Reasons for Hope - Politics and the Dynamic of Affects

good afternoon and welcome to another lecture in our series reasons for hope as always I want to welcome members of the faculty staff and students of Cu but extend a particularly warm welcome to anybody who's coming in from outside and joining the CU community for this lecture I welcome our friends and colleagues from other academic institutions across the city and I welcome distinguished members of the diplomatic community we run an ongoing seminar for ambassadors and senior members of delegations across Budapest and we're always delighted to see our diplomatic colleagues let me just say also that that you're here your presence is a testimony to the impact that Chantell move has had on our thinking about democracy populism and political theory more generally she's the emeritus professor of political theory at the Center for the Study of democracy at the University of Westminster in London and she is currently spending a year at what could be called without too much exaggeration our sister institution the the IWM in Vienna and so we welcome her from Vienna and we welcome her from London she's also a corresponding member of the caleche Internationale de philosophie in Paris and we associate her thinking and her work with two concepts that have been enormous ly influential and are thinking about democracy one is the idea of agonistic democracy which I will leave professor move to expound but has influenced me in its emphasis on the fact that what we're seeking is not a democracy based on consensus but in fact the very purpose of democracy is to encourage and create the space for pluralistic fundamental agonistic debate the second idea that we associate commonly with her work is the idea of left populism populism is commonly used as a kind of scare word chantelle moof is asking us to think much more seriously about the possibility that their varieties of populism to the left to the right and we need to distinguish clearly between types and forms of populism depending on their commitment to democracy depending on their commitment to human rights depending on their commitment to certain values it depends very much how you define this word and her contribution to this has been extremely important she is the author of dimensions of radical democracy pluralism citizenship community from 1992 she's the author of the Democratic paradox she's written a book yet in the name of the people on podemos and she's just recently put up put out a book called for a left populism published in 2019 by verso we're delighted to have her here she's going to speak about effect emotion passion in politics and the mastery and organization of those emotions and I on your behalf on a welcome Chantal move to see you [Applause] thank you very much am i caring not here for this invitation to give a lecture in this region for hope and I hope to be able to bring you suppose not absolutely secure but at least show that there is there is possibility for her but the future is not so dark so absolutely dad as it might seem as at some point when we examine the present state of democracy one of the section that we often come across is that our current condition is one of post democracy the meaning conveyed by this notion of post democracy is that modern democracy while maintaining the facade of former democratic principle and increasingly controlled by privileged elite by the way this concept of po democrasy was is particularly associated with the work of calling court which is a British political theorist but the actions he also use it in different ways but I think calling heart is the one who you hold a book about that so he's usually associated with it and in in fact is the one who insist precisely on this dimension and I'll just mention the implementation of neoliberal policies has led to the colonization of the state by corporate interest and public political decision are no taken outside of the traditional Democratic channels this is the origin of the loss of legitimacy of the Ameritech institution which manifests itself in a growing phenomenon of abstention you know that very classic of the situation in in Western Europe well in a book published in 9 2005 on the political I have examined the reason for what I call the post political perspective which has become dominant in liberal democratic societies in fact in the way I think it's important to see that is the origin of both democracy I've argued that it is linked to the move toward the center which is the last decade been the strategy of Social Democratic parties in Europe strategy that under the motto of the Third Way was first above it elaborated in Britain by New Labour I mean one of the theories was Antoni Giddins and of course this was put in practice by tony blair according to this approach Western societies if enter a second stage of modernity one what they call of reflexive modernization by the way we find also something similar in the work of will rake back in in Germany from the certain time they were in fact developing the steel here together so reflexive modernization and the idea is that the adversarial model of politics it is a characteristic según i've according to Beck and Gideon's the first stage of simple modernization this model is become obsolete Giddins claim that it is no necessary to think beyond left and right in fact that's the title of one of his book and we need to envisage a new politics it's a big cohort and book about new politics what they call a radical Center that is which has sent the old fashioned left-right divide well such a view was later adopted by other socialist and Social Democratic parties which began to present themselves as centre left under the presence of modernizing the Social Democratic project because they said needed to be adapted to a globalized world center-left parties in fact if we could say capitulated to neoliberalism convinced that there was no alternative to the current form of globalized financial capitalism they have accepted the framework established by neoliberal in Germany that was very clear with in Britain with the case of Tony Blair who when he came to power did not at all put