Some Politically Incorrect Reflections on Violence in France & Related Matters

Slavoj Zizek
1. Violence, Irrational and Rational
Two parallels are often evoked apropos the recent violent outbursts in rance! the "ew #rleans
lootin$ after %atrina hurricane and &a' (). In spite of si$nificant differences, lessons can be drawn
fro* both parallels. +ith re$ard to "ew #rleans, the ,aris fires had a soberin$ effect on those
-uropean intellectuals who used "ew #rleans to e*phasize the advanta$e of the -uropean welfare
state *odel over the .S wild capitalis* / now we know it can happen here also. Those who attributed
the "ew #rleans violence to the lack of -uropean/st'le solidarit' are no less wron$ than the .S free/
*arket liberals who now $leefull' returned the blow and pointed out how the ver' ri$idit' of state
interventions which li*it *arket co*petition and its d'na*ics prevented the econo*ic rise of the
*ar$inalized i**i$rants in rance 0in contrast to the .S where *an' i**i$rant $roups are a*on$
the *ost successful1. #n the other hand, what strikes the e'e with re$ard to &a' () is the total
absence of an' positive utopian prospect a*on$ the protesters! if &a' () was a revolt with a utopian
vision, the recent revolt was just an outburst with no pretense to an' kind of positive vision / if the
co**onplace that 2we live in a post/ideolo$ical era2 has an' sense, it is here. Is this sad fact that the
opposition to the s'ste* cannot articulate itself in the $uise of a realistic alternative, or at least a
*eanin$ful utopian project, but onl' as a *eanin$less outburst, not the stron$est indict*ent of our
predica*ent3 +here is here the celebrated freedo* of choice, when the onl' choice is the one
between pla'in$ b' the rules and 0self/1destructive violence, a violence which is al*ost e4clusivel'
directed a$ainst one5s own / the cars burned and the schools torched were not fro* rich
nei$hborhoods, but were part of the hard/won ac6uisitions of the ver' strata fro* which protesters
ori$inate.
The first conclusion to be drawn is thus that both conservative and liberal reactions to the unrests
clearl' fail. The conservatives e*phasize the 7lash of 7ivilizations and, predictabl', 8aw and #rder!
i**i$rants should not abuse our hospitalit', the' are our $uests, so the' should respect our custo*s,
our societ' has the ri$ht to safe$uard its uni6ue culture and wa' of life9 plus there is no e4cuse for
cri*es and violent behavior, what the 'oun$ i**i$rants need is not *ore social help, but discipline
and hard work... 8eftist liberals, no less predictabl', stuck to their old *antra about ne$lected social
pro$ra*s and inte$ration/efforts which are deprivin$ the 'oun$er $eneration of i**i$rants of an'
clear econo*ic and social prospect, thus leavin$ the* violent outbursts as the' onl' wa' to articulate
their dissatisfaction... :s Stalin would have put it, it is *eanin$less to debate which reaction is worse!
the' are ;#T< worse, inclusive of the warnin$, for*ulated b' both sides, about the real dan$er of
these outbursts residin$ in the easil' predictable racist R-:7TI#" of the rench populist crowd to
the*.
So what can a philosopher do here3 #ne should bear in *ind that the philosopher5s task is not to
propose solutions, but to refor*ulate the proble* itself, to shift the ideolo$ical fra*ework within
which we hitherto perceived the proble*. ,erhaps, a $ood point to start with would be to put the
recent outbursts into the series the' build with two other t'pes of violence that the liberal *ajorit'
toda' perceives as a threat to our wa' of life! 011 direct 2terrorist2 attacks 0of suicide bo*bers19 0=1
Ri$htist ,opulist violence9 0>1 suburban juvenile 2irrational2 outbursts. : liberal toda' worries about
these three disturbances of his dail' life! terrorist attacks, juvenile violence, Ri$htwin$ ,opulist
pressures.
The first step in the anal'sis is to confront each of these *odes with its counter/violence! the counter/
pole to 2terrorist2 attacks is the .S *ilitar' neo/colonial world/policin$9 the counter/pole to Ri$htist
,opulist violence is the +elfare State control and re$ulation9 the counter/pole to the juvenile outbursts
is the anon'*ous violence of the capitalist s'ste*. In all three cases, violence and counter/violence
are cau$ht in a deadl' vicious c'cle, each $eneratin$ the ver' opposite it tries to co*bat. urther*ore,
what all three *odes share, in spite of their funda*ental differences, is the lo$ic of a blind passage
l'acte! in all three cases, violence is an i*plicit ad*ission of i*potence.
