref onsidering is f lirinism des n simpl mr edesruin f poliil freedom i dess e bsis f e uelpwer or f e welfre se Wever e eres f e new egime,

be i fsis zi or Siis nd o mer weer i ws eslisedin e we f Svie soilis r under e inuee f mdelin Erpe in Kre Vienm r b, i is n e priiple fwellbeig gverns e develpme f e se

Isn' e welfre se ie Jnus' smeone will s es' ive idden fe of e plie se?' Tis is legiimeqesin Tere is god resn o suspe n l e repressindireed gins sr erded b e enmi risis m inrese u i is i e ver nure e welfre se neurlize eexpressin f soil nis' Bu le us o frge i des vew fes nd s ne bemes rser e er bemes mrebeign Ad nr suld we forge e bsles wi l

e expnsin f e oerive se refer e demri ppruswi prevens e genies power lw nd wledge rm usigin single edig rg If we il o remembe , we will filo regnize e spei dimensio f e pliil in ur sieies fwe nere ur eion upn e inresig prergives f edminisrin d, mre generll, n e srengening puliriies we will n lnger be ble o disern e spei nure f pwer wse exerise lws depeds pn mpeii beweepries wi ll mpeiin implies upn dee wiis susine b publi lieries d wi preserves em I is primrilbeuse ere is n mser e welfre se des n bee poliese I mser did pper, e se wld lse e disrigmbigui wi rerizes i in demr Ad e f

ere is n mse mes ere is gp wi is deemed eingible beween dmiisive power nd poliil uri Teexisene f gp mens e represeinl imperive is sillefius limel imperive is inompible wi e fullimplemenin of e nm fr wo resons Firs, i b neessiesnd egiimes e epression f mliplii of psiins n e pof b individl nd lleive soil gens Sendl i pves be indissoible frm freedom f pini of ssiin nd fmovemen nd from e reedom express i rugusie We m eril wonde s o e rren bili f pliipries ensure represenion is orrel exerised We meven lo for sigs new ppruses pble f regenering eir

bili d s Bu we nn espe e need mpre eliri regime nd e demri regime d we n neive


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32 On Mod Dmoray

ight exists n i its hlder c be dened d n i it is demurlethe re being ver rmistic n the preset istnce the hldersidentit is ucerti, nd the triul ere which his right is ssertedis nt visile

I we w exmined thse rights which pper t eer slel tindividuls, we wld d tht the t hve piticl impt.

It is wever, true, tht we wil t discer tht impt i we stickt the letter the gret Declrtins; we must ls investigte the

eects the exercise these new rights in scil ie ritics therights mn lws ccetrte upn the rm i which the restted This is especill tre thei mst viulent critic, nmel Mrx,wh pursues ever sign individulism nd nturlism in rder tssig t it idelgicl uncti Mr sees in the reedm ctind the reedm piin grnted t evere nd i the gutees individu securit n mre thn the esblishment ew mdelwhich enshries the seprti m rm mn' r t mre bsicevel still, burgeis egtism'

Mrx des crse displ here chcteristic etre thethiking his time ut whe he dismisses the phevl i scil ndpliticl reltins implicit i the brgeis represetti theseights, he still ccpies the idelgic terrin he clims t eudermiig The uthr On h Jwsh Qto is trpped thisrepresentti, nd he is viced tht it revels the eectiv relit civil sciet sciet shttered int diversit pivte iterestsnd individls - reit whse mti incides with tht itscuntept: stte destined t emd ctitius sveeigt IMrx is t e elived, we hve nl t ter w the vei t revethe trivil ce tht sciet But the rights m re nt veilFr rm hving the uncti msing disslutin scil ndswhich mkes everne mnd, the th testi t the existece new netwr hum reltis d ring it it existence

Withut gig int the detis the rgument in the ess Imentined erlier, I will pt rwrd three pints t sppt this

prpsitin

I The declrti tht eedm sists i eing le t deverthing which des nt hrm thes des nt impl tht theidividl withdrws int the sphere his w ctivities The egtivermu which des t hrm', pn which Mrx cetrtes, isindisscible rm the psitive eig le t d evething Thisrticle gives ull recgnii t the right reedm mement itenshrines the liting the prhiitis which resticted tht rightunder the Acie Rgime, d it theree cilittes the mltipicti hum reltis verne nw hs the ight t sette whee thewish, t tvel s the wish crss the teritr the tin t eterpces which were previsl the preserve privieged ctegries temr p creer r which the believe the re qulied.

Human Rght and Th War Stat 33

2 Freedm pii des nt trsrm pini it privteprpert, nd it is t mdelled the wneship mteri gds;it is retil reedm. Accrding t the tet the 1791 Decrtin,Te ree cmmuicti thughts d pinins is e the mstprecius rights mn, ever citie m therere spe write deel prit, unless wht he des cnstittes se tht ierti the prticur cses lid dw w." As evere cquires theright t ddress thers nd t liste t them, smlic spce is

estlished it hs denite ntiers, d n uthrit c lim tcntrl it r t decide wht c d wht nnt be thught whtcn nd ct e sid Speech s such nd thught s sch prve texist idependetl n give individ, d elg t n ne

3 The gurtees securit - i which Mrx sees nl the mstsrdid expressin civi siet, cncept p" desiged tprtect the urgeis tech s tht jstice hs been seprted rmpwe, tht it hs its wn piciple nd tht, b prtecting the idividulrm ritrriess, it mes him sml the reedm which udsthe existence the ti Fm stnt t Pgu, it will thererebe sserted gin nd gi tht inustice dne t n individl tnl hrms the individl, u degdes the tin itsel, t becse

everne ers tht the wil ll victim t ritrriness i theirneighur's rights re vilted, t becse the ver bic scilreltins in plitic cmmuit depends upn the ities trust i justice which is independet l mstes

Pierre Ment criticies me r iling t recgnize the prdwhich Mrx sees s clerl: At the ver mment whe the men the Revltin gve the pliticl instnce ll pwes d rights ndgve themselves thse pwers d rights s ruers,' he serves, thejustied plitics s sch s mens t e used egtistic me in ivisciet And, ving cited O th Jwh Qust he sttes thtMrx sees quite cler tht When circmstnces me it wre itsimprtce d its emiet vle, this ivil lie, which hs n ctent

its wn nd n pinins its wn, cnnt but tke the rm pure negtin, nd cnt t t ginst the cditis itspssiilit, nmel the brgeis sciet which it is stil, in its wview, mre thn n instrumet" Bt is the trdictin cig themen te Revlutin the cntrdicti the rights mMrx excels s we knw, t diectic rguments which turn ppsitesit cmplementries The ilsi plitis is he tes in the erlOn th Jwsh Qn twied with the illsin the rights mnHis rgument relies r its herence up the thesis, which is certinnt shred Mnent, tht cmmuism will mrk the blitin clss divisins, nd tht the distincti betwee the ecmic, thejridicl nd the pliticl will therere e lished withi the urit the scil I tht thesis prves t e iccurte d it seems tme tht histr in ct demstrtes tht the thesis clmites in the


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3 0 Mde Decay

liin sy Mrs iique llpses Te lines ied y Mnenevel errr e e idden e e rigs mn Bu deserr sem rm relii e viy siey wi s resul e epr m r erilies ly y brekingu? O Mrs mge vl sey n mre n i?And rm plemenig ivil siey des errr signl edesrun l eedm s s? es i n signl, s Mielen Qine will sw surrepiis reun e rdiin

bsluism e emegene siey wse i in e mnrn in eligin s llpsed, d inse pwer wi lims be e erly emdimen lw d knwledge? I seems me ll e mre dul ep e rgme pu wrd yMnen llws M ere in i pevens us rmundersndg wy demry sueeded i reeing isel rm errrnd in sing isel upn e rigs mn

I qie relie e priipl esis is demry uld nve riumed iu insiing seprin eween ivil siey lus r pns w n pwer - nd e sel liel se - ls pwer wi n inins is limed s resl is sysem e se grws snger eind is msk neliywls sey grws weker, remins ere r e nisy

rssn s w beuse ey re merely e pinins dvdls, neurze e e And ye is esis seems unilerl, sy e les i i leds s ignre e ge even wieermined b e rmin el pwe nd reepinins; reer e disppene n uriy wi sbjugede nd evey dvdul e ispperne e url rsupernurl sis wi, i ws limed, gve uriy nunsslble legmy n udersndig e ulime ends iey nd e evi e peple i ssigned speisns nd ns

