Ranciere- Chronicles of Consensual Times

7/27/2019 Ranciere- Chronicles of Consensual Times

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In this fascinating clletion,Jacque

Racire one of the world's mostimportant and inuential living

philosophers explores te nature of

conensus in contemporry politics.

Consensus is not peace nsead it

refers to a map of operations of war of

a opography of the visible f wht is

possible and wht can be though n

which war and pece live side-by-side

Lying at he heart o these consnaimes are new forms of racism and

ethnic cleansing humairia wars

and wars aginst eror Conssu lsimplies using time in a way that ses

in it a thousad devos urns This

is evident in th icesst dignoss

of he presen and of anec t

poliics in he frewes o the pst


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CHONICLES F COSESUAL TIMES


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o a f Co m

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ory oh Subjet, A a a d o

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Afr Finide, Q M asoTm f Reoltion, A o egr a cr

P,liC Aeti, acq acr i Se M c Srr

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M/, ac acr


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CHRONICLES OF

ONSESUA TIMJacques Rancire

Translted by

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onns

Peface viThe Hea an the Stomach, Jnu 199

Boge in S vo, Mrch 1 6 43 an New Milennium, My 199 8

4 Col Racim, July 199 5 The at Enem November 199 1 6

6 The Goune Plane, Jnu 1997 0

Dil ctic in the ialectic, Augus 1997 48 Voyage to the County of the at Sociologit, Noemr 1997 8

9 Jutice in the Pat, April 199 3

1 0 The Cii of At o a Cii o f Thought? July 199 3 6

1 1 I Cinema to Blame? Mrch 1999 401 The Namele a, y 1999 44

1 3 One Image Right Can Sweep ay Anothe, Ocober 49 4 The Sllogim of Couption, Ocober 000 5 3 1 5 Voici/oi: The D tiny of Iage, Jnu 001 5 7 1 Fom Fact to Intepetation The New Quael oe

the Hlocaut, April 001 6 Fom One Totue to Anothe, June 001 6 6

8 The Filmmake, the People an the Gov n nt, Aug 001 01 9 Time, o, a, November 001 74

v


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Piosohy i he Bathroom, J 2002

Prisoers o the Innie, rc 2002

7 8

82

om One oth o ay to Another, J 2002 87

Vco ugo Th Abiguities a Bicenteary, A gst 2002 92 e achie a he Foeus, 2003 9 7

T Dea h o e Aut hor e Lie o he Ars? Ar/2003 0

e Logic o Amnesia, J 2003 0

Te secuiy ricile, Stbr 2003 0

w Ficios o Evil, ovbr 200 4

Criial Democracy? rc 2004 2 0

Te Dicu Legacy o Micel Foucault, J 2004 2 4

Te ew Reasos or te i, A gst 2004 2 9

Byo Ar? ctobr 2004

T oics o mages, Fbr 005 7 Deocracy a Is Docts, 2005 4

es 45

ndex 49


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Peface

he chonice coecte hee ae choen fom thoe I te ove ea peio at the invitation o a age Baziian ail nepape the

olh de So Pu lo The theme boache wee ometime ppe to me

b the newpape. Moe often I wa eft to chooe the f among hfact thown up by what we cal cuent affai natin ebat wolwie conict xhibition o new m.

But the chonice i not a w o eponing to the eve of paing

time Fo paing time peciel oe not encounte v n. v nt eawa wa o topping time o cntucting the ve teoalit b

which the can be ientie a event. o peak of a chonile i to pekof a tpe of eign not the caee of a king but the canion a time an

the tacing of a teito a pecic conguation of that wc happena moe of peception o what i notable a egime of inteptation of th

o an the ew of the impotant an the ancila f the ible anthe impoib .

I beieve I cou m up what eign toa une h of con-sensus. But con n ot at a what i apt to be wit u t b aienchante it u a tate of the wo in which o covge in veitable wohip o th itte iffeence in hic tog aion an geat ieal ie to the jutm nt of naciiti tfaco.nt ea ago ome min thinking themeve fceto p thi new moo u to acco the intitution of emoca wth tmoe. oa moe min an often the ame one hking th elve olemn conemn thi eign of ma iniviuali in whichthe ee the oot of a ictatohip o it f bng o e get collective vtu e know common oigin of thee act of bave in theevice o inteectul ebate the take fom ocquevile bt hi pai

v


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gnl dmca cy an d s cndenan s nc natn vtud

e aes t l recall o us at csens us des n cnss n tectn tt udes a n d bdes us descrd Ne forms racsn tnc cleansn umanaran' ars and ars aans rr' a

c cnsens ua l e s crn cled e l s feat rn r

eaac cns a ar and radca vl an

l ectual lems v nerprat f h Naz ncde Cn

nt ac s a a f ar perans a opray e

v e nkable and e ssb n c ar and eace ae

ld

at cnsnsus means n effec s n peples areent asttslvs bu e m cn f sens sense te accrd madeen a snsy re te prsenatn ns and a d f atn e mea nn Te c ns nsu s ven n us s a cn nsa a s s a c vsn clas bsv mlyt c can al see aln psns abu t st te t ld ne mantans t e ave ce a las t l ve n es fece th te sates te cnd t n ha peace e recnn a

e s n r an a ere s l e aruets developed e l f end f upas ad of sr can e sued up n snuse ll eedly e ad a e o f a r Ts as e e e peoplened more a a ere as o spl ecoomc roups u

oal casses no spl a popuao u a peope no smpl varous

en neress o a w one aoer olds n coc o

y a uure o predc a fre o lerae So e o lve nes o peace for a eraed o urseves o f a l ese supplees ofll tese paoms for reaz ecefor a a s s al ere s

u al l oo ofe e peace oe evaes s oousness a od o

wrkers rejecs e assero ere s o a ere s d n oeres now ow o a s o a w e; erems!ates ree e ar aas foreers o e race; e ars sce

rgs of lood ad sol o ss cre oes; error ad e ar nseor ake e ac oer sesus ereore s e ace o son nerpreaon a s ceaseess se appearaces r u arn peace ack n er pce Is prcpe as o e sple War sas

acne ae s pa ce esewere a e pas cores a are sujugaed o e oscure aw of oo ad so e arcac


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PREFCE

tensions of those who cling to yestea's stuggles an osolete pivileges But because the elsewhee aves that it is hee the psthat it is toay, the consensual machine must contiuous eaw thoes between spac s an th uptues of time

Often obs ae equie to ivie spaces an cone ahaic was tothe magins of the consensual wol Time, as fo it , is easie to manipulate The consensus assets a eaity that is unique a icntovetible,but oy in oe to multiply its uses, in oe to ben it to the impeiousscenaios of the pesent which leaves no oom in which to ispute its

pesence, to scenaios of te past in which one connes t ecalcitant the lame of moenity o suvivos illcue of utopia an of the futue

which commans the total eployment of enegies The conic s gathee hee stive to analyse the twists an tuns acceite to t : continual iagnostics of the p s t an politics of amnesa, faeells to thepast, comm moatios, uti s of emembance, explaatios of the ea-sons why the past fus s to go, epuiations of the futues hc claimeto sing, exutations of th new centuy an of new utopias

So, to analyse these cos nsual games, a choice must shf the sitesof its inv stigaton, v tu to see othe makings of time vent itsown tempoal scenaios fo example, to compae the machines inConenbegs ctions o Matthew Baneys installatios ith those of

Zola o Picabia; see, in pesentay exhiitions, the Cistl eultation ofeal pesence confont a politics of the achive; isce th face given tothe pesent in the new ctions of evil, histoical o catastphe ms; o,

the way that the legal ebates on imagepopety ights a effacing the

political status of the visible.

Even so, these chonicles o ot claim to be poviing a inv ntoy ofthe signs of the times This woul emain witin the logic f cos ss,pat its intepetative machin which incessantly examines te times oits symptoms an looks into all the toubles of the socia o lwaysecognizing in them the same evil: a want of ajustment t the pesent,

a lack of aheence to th futu The consensus sas that tee is bu single eaity whose signs must be eplete; that thee is but a siglspace, while eseving the ight to eaw its oes; tt one uiutime exists, while allowing itself to multiply its ges this goes toshow that we ae meely being aske to consent The ecet actuality of

a efeenum gave us the painest ilustation of this fact een as it gaveus the choic of voting yes o no, we wee expecte to s yes, o else

x


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x

PREFAC

uslvs as s rs n n nss r nl y stns

h rcn a s sn an d as aia n an dan t and scknss n t s lay sns t vy s l y scc cnlc nssaly dsaars tut andr c ars n at s c lays cla n sn aant


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O

The Head and the Stomach, Jury

e peope ee d so o eeve , e ees d sd eceyody s sed ees wo eed soe o ee oo eas ov os e e o accomps e s e o, foe Poc opa, eaed les oe cede sa s edvd, ee ed ms comd osomach? I Po's e, e heads of phlosopes wee ed oo fowds skes d ey occasoaly fe wes he hads of ooveos y plaed fo of e scees oc eoy d s, e dy ake eacos d e secs oooksfo e so dd d o es S o ey kow vey s y wsacces e somcs s ake ody fo omoow f he soacs of omoow y o oe ee d o covc e o ssesof e eos mds of e oo o sc . ey ee y o sowe peope of e wo of eeds d s s excy wa s cpeed oecve ecessy dces s, so, s e of ewod ssus s wod pp ly xs ves of ssso cosuo p eeme ewee s s A closeook eves h e wod m as xcy e coy: sus m sa e ves ad soos of polems spy q eple o nda ey v o oo fo dscsso, ad ov m s c foesee s d wc, e ovos, o oe eve s o

e c P s s poceeded o oc h popo fom ow o wo c ssy oe mk cco d cs ad ce eee scees o foo do soc s d pc sevce poy s wo v o wooe o e e o eeme ced w ee lc s o