: standard <oll'wood action fil* is alwa's a lesson in it. Towards the end of :ndrew ?avis5s The
Fugitive, the innocent/persecuted doctor 0<arrison ord1 confronts at a lar$e *edical convention his
collea$ue 0@eroe* %raabe1, accusin$ hi* that he falsified *edical data on behalf of a lar$e
phar*aceutical co*pan'. :t this precise point, when one would e4pect that the shift would focus on
the co*pan' / the corporate capital / as the true culprit, %raabe interrupts his talk, invited ord to step
aside, and then, outside the convention hall, the' en$a$e in a passionate violent fi$ht, beatin$ each
other till their faces are red of blood. The scene is telltale in its openl' ridiculous character, as if, in
order to $et out of the ideolo$ical *ess of pla'in$ with anti/capitalis*, one has to do a *ove which
renders directl' palpable the cracks in the narrative. :nother aspect is here the transfor*ation of the
bad $u' into a vicious, sneerin$, patholo$ical character, as if ps'cholo$ical depravit' 0which
acco*panies the dazzlin$ spectacle of the fi$ht1 should replace the anon'*ous non/ps'cholo$ical
drive of the capital! the *uch *ore appropriate $esture would have been to present the corrupted
collea$ue as a ps'cholo$icall' sincere and privatel' honest doctor who, because of the financial
difficulties of the hospital in which he works, was lured into swallowin$ the bait of the phar*aceutical
co*pan'.
The Fugitive thus provides a clear version of the violent passage l'acte servin$ as a lure, a vehicle of
ideolo$ical displace*ent. : step further fro* this zero/level of violence is found in ,aul Schrader5s
and &artin Scorcese5s Taxi Driver, in the final outburst of Travis 0Robert de "iro1 a$ainst the pi*ps
who control the 'oun$ $irl he wants to save 0@odie oster1. 7rucial is the i*plicit suicidal di*ension
of this passage l'acte! when Travis prepares for his attack, he practices in front of the *irror the
drawin$ of the $un9 in what is the best/known scene of the fil*, he addresses his own i*a$e in the
*irror with the a$$ressive/condescendin$ 2Aou talkin5 to *e32. In a te4tbook illustration of 8acan5s
notion of the 2*irror sta$e,2 a$$ressivit' is here clearl' ai*ed at oneself, at one5s own *irror i*a$e.
This suicidal di*ension ree*er$es at the end of the slau$hter scene when Travis, heavil' wounded
and leanin$ at the wall, *i*ics with the forefin$er of his ri$ht hand a $un ai*ed at his blood/stained
forehead and *ockin$l' tri$$ers it, as if sa'in$ 2The true ai* of *' outburst was *'self.2 The
parado4 of Travis is that he perceives <I&S-8 as part of the de$enerate dirt of the cit' life he wants
to eradicate, so that, as ;recht put it apropos of revolutionar' violence in his The Measure Taken, he
wants to be the last piece of dirt with whose re*oval the roo* will be clean.
ar fro* si$nalin$ an i*perial arro$ance, such 2irrational2 outbursts of violence / one of the ke'
topics of :*erican culture and ideolo$' / rather stand for an i*plicit ad*ission of i*potence! their
ver' violence, displa' of destructive power, is to be conceived as the *ode of appearance of its ver'
opposite / if an'thin$, the' are e4e*plar' cases of the i*potent passage l'acte. :s such, these
outbursts enable us to discern the hidden obverse of the *uch/praised :*erican individualis* and
self/reliance! the secret awareness that we are all helplessl' thrown around b' forces out of our
control. There is a wonderful earl' short stor' b' ,atricia <i$hs*ith, 2;utton,2 about a *iddle/class
"ew Aorker who lives with a *on$oloid B/'ears old son who babbles *eanin$less sounds all the ti*e
and s*iles, while saliva is runnin$ out of his open *outh9 one late evenin$, unable to endure the
situation, he decides to take a walk on the lone &anhattan streets where he stu*bles upon a destitute
ho*eless be$$ar who pleadin$l' e4tends his hand towards hi*9 in an act of ine4plicable fur', the hero
beats the be$$ar to death and tears off fro* his jacket a button. :fterwards, he returns ho*e a chan$ed
*an, endurin$ his fa*il' ni$ht*are without an' trau*as, capable of even a kind s*ile towards his
*on$oloid son9 he keeps this button all the ti*e in the pocket of his trousers / a re*ainder that, once
at least, he did strike back a$ainst his *iserable destin'.