Te liil rigiliy demry - d i ppers me vegne nregnized is signlled y dule enmenn: pwer

w ener vlved in nsn ser r sis beuselw nd kwledge e lnger embdie in e ersn r persnsw exerise i nd siey wi eps iing pinins nddebes ve rgs ese e mrkes wi ne llwed peple se emselves reln ne ner in deerminemnne ve disppeed Tis dule enmen is isel sign sgle mun: pwer ms w wi is legiimy wiu emingdved rm mpen ewee pries, i n y nding bsis pnn Nw meiin sems rm ssins r eve simulese eerise ivil lieries Te se des, i is rue pper enerl ve n pinins r e ve pinin, u e rms e rsrmis i s derge i e ls 5 yerslug e rnsmi wi, y serig i m e Curnsue s sel se), ured s esul nges i

Huma Righs ad he Wefare Sae 35

pbi pinin, r in respse emTe ely lierls d e SinSimnins were wrng see publi

pnn s mpleely new re - e svereig e wrld', sey liked ll i wi wuld grdully disrm e ld prejdiesnd riry pwer Tqueville me lser e r in erelied e pess e ndensin pinin mig sbepeple new rms ug nd ndu nd mig enrgeem ke pssive ide wrds e se An ye, repee demri press s mre n e mening We suld beble ideniy new 'yny pinin', use Tqeville'sepressin new reedm epress pinins wi re, s Mnenpus i, desined nerlie ne ner; nd new reedm wis e ee undermining prejudie nd mdiying e generleeling s w is is n silly epble d legiime nds w n r nn e demnded

I m n nusing rigs nd pinins On e nrry, nd s m u explin, e nusin e w ppers me me sem rm pervesin e i rig My primry nernis prme regniin pli spe wi is lwys in gesind wse exisene blurs e nveninl bundries beween e

pliil nd e npliil rm is pin view, e disinibeween ivil siey nd se wi mysel ve reerred, nnully un r w mes in being wi e rmin demry Le s sy i is perinen ly i we rese see is pure divisin Mx i will be relled, did dene i in wyHe rsed e mdel edl siey, in wi pliil elinsppered im e inerwven in sienmi relis, wie mdel brgeis siey, in wi e spere e pliilends inide wi e se d in wi i is divredrm speilly ivil spere rerized by e rgmenin ieress nd b nis ewee eir gens He rg nly neing nmely e Anien Regime d lge een lredydesryed e edl sysem nd e se pprpried epriniple uriy ee i ws i psiin mke eeive se ll is menisms W e lls burgeis siey is erinlyreied by e srengening e pwer e se, bu i isls rerized y e repesenive sysem d by e e gvernmen ms emne rm siey s wle Tese weres re rse indissile lg we my se empsize ne rer n e er, ey nn be nlysedsepely

mus be dmied , ll en, we il regnie eimp e nsiui rding wse erms publi uriyis esblised eerised nd peridilly renewed s resl pliilmpeii nd e imp e is wi ks

mpeii d ei epressin in sil lie is rue eey is represeni is mrred by e pemnene se


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36 al Mde Decay

pprtus of ncrsn complty, nd tht we re therefore tmptdto nore t Bt we must resst th mpton.

t mus lso ponted out tt the formon of tottrn typof power whch s not sujct to comptton sns not only the edof polcl freedoms, ut lso the end of cvl lrts thmsls.

t s terfor mposs to rstrct the terms of or rment tostt nd cl socety C socety (f w r to rt th term stsef nscrd wthn poltl consttuton, nd t s ound up wth

th system of democrtc power. Moror nd rrdless of ts szend complt, the stte pprtus cnnot e und so lon s evrysctor whn t remns sujct to pssur from specc cteores ofctzns or fom socl ctors defendn the utonomy of thr sphrsof compeece, nd so on s the mnr loc whch ofcls tryto mpos comes nto conct wth the loc of reprsnton whchmposes tslf upon th lctd uthorts In short, the sme fctorswhch mk t mpossle for th stte to ecome closd systm tocome et orn controlln the socl ods er movemenlso mn tht thos who old potcl thort re old to sumtthe prncpl of t coduct of plc ffs o prodc contests.

t s t ths pont m rumn ht return to th qson

rond wch or det cnts My rumnt s not desned tondt th qson, t to eformulte t n such wy s to mke mpossl to nswr t wst vodn ts poltcl mplcos Infct ccept t he new rhts tht emere s rslt of th ercseof poltcl fedoms hlp to ncrs th stt's sttuory powrs

ndeed t sems to me th the poltcl systm lnds tslf to thtdevelopmen Ptes d oernmnts n fct wlcom demnds whchsm to thm to e populr so s to sncton ter own ltmcthey mdf leslon ccordnly nd lslton vs th dmstton nw sponsts nw mns of cotrol nd ew opportntsfor coercon Ntuly But we cno e mtts thr It s noenouh fo hs o tht dmnd o nd smphetc hern thuppr echelos of th stte for new rts to rcve jdcl

reconton Een f dmnd concns onl snle cteory ofctzns t must rst mt wth t lest tct pprovl from odsecton of pulc opo; n other words t must nscred wthnwht w h clld h plc spce. We mst oously onderestmte the rtculton of force nd rht - no mtter whhrth forc quston mnts from ntrsts cple of molzneffectve mens of prssur o whthe t s to ssssd prlyumcl trms Bu one of he pecondtons for the succss of ndemnd s the wdesprd concton tht the nw rht conforms toth dmnd for freedom enshrned n stn rhts hus,n theeteent centur th rht of workrs to ssoct nd the ht tostrk sltd from ce n the lnce of powe ut t th sm

tme even those who dd ot stt thos rts rconzd them s ltmt tso of the ht to freedom of epresso or h

Hua Rgh ad The Welfare Sate 37

rht to resst oppresson. Smlly th twenteth centur, th rhof wom o vote nd num of socl o conomc rhts sm ther tn to n etenson of rler rhts nd socld culurlrhs seem to n tnso of the rht to ducton It s s thouhnew rhts smed n retrospect to ked oncll wh wht reconsdered to consttet eements of pulc fredoms.

t s, howver o e notd h ths feeln ntlly nsprs thosewho tke th nttve fomultn th demnd. I formultn t

thy r of course defndn th own ntrsts ut, so lon s thervoces no hrd, they re lso wr of n the vctms of won rher thn n juy.

hs oston merts serous consderton. h dmocrtcpprhenson of rht mps the frmton of speech t ndvdulor collect - whch whls t s not unteed y stn lws ory monrchs proms cn sst ts uthoty n the epcto ofpulc conmto cuse t ppels to th conscec of the pulc.W cnnot nor th nolt of ths phenomnon. Whlst speech ofths typ s ntmtely ound up wth dmnd ddrssd to th sttet s lso dstnct from tht dmnd n tht rspct, comprson whhe totn rm s once more structve hr s le us ote

o room toltrn rm for the welfr stte modl; ut thtdoes no prnt t from tkn countess msres cocernnmplomn, pulc hlth ducon hous nd les n ordr tomeet certn of th populton's nds. Bt t s ot urntor ofrhts n strct ses h dscouse of power s selfsufcent tors spch whch leves ts or. Powe dcdes nd estowsut t s lwys rtrry t s lws selct choosn tween thoseto whom t vs th t of s lws nd those t cldes ndvdulsrc no more thn requss dsused s rhts ecuse thy rereted s dpndns nd not s ctzns.

f w consder the mnsps of rh n dmocrcy t s temptnto conclde ht no dstncton cn e md ewen rhts whch rrdd s fndmentl thos whch cme nto e s the rhts

of mn nd othr rhts whch he cqured wth th pssof tm. And, n sense whch I m ou to dene, elev thtths s ndeed the cs.

oes ths m tht w he to ndo trst hss only todopt hstorcst thess? On th cotry, t mens th we hve toreject oth ths tms he de of humn nture whch ws soorousl poclmed t th nd of he hteeth cenuy couldnee cpture the m of the undertk nurted the rtAmrcn nd rnch declrtons. B reduc the sorce of rht tothe humn utternce of rht th md n m of oth humnd rht Spcc sttemens sd hy nted rconton of thergh have rghts (th eprsson s orrowd from nnh Arndt

lthouh sh uss t rthe dffernt ses, d thus v rse ton dnr whose otcom s unpredctle In oher words the


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H Ri ht d Th W l S t 4


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40 0 Mode Democry

or Mr Rn's Amerc whre thy hv n olshed nprncple wthout tht csn tl lson th proces stllrvrsl nd th frc of democrcy c stll e rpred not splyecuse codtos my mke possl to mprov the lot of themorty t prcsly ecse the codto tht llow protests toe mde e tll ntct

I cn ntcpte th ojctons tht wll rsed. t wll e sd thtfredom mn orml when they coest lonsde povety nsecrty

o employmnt nd dsttuton n th fc of llns. I d thermnt utnle. When ppled to Wstern socetes t nors thefct tht thse forml fredoms md t possl to rs dmndswhch succdd n mprov the hum codto t psses ovr nslnce the sttus of the rst rdoms whch rsultd from worke'rhts to �sct nd to strke the fct tht thy r so ound pth th ol hts of mn tht th ppsso would now mplyth dstructon o dmocrcy d the fct tht they re ound pwth economc nd socl rhts.