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2

HRONICLS O CONNSUL TIMS

and u n's un l nness o enu s a ans es rvd' ran and us drvers o a de e k n e d d o n- e ary o neence ean o ponder Ho cn n oousy

essay reor e reused y e ope o necessy? I us e eycluded a e rerm as n e expaned o e Tey uld

a ard a

e aa s all sa sran Bca use a d e au rs an

da d uu e yea r no recsely xa n e ppua a nn can e d ne exce a ur vernens are aready

d ? H n o desar r e vrues s eday? Te ac

xann s n ru every s srane as sees spe e e

nens are ey sy ranl e undersd y e eec s y n eans r aon a H n ac e n e en ead evr

a s sud nu o e undersod y unne en sac can ee d n undersand y deinn e ade \nand S e n ker e le u nd rce aa n a a nc

n n s n ay een ead and e sac ere s e

and e opuan ere e sken n e anue o a n or u n a e y er s n sco y c kn a ar cou d say ceary n ese aers

er s a urer ypoes s one a n o serous overn en l ever

a d snce under ne s e ses o s a e epaao d no

e c o e noran sa cs en s ecau se ey udersood ery and do o nk covc sor ecuse ey are no or-

a socs u ele eds Ts ypoess ruous or oern-ens ouds ere s rel cuse o cll polcs olcs lconu o e coused y any people e cy ces-s ly cours e ar o oer ol cs s e y o cocer

os ua ars sed o e prsuppos o a any-o s as ee s yoe ese d les oe ore caays e doe oer s e o Sy ou r eles l sl a ood es o aud ce We c o loe r for e u u ryo c races We s ll r ou r e ds ou els o ecssy sll ve e supd soacs ke oe o scl necess y

s s oo o e er Te ead o e oc

saor as reproaced or e oo ar reoed ro e soc o

o usuly Te e o our oerors suers ro e reers


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TE EAD AE STMAC

misfortune: it is unable to distinuish itself from the stoach. oday's

overnin intellience is b ut a knowlede of the automatis o f the reat

lobal stomach of wealth. he opposition between the ovrors and theoverned is turned into that between the ideal stomach a the vular

empirical stomachs. his is perhaps the ultimate meai f the wordconsensus: that the head which overns us is no more n an ideal

stomach. he overnment used to say, in the old style, i he military

style: there must be only one head. he watchword of our vernments

now is: there must be no more than a sinle stomac. Hece, te sym-

bolic violence of conicts such as the French strikes of winter .

Observers compared them to the victorious shows of force cnducted by

Ronald Reaan and Mararet hatcher to break once ad for all thepower of workers' oranizations. he overnments here, short, con

duct a battle for the monpoly of the stomach, a battle to e it admit-

ted that the system of needs has but one centre and sole way of

functionin.

Our elites promptly say that it is a matter of make or bre, when confronted with the bad will o f the p eople . However, there is ery little bad

needed for it to break. t sufces if the inorant' simply rea one thi:

that by identifyin itself with the overnment of the stomac, t he over -

ment of intellience abandons intellience's only recoid privilee

the riht to attend to the future. t is in vain that our oveents have

teir experts make lonterm forecasts to ustify the sacrics that they

ask for today. he mere announcement that the day's Stoc xchae is

up and that the markets' have reacted positively' to tes easures for

the future sufces to instruct the inorant', in brini b that future

to the daily activities of speculation. For the machine to then, it isenouh that the small stomachs to pe rsist as did the Frh trasport

workers in the defence of what the overnment calls ter privilees'

and, step b y step, the ame ets turn ed around. he tini hea ds then

nd themselves accused of b ein the mere oran of the ret onymous

stomach of wealth, while the small reedy stomachs start seakin like

intellient beins and demand the riht to attend to te fue forotten

by our overnors Say the wise, these follies will be shortlie. Notwith

standin, from time to time it happens that societies suddey elearn two

or three unheardof thins: that intellience is the best sard thin in the

world and that inequality only exists by virtue of elity hese

unheardo f thins are s impl y what make politics meainfl.


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4

CHAE TWO

oges n Saajevo, M 6

ntrdctn t s rand k es ots et es Cses Me l

clt vks te urlesque classcatn a certan Cnese encycl' d y re s Brs c dvdes anals nt tsn Err aled' suckln is' eav

lk ad ' ave j u st rken a ptcer and slar srts cat a strkes us e ma nt an ed ere t es e lsts ic lu r all

o u tees te sa e a nd te ter s e pu re an d smple mpossl ty tnkn t

estrn reason as apparenly ma de proress snce n d e t nkn

ltcal eads o e rea po ers r ecenl y rokered a peace areemenf eYugsava gn de fcto reconon o e dson o Bosna

eegona no ree ences Seran ency Cratan etncty

an Muslm etncy Te l s s a dedly no a s rc n manaon as

t nvented y Bores s n o les s aerran I a comon ens

cd a p losoper eac us o ds ns eeen e C roaan speces e Muslm speces? W enoos ll eer ell us ou esgusn ras o sl ency'? e cold ane many arns suc a model or e mple e mercan naon dded nosan ency fenne ency es ency nd mmr necy eople l say s s no laun maer f t s I mry connced eel sad a e rea raedes of ord sory

ee eenaced as comedes ere conersey s farce a ecoesedy Te Bosnn ar s a lry coup de force no on cused a

cry o e or pr a s as o po se d as a n ojece en'

f old reaso a ay o eplo e ceores of e Sae d eOe a makes or loc fler n eempary mnner


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BOG I JVO

In claical t r the Boian war wa a war of n xin prt lyunertaken by two tate S rbia an Croatia with the port of loclirreentit populato againt anoth r tate BoniaH rz govin. owthe chief eneavour of the aggreor wa to impoe i li f hi ccecription a new ecription of the ituation: in it ter an oppoi-tion on the groun between three ethnicitie whoe ienitie hito-

rie an culture apparently pr v nt them from coexitig he logicalobtacle to thi eription wa that there i no Bonia ethnicity an

tht Boniaerznogovina i peope with population of iere origin

an religion who have coexite for centurie more o e well a

people often o uner the un But we know ince Hege at eath i

ialectical n the probem wa reolve by the killing el of ethniccleaning Killing the Other a Other i the uret a to titute him

in hi ientity to impoe on everyone an on himelf the lf vi ncof that ientity By ytematically maacring Mulim poption theconqere zone the Serb aggreor prove by thi act at they ctually were a ethnicity. Of coure it i meaningle to talk o an thcityene by religiou belief. But th problem i not to h crit ia hamake ene. hey nee m r ly exit in making coincie cic i r-ence an the tracing of a line on a map

hi coincience we know i the ame one to which ertain ration-

ality alo lay claim the geopolitical rationaiy of the great wer. Thee

great power while containing the territorial ambition of aggreoralo grante them their eential point the rationalit o their principle

of iviion in aigning each ethniciy it own territory. The ig poer iteem were quit unconcerne by the contriction ht might ariebetween the great claratio of upanational Europe n the ethnicgerrymanering of thi mall nook of that ame Europe ut p rapthere i no contraiction he ogic of he great poer ielf ret on aimple iviion. h g at uprational pace are or craci . Thecountrie of the for r communit worl will be able t r it wh nby their repreentative intitution an above all by th i comm cilevelopment a bug t contro meaure they have ov n h m-elve to be goo tu nt reay to enter the great worli crcul-tion of people a capita A far a the ret of th orl i nc rn olong a it tate of evelopment oe not allow it to be abl to affor theluxury of emocracy it i better for it to be gov r a ime of olaccoring to the natural criteria of birth trib an religio n thi logic

5


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6

CRNICLS O COSNSUL TIM

t alzd etnc bat an ndeable and dded ele caabe M slm et ncy us s q ue n a ually t mocan dson f esen eason e sae one a Boges' tex lays ev say Musl sas enal and e aon f Bosna

ay ntdcng n a f old e an deal lne f d ln seaa t ld f en asn n te ac

d a fe cmn tnal sy and an na ldd d an nden eid lan gs atnal classican

a t e bsc dny las f bes lgn a d vey

s syblc geoga y c lac es a an n e est an d Bo sa n

ient and s lcal agnay c nceangly denies

dcatc nves lty t glob l la of al fges hvt ad a ltl as of Saajo 5 cenes ag n s ea an

tnan caed Clt ad cctizn adt a tange ef

l tn tn ad ben dded no toal tbe donatd by

ca c stoc t o legeday antqy bscued a landne Clsnes eaced s naal dvsn t a

atcal n encet eac tb ld b consed seaae

al g a caal a cy a n d a nland one ug te dang

t es e etal ccu cns e called demes n Geek and s a Clsn s nve ed demcacy Deocacy s n smly

oe of e eole I s e poe of a cea knd of eople a

pl delbeaely nen ed o d sss smla eous l e old poe

bt and e oe a so aual ly sep s o ake s place eal a people a ams eyod deeces of b e smple conn

gy o e fac of eg sucadsuc a place d o a noe; aple a coass e dubous dsos of aue absac di-sns of eo

ocac cosss aoe all e ac of eokg e a of bt a n da of eal; afg e pe cogec eeb ddu lsa poplas come o eseles s o a place; ea p o bul d a co o ol d o e bass of a sole cogecy

d a s eacl a s a s ke e osa colct cofoedb e Se d C o ggessos ad also e cl onas usm de Bosa deocas sed o asse e p-c of a n de a eo c e commo a oub te oly pcle of coesece e people s demos. I e fac s eo peole ped e people s ehnos e peope supposedl


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RGE IN SARAJEV

united by bonds o blood and ancestral law, however mytical This tri

umph is not merely a local aair conned to a small end urope. No

doubt we should remain levelheaded about the prophecie announcing

the widespread outbreak o ethnic, religious and other types o identity

undamentalism Yet, so long as socialists' and liberals' act i concert toidentiy democratic goverment ith the global law o welt, partisanso ancestral law and o separating ethnicities' will be peritted to pres

ent themselves as the sole alternative to the power o wealh And there

will never be a shortage o appropriate classications or hen it is for-

gotten that the rst word o political reason is the recogition o the

contingency o the political order, every absurdity proes rtinal


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8

in de Sicle and New Millennum, y 996

ake s me ' te lae Frec resde Fra


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FtN DE SteLE AD EW LLEIUM

maniestation o a truth or the accomplishment o an ancipation

Ends o centuries in general lend themselves to the task o urying the

past B ut ours inj ects a very specic tou ch o resentment in this epochal

task The thinkers who have made it their speciality to reid us with

out respite o all the century's horrors also explain to us reltessly that

they all stem rom one undamental crime This crime is to ae believ ed

that history had a meaning and that it ell to the world's poles to real-

ize it And even commemorations, o which our era is s ond, have

assumed this necrological meaning Not long ago they wer esigned to

remind us o the meaning o our history, that is to say or dbt towards

the past and our obligati on to accomplish its promise in the u re Today,

their unction has bee n inverted : their stake is to rebury r, at the veryleast, to set us at an exotic distance rom the time when e believed in

history

So, o course we no longer believe in promises e have bcome real

ists Or, in any case, our go vernments and our wise experts have be come

realists or us They stick to the p ossible', which precisely os not ofer

a great deal o possibilities This possible' is made o small hings that

progress slowly i they are handled with caution by thos e h know We

must no longer wait or the tomorrows that sing and fo reedom to

come and overturn oppression We are implored simply t ait for the

conj uncture' to be overcome The good measure o realist te is not the

present (we must learn how to wait) But neither is it the istant future

It is the time o conjuncture: we work or the ollowing sester or the

next year And thus we measure, rom one day to the next, he time that

we must give to time so that, i all goes well, we will have e hundred

thousand less unemployed the ollowing year, or, if it doent, no morethan a hundred thousand more