<i$hs*ith is at her best when even such a violent outburst fails, as in what is ar$uabl' her sin$le
$reatest achieve*ent, Those Who Walk Away! in it, she took cri*e fiction, the *ost 2narrative2 $enre
of the* all, and i*bued it with the inertia of the real, the lack of resolution, the dra$$in$/on of the
2e*pt' ti*e,2 which characterize the stupid factualit' of life. In Ro*e, -d 7ole*an tries to *urder
Ra' Carrett, a failed painter and $aller'/owner in his late =Ds, his son/in/law who* he bla*es for the
recent suicide of his onl' child, ,e$$', Ra'5s wife. Rather than flee, Ra' follows -d to Venice, where
-d is winterin$ with Inez, his $irlfriend. +hat follows is <i$hs*ith5s paradi$*atic a$on' of the
s'*biotic relationship of two *en who are ine4tricabl' linked to each other in their ver' hatred. Ra'
hi*self is haunted b' a sense of $uilt for his wife5s death, so he e4poses hi*self to -d5s violent
intentions. -choin$ his death wish, he accepts a lift fro* -d in a *otor/boat9 in the *iddle of the
la$oon, -d pushes Ra' overboard. Ra' pretends he is actuall' dead and assu*es a false na*e and
another identit', thus e4periencin$ both e4hilaratin$ freedo* and overwhel*in$ e*ptiness. <e roa*s
like a livin$ dead throu$h the cold streets of wintr' Venice when... +e have here a cri*e novel with
no *urder, just failed atte*pts at it! there is no clear resolution at the novel5s end / e4cept, perhaps, the
resi$ned acceptance of both Ra' and -d that the' are conde*ned to haunt each other to the end.
Toda', with the $lobal :*erican ideolo$ical offensive, the funda*ental insi$ht of *ovies like @ohn
ord5s Searchers and Ta4i ?river is *ore relevant than ever! we witness the resur$ence of the fi$ure of
the 26uiet :*erican,2 a naEve benevolent a$ent who sincerel' wants to brin$ to the Vietna*ese
de*ocrac' and +estern freedo* / it is just that his intentions totall' *isfire, or, as Craha* Creene
put it! 2I never knew a *an who had better *otives for all the trouble he caused.2 reud was thus ri$ht
in his prescient anal'sis of +oodrow +ilson, the .S president who e4e*plifies :*erican
hu*anitarian interventionist attitude! the underl'in$ di*ension of a$$ressivit' could not escape hi*.
The ke' event of @ohn #5<ara5s Appointment in Samarra 01B>F1 occurs at a 7hrist*as dinner part' at
the 8antenen$o 7ountr' 7lub, where the novel5s tra$ic hero, =B 'ear/old @ulian -n$lish, a wealth' and
popular car dealership owner, throws a drink in the face of <arr' Reill', the richest *an in town.
;ecause of this, he beco*es e*broiled in the *iddle a serious social scandal, and it see*s nothin$
will ri$ht it / the novels ends with @ulian5s pitiful suicide in a car. :s @ulian clai*s in the ensuin$
conflict over the drink throwin$, he did not do it because <arr' is the richest *an in town, nor because
he is a social cli*ber, and certainl' not because he is 7atholic / and 'et all these reasons do pla' a part
in his violent passa$e a l5acte. In the ensuin$ flashback, @ulian re*e*bers the ti*es when his 'outh
$an$ would pla' %u %lu4 %lan, after havin$ seen 5;irth of a "ation5, their distrust of @ews, etc. In
<oll'wood of the last two decades, there are nu*erous e4a*ples of such i*potent 2strikin$s out,2
fro* Russell ;anks5 Affliction to @ohn Sa'les5 The one Star.