into question the Germany neoliberal Germany had been established by Margaret Thatcher but simply try to you know in fact do some kind of bow humane form I remember the time I wrote an article called blade Hayes Metuchen with a human face and in fact death of course was very typical of the famous Third Way having abandoned any attempt to exist challenge real existing summation of power they limited themselves to proposed way as I was said to humanize neoliberal globalization and of course this why their politics their policy so it will in fact very difficult to distinguish from the center-right parties you know this is what I have called the consensus at the center approach my between center right and center level well it seems to me that this in the discussion about polls democracy the whole plate by this post political situation is not sufficiently taken into account this of course necessary to has the transformation of the capitalist system which have provided the economic condition for the success of neoliberal globalization but that does not automatically explain the reason for the disappearance of a vibrant democratic debate about the different ways in which social relation and public institution can be organized by failing to acknowledge that politics is intrinsically partisan that's one of the main thesis I've developed to my work and that democratic politics requires a choice between real alternatives you know when when citizen go to vote they need to really a choice and this is what I call it agonistic debate between conflicting project and this of course is what this was eliminated by this completely the center so this consensual politics of the Third Way in fact if contributed to the disaffection with politics which is at the curve of our present post democratic situation so I think it's important for me to see that it began you know in the eighties with what was happening in in in Britain once it is an feel that they cannot ever say in fundamental decision which concerned their common affairs in that political question are dealt with by expert because they have considered of a technical nature Democratic institution are emptied of their substance and their legitimacy is certain this is criminal it's evident that if you accept that there is no alternative to neoliberal globalization then it mean that political decision well they are wholly technical there is no huge show that is at stake you know the alternative so they are politic a technical decision and if they are technical decision it's better that it's expert to solve them and why should the citizen you know ever seen that and I think that that's something which have been really important as a consequent of you know the transformation of Social Democratic parties in what we can record social liberal parties which are of course it's at the origin of the crisis of social democracy because election are he used to providing a rubber stamp for measures imposed by a variety of actors whose interests are not publicly accountable and we could say that the democratic process loses is a haze on death I mean this of course is one of characteristic of poor democracy to be sure about society still claim to be democratic but what's the meaning of democracy in our post political times well I think that you know it's important to think a little bit about what democracy really means and I've ever denies the nature of our Western democracy liberal democracy in a book which is called democratic paradox and there I brought to the fore the tension existing between the two ethical political principle of this liberal democracy here I insist when I speak of liberal is only in the sense of political liberalism and noting to do with economic liberalism so those two ethic empirical principal are liberty and equality liberal democracy should be understood in fact as the articulation between two different traditions on one side there is the liberal tradition of the rule of law in the world height separation of power and on the other side there is a democratic tradition of popular sovereignty the Canadian political Tod CB McPherson is shown or to this articulation between the Liberals and the democratic tradition which is a was established in the 19th century liberal in was democratize and democracy was liberalized and this is I think very characteristic of our model of democracy because we speak of democracy in fact there is a specific Western model and part of my work is to precisely and see that you know there are other ways in which the democratic principle can be inscribed so I've been doing with Obamas for a long time and what do I do that and we should not universalize our model saying this is the only way in which you know democracy should be understood is it the way which is exist for us it's our form of life adventure we'll say and of course we will different allegiance to this form of life but we should not pretend that you know in in China in Africa in the Muslim world you know they should apply that model I don't think that democratization is early means westernization so what's important in this Liberal Democratic model is that this is in fact always a tension between the exigencies of Liberty and those of equality some people of course there's a long discussion about that cow meat for instance that there is a contradiction between liberty and democracy for him labour alimony gay democracy democracy negates liberalism on the other side we've got Jorgen obamas who speak of the collegiality between Liberty and demo and equality well in the Democratic paradox I take a different position I say that there's certainly not a contradiction but if there's any no coffee there is a tension between the two attention which i think is productive I thought it's not something that we should try to eliminate because it is a tension which provide the dynamic of the confrontation between left and right in fact this is where the agonistic is in this tension that the agonistic debate can take place and this is what guarantees pluralism think that the history of democratic politics in the Western world can be visualized in term of the struggle for the predominance of one of this principle