But they do not get away with being realists so easily, an e mod styo the time that must be awaited sud denly reveals its other fc : the fran-

ticness o time, which, as or it, do es not wait e can say th time n ee ds

time, but this will neve r be enough to see it yield its mode ruits Time

is not a leaer o a lieral company, it is an oldashione onarch It

wants to be obeyed and loved beore all else It does not only ant or usto ollow its march It wants us to go ahead o it, to give t in advance

the gits o our persons an d our thoughts Time's specicity s n ot only to

be slow t is never to stop For th ei r part, human beings hae we know,

a distressing tendency to stop As decades o workers' stuggles have

9


22/170

CLES F CSESUA IMES

eole ay a th e fuu re rei of wor ad t o l ie i dace re of it prress. Th is d s nt pree t t th cntrry retr fo take for he m o m o sprate clerly betwn lei- ie ad work t e ad r ic ly mi t atter to th adanae f or. here is a wy o li he uure ad aothr wy of l ii rs . he oia of m d o oros wor souh i ai r h doe rec io o f i e o roe h the pr e d ' e eire d wor were no differe i thr eece.

goermet d o r ris ws xprt tody ke up the s amog a he shaed tns. y cmrisn wh the latter they pr- liS, s tre ery tte. But r this litte thy set th xium

o o . ext yer we r e et n ddi i 0 2 er cent rowh a 2 er fJll i nemloyment we he to mobile fl lt ime we so cl g ike ackward id iduals to he r iidi es ' o wok a are sla ry term ad o rees e i rely a he

o o of e. e mst come comleel lexile' . his s o

c aay eeds s . ut i ca hae eed of u ay ime s e completely ilble bth or te momes whe i ed ad for tho e whe it dos n't Time wil yld us it modestfr o oe codio: tht we cse frm sop nd frm stoppi [ h he e Ober e Begrier Geschichte. Watr njmin st t f th 1 8 0 rnc rtin w shwd ymblicyr w t brk wt t cur f t im by rn un shot s t ccs.r eas rnmnt nd ntrprn r a r utpn ntr ind.Ty wud prpty br cck but f ntr rsn:eau cck sund t ntrruptns t m t nd wr tn f hp t pss t rtn r r t sty t thmic css . . . t s t ts pnt t t sd cnc rlty iliad nt t rn stqu t nw mnnu futurt buil cutiu y stp by stp bcs t utu wc cs usn ds t wit ut r t t w r sn rr w d n t t w d n t urss ryin tt ps us frmdpt it rytm.

ele nrs sncntd r tn tun ntp th nw nnu Ty prcd submssn t t pr n t ry pssb. Ty nw ut t nn- pym f ptn ts r cn nd ntn Ty s us ast d mn' cpty s n p t nri tt


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FIN E SILE D W ILLIU

wil make u men of th futue Time, then, i no longe th ppot of apomie whoe name wou be hitoy, poge o libeatio t whattake the pace of evey pomie It i the tuth an the lf hch mtpenetate into ou boie an o Thi, in hot, i the qiteence ofutuological cience Thi cience oe not, in actual fct, tach u much

about the futue. hoeve ea it wok to n out ha all be onein the futue will geneally be eft wantinig. Thi i becaue it aim i if

feent it i not to teach u about the futue, but to moul being ofthe futue Thi i why chool ytem efom alway conttue the coe

of the futuologica pomie School i the mythical pace w e it i poibl to fataize about an equacy between the poce o iniviuamatuation, the colective futue of a ociety an the honiou anuninteupte pog ion of ti In the way of get np nablmutation, Avin Tofle once nit in a ingula efom t the chooytem, which ugget that we ipene with the ol outi of t achigbock of liteatue, hitoy o math matic Fom now o, it ought toteach the age of ife chilhoo, aol c nc , matuity an l age Noonge wa it a matt i the o tyle, of a chool te' p pingpeople fo ife. It wa a matte of making thee latte n ibl withone anothe, in hot of foming being who ae nti o the timeBecaue the Time which i no longe uceptibe to ealize a utopia ha

itelf become the lat utopia ecaue the ealim which pten to ib

eate u fom utopia an it evi pell i itelf till utopi It pomiele, it tue But it oe not pomie oheise


24/170

2

CHAPTER OU

o d aci s , J 6

e e s be est c s

sc bes e e s cs s bc Ts c st e s se

ee . c scece s s

If, se te bes ee e -s s t s ee ss. e ts ss s este te tte edcb te ee

t, ee s eess t esee.

ces cs eb te ept s s

ee. ese e pee e e td bcdess Ad

e bcdess e te evtbe cseqeces te

s Tee s ecc d t itt sakig dt scts actvity d a ekeig th scil stat liket e Tese ie pputis thei tes theateed tsee egssve ad chaic beavius. The k scp gs t i tes eiges w tke klaces bd i tects a eceive all csi ts te pitica css.

e g these schems is easi ecgizae; the e tak l aist s he scieties tasf the edgee petit b-

es sss tigt d eist th ect bcsh e-v k that tis type f Maism has pcticl v e th fcia delg f ibeal states a t itelligetsis he s tis ppaet pad s siple. Tee s thig tht ibelis s cgeital ess t ustad t es hcht ac ds ca duce th mch bckas I thee is e


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COLD RACISM

thing, by contrast, that Marxist literatre broght to a poit o impass

able pe rection, i t is e xactly this : the analysis o th e historioeconomico

sociological reasons or which history always gives rise t omething

other than that which it shold

The advantage o such explanations by means o sociologcal and economic conditions is that they always work, regardless o the said condi-

tions And they work or a simple reason, which is that, at te end o the

day, they do no more than stae a pre tatology, namely tat the back

ward are backward This tatology has, above all, the meri o assring,

without any need even to make it explicit, its incontestale converse,

namely, that the advanced are advanced

There are two things that the advanced seem to have a prlem under-standing The rst is that there is no need to be socially treatened or

cltrally handicapped' to resent the other as an obstacle t enjoyment

and a threat to identity In lie o the specialists o political sience, it was

a psychoanalyst, acqes Lacan, who anonced, 20 years go, the new

racism to emerge within the very heart o a society that is completely

occpied with endless enjoyment The second is that, coversely, the

pleasre in speaking and in reasoning is also shared by the ocalled dis

empowered classes I racist statements have always prolierated in com

pany with the promises o nprecedented sexal perormaces in the

dilapidation o pblic toilets as well as in the modernity o nternet net-

works the reasn is becau se the y procure eqal pleasre And there is

no need to ssp ect the combination o socioeconomic misery and se xal

misery There is objective pleasure in playig with the ormlations that

serve to identiy the traits o the other as ridiclos, detesale or sim

ply inerior Above all, becase there is pleasre in playing ith wordsThe theory o the advanced is that the backward only se words in

weighing them down with a meaning which is that o thei needs, pas

sions, eats or rstrations In the racist tterance, accoring to ther

argment, there will necessarily be a brden o poplar or oplist pas

sions In short, it will be necessary to believe in this tterance and to

have great reasons or believing in it, i it is to nction Te advanced

seem not to perceive that the backward' are also daily the ddressees omessages political or publicity that play on one or other o the two

dominant registers o commnication: expert explanaton nd derision

And the backward' ollow very well In one respect, raciss speak like

experts: they speak their langage they say less and less tha Negroes are


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HCLES F CSESUAL TIMES

z p a h coc c-

ss c h h d ogs s

b bcs h s i cig cis.

a c h pl cb

ss bgs c hc cc-

. s pcc

b s-

s lss pc ojc ds

o b. s saas b p-

a s o sc. O h c

p scs b a cb p. cs p is o h c ac

s pc scs ih h s g

a ac h. pcs

s scp soc a p

bg b b g s b

b c. Ps sco a s

o s s go scos gs l b s a pdi o clc pssi d

b ss c pc. B h ddco s as. Ub d

pco c spl podc o nlcal o dc mo di-alized d cosl o ci passios os h a b- dap o h ig o scpicl adhsio and blig bli.

good ampl s poidd b h gowing xcss o gaiois ag -

s. Th coibio ha hs agmns mak is in a ss pl

ilc' cocid vro. Th wapons o gaioism wogd wiho objci d o appan passion b isi aca-

dcs who aail hmsls o h avoi hms o adancd

ng scpcism cocing h big wods in nd o dlaio jc-

io o globalizing iptaions and Manicha xplaaios. Th

dlad ha scnc had no aboos ha xminaion' was a lil bi

o big a wod a ha hings ndd o b xamd in dail o s i

h w po ad omd a singl chain o cass and cs. Andth asons o h sccss o hi agmns a simpl: owig o h

chs objc h simply giv a povocaiv om o h mods o hi-

i and h oms o bli gman o h domian gim o opinio.

I ivs paliams ha had o pass laws pohibiing popl om


27/170

OL ISM

enying the xt mination, ti i peciely becaue it a the ole otion by hich to poibit thi x mplay tanfomation of h omiantmoe of thinkg into antiSemitic povocation It i becae t ailybea an butte of avanc thinking i able at any ment to betanlat into it backwa' veionEnlight n clae, enlighten youelve' ai Flaubet hi i themot ifcult commanent to apply. o ill loo fo what he iaue of poeing? An why ubmit to xamination teoie thatwok in evey cae? Pehap, uite imply, o that we no lnge nee tomake them ok


28/170

CHA FIVE

The Las Enemy, Novmb

T

s b

s O s , s

s s ssss s s s s e g ss essee ee s ess

w a s Te s e ee ess e e s e ege s e eg

be s ee g e ee

pe beee e b b s

s e s Ae e sg e

ses g e b he me ndependence Dy A

e ee ee kg hs e p ses s b Is e bbs p e g s- sp p he se sk s me e se s The g b g pese e pp sgh ke I hs ss ps he spe ees e s se s s gee W s sg e ep q Ae ee pese ee eeheess s es s s pe-a s s egs s ge n hse es es e b

epe e egz ee s e e ses he ehb s.