The one Star provides a uni6ue insi$ht into the twists of the 2#edipal2 d'na*ics. In a s*all Te4as
border town, a lon$ dead bod' is discovered, he bod' of +ade, a cruel and utterl' corrupted sheriff
who *'steriousl' disappeared decades a$o. The present sheriff who pursues the investi$ation is the
son of the sheriff who replaced +ade and is celebrated b' the cit' as a hero who brou$ht order and
prosperit' to it9 however, since +ade disappeared just after a public conflict with the sheriff who
replaced hi*, all si$ns see* to indicate that +ade was killed b' his successor. ?riven b' a properl'
#edipal hatred, the present sheriff thus tries to under*ine the *'th of his father b' wa' of
de*onstratin$ that his rule was based on *urder. <ere, we encounter the first surprise! we are dealin$
with three, not two, $enerations. +ade 0superbl' pla'ed b' %ris %ristofferson1 is a kind of reudian
2pri*ordial father,2 an obscene and cruel *aster of the cit' who violates ever' law, si*pl' shootin$
people who do not pa' hi*9 the hero5s father cri*e should thus be a law/foundin$ cri*e, the e4cess /
the ille$al killin$ of a corrupted *aster / which enabled the rule of law. <owever, what we learn at the
fil*5s end is that the cri*e was not co**itted b' the hero5s father! while innocent of the *urder of
+ade, he brou$ht corruption to a *ore 2civilized2 level, replacin$ the outri$ht brutal corruption of his
2lar$er/than/life2 predecessor with a corruption entwined with business interests 0just 2fi4in$2 thin$s
here and there, etc.1. :nd it is in these replace*ent of the bi$ 2ethical2 foundin$ cri*e with s*all
corruption that resides the finesse of the fil*! the hero who wanted to unearth the bi$ secret of his
father5s foundin$ cri*e, learns that, far fro* bein$ a heroic fi$ure whose ille$al violence $rounded the
rule of law, his father was just a successful opportunist like others... 7onse6uentl', the final *essa$e
of the fil* is 2or$et the :la*oG2 0the fil*5s last words of dialo$ue1! let us abandon the search for bi$
foundin$ events and let b'$ones be b'$ones. The ke' to the fil*5s underl'in$ libidinal econo*'
resides in the dualit' between the hero5s father 0the law/and/order fi$ure1 and +ade, the obscene
pri*ordial father, the libidinal focus of the fil*, the fi$ure of e4cessive enjo'*ent whose *urder is
the fil*5s central event / and does the hero5s obsession with un*askin$ the $uilt of his father not
betra' his deep solidarit' with the obscene fi$ure of +ade3
7lint -astwood5s Mystic !iver stands out here because of the uni6ue twist it $ives to such violent
passages l'acte. +hen the' were kids $rowin$ up to$ether in a rou$h section of ;oston, @i**'
&arku* 0Sean ,enn1, ?ave ;o'le 0Ti* Robbins1 and Sean ?evine 0%evin ;acon1 spent their da's
pla'in$ stickball on the street. "othin$ *uch out of the ordinar' ever happened, until a *o*ent5s
decision drasticall' altered the course of each of their lives forever. This pri*ordial, Hfoundin$,I act
of violence that sets in *otion the c'cle is the kidnappin$ and serial rapin$ of the adolescent ?ave,
acco*plished b' the local police*an on behalf of a priest / two persons standin$ for the two ke' state
apparatuses, police and church, the repressive one and the ideolo$ical one, 2the :r*' and the 7hurch2
*entioned b' reud in his "row# $sychology an# the Analysis of the %go. Toda', twent'/five 'ears
later, the three find the*selves thrust back to$ether b' another tra$ic event! the *urder of @i**'5s 1B/
'ear/old dau$hter. "ow a cop, Sean is assi$ned to the case, while, in the wake of the sudden and
terrible loss of his child, @i**'5s *ind beco*es consu*ed with reven$e. 7au$ht up in the *aelstro*
is ?ave, now a lost and broken *an fi$htin$ to keep his de*ons at ba'. :s the investi$ation creeps
closer to ho*e, ?ave5s wife 7eleste beco*es consu*ed b' suspicion and fear, and finall' tells about it
to @i**'. :s the frustrated actin$ out, twice a *urder occurs! ?ave kills a *an en$a$ed in
ho*ose4ual activit' with a bo' in a car9 @i**' kills ?ave, convinced that he *urdered his dau$hter.