or over the other it's a period the liberal principle was dominant in others it was the Democratic one but analysis was important the contestation always remain open at this tension always water at work what is up under the current agility of neoliberalism is that the liberal component it becomes so dominant that the Democratic one is almost disappear democracy is no understood simply in terms of rule of law and difference of human had but different of human height understood in a very you know specific neoliberal sense and of course idea of popular sovereignty has been relinquished as being obsolete you know often be with a popular sovereignty in time of globalization what a majesty we should not we can't speak about that anymore I think that's something important to understand populism those who resist the whole of the elites and insist on the need to give a voice to the people to make whom further demands as being accused of being populist and presented as representing a danger for democracy well in my view this displacement of the democratic tradition by the liberal one is one of the main feature of our post democratic condition and it is clearly visible in the abandoned by center-left parties of the struggle for equality equality being with popular sovereignty the other central element of the democratic tradition their main slogan are knowable choice fairness equal see an inclusion I mean I remember the Tony Blair for instance or the choice I'm going to give you choice you would be able to choose a school your doctor that one became your the main motto in the third way choice but of course I asked at pains to avoid speaking of equality because they consider the notion of equality as being too tainted by the equalitarian ism of the socialist idea that they have repudiated the pipe of the vocabulary that constituted the backbone of a left vision of society it's not surprising therefore that the left has been unable to envisage an alternative to near a bigger globalization and in fact the old houses and current crisis for instance of social democracy I think is very much linked to that the fact that they don't really if the value that were sent out to them had been eviscerated well this is to refer to a period which is changing so this is why I think we can a little bit of oh but it's also dangerous because I think that after years of post politic and unchallenged neoliberal Germany all this movement in vision of the Third Way was the dominant but the way is not completely happy because for instance macro in in in France is reviving that's for me the way you've been in Britain with them Tony Blair is highly interesting to see that what is presented in France as a new politic with myecon is exactly you know the application 30 years later in France of the various in fact I I heard some time ago a Ben feller mode where a gospel call Mukunda start should build a supreme of post politics because in fact in the case of Tony Blair there was still send out terminations and the rise and telleth my comment to get set completely of that is no more life not all in one party which is La Repubblica much no there is nothing very inaudible that we've seen that in Britain 30 years ago but so this is changing fundamentally because we are seeing no some kinda I will even go to the point of saying that we are witnessing the crisis of neoliberal in Germany and this is manifested by the emergence of political movement rejecting post democracy and its claim that there is no alternative to neoliberal globalization so my point is that today we have a different conjuncture than the one that I analyzed for instance in on the political and this is this conjuncture that I tried to analyze in my more recent book for the left populism because I think that this rejection of post politics and poor democracy that we are seeing to the age of protest movement and who is something that can of course in the danger obviously but also some hope and the rejection of post politic and for democracy manifest itself under the form of the hoing of a political forty something which is really break with post politic post politics is that there is no political fonti no that's typically the whole idea we and Tony Blair used to say for instance we are all middle class now so you know what we should all actually don't know particular party well this is changing because in fact know we are seeing a sense of movement were the whole wing of wanted in a populist mode that is of the mode of the people versus the establishment and this is why I propose to speak of a populist moment yeah I was just want to make some some little aside to say that it's interesting to see compare our situation today to the one that Cal Palani is in fact speaking in Hungarian I'm really glad they brought up irani which i think is really one of very very important political think in tongues Gotti is being rediscovered what might not have come he never copy disappear but I think it's important no big is really being recognized well there is a lot of people talking is coming back of the thirties but on a mode you know fascist bit up I think that there is some an analogy with the thirteen with in the following way because I think that Palani in the head transformation analyze what he called the double movement and and I say for instance that the movement that took place in the ended 30 s worth in fact movement of resistance against won't have been the consequence of the marketization of society what was the product of the first globalization and the issue or this movement it was followed in the thirties by a double movement movement of reaction again that the society began to defend itself against this aggression by the market but and this is what I think is very important and it's similar to the other situation he also indicated that this reaction this moment of hope for protection could take many different form and it took many different form it can be vague offensive or progressive and for instance aggressive because of course this is you need to go from a fashion magazine but it also could be something that were in a sense of reaffirmation of democracy and that's the case of the New Deal of