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AS MY

n ort t catatrophe c nario involve a trange dicordance onte on ad t app a to al the moral value i wic a eople like tor cogiz t f to pon t of p ortrayng te ligty otdatd orayof a piot wo avig r glariz d i arital tat a for a oreffectve cobatant; on the oter it teace u that te of greatthreat common ideal of freedo and d mocracy acat d itt privat virtu can a for t be lv d te antti tore.

We can ten u tion t r lato between the moral irt goodfamily fater and a politica virt in wich te gt agai d ah co-pletely uperede all democratic d al. We recognize in it core tperitence of a binary l ogic trippe d o f it other. B efre te ali n it wate landing of the ed in Lo Angele or S an rancic ta awai dn toe tie te urene o f American victory wa tat f te vctoryof reedo and democracy over teir ortal n . e fougt orone f gn d to gt to nd out weter it a better t e d' rdead' . Sc we no onger rk being red te threat f death al tatr main o t ogan of t upree cobat can be tate ply: etter alive ta d ad.

e d dcton ogcal. N v rt t ctional logc give ot aingular ring againt t doinant to of conteporar plitical cience and toriograpy. att r ay tat te coap f the Sov empire wa trump of a d ocracy d ntv y r a of it d al in a world no ong r uj ct to a dvion b tw tw tile bloc.Victory over the totaltarian n y ad t r ign o d oacy and tereign o peace id ntical. An ntir pr tday coo o triographyidentie thi end o or c ntry' r voltionary cycl a end of telong cycle o r voltioary d mocracy tat gan with he nch R volution. e r volutonary pr t ion o r fod radically e comnity i deemed to hav ted d ocracy to t vod of idegy and violence of terror for a p iod ro wic we ave only j emerged.oday at te other nd of t long catatrope we are ab e o conn cwit te good tradition o d mocrac that of te rin oundingater tat i ith the reaonable d mocracy lib ral ad realt c bae pblc p ac o t e ex erce o f private vr ad t enter-pring pirt o individual.

Now thi i the exempla ry Americanne' tat t diur of thpreidentaviator hatter. t work to ruin the dfyg id tcatio of


30/170

C ES F CSESUAL TIMES

f ac s a b Caas

s a cs ha s h cos os

as a sas a o j bca effecs f

cc ac a cba a gs Te

s a cs f sa ca ss s as

sa f abs a

ont s f sca c caa s i s ff

f a af a b asab s

c s g b cc h g f f a

as s b s f sa c

s shs b T sas age s sas

s aes shs fse a ac s fac s h acbac baac c scs s a

a cas

a f asa ss a ss a

s a a scac a s a fac f aa

a s a cs f ga aa

f sas f s f ga fg s f o-

pca s ha ha f abs a hc as ac s b aa f hs bbs oe hea

f a cs f e as bg aas he o A p

e ee a s hea of se ea has aas ae

face f aoe peope aohe poca sse The Aeca of

epec Da as fo s o loge haee b a e ohe

ah sef B he sae oke howeer gg hs absole

e becoes pobeac

oe ece caasophe lm helps s o desa his I The s o fo a a of exraeresials ha he hea of cheica

wa beg eashe o Sa Fracisco comes I s fro a Aeica

ea a fore Glf ar heo js lie he prese IepeeeDy Te easo he aes he own hosage is ha he was o obaieies fo he fales of he soldiers he has los a Ameica oes

n a o ecogze is i sho o gai ecogo for he reali of

h i eal as Ths is pecisely a igh howeer ha o loger hasa cec The as ha he Gea Naio deaes are mere polce

aos g hch eveyoe is garaee a safe life The oly

e' wa s he oa wa agais absole eah As a good pari he

ree geeal es p recognizig his He reoces he mrderos


31/170

TH ST MY

entepie etine to pove th empiical exitence of ath e lethimelf be kille to pove that eath oe not exit All i el that enwell.

Thee i nevethele a tange game being playe hee bt eathconfonte an eath enie, between abolute fea an the clm con-

ence j ointly peente to u by the pecial effect of apocaly lm an

the oinay icou of govenment Accoing to Aittle, tageyha to puify the fea that it elicit, in oe to tanfom tobe of ien-

tication into the pleaue of knowlege an contain pai within the

play of theatical pace e may ak what exactly i yiele by thee

apocalype comeie with thei fea, at once gigantic an o eily iipate e may ak what i gain fom thee pomie to live u ofempiical eath t th pice of a total mobilization againt imaginayeath Do they not l a u to eek ot imaginay culpit t lame fo thetheat that, pomie o no pomie, continue to weigh up evey life

Thi aboute othe th alien, eath which alone i authize to givface to the enem i thi ot h on that, at the hou of te geat poclaime emocatic peace, come mo poaically tan in f thi guo cloe to the oth

the p ntativ

of the othe ace, of te i con-cilable ethnicity o of the malecent eigion that impeil o ientityan ou uvival


32/170

2

CHAER SIX

The Grounded Plane, y 7

e ee s ee e ee e

s e s s e i i e s e s s e e/s ee e e s b e Cs s i e J . s e siee e e be se e ee Se sei ese e ei es e e ei e eess e

e D Cebeg i e e es ie

ges e ybizis s e ge e

is ges s e e ess eqe eizi e eis

e e e e

d ee is e e based e ks ig he s esis hh ies ig -sees bee e hg kig he images d iuig h b ei seqee ses s e hus s ih s siges s e ge A yug w ey di by ipeis desie es a . Se e e sge us bes e b esses i estiay gis he e h ii b gis h hi bdyby es t esk ies i he iae ig Mehi es behid i i he y es i sh heyg s hii eyme is hu aiy A hes ed e see he se yug wa he embke

y yig besie he veued a ad igig he usis


33/170

HE RE PLANE

to make loe with h r husand or privieged companin o hadamused imself by forcing h er car off the road.

The m, n short mig be d scrib d as t stor of a aiator hor nounc s ying. er eing in the hanger, then a to d wit herpreparation fr her piot's licence undoubtedly for te eporia of

cuting through the skies with the dream machine. But n te mean

hie, er cpanion initiates her into someting tat imself haslearnt there is a totally ther way to make o ith mahies an touse them fo the fulment of one's desire. r rabl to te njoy ntof the beautifu plane cuttg through te sk is t car hedlng on theencounter with another the car which causes blood to o, reaks the

limbs gashes the skin with scars coers the body ih postheses butas o, and above all, the car that one dents smashes up, lips e, dests,

sets in lames

So migt say that t point to which tal of Crs brings LS s thelatest episode the nale of th great opera of te eddi f a andmach . In d for the oale of this sulphurous m hi is gienin its last iage could be consid r the strict counerpat f antena image a literary image that in fac marks this aetue's beginning. At the end of his I after te cndctr and hischauffeur ave killed each ot r, ending a ong ta of esies jeaousiesand murderus foy Eil Zoa describes t deserted lootive as itcontinues an along its impacably straight line driing, n spite of itscrushed cims, humaity towards its future. T crime o the m ssof its he ro Jacues antier was p rhaps to have preferred te njoym nof the femiie lesh and of human bood to the faitfu le of temachine. The conversely in t 92 0s, there emerge t geat utopiaof machines hich, harmonizing the aspiraions of cin mtograpic atwith the grad enterprise o constructing ew an a d t o r athe sham f n ss of the t humain ' in favour of a uaity isin harmony ith the faithfl precision of the machine. In e face o f themachine we ae ashamed of man's inabiity', said Dziga et, to con

trol himself' i contrasting the unerring ays of electrici' to the dis

ordery hast of active people and the corrupting iera f passiveones'

The obstincy of the heroes of Crs not seeing i eles anygbut machines b which to pro duc e accidents for the purpse f procur-

ing njoym t stag s the revenge of man's disorderliness d c orruptig2


34/170

22

ROCLS O COSSUL TIS

lness S , where sm se a lbrat n th utr st gur man

ydd wth the ahne, r tr s t qidatin o th sulartia th l Nw Man ad th da mah. Ultim ly,h ws s h t th oly mahin that a sta y th urs s thl an x a an, whih turns etal l mahnes and tr

erc , a nd wih, n r dr t attan its ga , uld d j ust as

wtht he y ntn tsel as te ul wh've astrd

h a hws us t nju r thm in wrds. n at, al thes sens

rrr ad autmbil gasms m ght sm ly b stes that the u-

l eah thr n bed ad d se to tr esur

hs way, ths lm uturst rnt apars rsnt s a

rdy ad aradxal vrsin the gran d the th nd elestali and th rtrn t te simle and sl d s tis tns t t a y es n hn i t all s ut lv wit tpas. t s a n s t way nd we bak u a entury, w an as s n h e anhe sn: te sen unn btwen the bslue y e e enymnt ru red by thers t rtred dy, s ed y d Sade in th era th rnh Rvltin Not s ng n a n ar le t t d K n with Sade , Jau s aan ndavourd h hw th abslutss th Sad an mp atv rgardng th ot h-

r smss t y nj oymnt was t h tu t b at te

nontoalty o th Kantan law ad moral mprativ vrthng

trasrs as togh t lm vts th dmosrao Lts lok, or

xpl, at th two mal aratrs who go to th ar ak o mak

lo a ar Thy appa as to ug t ha v om o ul th du y:

ty d by t sp, T oth trosal o homo

a ombatos havng l ad b a std, i t is ow hir tuno av a go This thy do wtho t ppa tusa sm a d who ay

bos tst o bhal o h dto, who us ti os shot.h raso o ths s tat th toa ut s mtly a moa o: nstio o ua l gt o ostab hto o r homosu lop to a oymt i ssoiato wt mah. T S anga o pmuatios has bom a ott o galz noyman t voln o whih t st o S s psl stt thtions o m a ma h w pas a so o p s abs ony apprs to prv whh h jot that o srs ooba rom t oth s ms, t oaso, to b mth a b

tht whh th oth dss to ob om .


