2013 11 Althusser Poulantzas Balibar Hm Presentation (1)

8/14/2019 2013 11 Althusser Poulantzas Balibar Hm Presentation (1)

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political debates in the 'ree# Left and the challenges $e are facing in

the current conjuncture!

1. Althusser and the search for a new practice of politics

A crucial aspect of )n *eproduction, Althussers 19 9 manuscript, from

!hich the 19"# article on +deology and the +deological pparatuses of

the "tate !as e$tracted, is that it represents Althussers attempt to

think of the materialit% of the State and its apparatuses, as a !a% to

rethink re&olutionar% politics and especiall% to rethink a ne!re&olutionar% practice of politics' Althusser stressed the need to a&oid

an idealist instrumentalist theor% of the State, and to ela(orate on a

theory of the "tate that !ould go (e%ond a descriptive theor% of the

State' )e insisted on the distinction (et!een "tate -o$er , !hich has to

do !ith an alliance of classes or a fraction of classes that tries to

conser&e po!er !ithin the class struggle, and "tate pparatus ' 1

This stresses Althussers distancing from traditional communist

politics, as a politics centred on the State' This distancing that is

o(&ious in his critical references to *estern +uropean ommunist

Parties in the correspondence !ith -ranca .adonia, / in his 19 te$t

on .ultural *evolution ,0 in his acceptance of the importance of .a%1 Althusser 199 , p' 1#2' 3t is interesting that in this section Althusser 4uotesPoulantzas'/ 5Speaking a(out politics toda%, means anal%zing the political con6uncture andseeing that -rench and 3talian ommunist Parties, follo!ing the So&iet ommunistPart%, are o(6ecti&el% engaged in a reformist and re&isionist politics and (ecomingsocial democratic parties'7 Althusser 199", p' 90'0 Althusser /#1#'


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19 8 as a %outh insurrection in sharp opposition to the positions of

the -rench ommunist Part%' *e must com(ine this !ith Althussers

insistence on the primac% of the relations of production o&er the

producti&e forces, a crucial and often underestimated aspect of

Althussers theor% of ideolog%' Also of importance is his ne!

theorization of the 3deological Apparatuses :(oth pu(lic and pri&ate;

!hich e$pands the scope of State inter&ention, (ut also stresses that

its a not a 5neutral instrument7, since it is tra&ersed and deepl%

marked (% class struggle' All these call for a ne! practice ofrevolutionary politics!

)n reproduction is also full of references to the need for a ne!

conception of radical politics that should a&oid the danger of treating

ideological apparatuses of the state as sociall% and politicall% neutral

institutions' This is more e&ident in those chapters dealing !ith the

political and trade union 3deological Apparatuses of the State' -or

Althusser the e$istence !ithin the 3deological Apparatuses of the State

of proletarian parties and trade unions can onl% (e e$plained in terms

of a long histor% of class struggle that imposed the presence of the

Part% and its trade union !ithin these apparatuses' )o!e&er, the &er%

choice of treating trade unions and left !ing parties as parts of3deological Apparatuses of the State is of particular political and

theoretical significance' 3t dra!s a line of demarcation against an%

identification of proletarian politics !ith the limits set !ithin (ourgeois


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3deological Apparatuses, making sure that proletarian politics does not

limit itself to parliamentar% procedures and traditional 5legal7 trade

union operations' -or Althusser proletarian politics should al!a%s go

(e%ond these limits, e$actl% (ecause proletarian organizations !ere

(orn outside the ideological apparatuses of the Stateother!ise it !ill loose it, in one form or the other, 5&iolent7 or

5peaceful7' 10

This makes necessar% a ne$ practice of proletarian politics ' This

ne! practice of politics, this re&olutionar% transformation of politics

includes< a; the emergence of ne! forms of mass political organization

at the side of the State, 12 (; the penetration of politics !ithin the realm

of production, putting an end to the (ourgeois separation of economics

and politics' That is !h% re&olutionar% transformation cannot ha&e as

an end the 5end of politics7 and its replacement (% the 5administration

of things7, !hich for Bali(ar represents a (ourgeois distinction(et!een persons and things' *hat is need is a ne! form, a ne!