FDR you know because what a whole well it was precisely to take advantage of this situation in order to make some very distributive modules and and democratize society so I think that and that's what we're I think that it is you know both open danger we are in a situation which is analogous to D what I could the populist moment is precisely a moment in which all those resistances against both democracy you know Ken lead to very different solution different issue according to the is it going to be populism of the height of a building of the left which is going to become dominant what is a stake in this populist moment if all the resistance is to pour democracy are going to be articulated and all this you know frantic people establishment people elites is going to be constructed because they are indeed many ways in which that can be done it is clear that when I speak of the people people it's a political category political construction the people is not the population and I'm a lot of people about difficulties in understanding that you know the people is never the people is not an empirical hefferman not a social category is a construction and of course it can be constructed in different ways they are some construction of the political frontier which can f egalitarian objective but not all construction empirical fontys f particularity and objective even when the rejection of the existing system is made in the name of giving power back to the people and that of course is very much the discourse of right-wing populism we are going to give but the elite if you know taken we are going to give you that no no but even even if it's the case it can construct it in a way which is not you know going to develop democracy both type of populism aim to feather it and satisfy the madam they further hell precisely people won't think you know reacting to the input the post politic one thing to have a voice but I think there is a lot of the indie nodes in Spain which i think is very appropriate they used to say tenemos vote open no tenemos los tenemos we've got a vote but we don't have a voice and of course if you go to vote at the moment in which basically between left and right there are centers that did not big difference you feel a before but you rotate a voice you know and I think that the the reaction against that asked the math which can be federated in different ways the difference lies in all the week the people is going to be constructed and oh it's adversity you know the dam the elites are you going also we will be constructed I think populism claim that it will bring back popular sovereignty and restore democracy but this sovereignty is understood as national sovereignty and it's reserved for the people who are deemed to be the true Nationals hiding populism does not add health the matter of equality and they construct a people that exclude numerous categories usually of course immigrants sinners attached to the identity and the prosperity of the nation it is we could say form of politics of immunization you know that those other groups represent for our identity their victory could lead to nationalistic authoritarian firm of in liberal democracy in that in the name of recovering democracy in fact this movement drastically has tanked democracy this is you know the danger of hiding babbling and obviously the objective of Al a populist mood to be completely different it's also a question of recovering democracy yes struggle against poor democracy but in order to deepen and to extend to helical eyes it the Social Democratic parties in many countries have played an important role in the implementation of Nagin policy dissenting that will be acknowledged I'm not able to grasp the nature of the populist moment and to fail the challenge that it represents of core their traditional answer to classify right-wing populist extreme height neo-fascists or they attribute death appear to lack of education or you know the fact that movemove people move by negative fashion as they see and this of course musculus is very convenient for them and for the center-left in a set of eleven general because it is an easy way to disqualify those movement without recognizing the center-left own responsibility in such an emergence because I think a nut solution and argument I'm making that not not exclusively but there are many past of you know people particularly working class who and not the clear leader case in in in in front but also in Ostia foreigner who are waiting for those fighting populist parties because they've been abandoned by Social Democrats you know they decided not to address their demands anymore so I think that you know this is something that those parties should they should make an autocratic but of course by presenting that I saw the turn of the blonde bone plague in with some kind of mythological phenomenon we don't would not have anything to do is not be not responsible of what this of course you know is good it's a position which is convenient because it does not if they eliminate any responsibilities of the Empire in this movement but of course it does not help to understand the reason for those movement by establishing but they come kind of moral frontier so to exclude the extremists from the democratic debate the good Democrats believe that they can stop the rise of what is irrational passion I think that's such a strategy of demonization of the enemies of the bipartisan consensus can certainly be morally conforting but it is totally politically disempowering because they cannot recognize that many of the demands oxygenated by right-wing populist parties are in fact Dave or the origin they are Democratic demands in the sense insisting Iran the fact that as far as they are reaction against Paul democracy it's a demand for democracy and the question is that the left need to give a progressive answer to those demands instead of living you know hiding bubbling to articulate them in eggs in a phobic way to stop the rise of hiding populist parties ma we need therefore that's my argument less popular strategy able to design a properly political answer and that answer should consists in the creation of people a collective will we that