35/170

TE GUNDED PLAE

In rusing t hav his lm lablld prngraphic, Crbrg cn

trasts ths s scns t th standard cinma tals lv a sdu ctin,

which h claims ar undamntally rap scns Lv stris w might

answr, d in act shar a cmmn atur with Sada cruly, which is

that thy ar always basd upn an inquality btwn tw sirs Th

prsuppsiin th prngraphic scn, y cntrast, is ta yu d t

th thr what h hr wants yu t d Prngraphy ths illusrats,

in is wn way, th libral vrsin th scial cntract Ti is why is

visual mpir dvlps alng wih th rhythm dvlpnt cn

snsual nlibralism his is prcisly what th nal squc givs us

t s and har : Ar y u alright? ' asks th hr his cmpnin, wh s

car h has jus t pushd vr h railing and wh h nds agai lying cn-cussd n th sid th rad undrnath I'm alright' sh rspnds,

which is t b undrstd nt as an prssin hr phyicl stat but

as an invitatin, saying: yu can g r it I als dsir wha u dsir

In this way, all vilc is rducd t th cntract, and all th pwr

th machin t human dsir In th nd, thn, th lm prsts us with

th cuntrutpia th brave ew worl, a rathr ttin parabl rprvailing nins abut h nd utpias'

23


36/170

2

Dalectc n the Dalectc, Ags 997

y r to come t gis ith Adoo's a Horkhime's

alck d Aulng?! ts rilliace seems o hae faded tice oer ai im i a of a star of e csl la io i rremialy disaced i

a call Marxism; a secod ti me o the corary as he roo-

y hackey y is coies of he do ubl discorse hat is ar of the

ai egi i ic e lie: he citique f the ttalitaria ism of m rao ha oies h lieral goemeal order ith

it itlecal croig pit; and he critiq f the culue industry

t fes the aguely ctstatr dsires f inctual pinin

rspect in fact hi s bk seems t be pat f t ft atemted

or f tarin arxism s a tinin f ancipai aa frm

t easn of te Enlitnnt; w f critique f th rliin

t t ss riin arthbnd ft csin i f t s; awa frm

ait in scinc tat cs is spiit t a tcnica st f ter; ad awa f a pssis visi f ist subdints

t ptntia fr ncipain t t ncssitis f t ist f m

itn. aism in n ss i s pptl istd v

nt f tain wa; it bis wit t ain ciiqu f t

atins twn u its n ic f capitism t cninu s

th recnt pic ins t viis p ils wic n

istats as c s Li Bji Gsci t is nifs ncn in t 960s wi ssi pic ains t wfdt f cnis jiic is

tis intib i w nib as tcs f t cn

twn t pilspis f ist witi ic ist


37/170

DILTI I E DILTI

an poitics unfole. Th mncipatoy conence of te Elignment has pehps only eve existe in the witings of Coocet n few othes. An the Maxist i tication between scientic t oy aa pactice of emancipatio soon an into a twofol egtion. On teone han Schopenhaueian pessimism o th theoies f ecaenceivete the ssetions of pogessivism by accusing the tionalist pe

tension to wowi mastey an human libeation of an iginal sin oillusion. O the othe scientism with Spence Renan an any otheslinke evolutionist philosophy to the theme of selection of th best an

the govenment of expets ove the masses boun to sevitue. The Nietzsch an citique of civilization is situate at th exct inteseion of thesetwo taitions. An by the s token it entetains a comp elation tothe Maist citiqu of ieologies: it assists it in its effects o at the piceof unemiing its pinciples An the consequences of this an be seei the agument of the ilecik der Aulrung hat the ltt poposes

by way of a citicism of Maxist eason is a nw vesion of te oigin snof Geek ationality accoing to Nietzsche. In epuiating tgic wisomSocates fult becomes that of lysses' esisting the songs of the sies.

The fault howev is the same an esies in the Apoloin hubis ofthe knowege that wants to foget its Dioysiac sie the saowsietat links it to the mythical wol an the obscue foces o ife.Aono okheime of couse lik thei nuciaion of tht

oiginal si to the citique of socil omination: thei lss oes ot

simply gua himself against the Dionysic songs of the Sies n pug-

ging the sailos' eas in oliging them to seve his own eunciation of

ejoymet he ienties the success of the common atioal unetk-

ing with the capitalist aw of omntion. e is theefoe stcty oppos to Nietzsche's pl b ia Soct s. But this gap is me gaist the backgoun of commo p supposition: that of a gan histoial estiny ofesten eson constu as the ccomplishment of a oigil sin. Assuc thei citique of capitalist eason o of the cultue iust tusapeas much clos than it woul like to te othe get tsfomionof the Nietschzen pial scene the one eveope by th phosop that Aono iles with his sacasms it appes s the l fst joineto the eieggein citique of westen m tphysics a its acomplish-met in the technologica omination of the wol. T s in shot ialectic of the ialectic of eason. t stives to accomplish t inteminale task of Maxist citique: to cut at last the ubiical co linkig te

25


38/170

26

HOICLS O COSSUL TIMS

ses evoltonay emanatn t the dangers o Enlghten-ent reason. It endeavours to ontr st the perverted, strumental andeatng easn o domn ton wth an a the nti reaso n, wth a ela - ntmay etween easn a n d the l ved wold whh velos nt

a wer eanpaton ut ths beakthgh els t towards

her que the En lghte nment , a tq e that asts th hsty ten ean an o ts pse o eanatn as the eves

ent o a rary l lusn

hs d et n the dalet' on d t he mel anhl veso n o Max- r ue. ut t aso gves t a n mbgou s estny. ts t qe o the

a n ustry was then seeded y the Statonst tqe the

ae ' anthe gand, mel nh dsorse on the unom om- catn o the wol d . th ha ve beome omnlas th t d s -e eysters' whh amanes eah anestatn the

ua ndsty r the sety th e setale' sh an ex t n hat t ees he atte' lgaty d e [douue] the d su s h leve' whh ths ndusty's stupdty needs ts peretuatnhs dalet enters n the strange desny what an e al led ost-axs. Decl e ead wth the olapse o the Sovet system, Marxsmwa, y the same token, l erated o all sorts o osthmos ses Ont h one hand, oal Maxs was aed uon to d o dty or neo l beal

oits, to whh t lent th e theoy o eno m eessty and that o th e

ictbe eton o histoal transormatios on the othe, rtal

axsm lent ts dsenante vso to those ontestatos o tra

omodtes whh aompay te eveopent wle stne -

y mntag eatve dsouses w outerpose rts autet-

t to the oms o its ompose wth t e altos o state nd thehats o ltre.

n, sreeog, the Dilecic of Reson eoes adv ne nys h us e o t s rtque I t sows tt r t or t e uthent ltre t t oneis to be upodg gst te u t ur d stry stem ro te s mernpe Te dson betwee nobe rt d te ltr ndstry s eirto he st divson symbolze by te gest re o ysses . I n eogt enoyet pomised by te sog o te Sres, e resres or se the pvege o herg oy te sog o prose a o pe tt e

a probted hs salors ro joyg. Cvlze b rb rs epes oti st elsion Ad ere oe eels te prooud ot tat seprtes

doo ad ohemer rom te ty o tose weepers wo


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ALCC IALCTC

p rodcally wallow about a's unao n cultural commre and potcs Ts proound mot oes fur r ba c ta te arxst crtqu ofetssm or d nuncato o borg os ' nlgt nm t tougtTrou te nt rm dary of Hod ra po try, t aks to tat wcs wtout a dout t rtal odg xt o te mode tot ofmancpaton, r drc o Scll r's Ue e ete Ezieung eMee2 To te stabls so ca so between te baarsm o teclzato o te Geat and poplar saagery, S cller coueose s tatcance at common umanty at r coclato n te sesory world consttuted y b auty T r sstat orce o te Dialekik e Aujlugtat orce wc s parat s ts d nucaton om all t cntemporarycommonplaces, les n ts r usal to y l on tat nam tal aestetcpromse, on that orzon o a common sensble maty t also les te ery radcalzaton o te teme o te promse Te romantc r ad rso Scller made o art's beautul totalty te preguato t feecommnty For Adorno and orkemer, on t contary, art only pep tat s te promse at te prce o breakng t, o nscb n tsel tesustaned wound, te unresoled contadcton o evey trsgurato

o ealty nto a beautul aestetc appearance Ts s t radcaltywc provdes te denuncaton o cutural baalty wt ts oce ofager Te problem s not tat ts banalty brngs art ow t te leve

o te masses' Te prob m s tat t s a mac o sat all tneeds, ncudn eleated' oes, wc depres art o s foc o ecep-ton, and teeore o ts potental or macpaton

Ts small derence s ss tal e s e e sltan osly at w ak st Te act s not tat Aorno's an Hork r's arsm s too tat wt utopansm t s act mss t same tat elst' forms ofMarxsm are mssn: a poltl concepton o macpaton

27


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2

G

Voae to the Cuntr of the Lat Soo ot,

ovember 997

Tristes ropqus' egis it a capte titled: La n d voyag. ut y

cy ae ee aels eded and hy is ail te iileged lace

o e ei cai of a ed? Tese t que stios pesupose aote:

at doe i ea ael if e ae t u nde stad y tis ot simly a

ilaceet f dis ut an ad e tue f te mid?

o udestad it let us pa use fo a mment a ale f tael ug

i that is much ld and uc lss psh tha LviS tuss ' n

i Mmo d un nfan d la Savo,2 pls b th auh i n Pais in

laud Gnu , fm chy swp u pn , tl ls

s f his as f ancy a n pac f s vag azi in

. st ut f t cc, l ls us t yg u i h

sill pt nfm h ha la as w flcs S ugh g l f nsp h

t sid f th nc W s cs sl, vs ccusacs

and hm n h cu a h ls u s th s na

main chaacts a c a vs s tavlg cpani,

a cnstct ha s v , nd ac slv h

a f Ppaga th f g f n fica w vs

gnst h njusc f t fazndo sscs s mass f is hngd G s la s ps pvs ccs f

ns mian cc f cn wc pc

ini an a l pss cs w as f sav a

cpa pusmnt


41/170

VG G

G noux's ale presents us w e classcal gures of rave sorWa we scov r, to star wt s ta te oter count really o s mb t otherness, ta e story descrbes precsey e anma aman menagere an vegetal props cognzabl by hse wo an r been here an n v r wl h topcal advenres a G our cons could have been nv n even f h 'd neve lef urope. none ndeed begns to suspect that p raps not acally v leavehe prncple of he quval nc w r by camans, boas a aos l nsupport o h r own guraon s n ts lf smple: he map the woronly ever presents he ravelr wth h stages of hman's deveop- nt e errory of Brazl s a map of m e Arca/Afca

ncoun r arbtrated by te Erop a s o of manty as w fur Bere h panted canvass of ropcal fores, e ung Savo-ar and old kngbecome slave communcat n the lauage o eunversal st And ts language s asly redcble to at rang r-ary language whc only exsts n scoo exs an h pre of aodacts: Whe man, you are te rs of yor colour wo as ow mself or ather who has shown ms lf to be bg nog lower -self o elp a po or Negro C an teat e colour hat a n gav yoas a crme? N r, thnk, was suc a dscorse prononcd by a Wan n presence of a Black an 'n d ntfng hmself wh e langag of t un rsa mn, slerary anguag , whc no one as eer spo n, anns te sc pcsta traeller draws from s xp r c e rac s e l o f a f ra te n f wch he New ol wl n p pr cs y be n wt te tetory of a new umay wc has accomls d s mactowards clzaton and tha wll nd tself governed by a rer wcwl be the recapulaon of ts progre. s ope of a co y goened by he law of an ordere past was, n Genoux's e, o c fa young scence whch Auguste Comte formulaed an m D k aug to the masers o LviStrauss s scence, wc s o han ascence, cossts th dea of a socey hat transforms t scece nb l fs and common rtals s called socology av lng o Braz ans rav lng to te country o socologys s h voyag ha he Brazlan orn y of rte que rgso s d he tracng back of te m whch goes o ars o Saao ad from Sao aulo to e Rondon lne s t pat wcsocoogy's m ang s nverted s s e saness' of opcs