If morovr ths rmet s ppld to soctes whch wrtchdproporton o th populton s the vctm of ve eplotton tcn ll too sly trned nst those who nvok t Wht theysk s the pot o tlkn ot hum rhts n ths cotet Hmnhts re een s lry tht cnnot covtd y popl who hvto ce th drm of penury fmne epdemcs or fnt mortltyTho who se th rumnt fort oly on th uch countrsthe oppressd r dnd frdom of speech freedom of soctonnd often freedom of movmnt tl. n othr words thy r dnedverythn tht mht ve them letmt nd effectve wy to protstnd to resst opprsson. And prnc tche us only too clrlytht scorn for humn rhts ecoures woulde revoltonre toconstruct totltrnstyle rm or to drm o do so t msksn undrl rful to rnt ndvdls psnt commtsworkers nd popls nrl he right he rights.

It tu tht when we ru tht dmocrcy estlshes dete

to the ltmt d th lltmte we re ttn to th hert ofth rolm Ths prncpl n fct ssts tht whtever s judedle¥t th hr nd ow heceforth letmte. Bt upon whtcon tht udmt d W cold o cors sy that tesds n th coformty etwee th ew rht nd th sprt of thd hts mysel would ust tht ths s o the fln tht thee such conco motvtes thos who r or wll ecome thednds o unprecdntd mnds t lo motvts plc opnonwhch ccpts thos demnds d th nces whch provde themth udcl outlt But ths nwr dos ot rmove ll doutFudmntl ht my wll consttutv o plc ete utthy cnnot e costrnd y dnton d w thrfore cnotree on y nversl ss s to wht conforms or does ot conformto th lttr or the spt of thos rhts W thrfor ly ouselves

Humn Rights nd The Welre Ste 4

op to the rment tht wht s udd ltmte n the hee ndnow my ltmt only n terms of the crter of the mjortyBut n order to uppot tht thess w wold hve to foret wht wehv lrdy sd nmely tht rht cnot e mmnent wth thesocl odr wthout th vry de of ht en ded At theenn of the nnteenth cetury prdo hd lredy eenprcvd not only y ls rsoltely hostle to th stlshmentof democrcy t lso y thkrs such Mchlet d Qurt whower e

ull

ttchd to th ovrty of the people whch ws n

thr w mpct l nd ecoomc poress - n to thesoverty of ht Th prdo w tht rhts re nmed y humns d tht ths n tself ndtes ther lty to nme themselveto dente themslves thr hmty n ther etnc dvdls nd to dnte ther humnty n ther mode ofcotence the mnr of thr lvn toether n the cty' - ndtht ht not rdcle to humn rtce

The letmcy of the dt s to wht s letmt nd wht lletmte prespposs rpet tht no oe cn tke the plc ofth uprme jde: o one' mens o ndvdul not ven n ndvdulvestd wth ? supr uthoty nd no roup not even the mjortyTh netve effect t dos wy wth th ud ut t lso eltes

ustc to th stnc f pulc pce - spce whch s socostutd tht veyone ncourd to spek d to lste wthuotn suject to th uthorty of other tht everyoe urd to-dl th power he hs en v Ths p whh s lwydetermt hs th vrte of elon to no one of n lreeouh to ccommodte oly thos who rco one nother wthnt nd who v t mn nd of llown the questonn of rhtto prd As rslt no rtc cn prvt mjoty from emernn he here nd no or from vn nswer whch cn std n forthe trth Ad th ft tht very nl dvdul h the rht todeouc tht nwer s hollow or wron s the oe th whhonrms te vdty of th rtculato of rht d opnon of therredcty of onscnc to th ht to hve n opnon theevent the moty my pove to e wro ut ot th pulc pce.If th nce of the dt t mpls t prove to e th setht compct constnt ody of mss opnon too decsons undercovr of drkess nstd of morts n mde nd unmdenstd of th turmol of echne d oct stmultn uncrtntynd hppy dvrsty of covcton th dmnt of rht woudstem not from the erors of the mjorty t from the dementof the pulc spc tslf

W therfore hve to sk whthr ths spce s shrkn or eventhen wy Is t s some clm no lone nythn more thn amulcum whch th stt uss to further t clm to endmocrtc Cn w now see nythn mo th thrn

rondwell of opnon whch s com more compct nd whch

42 On Md Dery Hun Rght d The Welfre Stte 43


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42 On Md Dery

e shped to ccommodte tslf to th mrce o n omnpotentpowe? Let us pos th quston, y l ms, ut let us lso reetht ths s quston o poltcs nd tht t would rsh to rsolvt n one wy or noth

h prdo whch hve descred nd whch pertns, lve,to the essence of democrcy hs n our dy e osdelyccentuted y th try nto wht ws oc consttted s the pulcspce o mss of people who were formerly cludd om t. owr we to ssess th ffcts of ths chn wth y ccrcy he

stts ncrsnly ston poston s th rntor of socl, conomcnd clturl rhts certly tnds to rduce th ltmy o rht toth snctonn o opnon y n ency whch pprs to ondensto of socl powr. At th sm tm, opnos tendncsnly to d common denomtor, rerdless of th fct thtthey emnte from dffrnt cteores cse they epect to estoned nd cus thy re eet vrtully letmzd f thyhve fore o numers of thr sd.

hr s n my vw no dout s to th vldty of ths oservton.But t must ot e llowed to oscur the ct tht, fr rom olshnt, th ntrvnton o the msses nto th pul spce hs tendedts oundrs consderly nd hs ld to ncs n ts ntworks.

Contemporry olrlsm (whch s t th moment renn nstoshn preste) reuses to s th mnn o ths dvntrecse t stll clns to th theory tht n elte cn mntn tsel npowr y dnyn the more populous - nd spclly th poorst -strt o soty the ht to spk. It thus lnds tsel to the prolestht now confront us s no rturn to th pst cocvl wthnthe rmewor of democcy. And t mkes t mpossle to spe outn dfnc o the use o rht s th nrlto o th rht tospek s nseprl o th duson o the eg o rhtthrouhout socety. t s ll th mor mportnt to nvstt theffects of new rhts, to rvel ther mutes nd to ttempt tomk th orrect dstncto wtn rht nd opnon - dstnctowhch mny no lon se n tht t seems pontlss to dey tht,fo mllons o eople, lnd odnc to orms whch srvd oly tomet the nds o mnorty or to mntn ts domnne ovrnumrous restes, hs vn wy to wllnnss to chlln thnoton of th ltmte nd th lltmt

hnk for emple, of th dmnds whch ld to nw condtonsor womn Who ould clm n ood fth tht thos demds smplyrected chn n pulc opon or tht they wer ovrd y mr dmnd for welln h dt ovr contrcpton, nprtculr or tht ovr orton rouht nto ply n de o rdomwhch som my certnly chlln, t whh touchs upon theessene of th ndvdl, o nterpersonl rltonshps nd o socllf ht s of course th mos loqut mpl But w thn o

hts s dvers s those o weerners who hve lost the jos, o

Hun Rght d The Welfre Stte 43

entreprnurs fcd wth mnement prolems, of sol securtyclmts o mmrnts prsones, osctous ojctos, soldrs(who re curretly dnd frdom o epresson or those ofhomosls - nd ll these rhts hve for ys the sjct ofconstnt dt especlly n rnce - w hv to dmt tht thyepress sense of ht whch s comprly more cute thn t oncews It s otn sd tht the power of the stt s ncsn s resltof these new demnds ut th tnt to whch t s en chllndtends to orott