feather heads all the democratic demand again for democracy and try to federate them in a way that is going to lead to a radicalization of democracy and of course that in signify that you are going to construct a people whose adversity is the only gurkey you know I think that's important to realize that it's a stake and by understanding that and I could give you some example if you want in in the discussion about do it can be done for instance the case of la France and submitted Ehrlichman Ocean they've managed to make people understand that their enemy are not the the the the immigrants but they are the force of neoliberal globalization this is what I mean to establish you know a we and them being the oligarchy but that of course requires to recognize the Democratic nucleus which is the origin of many of the demands not all of God but many of them Amada a height wing populism expresses in hoc Signo phobic vocabulary in providing with different vocabulary I'm at Ossian thing though Samantha was no egalitarian objective god I do not deny that the earth people who feel completely at home you know with hyping populism fractional values but I'm convinced that there are others who are attracted to those parties because they feel that they are the only ones that care about their problems and I believe that if a different language was made available many people my experience their situation in a different way and you know being hooded for the progressive struggle of course we must be aware of the fact that the demand that the left populist strategies six ridiculous are very integral genius and this is what they need to be articulated in what recall in the book is Germany in socialists hat is that I hope only beaten italic law a chain of equivalents you know the way in which they've in fact in that book we were already publishing 85 1985 arguing for the need to articulate the matter of the working class with the damat of the new movement so we felt but that the problem that the traditional social democracy was not understanding the importance of feminist multi racism and already you know some environmental issues so that's what we call chain of equivalent to try to articulate those them and to find form of solidarity between different D'Amato this process of articulation is crucial because it is by their inscription in such a chain of equivalence that singular demand acquire their political signification so it's not so much where the demand come from that count of course it is it's important but this is not really fundamental it's what is fundamental is all the demands are articulated with other demands to example of hiding public testified for insert demand from the workers so demand for democracy from popular classes can be articulated in eggs in opava vocabulary they do not automatically have a progressive character it is only by entering it equivalence with other Democratic demands for instant like those of the immigrants or the feminists that those demand will acquire a radical Democratic dimension we should never take for granted that they are struggle that are inherently emancipatory and cannot be oriented to our opposite and I think for intended the current development of of ecology with a clear anti-democratic characteristic should be seen as a warning that the refusal of the neoliberal model is not a guarantee of a democratic advance with ecology as in other domain the question of articulation is decisive and this is why it is essential to establish a link between the variety of democratic demands hold the identification with a project of radicalization of democracy so the objective or less popular strategy should be the creation of a popular majority that is going to come to power and of course it's an electoral strategy you should Scotland adapt a crane within the institution in others evolutionary strategy of you know putting an end to a liberal democracy and Drain is to establish a new Germanic formation within the framework of liberal democracy new a Germanic formation that will provide the condition for recover the energetic realization of democratic but the stake is a construction of a people who the project which addresses the diverse form of subordination hood issue concerning exploitation domination or discrimination and this requires of course we are setting the important of the social question because we must accept that this is a question at a been recently left aside and for me is really also one of the reason for the success of having populism taking of course account of the increasing fragmentation and diversity of the workers but also of the specificity of other important Democratic demand for Intel about feminism anti-racism endow the LGBT community a special emphasis must be given to the question that they've gained particular relevance in the last thirty years and which is of special urgency today the future of the planet this impossible team visit a Port Authority correlation of democracy image the ecological question is not at the center of the agenda it is therefore essential to combine this with the social question this is why I'm so enthusiastic about project like the green new deal that Alexandra cardio cocktails is Espino promoting in the the US and also a finance in return though the Labor Party and account being taken that very slowly they speak of the green a new green industrial revolution I think that's absolutely crucial you're asking relation of their social media ecological question node to abandon the productivity model and implement this project requires you know what Graham she will call it intellectual and more healthy phone but I think that an ambitious and well-designed ecological project could offer an attractive vision of a future democratic society that my auntie's some sector which are currently within the neoliberal is really hope hope because for instance often people say abut the earth the loser and the winner of neoliberal globalization and you know it's it's you you you can't really put those people working together a hot one project well I think that among the people who are you know profiting from the urbanization and while what happy with that well those children