A Load of Bull? LRB On Hardt, Negri, Sovereignty and Totalitarianism
The London Review of Books has this thought-provoking review, by Malcolm Bull, of Hardt & Negri's influential Empire.
Bull posits that Negri has substituted Spinoza for Marx in his political reasoning on sovereignty (which is based in the autonomist movement) and that this distorts their whole thesis:
[...]
It's easy to see why Empire has proved the most successful work of political theory to come from the Left for a generation. Not only is it written with unusual energy, clarity and wit, but it addresses directly the central political issue of the moment: the perceived distance between ordinary people trying to live in the way they want and the systems of power that defeat them. By simultaneously redefining globalisation as a form of sovereignty and recasting the autonomist project in the republican tradition, Hardt and Negri offer an exceptionally optimistic analysis of the problem: remote as it may seem, sovereignty is nothing that a few like-minded people cannot create for themselves [My emphasis]. Today's anti-capitalist protests may look like mob violence, but that is half the point: the street mobs made America, too; this is counter-Empire in the making.
[...]
But Bull also says that replacing Marx with Spinoza results in a kind of shadow neoliberalism and says that Negri has misunderstood Spinoza entirely in espousing the view that power is only power if you take it. Negri has aligned himself with those who say there is no such thing as civil society, which Bull says was not Spinoza's point at all.
It is not at all obvious that Negri's interpretation of Spinoza is correct. In the Theologico-Political Treatise Spinoza had maintained that some sort of social contract was necessary and that natural right was transferred. In the Political Treatise, the contract disappears, but whether its elimination means the continuation of natural right in the civil state or the elision of the difference between the civil and the natural is less certain. Spinoza sometimes says the former, but he also emphasises that in the state of nature where 'the natural right of man is determined by the power of every individual, and belongs to everyone . . . it is a nonentity, existing in opinion rather than fact.' Only on entering the commonwealth does natural right become more than a fiction: 'men in the state of nature can hardly be possessed of their own right.' On this interpretation, civil right is the only form of right there is; in the state of nature there is so much risk that men are virtually powerless against each other; far from taking their unalienated power into the commonwealth, they experience it there for the first time. For man, the social animal, if not for God or nature, potestas creates potentia.
I have to admit that I gave Empire only the most cursory read, as I do so many things these days due my declining eyesight. (It's much easier to read online and until they put brightness and contrast controls on books it'll stay that way.) But I will make the effort to go back and read it in the light of Bull's review.
I'm firmly of the view that sovereignty resides in the people, but why does it? Is it because of their innate potential for force or because we agree that it does? It's arguable, which I suppose is Bull's point.
Whether you agree with him or not Bull does flag up interesting issues about globalised social control and totalitarianism in this article. Well worth reading.
Read more: London Review of Books, Globalisation, Hart& Negri Italian Autonomism,Socialism, Marx, Spinoza
Posted 1:12 PM by Republic of Palau
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
"I think all foreigners should stop interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq."
-- U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, 21 July 2003
Self promotion
Martin:
Wis[s]e Words
International (political) weblog.
Booklog
Republic of Palau:
Take it as Red
Progressive weblogs:
Descriptions underneath are as much as possible taken from the weblog itself.
Fun-loving Feministas
Carnival of the Feminists
Held on the first and third Wednesday of each month and aims to showcase the finest feminist
posts from around the blogsphere.
Fetch Me My Axe
...we've all got something to grind. By Belledame222.
Pandagon
It's just Amanda now, strong on feminism.
Red State Feminist
Women's and Children's Issues, Family Law, Domestic Violence
Lefty lawyers
Lawyers, Guns and Money
No idea if they're really lawyers, actually
TalkLeft
The politics of crime.
Middle East knowitalls
Aron's Israel Peace weblog
short commentary on news items, articles and op-ed pieces about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Bethlehem bloggers
Voices from the Bethlehem ghetto.
Jews sans Frontieres
Mark Elf's anti-zionist blog.
Juan Cole
Required reading on Iraq and the Middle East.
Today in Iraq
What's really happening in Iraq
Soulfull scientists
Pharyngula
Science, politics and the intersection between them. By PZ Myers.
Science and Politics
Bora Zivkovic is trying to understand US politics by making strange connections between science,
religion, brain, language and sex.
Thus Spake Zuska
Not very polite.
Steadfast socialists
Actually Existing
Ruthless criticism of all that exists, except for the good bits. By Phil Edwards.
American Leftist
'Intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization.' -- Eugene V. Debs
Apostate Windbag
A journal of assorted leftwingery with a decided preference for discussing how the
late Christopher Hitchens is a twat
Bionic Octopus
"better...faster...coconutter."
Dead Men Left
Meaders is active in the RESPECT coalition, but don't hold it against him
GlobBlog
A blog about globalisation. By General Glut.
International Rooksbyism
Not just another scummie student commie's blog. By Ed Rooksby.