Rcnt dts over employmet, sol scurty rforms n plchlth nd mdcl cre, nd over th sttus of prvt schools - ndthy hv ll povoed strkes nd mssv concts - prov thtndference nd pssvty r ot th rule. It wll ojctd thtthese detes rprest cocts tween coltons of ntrsts,orporte rsstnc to thrts, or the rewkenn of prejudce. Butws th dfc o hts ver free from the nuenc of terests ndopons n the pst When thr r, for mpl, qurrels over theornzton of medcne o ducton do w not hr somthn morethn the clsh o nterests Som crtcs stll lv tht th oomccrss s th drv forc hd the new epnson of tchnocrtcrucrcy. But s t not the cse tht on th contrry t evls, n

n uepected wy, onct o hts tht t poss the undersdeof ctn evls whch re stll evls d o crtn ns whch re stllns

I hve sd tht th suvvl d etenson of th pulc spce s poltcl quston. me y tht tht t s the queston tht ls t thhrt of dmocrcy do not pretend to hve n nswer. o loo orvn th outln of n nswer would rqur seprte dt. wllestrct myself to ths concluson: th s no nsttuto whch c, yts vry tr, urntee the estence of plc spc n whch ts possl to queston rht on n nresnly rod ss. Butcovrsly, tht spce prespposs tht th me of ts ltmcy sreected on st ctd y dstct sttutons on st upon

whch ctos ntustd wth poltcl esponslts cn e sen tomov And whn prtes nd Prlment no lon ssme therrsponsltes, t s to frd tht, th sen of nw formof representton cpl o rspodn to soctys epettos, thedemocrtc rm my lose ts credlty It must lso e ferd thtwht I hv trmd the dstncton tween power, lw nd nowldwhch les t the orns of th modrn onscousness o rht mylos ts symolc fccy wh the ercs of justce on th one hndnd th dssmnton of nformton thouh th prss rdo dtlvson o the other re no loner seen to e esstlly ndpndtof o nothe n othr words, whn poltl judcl d ntellctulctors so oftn ppr to ctn ccordnce wth odrs dcttd

y ntrsts, y the need for rop dspln or y the ned to cot

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pulc opno we hve good ce to woy out the couptothey e pedng

n ode to demotte the ole o those who ppe on the pulctge let me end wth mple osevton oowed fom n tcley Pee Pchet. When Al Peyrette ws Mnste of Justce hed sutnce tht spekg s ndvdl he ws not oppoedto the olto of the deth penlty t pulc opon w not edyfo t. n syng so he oth elevted d tempe fes nd lust fovengeance to the consstency of opon nd legtmed them. Theec hve een few moe stkng emples of the degdton o ghtt the hnd of the uthoty whch supposed to guntee t. succeso Roet Bdte hd only to spek the lnguge of jutceonce moe to mke the pecte of the ompotence of opnondppe

3

aah redt ad he Questioof the Political

n the Unted Sttes nnh Aendt w ecoged to e mjopoltcl thnke t vey ely stge n he cee even though hewtng dd t tmes povoke volent polemc. Fce howeveone tuck y the fct tht she ws gnoed fo so long especllyy the leftwg ntellget even thogh mny o he woks hdeen tnslted Rymod Aon w the mn who plyed the decsve

ole ntoducng he to the Fench puc n one sene ths s notupsng Rymond Aon ws n thentc el; lthough hslelsm deed fom tht of Aendt they hed commondestndng of scst nd Stlst egmes d they oth eludedconventonl dentons of left nd ght. The ct tht thee e stllget dfeece etween Aon' lelm nd tht of Aendt sndcted y the wy Aedt ws dwn to the evolutony phenomenon nd moe pecclly y the nteet she took n the omtoof the woke' concl dng the ugn evolton. Fo Aendt evoluton w not oject of cuoty. Fo he t ws the mometof beginning o of beginning gin

t seems n ct tht the goce neglect nd even hotty towhch nnh Aendt w sujected n Fce elte to the neceof Msm whch ws n ovous otcle to the ecepton o hedes. But we ow lve n n ge n whch cet dsenchnment sppet n whch cetn nume o ew questons e eng skedmoe d moe fequently Fo some ye t hs o emple eepossle to note the pesence of ctqe of tonlsm whch sdected not only gnst moden cence nd ts destuctve eectsut lso gnst the del o eso tsel And t s not only thephlosophy of the Elghtenment whch hs come nde ttck t slso the phlosophy of htoy such The phloophy o hstoy snow seen s n etenso of the phlosophy o the Enlghtemetwhee t ws once een t ctque not s ts egton. Ms o longe egded s the thnke who ovethew tonlsm t

the thnke who dd most to uthe the poject o sjectvty y

6 O Mod Dmocc h A dt d th P liti l 7


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6 O Mod Dmocc

emodyng t hstory nd most to frthr the project of msdomton ovr nture; d s the thnker who fostred the llusonof the Oe, the llson tht humnty cn ecome closed upontself

hs crtqe, nd ths pprs to e worthy of not ve goes sofr s to cll nto quston the very oton of hstory tself not smplyth noton of hstory s th trunl of reson' , ut lso th noton ofhstory s the dvent of meg, s ml wthn whch we restutd y whch we re shped, d upon whch we depnd forccss to or pst. hs crtqe s lso often drectd gst the vrynoton of socl lty, of the relty whch ws, t ws onc ssumdto foud t the level of rltos of producto

hese crtcsms d ther clerest prsso n the crtqe of thstt, whch s regrded s org for the homognton of thsocl nd for domto, s org whch cqures cresgpowers s rslt of the demd nd the stsfcton of collctvends.

h mood of secton of the contemporry ntellgents scomprd wth tht of th mmedt postwr prod leds them todscrdt vrythg to do wth the relm of volc nd to rjectpoltcs s thogh poltcs nd volence wr on nd the sme. Ayone

who now rds nh Arndt for the rst tme cnnot fl to seth vgor wth whch sh pves the wy for th qestos tht re noweng sked or th rgor wth whch sh rtcltes them nd ttmptsto nswr them. hs dos ot necessrly men tht th swers shegves wll met or pcttons. But th sprt of vestgto whchsprs hr n her tsk mrts our full ttton.

I would l hr to rg out the dmnd for thought whch spprnt throughot hr wor

hs dmnd ws orn of n encoutr wth n vt of her lvedeperec of vet whch overwhelmed her nd whch semd tth sm tme to th centrl vnt of or tmes': the vctory ofNzsm n 933.

Sh sys tht hr nterst poltcs nd hstory dtes from 933.Mch mor spcclly sh vokes 27 Frry th dy of thRchstg re For m, t ws mmdte shock, d from thtmomet onwrds I flt tht I ws responsl hs s ther nnecdotl fct or ogrphcl dtl he feelg tht she wsresponsl tht sh hd to respond to the frful chllng oftotltrnsm mde her wr of th motor force ehnd ll thought

n hr prefce to Bt P d sh wrts My ssmptons tht thought tslf rss out of ncdets of lvng eprec ndust rem ond to tm s the oly gdposts y whch to tkts ergs.' Ardt ws crtnly womn of gret erdto Shws rllnt Grek scholr studd udr ussrl nd ws dscpl

of Jsrs nd edeggr. When she wrtes tht thought rss

h Adt d th Politicl 7

thnng' does not smply men movg throgh th rlm of h hld b hogh; t mns mkng ew egng nd, morespecclly stll, bgiig gi o h bi of v. hs nsfrom MrleuPotys prefc to Adt of th Dilctic reprfectly kepg wth the thought of nh Arndt:

n th crucle of evets w com wr of wht s notcceptl to s d t s ths epernc s terpreted tht

comes oth thess nd phlosophy. We re thus llowd toreport or epernc frkly wth ll ts flse strts, ts omssonsts dsprts d wth the posslty of revsos t lter dteBy dong so w mng to vod the pretence of systmtcwors whch, ust lke ll others, r or of our eperence utclm to sprng from nothng d therefore pper, t the vrymomnt when they ctch up wth crrnt prolms to dsply sperhumn undrstdng when n elty, they re onlyrtunng to ther orgns n lrnd mr 3