I**ediatel' afterwards, @i**' is infor*ed b' Sean that the police found the true killer / he killed a
wron$ *an, his close friend.
The *ovie ends with a weird scene of fa*il' rede*ption! @i**'5s wife, :nnabeth, draws her fa*il'
ti$ht to$ether in order to weather the stor*. In a lon$ pathetic speech, she restores @i**'5s self/
confidence b' praisin$ hi* as the stron$ and reliable head of the fa*il', alwa's read' to do the
necessar' tou$h thin$s to protect the fa*il' haven. :lthou$h this s'*bolic reconciliation, this
Aufhe&ung of the catastrophe of killin$ the wron$ *an, superficiall' succeeds 0the last scene of the
fil* shows ,enn5s fa*il' watchin$ the Irish parade, restored as a 2nor*al2 fa*il'1, it is ar$uabl' the
stron$est indict*ent of the rede*ptive power of fa*il' ties! the lesson of the fil* is not that 2fa*il'
ties heal all wounds,2 that fa*il' is a safe haven enablin$ us to survive the *ost horrendous trau*as,
but, 6uite the opposite, that fa*il' is a *onstrous ideolo$ical *achine *akin$ us blind for the *ost
horrendous cri*es we co**it. ar fro* brin$in$ an' catharsis, the endin$ is thus an absolute anti/
catharsis, leavin$ us, spectators, with the bitter taste that nothin$ was reall' resolved, that we are
witnessin$ an obscene travest' of the ethical core of fa*il'. 0The onl' si*ilar scene that co*es to
*ind is the finale of @ohn ord5s Fort Apache, in which @ohn +a'ne praises to the $athered journalists
the noble herois* of <enr' onda, a cruel $eneral who died in a *eanin$less attack on the Indians.1
:nd, perhaps, this is all we can do toda', in our dark era! to render visible the failure of all atte*pts at
rede*ption, the obscene travest' of ever' $esture of reconcilin$ us with the violence we are forced to
co**it. ,erhaps, @ob is the proper hero toda'! the one who refuses to find an' deeper *eanin$ in the
sufferin$ he encounters.
=. The Terrorist Resent*ent
:s to the 2terrorist2 funda*entalists5 attacks, the first thin$ that strikes the e'e 1 is the inade6uac' of
the idea, developed *ost s'ste*aticall' b' ?onald ?avidson, that hu*an acts are rationall'/
intentional, accountable in the ter*s of beliefs and desires of the a$ent. = This approach e4e*plifies
the racist bias of the theories of 2rationalit'2! althou$h their ai* is to understand the #ther fro*
within, the' end up attributin$ to the #ther the *ost ridiculous beliefs 0up to the infa*ous FDD vir$ins
awaitin$ the believer in ,aradise as the 2rational2 e4planation of wh' he is read' to blow hi*self up1,
i.e., the' *akes the other ridiculousl' weird in the ver' effort of tr'in$ to *ake hi* 2like us.2 <ere is
a passa$e fro* one of the propa$anda te4ts distributed b' "orth %orea durin$ the %orean war!
2<ero %an$ <o/'un$ was seriousl' wounded in both ar*s and both le$s in the %a*ak
<ill ;attle, so he rolled into the *idst of the ene*' with a hand $renade in his *outh
and wiped the* out, shoutin$! 5&' ar*s and le$s were broken. ;ut on the contrar'
*' retaliator' spirit a$ainst 'ou scoundrels beca*e a thousand ti*es stron$er. I will
show the unbendin$ fi$htin$ will of a *e*ber of the +orkers5 ,art' of %orea and
unflinchin$ will fir*l' pled$ed to the ,art' and the 8eaderG52 >
It is eas' to lau$h at the ridiculousl' non/realistic character of this description! how could the poor
%an$ talk if he was holdin$ the $renade with his *outh3 :nd how is it that, in the *idst of a fierce
battle, there was ti*e for such a lon$ decla*ator' procla*ation3 <owever, what if the *istake is to
read this passa$e as a realistic description, thus i*putin$ to %oreans ridiculous beliefs3 In other
words, what if the *istake is the sa*e one as that of the anthropolo$ists who i*pute to 2pri*itive2
abori$ines celebratin$ the ea$le as their ancestor the belief that the' are reall' descended fro* the
ea$le3 +h' not read this passa$e / which effectivel' sounds operatic in its pathos / in the wa' si*ilar
to listenin$ to :ct III of +a$ner5s Tristan, where the *ortall' wounded Tristan is sin$in$ his