Law and Disorder
Socialism and the legal systems
Left I on the News
A leftwing view of the day's news and the way it's represented in the media. By Eli.
Lenin's Tomb
Erudite English Socialist Workers Party supporter.
A New Morning
German/English socialist leaning blog.
Perspective
by Alister Black, Scottish socialist. Writes mainly about local issues.
Sonic's Place
A computer generated, left-wing hedgehog's views on the world and the war
An Unenviable Situation
D Ghirlandaio on politics, art and the culture at large
Unrepentant Marxist
By Louis Proyect, veteran Marxist
Virtual Stoa
Home of the Dead Socialist Watch. By Chris Brooke.
They make fun of the right
So we don't have to.
Alicublog
Plays the stock market of the soul -- and sells short!
Go Fug Yourself
Mocking our betters in Hollywood and tv...
Jesus' General
An 11 on the Manly Scale of Absolute Gender
The Poor Man Institute
For Freedom, Democracy and a Pony.
Sadly No!
A group blog dedicated to make fun of idiots.
TBOGG
Faithful husband, soccer dad, basset owner, and Peggy Noonan stalker
World of Crap
Come point and laught at the fundies and rightwing loonies
Loveable liberals
American Samizdat
The collective effort of over thirty leftwing bloggers.
American Street
A collective of leftist bloggers, poisoning our precious bodily fluids.
Archy
politics, fringe watching, and other stuff. By John McKay.
The Burnt Orange Report
News, Politics, and Fun from Deep in the Heart of Texas.
Democratic Veteran
Because not every vet is a right winger or pseudo facist. By Jo.
Dependable Renegade
By watertiger, who has not yet shot anybody in the face ...yet.
Eschaton
The liberal answer to Instapundit?
FABlog
By David Ehrenstein
A Fistful of Euros
A groupblog focusing on the EU and European politics.
Hronkomatic
Paying good money to shut George Will up. By Jason McCullough.
Hullabaloo
Digby, frequent and eloquent commentor at various blogs finally has his own.
James Wolcott
Journalist, media personality and blogger
John Quiggin
Commentary on Australian & world politics from John Quiggin
Lean Left
by Kevin Raybould
The Left Coaster
Outside-the-Beltway perspectives on politics, current events, and the media
Left in the West
Written by Matt Singer, a Montanan who writes on local issues and national issues
and how they correspond to Montana and the west.
Liberal Oasis
Where the left is right and the right is wrong.
Mad Kane's Noteables
commentary on and song parodies about politics, current events, books, music,
and anything else that inspires her admiration or ire.
Majikthise
Analytic philosophy and liberal politics by Lindsay Beyerstein and others.
Making Light
Teresa and Patrick Nielsen Hayden's politics and life blog.
The Martini Republic
Group blog. Nice design, good content.
Mikhaela's News Blog
By Mikhaela Reid.
Musings and Migraines
Chicago liberal's musings on war, peace, Jon Stewart, art, media. By
Lenora.
Nathan Newman
A community and union activist, policy advocate and writer with an excellent weblog.
Oliver Willis
Like kryptonite to stupid.
Orcinus
Policy, Culture and Journalism in the 21st Century. By David Neiwert.
Pacific Views
regime change begins at home, escalate nonviolence. By Natasha.
Polygon, the Dancing Bear
Occasional notes on politics, history, architecture, and life. By Lawrence Kestenbaum.
Prometheus 6
"What I want to do here is talk to the town criers. And I'll be talking more about people than politics."
Rittenhouse Review
A journal of foreign policy, finance, ethics, and culture. By James M. Capozzola
The Road to Surfdom
an intermittent weblog by Tim Dunlop.
Ruminate This
News, views, activism and a smattering of something else. By Lisa English.
Sasha Undercover
Observations and commentary on politics, women, culture, and daily life. Not for the faint of heart.
Seeing the Forest
...for the trees
Shadow of the Hegemon
Written by returned from the death Greek demagogue Demosthenes so is very eloquent.
The Sideshow
Avedon makes me think. Her weblog revolves around US politics.
Skimble
Culture, politics, commentary, criticism. Views from the left, headquartered in Chicago USA.
Slacktivist
Hopeful outrage, politics, culture and religion from a progressive Christian perspective.
Smythe's World
Politics, baseball and more.
Steve Gilliard's News Blog
Insightful (inciteful?) and interesting
This Modern World
By Tom Tomorrow
Thoughts on the Eve of the Apocalypse
By Bill Connolly
Through the Looking Glass
A chronicle of the absurd, in politics and life. By Charles Dodgson
Wampum
Progressive Politics, Indian Issues, and Autism Advocacy. By "MB".
Whiskey Bar
Free thinking in a dirty glass. By Daily Kos alumni Billmon.
Xoverboard
Blogging and cartoons! Whoot!
Progressive news