practice of proletarian politics' =ne can find in this inter&ention echoes

10 Bali(ar 19"2, pp' 9 @9 '12 Bali(ar 19"2, p' " '


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of (oth the criticism of the ultural Ce&olution, (ut also of the need for

a ne! form of communist politics that !ould go (e%ond communist

reformism and opportunism' The attempt to smash the state and

transform social and political relations is a constant political (attle that

cannot !ait for after the re&olution' 3t must (e at the (eginning of an%

emancipator% and transformati&e politics'

3. Poulant"as# the relational theor$ of the %tate and its

implications for re&olutionar$ strate'$.

Poulantzas relational conception of political po!er !as also an

important contri(ution to these de(ates' Esuall% !e tend to associate

Poulantzas !ith his later support of a &ersion of +urocommunism, (ut

this does in6ustice to long attempt to articulate a highl% original theor%

of the State, !hich !as also an attempt to o&ercome the limitations of

an instrumentalist theor% of the State' This is o(&ious in -olitical -o$er

and "ocial .lasses , !here one can alread% find a relational conception

of the political as the le&el !here all the contradictions of a social

formation are condensed'

3n the anti@historicist conception of the original pro(lematic of.ar$ism, the political must (e located in the structure of a social

formation, not onl% as a specific le&el, (ut also as a crucial le&el in

!hich the contradictions of a formation are reflected and condensed'

This must (e done in order to understand e$actl% the anti@historicist


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character of the proposition that it is the political class struggle !hich

constitutes the moti&e force of histor%' 1

The political character of Poulantzas inter&entions is also e&ident

in 4ascism and ictatorship and his criti4ue in man% instances of the

economism of the traditional communist mo&ement' This economism

!as along !ith the a(sence of a mass line the reason for the ina(ilit%

of the Third 3nternational to ans!er the rise of -ascism, along !ith the

all the oscillations regarding the strateg% of the Enited -ront' *e !ould

like to stress that regarding the theorization of the State Poulantzas

offers here an emphasis on the comple$ role of the State in the

reproduction of class domination in opposition to an% instrumentalist

conception'

The class State is the central instance !ith the role of preser&ing

the unit% and cohesion of a social formation, preser&ing the conditions

of production and therefore the reproduction of the social conditions of

production' 3n a s%stem of class struggle it guarantees political class

domination' This is precisel% the role of the ideological apparatuses< in

particular the dominant ideolog% is the 5cement7 of a social

formation' 1

1 Poulantzas 19"8, p' 2#'1 Poulantzas 19"9, p' 0#/'


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-or Poulantzas in 4ascism and ictatorship the repressi&e State

apparatus is the 5central nucleus7 1" of the State po!er and

mechanism, (ut this does not den% the relati&e autonom% of the other

(ranches and especiall% the ideological State apparatuses' =f

particular interest are Poulantzas references to ho! ideological State

apparatuses condense the intense ideological contradictions coming

from the class struggle resulting to the relati&e autonom% of the

ideological State apparatuses, !hich 5themsel&es are no more than

the effects of the class struggle7'18

-or Poulantzas this comple$it% ofthe ideological State apparatuses make it possi(le for the dominant

ideolog% to outli&e the transformation of the apparatuses' .oreo&er, it

is e$actl% this comple$it% that makes imperati&e some form of

re&olutionar% organization, since onl% 5re&olutionar% organizations and

organizations of the class struggle can in the end Descape the s%stem

of ideological State apparatuses7' 19 All these account for a comple$

theor% of State apparatuses and their role in class domination and

social reproduction, a theor% that is far from instrumentalist and, in

contrast, is (ased upon the importance of condensed class

contradictions'

The crucial theoretical inno&ation comes in .lasses in

.ontemporary .apitalism !here Poulantzas introduces his ne!1" Poulantzas 19"9, p' 0# '18 Poulantzas 19"9, p' 0# '19 Poulantzas 19"9, p' 0#8'