No othr wrtr dnted the l twn thoght nd events morergorosly thn Arndt. No wrter sw more clerly tht th uknown,th upctd elment tht rrpts to our lefs, d the nversetht we shre wth or fllows, re the very rthplce of thought theforces tht gnrt thoght Fcg p to the now, whch wArndt's tttude tks o ts full meng f w rcll the weknessdsplyd y Grm tellectls 933 y the ntellectuls whodedcted the most dctfl nd fllcos constructons to refuslto thn d who s she sys, mde her resolve to tn hr c ontllectuls fo ever cus sh w tht sh hd nothng to lernfrom thm

We cnot fully pprct Arndt's work uless we grsp oth thsdemnd for thoght nd the need to remn fthful to t Arndt wsdeed theorst, vn phlosophr t t s no ccdet tht shlwys rjctd tht lel, for we nd n her wor constt tenson

twen desre to lorte theory nd wsh to rem fr torect to vnts. Smlrly, her crtque of the hstory of th hstornscoms clerer th lght of hr cocrn not to dssolve th nwto tmporl contnuum whch mkes t seem posteror, to eno more thn n effct of devlopmt mplct n ts prmsss.

Arndt constntly drws dstcton twe th ts of dstdignd th hgh theory whch, oe wy or other, lwys ttempts tosordnte the prtclr to th rul of prcpl, nd etweenderstdng nd the epltos of the hstorn whch cosst ofchns of cusl reltos.

For Arndt nderstdg mes, prmrly, relyng upon precrtcl udrstndng pon common sse And does ot common sen

e

n fct spotnously dstngsh etwee truth nd es, good nd el,

48 O Md Dmcrc Hh Aredt d th Pltcl 4


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tyrny nd fdom Ad dos not rlnc pon ts noncrtclndrstndg n tslf lp us to glmps somtg tht poss cllng to tought t s, howvr, tu tt ts prcompsongvs us only prtl nsght nto th now As Arndt nots,common sns rgrds totltrnsm s tyrnny wrs t s ofcours somtng vry dffrnt; t s nth nw t of lyng nor nw mod of n vl tt hs lrdy n dntd.

Bt, for Arndt udetdig lso mns ng rcptv to t

tms n wc w lv t dos not mn rsgng ourslvs to whtvhppns ut ttmptng to ecil ulv tim nd ultmtly,udetdig ourselve tht s ttmptg to undrstd ow somtngl totltrnsm could com nto ng n th world n wc wlv, gvn tt t ws not, ftr ll, orn of notg d dd ftr ll,sprg fom wtn cultur wth whch w wr fmlr.

h words toght rss out o ncdnts of lvg pnc dmst rmn ound to tm' convnc m tht t grtr prt ofArndt's work s ond up wth hr prnc nd ntpton ofth totltn phnomnon. Althogh sh dos ot m plct thrtculton twn hr cocpton of poltcs nd of stoy nd hrnlyss of th totltrn pnomno (on mght cll t t tcltontwn hr concpton of mtpyscs nd, mor grlly, of th

mn condton, nd tt nlyss, t s n my vw gorosrclton nd wold lk to gn y rngng t to lght.

rstly totltrnsm s rgm t sms, n whch vrythngpprs to poltcl t jrdcl, t conomc th scntc ndth pdgogc W osrv how t prty pntrts vry domnnd dstrts ts ordrs Scondly, totltrnsm pprs to gm n whch vytng coms pulc. hrdly nd ts s hyw cnot os totltrnsm wt vulgr tyrny t cnot rgdd s n rtrry typ of govrnmnt nsofr s t dos rfr to lw, or t lst to th d of solu lw wch ows notngto hmn ntrprtton n t hr nd now: t lw of story n

communststyl totltrnsm, d th lw o lf Nzstyltotltrnsm. n ts gm cton pprs to t domnntvlu, n tht th popl mst molzd nd mt lwys nvlvd n tsks srvng th gnrl ntrst. t s lso rgm nwhc dscors ruls. nlly, t s rgm whch pps o rvoltonry, wc swps wy t pst nd dvots tslf to thrton of nw mn

h othr sd of ths ull frmton of poltcs s owvr, ngton. t s ot smply tt w my dscov tht th dl ofmstrng socty n fct nds ts prsson n totl domton, ttt nvolvs t rs o powrs whc ow notg to y tcl orrlgous rc, powrs wc rcognz no lmts to t rlm oft possl, nd whch m tt t crton of th fmos nw

mn coms n ttck on th vry tgs tht hv lwys rpsntd

Hh Aredt d th Pltcl 4

t dgnty of th hmn codton. It s not smply tht fntstlvton of th lw to suprumn stts hs lty th ffct ofsupprssng ntrly th vldty of postv lws d of ll jurdclgurnts t s not smply tht th mystq of On, of sot ofcollctv ody, lds ft to t trmnton of th nmy wthn w lv mttrs thr w r mrly sttg t ovous. But fw go yond pprncs, w dscovr tht totltsm s n nosns mttr of poltcs, plc lf lw ton or spch, o of

rvolton s gnnng. W mst rcognz rth, tht thsrrcs wr dstroyd to llow t projct of totl domton to rlzd.

ow, n ct, cn w clng to th d tt poltcs nvds vrythngIf thr s no oundry twn poltcs nd tt whch s not poltlpoltcs tsl dspprs, cus poltcs s lws mpld ntrltonshp twn m ngs rltonshp govrnd y thnd to nswr t qustons o wc thr common ft dpnds

Poltcs cn st only th prsc of sp n whc hmngs rcognz thmslvs s ctzns, n whch ty stt onnotr wt th lmts of cmm wrld; d socl lf nnotst n ny tr ss unlss humn ngs prnc thr mutulntrdpndnc solly s rsult of th dvson of lour nd of th

ncssty of stsfyng thr nds. hs s tntmount to syng thtt pprnt pnso of th plc sphr o (nd ths mounts tot sm tg t tndncy for th pulc to swllow up t pt- nd w oft hr t sd tht ths s hppnng r qully llusory.h trth o t mttr s tt, w t dstncton twn pulnd prv · dspps, ot th pulc rlm nd th prt rlmdsppr Wht pprs thr plc s somthng tht mght rmd th socl, vst orgzton, ntwok of mltpl ltonsof dpndc wos workngs r govrnd y domnt ppts

t s sd tht n totltrnsm t lw proclms tslf to suproto humn gs n sns, ths phnomnon tsts to th

mposslty of cofusg totltrnsm wth ny otr nd of tyny,ut t s qlly lr tht ry d of lw s dstroyd, d notmrly voltd s s t cs wtn onds of n rtrry powrWhn th lw s lvd to v mtrlzd n th supposdmovmnt of hstoy, or t movmt of lf, t oton of thtrnscndc of lw s ndd lost th crr fo dstngushngtwn t prmssl nd t protd vsh thr s noopposton to tchqs of orgnzton nd domnton . or th vysm rson th dl of cton of wch w hr so mch nd whhs morovr spportd y onstnt ppls to th ctvsm of mltnts,s lr, s s th dl of n fccous wod wc n trnsmt toth wol of socty nowldg of ts ultmt nds nd mmdtms.

Wht w cll cton' s not cton wn th r no ctors, wh,

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that s, no nttve s ten n respose o ovel sttos when amere deson on the part o eder s pesented s an effct of themovement of hstory or of lfe, when the role of contneny s dened,and when the leders ony requement of others s hat ther cndshll conform to orms nd orders Smlrly what we cll speeh' snot speech when speech no loner rcultes, when ll trace of dalouedsappers, when only one master has the rht to spek nd wheneveryoe else s redced to he funto of hern nd transmttn.