2


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3

HCES SESUA TIES

iarkig at Satos, LviStauss oud have surey been aare of

t famus phrase f a enh esdent: Baz l alays be a and

of e future nd e, to, oud as have desibed, ithut leavngaris, e tropial avenues and vllas of Ro simar i settg to tesie statios of 860s Fa e he heds f at e grazing n mid Sao

ao, t e e ad istatly age d buildi gs, r e deade aristray

raerak a te Automobile Club s tis tpial dr ta

s te plae of eoux s aim a a nd bo as The fture of vlizatio is

a ady more h a the mtaion f ts past Bu a seius sequee

os from this: if azis future s in the pas, te same hds f the

of silogy

is is sh aleady in the sogal minuet aried ut by e soiety hih surruded the young eh pofessrs of Sao

a Uiversity, and i hih eah soogia speies is rereseted y

a q seime : te ommu is ad t he atholi, te aig dog am a-

a e a mateur oder aint er, the oal udite ad th e surealist

a is this miiatuized soal od, if nt te ariature of the

soogial priipe of a rgan sety nsttuted by eldffereti -

a futios? The geat sloal faith frm hih he hey of rgress dre a seond nd, nam ey tha hh as give a sul t o

t e reasnabe epubls, s ade t by the Brazan m

ssiiusy as f it is ny a ae f s iey

d yet, sgy is n an sn B t enune it ne ms

ve tards the ea tertes f se ndans h, adng t the

aser f Lvi Sauss, peped he wng ass areas f S a Pal and,

acrdin t hs Paust nes, a ng se dsapeaed f

te razan s On te se f e Paagay nea he ndnl the etngst a as nds sy n a he Cadves fae

ating e tpgapy f the B vage ary ut te sae ne

ca grae: t nvent a a e w ses ts ns

naue ese savaes ae eae ssts an even Du

im Cmte Tey fee js as eane f at wh

a ssiates he eases f se w e vay f peatn as ta se

f hat anng h ses e eea eaty f s des e naral trats f e fae

t the slun t s nellea be s als e sn a

litcal ne: te ple se f e vae an e v

p f ses n te fae anng f e C aves inegates nt a sae


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V TO OUT TH SIITS

tructure the two contraictory eement of their ocial ganizatio:euaity, expree in ymm try, an the aymmetrica ribution ofthree hierarchize cae Socioogy wa born in nin ttc ntururope for pr ci y thi n to coape into a ingle truure the hier-arch neceary to the ife of the ocia boy an t euay aime bthe man o emocratic time; to make thi tructure the rinciple of a

faith an a ritua by which the member of a ociety manift, in a half

conciou hafunconciou way, the principe of their oia coheion

Far from xoticim, the funerary ritua of the Bororo raiz the iea ofthe poitivit Repubic, namey that which inpire the coemoration

of the Thir French Repubic

So Brazi reay i the an of ocioogy Ony, it i among t popuation in te proce of na extermination, repree to t furt tepth of it territory The etnoogit compicity wit t avag viion of te wor, ten, i more than a character trait o rincipl ofmetho It i a oiarity with the lat authentic ervant of ocoog.The ow eath of the Nambikwara i not ony the at pi of cviliz-ing conut ith them wil ie not o much the at avae a th lattrue ociolgit An thi Nambikwara eaer who eize a imacruof writing conceive uniuey a a mean of power, anticpat the eath

of thi at true ocioogy e make of it a imuacra ilar to thocioogical minuet' of the Pauit eite

That i t na eon of the Braziian voyage, that i o te ethnolo-git' return to the ocioogica continent owever, te mbikwara i

not the at people o be viite by the author of rises rqes epart

ing rom cientic metho, he eize the occaion to enjo a tay of eth-noogica truancy among t piKawahi There, he ai e wa reallable to pay Robinon ruoe an enter into a relation wit th avag which the abence of an int rp t r eft in it mute virgity. R turn ofethnoogica cience to th goo Roueauit avage? Or overy tatthe eriou ocioogica cience wa no le utopian tan t reverie o

the goo avage?


44/170

CHAPER NNE

Justice i n th e Past, Aprl 8

6 , l rane seems have en ed y a sngle : al Ma e an, me n nay e renh sae

all an, s ly, eteen an , n e Jh e, en and dren gne ssng n he da

J al l have eslted n a sme nrntatn On ne

d, ela ve e ee re dema nd ng aa ns r the rmeeeraed agan s r kn O n th oth r, sd a un tona ry h had

l l led s re a s untay t ol aboratons stat ht n nr

ens o an xess o zal H sg d t a rrst ad deorta n ar-

rs tat ll nd hs authorty, wtout orryg rsonaly ther

a g nzng th sar o Jws or about dng o th at o thdeed. sntn o 1 0 yars rso was add dow to satonhs ndna b a d larly dmarat rsposblty

wvr ths s wr t smplty o tgs sta rts to g t zzy. Wh t rlato o ommsr blty btw th 10 yars rsoosd, 55 y s atr th ts, o a ma ow 8 yars o ag d thatyrdom o thos who wr ss ssat n mss t dath ams?n why dd a tr l that old ot rslt ay vrdt proorto l tot rogdogs o vd l volvd a a ss rm ta on sha morta?

s a o rorton sows rst o al l t sgla r uto t t tstn o t judary as toay vry polta mattr o rgts orrg, o ju st o r o j st, t as t om o a tral odtd aral or magnary ourt o law At t sam tm tat t Fr w

al ormd o t ao trl's oldg ty ould bold al l


45/170

JUST TE PAS

bookstore winows, the n d con, whic eatred a

avertisin seeve anoucin: on dad Some ha questioned

the ures: how are we o count he victims of the Chines amines ad

must they be counte as victims of communism for the sa reasons as

those who were shot or who ied in the camps? But tis is ot the eartof the probem he fuction of ures is more ea t statistica.

From Voi2 to Sozhenisyn there has been no ack of peo to discose

the crimes of communist reimes. But they i so i ater poitica

mode. Tey estied as victims of communism, enouni it i te

name of aother poitica iea, whether anarchism, te vitabe' co-

munism or the restoration of the o monarchic ad riious orde.

oay somethi ese is at stake : the number of eats is itied wita court of history whose ecision has been made, tat hs deivered a

verdict no oer on a reime but on an ieooy, that is, imatey, o

a time wen one beieved in ieooi es . e court of history, i sum, has

sete the accout between the present an another time: tat of Vi

an of Soheitsyn as much as of Lenin or Stain in shot, te time f

poitics.

t cou be said, i he same way, hat the Papon tria ivoves a set-

tin of accous between the French peope an the Fren Vichy state

and its participation in he Nazi undertakin of exterition. e tria

of an iiviua thereby aso becomes the tria o the past t ets identi

e with a court of history, chared with statin a trut hat wod

simuaeosy permit a statement of coective uit an eeate this

uit o he past, at ast drawin a ine between this pas and s.

years of prison mete out to a unctinary of the Frec state decares

once an for a, he ui of that state as such. his setee simtane-ousy marks the istance which for us makes it a pure ojt of jde-

ment. But tis equivaence is ineed miseain. o transfo te tria f

a fuctioary ito the ria of his sate is a contraictory thin: it is t

accuse hi at once for what he i as a functionary f is sate, wic

is uity as a whoe, and for what he i not o, as an inivida dis -

obey the state whose functionary he was.

A funcionary, by enition, serves the state. Maurice apon servedthe coaorationist stae . After this he served the Repbic f Genera d

Gaue . h state abhors a voi an the Gauist Repubic tok s ervants f

state from wherever it cou n them: from amon te sants of th

French stae that had simpy served the sate in ee witot a

33


46/170

CCES CSSUAL IMS

e of i i a /ea ereuo a urce Pao becae a exemparys f te renc Reubc notby ectg te epressn f nia eoraio in Octbe 1 96 1 u rng wic eary two un-r onsraors wre ean to eat n w te ee.

i a er stae crie as o impcte i t e ti I i was onet- eferre o urig roceig it was n e framework of tis sigi i a sy ogi ice e comi e s cime of our Reuican statec oboy ream of prosectng e my we e cmitte teotr crie of e cabast stte e fct at e as ways beena stae sera roes s genera inbiiy nt to sere te stte

ce is impicn n te crme of te stae e sere i 92.

g e to bei ee t te tr bugt ags aon is te tr of a i gee ra a of se w cn ot bng tesees t isobey

i n as te cour of sty n mposing 1 0 ears of riso ecie

o o r ig o sobeence wse egiacy is te cross ofi a iosoers? s wu e bee ue srage f we bear ii wa aee a Pari ia rpo o te e y se y s eei so aengers o ig from Prs o Bko refuse tkei ger wi cesine wkers tt e ec Itero nstry forcib seig bc t te cuntr e inster unceeiae is ineti t r ecute tese recct t psseges fouc to te circutio rc .

is tefre qute unie at te curts eict ame t ensn-i e gt t sbey e cnctn f te er ftu stte se- t refes nste t te bgatn t sbe n te pst: t n n tere e cntet f te Vc stte but n te wen tee ws sense beng sbeng It ss t us tt b c n tse te t be t sbe was ec n f nus t ses us n u bc tea ance f te estentst epc n tse tes Srte cu sttehe enence tt nce ecte s uc scn n cn: Neve vewe ee fee tn un e te en ccuptn t ws tme f cm-tent n e pn bit: e wc ec wu cse f a espnsbe f evetg n nt evee e cunctbeee te cuts cvct (n te pst te nte Mn ttt (n te pesent eegte t te t ts p ce n te pst. t be sbe te stte s n nge pbe t becuse tet s egtmte but e pun becuse t cs n nge t

t anting t be n e tn te u be eecut f n pe na


47/170

JUSC PAS

n c ssty What sense wold there be in disobeyin a state that does notcommand anythin and only obeys the circlation of os? n Plato'stimes, t sophist ntiphon contrasted the j stice of natr t tat of telaw accordin to t folown simpe principe one who ifines ponthe law sal be pnis d ony if seen. oweve, one w oes aainsnatre wi e sj ct to pnshm nt evey tie. is is the oic taor states ave aopt d fo t s v s tey te s that th a-tions simply confom to the natra aws of the qiliratd ccatioof weath and popations. h travellers on that day wo did not wantto o to Bamako were ade ity, in relation to the Fc stat , of aebellon tat is n ith or nor ss than an ostrctio o t circla-tion of aircraft .