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relational conception of the State as the condensation of a class

relation in sharp opposition to an% instrumentalist conception of the

State 3ngrao 19"8' Althusser makes man% references to the 3talian de(ates

of that time in his te$ts in the second half of the 19"#s'2 Badiou /## ' 3t is interesting to read ho! in a 19"8 te$t included in Theory of the Su(6ect Badiou

refers to 5anticommunist fusion of the State and the masses, under a Dproletarianclass name that is henceforth a(solutel% imaginar%' This entit% has a name< the ne!(ourgeoisie, (orn from !ithin the part% itself'7 :Badiou /##9, p' /0#;'


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alread% present in the &er% constitution of production relations and not

onl% in their reproduction7' .oreo&er, for Poulantzas all the ne!

mo&ements that Althusser referred to as proof for the e$teriorit% of

popular mo&ements are necessarily positioned on the strategic

terrain of the "tate! A proletarian politics cannot (e placed outside the

State7' " Theoreticall%, Poulantzas grounds his opposition to Althusser

on his relational conception of the State' onse4uentl%, for Poulantzas

a re&olutionar% politics can (e neither an attempt to destro% the

institutions of representati&e democrac%, nor its simple reform' 3t must(e an attempt to deal !ith these contradictions in a com(ination

(et!een the transformation of the State and mo&ements from (elo!'

Poulantzas also deals !ith these matters in "tate, -o$er and "ocialism ,

!here he offers an e&en more clear conception of a struggle (oth

5inside7 and 5outside7 the State on the contrar% the 6uridical form 5inrealit% dra!s its efficac% from the cumulati&e effect of all the

"0 Bali(ar 19"9, p' 82'"2 Bali(ar 19"9, p' 8 '" Bali(ar 19"9, p' 8 '" Bali(ar 19"9, p' 8 '


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underl%ing apparatuses of ideological and political domination :school,

famil%, a! etc';7' ""

Bali(ar then turned his attention to the hinese ultural

Ce&olution, the !a% it stressed that class struggles continue

throughout the 5transition process7 and the opportunit% it offered to

rethink the 4uestion of the Part%' -irst (% criticizing the 5e&olutionist

and in fact apologetic kautskist motif, conser&ed (% communist parties,

according to !hich the party represents the Dfinal form of the

integration of struggles and of the theor% F practice s%nthesis7,"8

andthen (% insisting that the part% is itself a site of class struggle' That is

!h% it is important to anal%ze the 5 contradictory place of the

revolutionary party itself !ithin this Dpla% of the 3SAs JI and the

transformations of the re&olutionar% part% as antagonistic tendency

!ithin the 3SAs7' "9 This is an important point (ecause it calls for a

rethinking of all the ideological constraints and effects that offer the

material ground for the inherentl% contradictor% character of

re&olutionar% parties, (e%ond a schematic opposition !ithinFoutside

the State' .oreo&er, this thinking of the Part% as antagonistic tendency

manages to capture the force of class antagonism and the

fundamental opposition (et!een potentiall% proletarian and (ourgeoispolitics, !ithout into a schematic conception of the Part% as a political

and organizational entit% immune to the material constraints of the"" Bali(ar 19"9, p' 8"'"8 Bali(ar 19"9, pp' 8"@88'"9 Bali(ar 19"9, p' 88'


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State, thus going (e%ond the insideFoutside opposition' -or Bali(ar this

calls e$actl% for thinking the historical significance and the

contradiction of the part% form' Therefore, for Bali(ar the pro(lem !ith

+urocommunism !as that it (elie&ed that it could resol&e the

contradictions of the part%@form !ithout profoundl% positing and

confronting them' 8# This makes necessar% a necessar% (reak !ithin

this form, not in the sense of li4uidating the organizational forms of the

!orkers mo&ement (ut in the sense of coming in terms !ith the limits

and contradictions of the part%@form' -or Bali(ar to make the

re&olutionar% part% at the same time the means to take po!er and to


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e$ercise it in an ne! fashion> therefore to surpass progressi&el% !ithin

its ranks the Ddi&ision of manual and intellectual la(our, the

opposition (et!een Dthose !ho go&ern and those that are

go&erned7' 80

This critical reflection on the open 4uestions facing an% attempt

to rethink class politics is also e&ident in his 1982 te$t 53n Search of the

Proletariat7' 82 Beginning (% the scarce references to the proletariat in

.apital , Bali(ar suggests that the notion of the proletariat has more to

do !ith the 5political sense78

of !orking class struggles andmo&ements' )o!e&er, this does not mean that .ar$ managed to come

out of the antinomies of an% potential proletarian politics, and

especiall% the oscillation (et!een an anarchist &ision of an end to

politics and a reformist centring of proletarian politics on the State'