they've got grandchildren and I think they might become aware that you know this model in fact is destroying the possibility of a future for the generation so we can really I think on the basis of us really you know well design ecological program with those people for progressive alternative in I want also to emphasize that the objective of a less popular strategy is not the estimation of a populist regime with a predefined program but to bring about a new a Germanic formation that will foster the recovery and the deepening of democracy this is a manic formation will take different shape according to the specific trajectories involved it could be invited for instance and it's the case of the strategy of Jeremy Corbyn in Britain is the popular strategy they speak of democratic socialism non-elimination speak of eco social in some other people in in in in Spain they don't really think that speaking of socialism is practical attractive for the new generation so they will rather speak of party but early democracy - yeah different you know it's not a regime that we are going to implement is creating the condition for recuperation and radicalization of democracy the chain of equivalence with the people is going to be constructed will also depend on historical circumstances in this dynamic cannot be determined in isolation from the contextual references so it's importantly there is no blueprint for all this is going to take place and there is no final destination what's important whatever the name is the recognition of democracy is the age demonic signifier hot which the type of struggle I articulated and that the institution of political liberalism are not going to be discarded no to finish I raise a question which I want really to emphasize because it I think it's absolutely crucial through a message this less popular strategy is the decisive hole played by effects in the Constitution opera core identities I think that the lack of understanding of the affective dimension in the process of identification is one of the main reason for which the left locked in a nationalist framework is unable to grab the dynamic of politics recognizing the central role played by effects in politics and oh they can be mobilized it's really decisive for designing successful left populist strategy of course Ihab I can't develop this because you know it would take another presentation but I need to indicate that this question about the whole of the effects I'm posing it within the framework of an anti essentialist until ontology that we have developed in Wadena so like law in a Germany social strategy crucial to this framework is the reception of the discursive nature of the social and the T says that they are no essential identities but only form of identification you know what we got an idea this already is a product of an identification what's a stake in politics is the construction of political identities and that it always entails an effective dimension this is crucial and of course this is what wrote called libidinal investment they're always in the construction a particular identity to libidinal investment fruit of college central for my deflection because beside a safe thing the general t see that the Social Link is a liminal link he brought to the fore the crucial role played by the affective libidinal bonds in processive processes of collective identification as he stated in his book group psychology and the analysis of the ego and if I quote a group is clearly held together by a power of some kind and to what power could this feat be better ascribe than to eros which all together everything in the world and of course for food effects are the qualitative expression of the country of lipid inner energy of the instinct this libidinal energy is malleable and it can be oriented in multiple direction this can produce different effects I think that this point is really important to realize that different form of politics can foster different effectively be dinner attachment and it also helped us to refute the essentialist view that adjudicated given effect to specific social agent for instance in France they stole discussion and it's linked to a book by I think fast I would say we should not even speak with people who vote for marine lepen because those people are moved by effects which make them necessarily intrinsically sexist racist homophobic you know those people nothing to do with them I mean this is what my uncle is a leper you know well I I did a poorly designed exactly with that this is because I didn't essentially see that people are moved there some people now move only by that kind of effects I think that my effects are malleable I mean of course in the discussion with those effects are going to be in Skype is crucial you see so if they can move to different orientation and here I think that it's interesting to to call a compliment fault reflection with some insight by Spinoza a conception of effects a namely distinction made made by Spinoza be too bad medical effects show an effect owes affection being affection in the fact of being affected and affect osis effect like Freud Spinoza believe that it is designed that move human beings to act and he note that what makes them act in one direction rather than in another are the effects but but it does not ask how specific effect with to specific people you say is the the inscription is the in which affection they inscribe which is going to promote some effects an affection for Spinoza is a state of a body insofar as it is subject to the action of another body when affected by something exterior the connotation the kinetic for Espinoza means the general striving to persevere in our being and of course it's a social concept Spinoza the cornutus will experience effect that will move it to design something and act accordingly I'll find this dynamic of effects your vectors very helpful to envisage the process of production of common effects and I propose to employ this dynamic to examine the mode of instructional political identities sink affection of the space where the discursive and affective are articulated in specific practices you see so in focus is again again it's against the