Ths s also why the very dea of revoluton dsappears ehnd themsk o the ntonlsoclst o communst revoluton, for a revolutonmples the appearane of the mjorty on the pulc stae or, rther,the udn of tht se s a reslt of he tton whch rouhthumn ens nto con wth ne nother y rn them out ofther prvte unverse, y molzn ther ntve nd y nsttun common deate Moreover revoluton's chaacterstc lty to begs not one of the dsnushn etures of totaltransm. On thecontrary the dstnushn mrk of ttaltaansm s the trmph ofn deoloy, whch hs n answer to every queston to y qestonthat mht ase om events t s he trumph of n ntelletual machnewhh uses prncples o manufcture efects s thouh thouht hadeen dsconected from the eperece o the real

Arendt's red of totrasm, n oth ts Naz nd Stlnstvrants, verns the susequent elorton of her theoy of poltcsShe coceptlzes potcs y nvertn the me of tottaransm,nd ths leads her to loo, not for mode of poltcs - the use of theterm model' would e a etrayal of he ntetons - ut for referenceto poltcs n certan pvleed momets when s featres ae mostclearly dscene the momen of the Greek Cty n Antquty ndn modern tmes , the moments of the Amercan and rech RevolutonsThe moment of the workers' coucls n Russ n 97, d tht ofthe unrn workes' coucs of 956, mh aso e added to thelst.

n the prest ase that of Greee we see, cordn to Arendt the

oranzaton or emerece of a spce' whn whch men reconzeone another as equals, nd dscuss and deate toether a spacewheren they e removed from the pvte mtters charaterstc ofthe ounds of he ks a domestc unt of prodcto overned ythe consrats o the dvson of o nd of msterservnt relatonsWthn ths spce men cn s Arendt puts t ve wth one aother nttemptn to attrct plc attenon o to mprnt ther mae on thepulc memory wth the e words' nd ther eplots.

Here power s eercsed wthn an nterpersonl reltonshp andwords e eched n ttemt to reach decsons hat concerneveryone. The very estence of ths spae s precondton for theppernce o commo world', o world whh s not ne utwhch s the same ecause s ope to mlpe perspetves. Ths s trly hum world, whch ether percepon lone or laour lone

,.

Hnnh Arend and h Plcl 5

could estsh ecause a accordn to Arendt, t s qte ovousthat he mere use of lfe canno trscend needs that hve o estsed nd the costrnts they mpose, ad nnot ve th to thsvey dfferent need - t the word s pproprate to he desre fr a hma wld whh ansceds he nngeny f ss.

t s mpossle to emphsze too stronly the dea tha t s yprtcpn ths space y acedn to the vsbly of pulc staethn men dene nd pprehed one noher s equs Alernatvely,

we mht say that t s y apprehendn one aother as equals thatthey an access o the ste. Accord to Arendt, there s verylose connecton etween equaty and vslty. The posslty oreven the rely of equlty mpes tht eh person an appear eforeothers n ths spce, nd tht others ca ppear efore them. Whenpower s rcumscred wthn n oran or an ndvdal t escpeseveryoe's ze. Ineqalty and nvslty o hand n had.

Ths n tself s enouh to sest that, for Arendt equlty s non end n tself It s not for emple tha at a ven moment nhstory men make the dscovery that hey are orn equal. qulty sn nvenon; t s a effet or smply a sn of the momen whhrases men ove fe nd opens them up to a mmn wld.

Ths ref evocton of Greek poltcs llows us to rn out theoppostons whch overn ll Hannah Arendt's nalyses The prmaryoject of her ook he Hmn Cndn s the opposton etweenacton and work or lor She makes further oppostos etweenthe pulc nd th prvte realm etween the ream of polts adthe relm of socl lfe, eween power nd volee etween untynd pluraly nd etween the tve lfe nd the cotemplatve lfe.

Wth reard to the latter opposon, Hanh Arend takes thevew nd ultmately hs s why she refuses to call herself phlosopher that phosophy ornates Plato's msrecoon ordsvowl of poltcs The freedom that had once een foud n aon the democra Cty, n deate ad n mnfesan was rejeted y

phlosophy nd ws trasferred to thouht, whch ecme dvrcedfrom the human wold a world whch was dspred as a relm ofconfuson Accordn to Arendt, the rth of phlosophy ave newmeann to the dstncton eween the scred and the profne, etweenthe enchnted word of potcs nd pros lfe, to the dstnctn whchlocted the scred or enchantment n the relm of the vsle, theappearane of the puc spce eause for phosophy t ws thenvsle (the nvslty tht had once charterzed prve occuptostht ws nvsted wth the nolty hrcterst of nterorty, whlstpoltcal ctvty fel nto dsrepte

The stenth of the trdton nuuted y Pto s acodn toArendt such tht s effects an sll e seen Mar, who attemptsto evve poltcl ctvty smply y ealzng phlosoy otherwrds y projectn on to an emprcl hstory ad an empral socety

5 On Moden Demoy Haah Aed d he Poiial 53


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5 On Moden Demoy

te de of logc nd truth whch rse precsely ecse the orgnlntre o cton hs een ogotten.

We now he to sk how Arendt rtcultes ths de of poltcs wthher redng o moder hstory. Modern tmes - te epresson s gueut the lck of precso cn e mputed to Arendt herself - re sesuggests the tetre o cosdele chnge I Antquty, tetme of the pols, socety dd ot est the world ws dded etweenthe ffrs of te cty d the ffrs of the oiko wheres the dstncte

eture o modernty perts to te dent of the socln other words growth tecnology d the dson of lourtogether wt the rse of modern scence whch ms to control nture hd the effect of estlshng geerl network of depedece hsnetwork ds together ndduls cttes nd needs d mplesncresgly comple orgntonl tsks t leds to the emergence ofreltos o domto o ew scle tt of te nton

he process of te epson of the socl nd of te desementof poltcs ws rey terrpted - t pont wen t s te t wsstll ts erly stges - y the Amerc Reoluton nd te FrechReoluton ut neter d ny lstng effect. Indeed Arendt notestht the ltter ws lmost mmedtely peerted y the rse of thesocl questo.

e prolem ws se sys sustnce tht poltcl equltynetly ecme coused wth socl eqlty s s trgcconfuson s equlty c only e poltcl nd t found plosophclepresson the senste de tt dduls re equl y rth the cmer of te rghts of mn. t must e oted tht for nnhAredt s for Burke only the rgts of ctens re rel te rghts ofmn re cton.

A glce t te wy socetes deeloped n te neteenth dtwenteth centres reels the cresng role of the stte of the orgnresposle for the dmnstrton of the socl At the sme tmepoltcs tends ncresgly to lose ts stts whlst the pulc spcewthers wy nd whlst prte spce ecomes troped. n ther

plce we see the emergece o on the one hnd socl orgnztonnd o te oter the lttle world of the nddul, whch Aredt clsthe world o ntmcy. As result of te stdrdzton of mores ndehour te ltter ecome ompe l pntng

It s t ths pont tht we he to return to the orgns of totltrnsm pheomenon whc Arendt descres s eng wthout ny hstorclprecedent nd s g destroyed the ctegoes of te Westertrdton Whlst she stuorly refses to ssgn cuse to t, sedescres how t emerges from wtn modern socetes d does son terms whch lees us o dout s to t io de

Accordg to Arendt totltrnsm s orn of depoltced socetyn wch tere re no loger y lmts t ndfferece to plc ffrsto tomzton to nddlsm or to nrdled competto. Althogh

Haah Aed d he Poiial 53

she lso recognzes tht orgeos ddlsm s ostcle to thestrong mn's sezure of power she s ot frd to sy tht n thssese the orgoses poltcl phlosophy ws lwys totltrthe ourgose hd lwys ssumed the dentty of poltcs ecoomcsd socety n whch poltcl nsttutons sered only s fde forprte nterests.

Nor s she frd to wrte:

he phlstne's retremet nto prte lfe hs snglemndeddeoto to mttes of fmly nd creer ws the lst nd lredydegeerted product of te ourgeoses elef n the prmcyof prte nterest e phlste s the ourgeos solted fromhs ow clss the tomzed ddul who s prodced y thecollpse of the orgeos clss tself. he mss mn whommmler orgzed fo the gretest mss crmes eer commttedn hstory ore the fetues of the phlste rther thn of temo mn nd ws the ourgeos wo n te mdst of te rusof hs world worred out notg so much s hs prte secrtynd ws redy to scrce eerytng - elef hoor dgty on te slgtest proocton

Arendt does fct refuse to estls cotnuty etween ougeosdemoccy nd totltrsm ut tht s ecuse she nds thecrses tt followed te wr (the Frst World Wr) decse ccdetmely te collpse of clss system d the lerton of the mssesfrom wht d y then ecome trdtonl onds te emergence ofpeople wo were qte lterlly diieeed ecse they no logerd y nterests to defend nd who were tt sese redy fornytng ncludg deth.

nnh Aredts terpretto clls for merous comments. Therst cocers the clercut dstncto se estlshes etween thepoltcl relm nd the prte relm nd the relted dstnctoetween poltcl eqlty d socl equlty.