This is how h settlin of acconts wit the past poceds Dso dience has ad its day na ly the time when individals sto n oposi-tion to the wills of other individas or o f states, the time f poltcs andof ooi s. he j stice system salt s this time an ts s o that itis past In soe ways, the v rdict of the Pap on tia is a fa titeto existentialis.

5


48/170

6

The C of t o a Ci of Thou ht?

Jy 998

n g eae of o o h ch th k g Fra ce' s oblged t

b se he cr s f at ures rmely . he tel lectal

a o ocato s o se t he e f debates bout the

gr roe o oce y a rely mss a ch a ce to ake st ck of the css

i s o So year ago Ep a gan f Chst iasocial

ereec al sm lauched plmic aans the yhg

oe e ha oay h th cmpl ic i y f the fuct ar es of

cle s ag museum s a d l ls . L Dba n a f hd

l ralism rctly estd tew mch up: a Cl

a eract f te vat in hs La Rponbl d [a

e d wi Pilipp Dn whs b tild La Han d [ a

acks th tctrs f cmpa . vs chud aut f

a C d [ a t conpoan s f fus i nvlv n sde ee w ppl e b tnsli n t ci ss ' in s f sc i

l vl i i ch ss cc nd ulculul ism

lda t eacl bu upis f . Wil f lft

dail nwspp Libaion f twin junl Ka a ul la rd ps ni bl fin f 's f l null

n ld he l l i s .

an b ssu md h is s w f plcs nlns dh bu flln usns: n w s cisis f cn

ss bv ll w cl is n f bn us f

t? Sc his spc ns f siiz ss.

n h s cupl sph Bu sn Wl s cks


49/170

H ISIS O A O A IS O THOUGHT?

the set f rrets whih r P Art t eal art a


50/170

3

CHRONICLS O COSNSUAL TIMS

r n r, h nlusn t d rawn s nt vus uld na b sad that tday ths utpa h as m t trm Th aythg gsat ud s dri wuld sp th d f th tatrshp of th avat-

s and pn ont th pau oxs tn sp t th form s f ad ar and a ultc lta ty Ths , rughly spakng, th

U dvl in vs Mhad k Bu ths utiultual

y nn adly appals t h nams f th nw rnh d-

. r th, t s nt th smpl multtural nsnsus tha ust b

cunrpsed t th ankrupty f u pias, ut th rnwd maning an and natnal valus S, a t ly fashn th a l mattn th nlghtnd Kantan spltas aganst th dark Hrd-

an a th sl an d th rign ms rlayd thru anthra : ha psn h ata harms f th Frnh rpban un -

th rcan ultltural dsrt Th banruty ntpr-

y nh a sss, thn, n ts sumissn h ash dk s ar ra s sh, Ja n Cl a r tras h trup th a l vr'

aa an xrssns slvdnt aus: th

t d [ th l t Ara n la ndsap, a ggant suurb un -l y u t thr ugh by str ight hghways n ppstn t ths highwaydsr stands th harming ags and sukn lans of th Frnh

ntrysid whih ths wrtrs frm Normad utry, Maupassant

a laubrt, a r th pairs

th truth is tod, thr atually ar a fw moutais th

Und Stas ( lloqui um was v orgaiz y a Motana Uivrsty a fw yars ak hopig to mak a au drilar oi this tail )

No d rh highways mar hrough wh at ds ay mor hatir Amrian ousis Ad Fl urt, for hs part, hat hat Fr n oft bags, prfrrig aov al l ls th mptiss of th srts of thas Bu h ioogy of rstt has its rasos, a ars as itta th ralit of f ts as h ohr of is argumtatio

r is, howvr, a logi to th oprtio hat tr sforms h writr vory towr io th ovig paitr of his viag Thr is, i

, a siguar t th t haratrizs al h isourss aou rsisor d of art A togthr, th o spa, r th am of art, ofp tg or of that whih has a its pa a Cl air who ramatizsth tists rsposiiity, wo hav o ot fo or oviigargms for so doig i th works of writrs msiias a irtorst paitig, whos powrs of ss moiizatio ar ar from


51/170

E C RS S O AR OR A CRS HOU ?

obious N ith does Yes Michaud who d damaiz s te cisis of atseem to k tat at xt nds beyond museums and galies Yet cin-ema and danc gladly boast of thei good health Contempay sc istending to leae is ghetto and encounte othe foms f music Andeen when they engende ennui a ae those who acce contempoay composes of n g cting thei wok obody speaks o cisis of liteatue' een if few liing wites pooke wild enthusias Why thenconsd a at in g n al is in cisis if upon enteing the gal y to seepaintings one instead nds piles of old cothes stacks of l iso setso pigs cu in half? And een if it wee possible to tax the ttaity of con-tempoay painting wih being nul and oid why woul the momentay eclipse of one at among ohes spel the nal caastoh of at?

The eason is Jean Clai tells us the painted image has a powe that

cannot be achieed by any othe aesthetic gene Why exctly? cuspainting' i these discourses d signat s ytng othe than a t itis a sot of ontologica eelation o pimay mystique intig isconceied as an oiginay sacament of he isile in which diinity oBeing appeas in its gloy do not look at the canass as thing' saidMeleauonty my gaze wandes in it as in the aueoe f eing' Thepainte's allconsuming ision accoding o him opens ot a textue

of Being' that the eye inhabits as man do s his ous ' e udestandasily nough that the y do s not discoe tis house of an which isalso th w lling of god in amien ist's disseced anims Thee is awho swat of he mystiqu of he isibe' tat is fuele y this phe-nomenological esion of he Chistian tansubstantiatio nd at the

end of the road the post S iuationist citique of the spectcula' comes

in Baudilad to communion in tha nostagia of lost pese and concealed incanaion The accusation eelled against the oatic dnizaion' o f at iself equ ies this eligion of the isible to whic it gies thename of painting At goes as it can ut the thinking of t sotsayesas fo it is ot going ey well


52/170

4

L

I C i nema to B a me? Mach 1 99

H J R Be ing is lm vt b e ii te co i ct w ci a a oe geneal y a rt ca a cao sw o te

N a ! i e x t e r m n a t o n . Te i lms ic io g ie a Jwis at woIl


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C N A O BLAME?

having led these images of having ignor d th camps n gl ctng toseek out its images and of failing to recognize that in its wn ctions ithad announc d the wor of d ath According to the former c ma failsin the consideration of horror caus of the image; accoring to the lat -ter it fails for not having had images of it Clearl these t contradict-or versions of glt involve two iff r nt ideas of the relion etweenart and the image two ideas of art which are based i the last resort ontwo th olog s of the image

We can surel grant Grard Wajcman tat odard's stio stemsfrom somethng entirel iff r nt than a d f c of the rigt to h free-dom of images It stems from a conception of cinema tat is properl

speaking iconic which odard illustrates at length in sto(s) d cIn the latter odard sas that cine ma is neither an art nor technique

it is a mster This mster' is nothing oth r than the incartionCinema is not an art of cto the cin matographic image s ot a copnot a simulacrum It is the mprint of the tru smilar t he ag ofCrist on eronica's V l The image is an att sttion of trth cs itis the ver mark of a presence B caus there were cams there wereimages of it C nema was guilt for lacking them And those who want toproscrie the images of the horror smultaneousl refuse estimon of it

This argument can be read the other wa around: there must e img sof the camps so that the trut of the image cn be attested nd the rt ofcinematograph devoted to its worship

All the same is the cond mnation of this cut of the iage ntr lclear? It asserts the unit of an aesthetic viewpoint: whoer wants to

mak e images of the unrepresentable horro r will e pu ishe for t b the

aesthetic mediocrit of the product But what exactl does it mea tomk images'? Both Lanzmann and Benigni in Shoh and L t bll,respectivel make moving images What differs is the funcio of t simages the end that th pursu and the wa n which te lmmk rarranges them to ordain th m to that end Lanzmann itens to attest therealit of a process on the basis of the ver programmed dispearace of

its traces The image then cannot reproduce what has dsappeared I

must do something else ind d two things simultan osl: both showthe effacing of the traces and give the loor to wit ss s an histors tor costitut with words th ogic of the dispp aranc accplis d onthe ground show the ogic of the xt rmination and of its cnc alm To this en in subordinating images to the words whic make them