That is !h% .ar$ and +ngels could produce nti Ghring (ut not an

nti Ha#unin or an nti Lassalle! 86 As !ith most te$ts from the 198#s,

Bali(ar tended more to problemati:e than to actuall% ans!er or

o&ercome these antinomies' Ne&ertheless, this pro(lematization offers

indeed a !a% to think of these pro(lems' =f particular importance is, in

our opinion, Bali(ars conception of the theoretical short@circuit that

.ar$ performs on the relation (et!een the la(our process and theState, 8" in the sense of an immediate relation and correlation (et!een

80 Bali(ar :198/; 1999, p' 1109'82 3n Bali(ar 1992'8 Bali(ar 1992, p' 10#'8 Bali(ar 1992, p' 102'8" Bali(ar 1992, p' 10 '


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economics and politics, (et!een the la(our process and the State, that

is the cornerstone of .ar$s criti ue of political econom%' This refers

not onl% to the insistence of the class political character of the

relations of production, (ut also to the need for a ne! practice of

proletarian politics as a 5 politics of labor/! 88 At the same time this

(rings to the open 4uestions facing e$actl% the relation (et!een

5classes7 to 5masses7, !hich is the tension running through the

concept of the proletariat! .ar$ himself oscillated (et!een the

possi(ilit% deducing a notion of class from the definition of thefundamental social relations of the capitalist mode of production and

the difficult% of defining the masses as concrete historical condition

and mo&ement' -or Bali(ar, this is the starting point for rethinking the

non@su(6ect of proletarian politics'

The fact that the proletariat, !hich (oth a 5class7 and the

5masses7, is not a su(6ect, does not mean that the proletariat ne&er

presents itself or acts as a subject in history! )o!e&er, this

re&olutionar% action is al!a%s tied to a con6uncture, lasting or not, and

onl% e$ists !ithin its limits' 89

)o!e&er, this e$actl% the pro(lem< ho! to rethink of ne! forms

and practices of politics that ena(le and facilitate this passage from

classes to masses and process of emancipation, !ithout, falling (ack88 Bali(ar 1992, p' 121'89 Bali(ar 1992, p' 120'


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into a conception of the proletariat as a gi&en su(6ect, a representation

not escaped (% the classics of .ar$ism' This is the challenge of

actuall% rethinking this process, and its political, ideological and

organizational conditions'

Conclusion

The importance of this de(ate is o(&ious' 3t is one of the last

ma6or theoretical de(ates on re&olutionar% strateg% that !as (ased on

actual historical possi(ilities and political challenges for the eft andnot on simpl% theoretical e$igencies' The (asic challenge !as !hat it

means for the eft to fight for political po!er, in a period !hen there

!as (oth popular radicalization and o(&ious cracks in (ourgeois

hegemon%' The (asic 4uestion !as ho! to com(ine the emphasis on a

ne! practice of politics , !hich also means ne$ forms of organization,

coordination and democrac%, emerging !ithin the e$periences of the

mo&ements, !ith possi(ilit% of the eft arri&ing in go&ernment' And

this also implied rethinking the Part% form' 3n this sense, Althussers

call to rethink of ne! forms of popular initiati&es remains toda% as

urgent as it !as in 19"" and e4uall% timel% is his !arning that !e ha&e

no other to ans!er this than oursel&es'