essentially species that people out move by some effect it depends in which discursive affective affection practices they are going to be inside this is what is going to lead them ask in one way or the other you know in the general public great organ in in a way which is in fact much more so as a regulation of the of democracy well on the question of practice because I think this idea of practice is very important I think I also draw my inspiration from vidcon Stein would taught us that it is by their inscription in what we call language game and we call that a with Ernesto discursive practices that social agents for belief and desire and acquire the objectivity in order to avoid misunderstanding because they've been so many misunderstanding about that term of this code that we use in a German social strategy let me state that by discursive if we are not referring to practice concern exclusively with speech or writing but signifying practices in which signification and action so the discursive and the action cannot be separated in this view allegiance to in the interview of Wittgenstein allegiance to democracy is not something based on rationality but in participation in specific form of life in specific affection Spinoza will say let's keep childhood is often pointy toed Wittgensteinian perspective make us realize that allegiance to democracy in the belief in the values of its institution there is not depend on giving them an intellectual foundation yet a growing discussion with the Obamas was a no-no we need to you know give full of her foundation we need to find an argument of stuff people know that you know the democracy will be the our form of course the way in which national people you know will necessarily act and Wittgenstein and as wealth indicates that I totally agree with them that this is not what what is important you know in fact allegiance to democratic values it's a question of identification and it's created not to her channel argumentation between a sample of language game practices which construct democratic form of individuality and it is very important videos and clearly acknowledged the affective dimension of this Allegiance that he likens to what he called a passionate commitment to a system of reference so there is something of passion in this you know in the identification so I propose to bring together Spinoza Wittgenstein and fraud and to see inscription in discursive effective practice as providing the affection which works we know something about the effect that will spook design and lead to specific action so if the question of you are in Skype in some affection from practices this girl super effective that is going to produce some effects the effects are going to produce design and these are may need you to act you know so you see the link and why this is important to a busy you know people act politically so by seeing you know the way in which effects can spool design and lead to specific action we can in that we recognize that effects and desire played a crucial role in the constitution of collective identities and that they are the moving force of political action I submit that this recognition of the crucial role of effects and of the way they can be mobilized is decisive for envisaging democratic politics such a theoretical perspective is particularly useful it seems to me to comprehend the nature of the populist moment that we are currently with with with witnessing and to envisage all to face the challenge that it represents unfortunately generally Left parties do not understand the importance of mobilizing effect in a democratic direction they believe that it is something that is specific to the height and that they should limit themselves to rational argument and deliberative procedure and this is in my view why they are not able to effectively answer the challenge posed by the rise of heightened populist movement whose success is linked to the fact that they understand much better than the left that politics always partisan that it requires the creation of us dem relation but of course and as them you know in an agonistic for not seeing the the dimension enemy to be destroyed but as an adversary's one crucial for shortcoming of liberal democratic theory is that there is a most you know the parties I am finishing are following is their incapacity to acknowledge the partisan character of politics in the crucial hole that effect place in politics this incapacity the consequence of course of the theoretical level of their picture of the individual presented as acting in the field of politics was move either by the pursuit of interest or by moral concern this precludes them from recognizing the collective nature operative actors and asking one of the key questions of politics or a collective form of identification created and what is the path played by affective dimension in this process by the hoeing political frontier and this is my last paragraph the populist moment as we are witnessing in Europe points Justin Lee to what we can call a return of the political after years of post politics return that may open the way for authoritarian solution to him that we can liberal democratic institution that social that's a danger but it can also lead to a half information and deepening of democratic values everything will depend on the kind of populum that emerge victorious from the struggle against post politics and poor democracy and it is imperative that talk asset sector understand the importance of involving themselves in that struggle the two that I would like to leave with you is that to successfully engage in that decisive struggle it is necessary to have an adequate understanding of the whole of effects in politics because Espinoza was keen to stress an effect can only be displayed by an opposed effect that is going to be stronger than the one to be repressed many times [Applause] [Applause]

Channel: Central European University

Views: 1,489

Keywords: CEU, Central European University, Chantal Mouffe, Politics and the Dynamic of Affects, Michael Ignatieff, Reasons for Hope, University of Westminster

Id: 0HMi6_F6mvk

Length: 55min 14sec (3314 seconds)

Published: Mon May 27 2019