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C HNCLS OF CNSNSAL S

eak Lanzmann r iscov rs h araox sa urke more an wc ri s ago when he conrase e pwrs per s aing: wors ar alwas or arria an iages r ranslaing al- sulimi or orr r whi c excee s easure Mr aro

riae rcisely ecause e spare u s rm aving o s wha h. To s ow' e horrr o he nal j u rne owars eah he ana

y o e marci orers a he col explanaion o he workings o

grou icous gra e Rcsb will awas e suerir racme o h human er' eing le e aair or woS ha are onl cnraicor in apearance ecause hey give ae exac represenaion o o ea by leaving wih less

o s an picure o he su ering is vicims so La zmann 's ine nio n m an ds a cera i e o ar a cera in

o icion' ha is o sa oganizaion wors an images O

CO Higi's inenion is all iere Wih ega r o e ext erma io no concrne o si o r o gae anying He akesit as a siio suiale or ringing he consiuiv lgi c o is characeo s oi o aroxys The woe m is in ac consruc a round aso given he ailiy o one characer erom a permanen miraclea ransgure ever raliy is jus as incaal ening e

raliy o e camps as is saing aning au m T lm'siocri sems n rm supps ica inigni invlve incializing Nazi hrrr and avig us a u g h a i sms rm aca Benigni as n cinalized aning a a l n auracr likeBigni Capin in is Gr o k risk an wn

gl aking us a ug a ir B u in rd ak a cin au

ilrs prsn p a i d igs pric c nsn rak u ni Trap r pla e invrs s e dicar and isvic an cas e asie spak i is n na. eesas e dsplaeme i s caracr n e rrs pium. Tdicr Benigni as i is un iven dispacm igni acr. na a cin aing a

ra d f gsicain isin is i s camp scns arn a caus giv iags sing a can r us n u in iages T ar ba caus av nir r nr ssrn e an preceing ns

qusi bas e cina capaci e s-c ad n igni indigi iag ds i a


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IS C NM T BLAME ?

on hat the mage n tself can or caot do If posed n ters of effecte -ness the argm nt of trvalzaton by the mage s nde abgosSnce the attestaton of the exceptonal eent r ns a tofol rsk To stract t n the name of ts exceptonalty from the ordnar condtons of

representaton of events s as dangeros as makng t coonplace by

representng t accordng to th same rl s as all others. e mst thethk that the enemes ad devotees of te mag alke hae some otherstake the matter In crtczng the salvatonal vale th odard quscp of Sant Pal accords to te ag Grard Waca antasthat h does ot nt nd to pt to play another theoog of t mag namey the Mosac prohton of r pr s ntato Bt f s hary thesacredness of the la that s at stak ere the sacrednes of som thngs art may ell be The argum nt of the r pr s abl ams toshore p an eqvalence beteen arts modern destny an a hstorcamsson Accordng to ths logc Maletch's White Squre o White Bck

gund n rnng the prncple of graton alegedy gs to od rart ts tre sbject absence. To prove the mages trth Gor ad to seen the camp of the Great Dicttor or n the rabbt hn t or dae of the e ad

L Rge d u jeu/ the propheces of the xt rmnaton to ce To attestto arts msso ts crtqe mst pt the same ogc to or tat s to seen the antrepres entatve manfesto s of te 9 0s moder ts prop tcantcpaton of ts vocaton to account for the obj ect of the try textermnaton I ths ay a theoo gy of artstc modernty otrasts ta theology of the salvatonal mage. It s not sre that ths at seres

jstce to hat lms good or bad r aly do.

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44

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Name less War, My 1 999

Gu a a a ac as t t a

ecta [ cc o a ac

e ct t a a a c

s ac sat t att a as t

as t sat s t a-

a a c o a cas ctac ee- cs o ta e Te ca s s t cota ct eat ct Te easoe aste t s ta s as

at al so te G a e mae ca co ot take pace A act t hs not tkn pl. et ts o eatos e oy ece o t cacatos a ts eects tastte to s y teleisoses Bee a compte scee a a t l so scee the oys hch eets g a a a patcla ca ta oos celke sace th space o tal eaty That hch cold otta ace ot tae place except o the scees o simato

T asst that oeg caot b has alays e the aot pas-t of sophists Hoee e st ot e so hasty as to mpt thisk o easog to the iepessle pop sty o itectals to eyty fo the loe of os t ll ctas ae o osea a moeestc tha s cla They ko ha os a ot th opposte orety os ae o the cotay hat ge ealty ts cosistecy Ifth ophsts ha so may faclts toay y hch to d cla the o-g o o matt at aty ths s act cas th asas of thatty ale to ge a ame to hat t s that they do hae aa- t to them t s ot the at of comptes a th tal Toay


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H NAML WA

no on courts th risk of saying that th osovo war will t, is ot, or

has o takn plc. And yt, who ca giv a to h ii ary oprations urtan by NATO? In rv io in a war? Bu hat sort ofwar? Hardly a forign war: th allid powrs do ot rcogi Kosovo asan actual a ion unr attack from anothr. So, is it a civil ar? But thnwho could hav givn th allid ations a mandat to invn in thin ral affairs, as violnt as hy may hav bn, o ao h a io? Wa lft with a third typ of war in which h oppos tr ar not twoations or two parts of a nation, but humanity and anihanity.

That xact schma was th on rtaid: th intrvtio rss d forth

to sav human y, in th gur of h Albanian Kosovar vicims of gnocidal ur aking, against th prptrators of his oci: thantihumanity mbodid in a bloodthirsty dictator. Btw humanity

an antihumanity thr ar no trritorial borrs, scarcl limi to thrigh to intrfrnc. But th contadiction is vic fro prciplof war oly to b raicalid i its condc . Th wr conct in thnam of a humanity to sav is a total war by dni i, ar ntirlyd rmin by its obj ctivs of making th rights of a huma rspctd,an which os not rcogni any limitation as rgars mans ofsurig that rspct. How thn to cociv of a rs rain ni arin wr? A war in which slctiv bombings ar sign brng thantihumnitarian criminal to th ngotiatig tabl, whl lavng htrrain fr for his troops' opration of massiv liquidtio f th p opl

rprsntativ of humanity whos righ s had bn ipig pon? It allhppnd as if h humanitarian war divid itslf into tw sts of oprations, situatd ps ram an dows ra of th rri that wasabandon to th udr aking of thic purica ion on on hand,military oprations that aim at onc to dtr and to punis h dor ofth crim; on th othr, hani arian opratios to wlc hunrdso hosans of victims of this crim .

Ths apparnt con radicions hav ld som to suspct xi stncof obscur goals or scrt activitis, hiddn bhind th hnitaria

parad. But it could b that thr is no contradictio, t thr is a

covrgnc, mor profoud ad mor troubling hn a cocaldalings, btw th logic of thn ic purica ion and th of humanitarian war. Th principl bhi nd both of thm is on an sam thngation o politics. Ethnicism rvoks th vry spac politics inid ifying th popl with th rac and th trritory xrcis of

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6

C NICS O C ONSNSUA I M S

c e c Etc uc e ct dg udeb enci f e ci ug uffeette , ueu e cece e f ee ee uc fe e

f e u c g u c

ec f u ce f f - u e u fe e ecc cc-

e ue ece e c f ee ceg, e gue f c ee ie e ce f

cg e n c e fee


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HE EES W

idividuals or by mass s . Th a ri al strik war is a war t tats it will

ot risk th livs of thos waging it. That o Amrica sldirs lif is

put in dagr is th implicit contract which supposdl aks th

Amrican war in th Balkas accptabl for th Amrica popl. Th

rspc t of this contract from th sid o which th bombs launchd

ca provok disappoin mn on th sid on which thy rcivd.But th poit is that th count is n ot th sam : th lif of Amricamilitary mmbr ad thos of 20 civilias, Srbs or Albaias, do ot

compar. h huma itaria war that th dmocracis' as our stats

ar calld ar condcting i th B alkans is a war at th ftir of two

humaitis: a humanity of individals ad a humai y of masss. Toght for th humaity of th Albanians of osovo agaist th humanity of th Srbian clansrs is tantamount to spara ths twohuma itis . An d, from tis poi t of viw, th somtis l id logic of

th b ombings aim s tru : from th sky of wst r divduals masssof Milosvic's soldirs and th strams of rfugs ca cofusd.

Attackrs ad th attackd ar o th sam (bad) sid of borr: ith trrstrial world of archaic mos to which is oppos th cls iaworld modrn, rich a d dmocratic of populatios of iividual s. IfNTOs arial war is ot on, th raso is that it dos o fa fromdying what vry war supposs: th xistc of a tr shard byboth partis.

This is why th bludrs committd i rla io to illid id targtsscarcly prvt popls adhsion to this onwar war. I ffct, thy

conrm th imaginary gography that sustais it. Accordi t tis logic

th rdobtabl bo mbs ar by no mas th o s tha mca aia orsdrop. Thy ar th ons that xplod, so to spak, in tir acks, on thtrritory from which thy thmslvs com. O day, th ags of h

Kosovo victims disappard from th scrs of CN. i plac wastak by othr tornapart bodis, othr taryyd wom ad childr,

victims of th hommad arsnal prfctd y two Coldo schoolboys. o ordinary young Amricans shot into th pool Amricalivs, cos i d thm as a sam hrd of victims, i a o a apoli ical Hitlrism', likd to a crtain ssibility, a spcic o drssig, of afrmig 's individual diffrnc ad th idity of s

small group. Ad that sufcd to low up th imagiary gaphy of

war proper, to annihilate the border traced by theother boms betwee

a world of idividals a a world of mos. Th m r d r o s a d s s of7


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C ICES CNSSUA TIMS

u ee e g c e c u u ce- J e ufeg f ue ec- e e GDP, ce e.

e g eg c


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CHAPE HITEEN

Oe Iage Rigt Ca Sweep Away Anohr,

Oob 1999

Te lemics wic r c tl erute i Frace betwee te iistr fJustice ad te crtio of tograers ver iage rgts st cc r r ltis tw te rigts f uralist t fortrug images te rigts f iividuals to ave teir w mg sa rivate lives resecte. It is te trageess f te ct tt f tr ltis betwee images te aw litics a eve art i as erefu itself ace uer a reveaig ligt.

Te cict arises frm tw isitis f te bill reatie t te re

sumti f icece a te rigts f victims. Te rst oibits te

ublisig f victims wearig acuffs te secd te isig f

ts of crime victims i situatis tat rmi teir diit tare art f te same veral ersective f evelig te igts f er

ss: rtecti f rivate life f te iage a of te digi of ersoste resumti of iocece of a erss s lg s te ve t

ee recgie as guit. Eve te accused as ad cg Hecefort is e iicted. A ste furter was take it e rscriti f evermat rial iag f t iicteds icarcerati t tis etrste as trublig cs q c Te it was t siml t mizte ame f a factual state. At stake was t make its mterilit ivisibe

Te rtecti of te rivate rs t ds t becme a ss i of tever visibilit f te evet. Wat cat be udge is t e sowmust ot ve visibiit Tis imlicit rule cceals er ei

it: tat te ugemet is ecefrt tat deivered b e courts

Previusl te image f te guit art fuctied s el to a

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