And a(o&e allMthe most important of 4uestions for past and

futureMho! can relations (e esta(lished !ith the mass mo&ement


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!hich, transcending the traditional distinction (et!een trade union and

part%, !ill permit the de&elopment of initiati&es among the people,

!hich usuall% fail to fit into the di&ision (et!een the economic and

political spheres :e&en 5added together7; Because !e are !itnessing

more and more mass mo&ements of the people arising (% themsel&es,

outside of the trade unions and parties, (ringing Mor capa(le of

(ringingM something indispensa(le to the struggle' 3n short, ho! can

!e properl% respond to the demands and e$pectations of the masses

of the people 3n different, negati&e or positi&e forms, in a hidden or

open manner, o(6ecti&el% or su(6ecti&el%, the same ke% 4uestions face

us< concerning the State, the trade unions, and those mass mo&ements

and initiati&es' But as far as ans!ers to these 4uestions are concerned,

!e ha&e essentiall% no@one to rel% on (ut oursel&es' 9#

All of the participants, despite their different tactical options, are

full% a!are of the limits of *estern +uropean ommunist Parties and

their ina(ilit% to get in touch !ith important aspects of the student and

!orkplace radicalism and also full% a!are of the dominance of more or

less reformist positions !ithin them' At the same time, the% all shared

the same limitations regarding the force of the mo&ement' The% all

inter&ene in the 19"#s as if the strength of mo&ement should (e takenfor granted' This !as a common position of (oth Althusser !ho

opposed the strength of the mo&ement to the crisis of .ar$ism and the

communist mo&ement and of Poulantzas !ho (ased the possi(ilit% of9# Athusser 19"8, p' //#'


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!ith political strateg%' *e do not den% the importance and actualit% of

Poulantzas position on the possi(ilit% of a re&olutionar% strateg% that

could com(ine the electoral and parliamentar% struggle for

go&ernmental po!er !ith the de&elopment of forms of popular po!er

for (elo!' The point of our criticism is that Poulantzas seemed to (e

more focused on the parliamentar% and go&ernmental side of the

process than the side of mass practices and a potential ne!

proletarian I communist practice of politics , and !as underestimating

the as%mmetr% and incommensura(ilit% (et!een (ourgeois andcommunist practice of politics ! )o!e&er, it is e$actl% Poulantzas

relational conception of the State and of the constant efficac% of class

antagonism and mass mo&ements that could offer the theoretical

ground for the need for ne! forms of political practice, collecti&e

struggle and potentiall% organization of e&er%da% life' As for Bali(ar,

despite the man% critical and insightful lines of demarcation he dre!

and the usefulness of his problemati:ation and articulation of the open

4uestions for the .ar$ist theor% of the State and of the forms of class

struggles he ne&ertheless also refrained from offering concrete

ans!ers'

Perhaps the most pro(lematic aspect of this de(ate !as e$actl%the limitation of an% attempt to think !ithin the contour of the

internal F e$ternal di&ide' The importance of a relational conception of

po!er and State is e$actl% that it suggests that the State is neither an


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instrument nor an institutional or institutionalized locus' Therefore

there is no point to think in terms of topographical metaphors' The

su(altern classes are al!a%s alread% entangled !ithin comple$ po!er

relations, net!orks, institutionalized (alances of class forces :the

5inside7 aspect;' At the same time, their resistances, their struggles,

their initiati&es, their forms of organization are not 6ust 5struggles

inside the State7> rather, the% are antagonistic tendencies that (ring

the 5e$terior7 !ithin the 5interior7, thus entailing a d%namic that goes

(e%ond the simple transformation or democratization of stateapparatuses'

Going (ack to this de(ate, its insights (ut also its limitations, is

not a theoretical e$igenc%' 3t is also a political imperati&e' Cecent

de&elopments, the crisis of neoli(eral capitalism, the eruption of mass

mo&ements and social e$plosions, the return of street of politics, the

possi(ilit% of forming eft !ing go&ernments in countries !ith deep

political crisis in countries such as Greece gi&e ne! actualit% to these

de(ates' Simpl% thinking in terms of mass mo&ements in terms of

5pressure politics7 misses the centralit% of political po!er and the

potential for ma6or shifts in political representation that could initiate

social and political se4uences of radical socialist transformation' =nthe other hand, simpl% thinking in terms of electoral alliances and

go&ernmental strategies misses the importance e$actl% of a ne$

practice of politics from the part of the su(altern class in the sense of


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ne! forms of popular organization, popular democrac% from (elo!,

and e$tensi&e e$perimentation !ith forms of solidarit%, self@

managements and !orkers control that could represent e$actl% the

necessar% 5short@circuit7 (et!een economics and politics that could (e

the (asis of a radical anti@capitalist politics of labour '