(Een presupposng tht we cn spek of poltcs hg ee nentedn Greece ls Moses Fly suggests t s worth skng whchcrcumstnces wc cocts nd they cn only he een socl �nd whch ms nd they cn only e ee mlty led hghlydfferentted d errchcl socetes to ccept tht pesntsshopkeepers nd rtsns should dmtted to ssemles n whchdecsos concernng pulc ffs wre tken

We must lso sk ow decsos were ctully tken ehnd themsk of poltcl eqlty nd we must sk oursele out the ntureof te mens y whch certn me scceeded n eercsng lstgthorty oer one or other secton of the people. he ltter questons neer sed y Arendt who s conced o the oe d thtspeec s the sole medm of persuson nd on the othe - whch seqully e tt te echnge of words s n tself egltr, tht

4 On Mod Dmocracy Hannah Arnd and th Politial


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4 On Mod Dmocracy

it cannot transmit any iequality o powers. To turn to her interpetationof the Frenc Rvolutio it is difcult to see how she can make adistinction etween political eqality and the strle tat was waedaainst te hierarcy of te Ancie Reime. Tis strule asTocqueville eplains was inscried within the process of eqality ofcondition' wic certainly cannot e confused with ecoomic eqalityt whic as Tocqeville aain demostrates could not fail to aveot social ad political eects It was a strle oth for freedom

and fo the reconition that man eins are made in one another'sliknessIn tems of Aredt's citique of the cocept of the ihts of man

and her claim that it derives from te ction of human ature it isdifcult to see te pilosopical asis for the arumet tat the mutualreconition of idividuals as ein made in one aother's lieess muststop at te ates of the City. f tat were nded te case it isparticularly difcult to see how we can possily justify our codemationof totalitarianism ecpt on te crude and almost accidetal roundstat its conquests are a threat to our society.

anna Arndt sees he projct of total dominatio as an epressionof a wish to eplore te limits of the possile and as revealin theultimate possiility of canin uman natre tself. do ot wish to

dwell upo the purely formal contradiction etween the rejection oft idea o uman nature ad the assmptio a human nature cane caned ut think it important to stess that if we do ot readthe distinction etwee truth and lies ood and evil just and unjustand real and imainary as constitutive of political touht or even ofthout in eneral we ultimatly lend credence to the ypothesis tatthe only ostacle to totalitaianism is the power of its advrsaries andto the view tat in itself it is ree from all iteral cotradictions

Arendt's formula 'Te power of man is so reat tat he can ewhateve e wants to e' is derived rom hstoicism or from what LeoStauss calls nihilism a theory which Arendt herself attacks elsewhere

Let us note ally that the way i wic she denes politics

presents us wit a radical alternative Politics so to speak ither eistsor does not eist We canot eplain wich politics emeres in anyiven contet it is te sin of a radical einnin ad moreover itappears and the disappears without trace When for eample Arndtspeaks in the peface to Btwn Past ad Ftr o the Resistance asa lost trasure' a epression she orrows from Re Char - shadds:

Te men of te European Resistanc were nither the rst northe last to lose tei treasue The istory of Revoltions - fromthe summer of 77 in Philadelphia ad te summer of 789 inParis to the autum of 9 in Budapest wich politically spllsout the innermost story o t modern ae cold e told in

parale form as the tale of an aeold treasure which under the

1

Hannah Arnd and th Politial

most vaied circmstaces appears aruptly unepectedly anddisappears aain nder diffrent mysterios coditios as thouhit were a fata morana

Aendt's intellectual style appears to reveal somethin of te inspirationehind te work of certain reat contemporary thinkers For LeoStrauss the possiility tat a reime conformi to atre - th reimeconceived y Plato - mit nver eist in no way discredits it For

eidee whose concerns are rather different te reater theoccultation o Bein te reate te daner t as the daeincreases we are in a etter position to udestad the questio ofBei with rater acuity. Arendt fo er part suests that even ifpolitics as she understands politics ca o lor modied in threal it is still politics and she also leads us to suppose that as thesadow of totalitariaism spreads we are ette placed to discer itsfeatres

espite the differences tween them all three thins concur incallin modrnity ito question From a political point o iw thqtioig o modity man th qstioi o dmoracy

Te disturin ti aot annah Arendt and it is a si of ashortcomin is that wilst se ritly criticizes capitalism and

oureois individualism she nevr shows ay inteest in democracy assuc in modern democacy. Cold it e tat tis is ecause moderndemocracy is representative and ecause the notion of rpesntationis alien or even repunant to her Yet i tere is oe thin that Nazitotalitarianism and Staliniststyl totalitariaism ave in commo it isa hatred of dmocracy. Arendt refuses tosee tat Althouh she wishesto restore plurality as opposed to te Oe she fails to see that the

antastic attempt to trn society into a uied ody welded to its head the Fhr the supreme uide - stems from the overthrow of threime which estalished itself thus y maki a distinction twethe pole of power the pole o law ad the pole of owlede and yacceptin social division and conict y accptin a eteoeneity of

mors ad opinios and y distancin itself as no previous reimehad done from the fantasy of an oraic society.


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PAR II

ON ELUN


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j

4

he evolutioar error

A PECH Y ESPIRRE

Lt us mne speech y Rosprr Lt us m for emplethe spech h md on 1 1 Grmnl Yer II 31 Mrch 794 To telth tuth t s no ccdent tht I should h chos ths speech hecrcumstncs wr cptonl On tht dy t seems the Coenton

lmost frustrted d for powr y th Commtt of Puc Sfetyd t done so rolutony poltcs mght he chged rpty'Almot fustrted h dcs fcto ws of cours Roespere'snteenton Lt s ry rcl the fcts nton hd ee rrestedth prous ght togther wth Cmll esmols Lcro ndPhlppu. or lss thn y there hd een n ncrese n thert of mor purges h f of th ldrs of th Grode hd eenfollowed n turn y th f of the Enrgs the ertstes nd thenth old leders of th Prs Commune. Th ctms were dstngushd ut no f them hd njoyd nton's prestge. Noton of them hd emodd th spt of the Roluton to the smeetent d unlk Cmle one of thm could he clmed to eth fthe of th Rpulc. Ths tme Roesperr nd the Commtteeswe strkng ry close to hom. h lunchng of offense gnstwht ws temed th Indulgnt fcton hd of cours nnoncednotly to the cons ut th nws of th rrsts whch hd eenordered wthout th knowledge of the Conenton stl cme s supse he d for powr ws lso coup d thtr t proded sgn tht th rror hd reched proysm

h fct s - lt us not n pssg tht th lmnton of ntonnd hs fnds ppers wth hdsght to he mrked turnng pont th curse of th Roluto Prhs s hs somtmes een sdt nnoncd the f of Rosprr I t crtly lowed hm to mposeunprcdented trrorstc mss n th comng moths y destroynghs opponnts the Germl nts pd th wy fo the creton of

th Beu d polc gn nd fo the dopton some two months

6 O Revolon The Reoluionar Ter 61


30/147

ltr of th dcr o Prrl nd th rorgnton o rvoltonrytc

Ad yt t no rlly cu of t crcmtnc t tmng ort port tht hv gld out Roprr pch for ttntot td ou cu of t tyl t ton d t compoton cuof th trtgy w cn dct nth th rhtorcl ffct Roprdo ot tmpt to prov tht nto nd h frd r gulty; hy o word to tht ffct. Nor do h try to convnc thAmly of th nd to mntn th ror; h only u th word

oc nd thn t to vok th fr h dvrr wh to npr hm. rt th t of plcg th ojct of th dt; hdrw h trlocutor nto th nr o n rgmt whch thy hvto rcog thr own mltoly mpo hml mtrd oltrt th plc of th mt. Fn lly h ll th tco pch to do wy wth pch tlf; th volutonry trth ofwhch h th ogn lnc ll dt n hort Ropr' pcho o t th rror t oct; t c th rror; trprt n mpott momnt o th rror cton. t prror