.oreo&er, all of the !riters discussed shared the same insistence

on the a(ilit% of class struggles and popular mo&ements to tra&erse

state apparatuses, to change the (alance of forces and to lead to

se4uences of social transformation' 3n this sense, if !e com(ineAlthusser reference to virtual forms of communism arising in popular

initiati&es at the interstices of capitalist societ%, !ith Poulantzas

relational theor% of the State as a theor% of the constant effecti&it% of

class struggle and !ith Bali(ars reference :in )n the ictatorship of

the -roletariat ; that the communist mo&ement e&en inside the state

machine can function like a grain of sand, !e ha&e a potential

theorization not of the internal F e$ternal position, (ut of the possi(ilit%

of a politics that goes (e%ond the State, that goes (e%ond managing

the State in a 5progressi&e direction7, that does not (ecome 5a

prisoner of the State7, 91 a politics of radical social and political91

5The point is that an% political part% of the !orking class is ine&ita(l% caught up!ithin a contradiction !hich it ma% succeed in mastering, if it recognizes thecontradiction, (ut from !hich it can ne&er spontaneousl% escape' =n the one hand, itrepresents a form :the onl% form; of access of the proletariat to politicalindependence' 3t represents the form in !hich the proletariat can itself direct its o!nclass struggle, !ith the support of its o!n social (ase, and on the (asis of its o!nideological class positions, (reaking free from the hold of the dominant (ourgeoisideolog%, instead of simpl% (eing the D!orkhorse of this or that &ariet% of (ourgeoispolitics' 3n this !a%, Dthe emancipation of the !orking class !ill (e the task of the!orkers alone :.ar$;' But at the same time, (ecause the class struggle of the


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transformation and e$perimentation !ith non@capitalist social forms,

indeed a politics of the potential 5!ithering a!a%7 of the State'

3n a period !hen strategic 4uestions return, not as a(stract

possi(ilities, (ut as concrete material e$igencies and potentialities, the

eft does not ha&e the lu$ur% to consider theoretical de(ates as a

lu$ur%' Ceopening the theoretical de(ate on strateg%, including

re&isiting crucial political and theoretical de(ates in the histor% of

.ar$ism, must (e the order of the da%Q

Re erences

Althusser, ouis 19" , Jssays in self criticism, ondon< N B'

Althusser, ouis 19"", 5=n the T!ent%@Second ongress of the

ommunist Part%7,

!!!'mar$ists'orgFreferenceFarchi&eFalthusserF19""F//nd@

congress'htm

Althusser, ouis 19"8, 5The risis of .ar$ism7, (ar3ism Today, Oul%

19"8'

proletariat is not fought out independentl% of e$isting social relations @@ and in orderto ena(le it to take on its full political dimensions, in the !hole field of social acti&it%@@ the Part% of the !orking class cannot remain outside of the (ourgeois State

Dmachine< in particular of the political ideological State apparatus :the (asis of theparliamentar% s%stem, the Dpart% s%stem;' No!, once it is inside that machine, it canfunction either like a cog, or like the grain of sand !hich causes it to seize up' At thele&el of the histor% of capitalism and of imperialism, at the le&el of the historicalprocess of the constitution of the proletariat as a class, the part% of the !orking classis not, at least tendentiall%, a simple element of the ideological State apparatus of(ourgeois politics' But !e must admit that there e$ists an opposite tendenc%, apermanent risk to !hich the part% is su(6ected, and from !hich it cannot escape!ithout a constantl% repeated internal struggle @@ the tendenc% for it to (ecome theprisoner of the State apparatus against !hich it is fighting'7 Bali(ar 19" , p' 9/'


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Althusser ouis 198#, )n the .risis of (ar3ism :3n Greek;, Athens

2013 11 Althusser Poulantzas Balibar Hm Presentation (1)

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