O 1 1 Grml thn th ttng o th Convnton opn n ccodnc

wth th l procdur t th Amly lv wth rumoro th nght' rrt. h mm of th Commtt hv yt torv Rprnttv Lgndr mmdtly k lv to pk dclr tht h toudd t tht ton pur h d mk n ppl 'h mn who n Sptm 179 vd Frncthn o h ngy drv to hd nd mt hv th rght topu h c f h to ccd o tryg th Fthrlnd' word o o pr h lng o th grt prt o th Amlyhow c t rfu on of t mot llutro mmr th rght todn hml for t h dt lrdy undr wy whnRoprr pp hd of h collg on th Commtt ndgr w cn m o ow th Amly' rcton. r top n wth h vy rt word h uncovr th hd motvhnd Lgndr' nl rgmnt t y to tll from th tumolth prvl n th Amly turmol tht h long n unknownd from th gtton provokd y th opng rmrk of th ltpr t on tht mor u t tk hr th whthr or not fw mn r to prvl gnt th Fthlnd tody.h oct o th dt mmdtly dplcd. ndd th otorgor t mt oct d nvt h ltr to look t th rl Not contnt wth dnoncng th pln o nton' uppoth th gv voc to pcon whch wgh upo th wholAmly Wht thn th chng tht pp to hv mntdtlf n th prncpl of th mm of th Amly nd pcllyn th prcpl o tho who t on th d whch pd tl on

hvg gvn rfg to th mot ntrpd ddr o lrty'

Wht w th ojct of th dt h rght of mmr of thConvnton who hv n rrtd wthout t connt to jutfy thrcoduct for thr pr. mplctly t tochd pon th gurntccordd to th rprnttv o th popl. Roprr crfulnot to condmn tho gurnt n prncpl nd do not vn vokth rtrcton tht my hv to plcd upo lrty n rvolutonrytm; h plot n lluon to th Montn to pr th rfug oflrty ut, ng h gumnt po th fct tht Br Chotnd Fr d' glntn wr rcntly dnd ght whch th ccud

nton dmndd on thr hlf nd h ntrlocutor cnot hvforgottn th fct - h p h rpr tht prcpl holdhv n dod. h would wk rgmnt f t mlyrvld th ntlty of th Amly prtclrly n tht ovrgmy not ond y t prvo dcon d n tht thmmnty o dputs cnot mttr o prncpl chllgdRoprr quton do not, th, ctr upon th fct tht thConvnto h rvrd t poto; h k fo th ron for thchng; h k why om hold gtd rght rfd to othr wh th ntrumt of upcon. And th nwr ovorom th quton tlf h whthr or not th trt of w mtou hypocrt r to pv gnt th ntrt of th

Frnch popl.' Roprr who n o hrry to nm nto ndh rnd thn pontng out to th Amly tht t ccordngprvlgd trtmnt to crtn ndvdl.

h ndvdl n qto r t tr, dcrd mtouhypocrt; nd th ortor now k Whthr w hv md o mnyhroc crc, mongt whch w mut num ct ct of pnfulvrty . . . only to com ndr th yo of fw plottr who wntdpowr' A forcfl nd prhp rprng ph. Ad o, gugwht vryon thnng h p h dm th d tht thccd hv rndrd th Rpuc rvc th vry rvc whchnton nd Cml would ot fl to numrt wth ch loquncfor th Amly hd thy th oppotunty to do o. Wht don pch mttr to m' cr Ropr though h hdhrd thm. Wht do trut to olf o to on' frd mttrW hv rnd from long nd pnu pnc wht w mut thkof uch ortorcl phr. W no longr k wht mn nd hfn ot of hvng do t prtcur tm n prtclrcrcmtc o th Rvoluto; w wht thy hv donthroughout thr poltcl crr.' Wthout v gvg h dvrrny rl crdt o thr pt srvc h mnto only th rvcthy clm o hv rndd - h ovouly ttcng th vryprncpl tht thr cn ojctv proo of rvoluonry coductnd thu ntcpt th prt of th Prl lw But h do notmton h dvrr drctly. t not h ntnton to dcu thc of th ccd n ny dpth; to do o wold po hm to

ojcton dnl or mply quto Wht h tnton?

62 On Relutin T Reoluiony Teo 63


31/147

wh to mak th Assemly awa o ts mage of anto and morgenrally of t mag o te ecptoal ndvdual; of the spll caty the nam o aton y a nm

ece te retr to Lgndr ntrvnton, to th mn wo openedth dat Lgndre seems to e uaware of th am o to whohave een artd frnd Lacro s one of ther numr Whydo h fgn not to know that Bcau h wll know that no onecan deend Laco hamlly.' Te allso to Legendres mmoraltyval t orators remakal cung for at t vry ame moment

when h crtc Lgendre for not mentong Lacro nam hehmsel als to mton othr nam notaly te name of Camll.e plot Lgdre's slece n order to dounc th prvlegesgranted to anton Lgnd h go on as poke o anton nodout caue he eleves that a certa prvlg attach to thatname; no w want o prvlg; no w want no dols ha nowcord a drct ht on the target he set up at th gnng of hspeech. Ad th ht appa to hav n apprcated as the trancrptof th ttng peaks of applause from the Assemly wll rtur tothe same targt a momnt latr y akng Wo are . . th mwho acc the nteests o the Fatherland to proal loyaltes, orperhaps to ar, who t the vey mmt when eality has timphd

d to ty to destoy it iside this ssembly

(mpa added. Thental qeston Whthr or not a fw mn ar to preval agant thathrland today', Whether or not the ntret o a w amtoushypocrt ar to prval agant th ntrt of the French popl' -wa too cloely ound up wth te character o th dtan. t owprov to hav uprdd Th cond queston concrn onlya unvral prcpl: eqalty The accusaton no long drectedsolly agant th antont a uch, ut alo aganst thos who artryng to st ndvdual aov te common law y focug theConvnton's attnto on thm W hould alo not how Roprrcontrol t thought o audnc - thoughts whch cannot ofcore e epressed ut whc could thwrt plan. No we wantno dol h cr; a happy pron and apparetly, on dgnedt plea t t ha t dsadvatage of suggtng that ato nded an dol o the people, and thrfor of rawakeng far ato what wll happn h ttackd; t a the dadvantag o gvnghm a new prestge whc no pcpl wll al to epung romth pulc magnato And o h add, We wll today whetherth Convnto wll dar to rak a sclled idl whih hs log benoe, or whether that dol wll crh th Covento ad th rchpopl whn t all (mpha addd e condn a whole argumntto three words. The sustance of th argumnt s as follow: do nottolrat an dol a ou mut vnrat qualty alon; and do ot edeceved y rmours anto s not an ojct o wosp; ad dh mag anrupt and rotten. cannot of cour actually deploy

ch an argument the three statmnt ar ncompatl ut tat s

of lttl mportance ad th stregth o the dcourse o terro lprecsely t alty to olsh any rtculaton tat mght lnd tlfto contradcton, and to smulate a cocluson wch laves the audencewth no choce. I the prt contet t not a matter of esolvngwheth th Aemly hould or ould not detroy anton h rottn dol nd wll all of h own accord Th only ssue at stake swether hs all wll damage te Covnton, or whether th Convntonwll aandon hm order to ave tself Tr thn, no alternatvepartcularly as the Covto s not confroted wth a new stuaton:

te all of anton, we are now told s smply th latt pod n thr o events whch dtroyed Bot Pton, Chaot and ert.Everytg that eng ad o aton could hav en sad of thmtoo: they all mad ranc rng wth th otentatous sound o therdctul patrotsm'.

Roesper t wll e noted, tll rfrans from producng even telghtt proof o aton gult he u th fahonal argumnt ogult y assoaton y comparg m wth trtors who have alreadyn tuck dow I wht s anto ettr ta h collagusAnd what prvlge does e hav And he comnes ths argumntwth a dfece o equalty In what se h ttr than h fellowctzes' That nough. The nam of anton wll not e mentond

agan.The quto now dsplad fo a thrd tme r w mutprumaly mag a pau, a shap ntk of rath or a change oftone. Supcon now falls on th Amly Rosprre ow addrst memers drectly omthng he a not don eor: Ctzns temoment ha com to speak th truth Th chllng calculatd tomake hs audcnc hudder e egn y ayg that h as recognze

claude lefort - democracy and political theory

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