0e4tre*el' de*andin$1 d'in$ chant for al*ost an hour / who of us is read' to i*pute to +a$ner the
belief that this is possible3
The funda*entalist Isla*ic terror is "#T $rounded in the terrorists5 conviction of their superiorit' and
in their desire to safe$uard their cultural/reli$ious identit' fro* the onslau$ht of the $lobal
consu*erist civilization! the proble* with funda*entalists is not that we consider the* inferior to us,
but, rather, that T<-A T<-&S-8V-S secretl' consider the*selves inferior 0like, obviousl', <itler
hi*self felt towards @ews1 / which is wh' our condescendin$ ,oliticall' 7orrect assurances that we
feel no superiorit' towards the* onl' *akes the* *ore furious and feeds their resent*ent. The
proble* is not cultural difference 0their effort to preserve their identit'1, but the opposite fact that the
funda*entalists are alread' like us, that the' secretl' alread' internalized our standards and *easure
the*selves b' the*. 0This clearl' $oes for ?alai 8a*a who justifies the Tibetan ;uddhis* in
+-ST-R" ter*s of the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of pain.1 ,arado4icall', what the
funda*entalists reall' lack is precisel' a dosa$e of 2true2 2racist2 conviction into one5s own
superiorit'.
The perple4in$ fact about the 2terrorist2 attacks is that the' do not fit our standard opposition of -vil
as e$otis*, as disre$ard for the co**on Cood, and Cood as the spirit of 0and actual readiness for1 the
sacrifice for so*e hi$her 7ause! terrorists cannot but appear as so*ethin$ akin to &ilton5s Satan with
his 2-vil, be thou *' Cood2! while the' pursue 0what appears to us1 evil $oals with evil *eans, the
ver' #R& of their activit' *eets the hi$hest standard of the Cood. The resolution of this eni$*a is
eas', known alread' to Rousseau! e$otis* 0the concern for one5s well/bein$1 is "#T opposed to
co**on $ood, since altruistic nor*s can easil' be deduced fro* e$otist concerns. F Individualis*
versus co**unitarianis*, utilitarianis* versus universal nor*ativis*, are :8S- oppositions, since
the two opposed options a*ount to the sa*e as to their result. The critics who co*plain how, in
toda'5s hedonistic/e$otistic societ', true values are lackin$, totall' *iss the point! the true opposite of
e$otist self/love is not altruis*, concern for co**on Cood, but env', resent*ent, which *akes *e act
:C:I"ST *' own interests. reud alread' knew it! death/drive is opposed to pleasure principle as
well as to realit' principle, i.e., the true 2-vil2 0J death drive1 involves self/sabota$e, it *akes us act
:C:I"ST our own interests. 0?upu' is here wron$ in his characterization of the 8acanian
ps'choanal'sis as part of the on$oin$ 2*echanization of the *ind2 / ps'choanal'sis, on the contrar',
R-I"TR#?.7-S notions of -vil and responsibilit' into our ethical vocabular'9 2death/drive2 is the
na*e for what ?IST.R;S the ho*eostatic *echanis* of rational pleasure/seekin$, the weird
reversal where I sabota$e *' own interests. If T<IS is the true evil, then not onl' of toda'5s secular
pra$*atic ethical theories, but even the 2*echanization of the *ind2 in co$nitive sciences, are to be
conceived not as in itself 2evil,2 but as a defense a$ainst -vil.
The proble* with hu*an desire is that, as 8acan put it, it is alwa's 2desire of the #ther2 in both
genitivus su&'ectivus and genitivus o&'ectivus! desire for the #ther, desire to be desired b' the #ther,
and, especiall', desire for what the #ther desires / env' and resent*ent are thus a constitutive
co*ponent of hu*an desire, as alread' Saint :u$ustin knew it so well / recall the passa$e fro* his
"onfessions, often 6uoted b' 8acan, the scene of a bab' jealous for his brother suckin$ the *other5s
breast 02I *'self have seen and known an infant to be jealous thou$h it could not speak. It beca*e
pale, and cast bitter looks on its foster/brother.21.
;ased on this insi$ht, ?upu' proposes a convincin$ criti6ue of @ohn Rawls theor' of justice! in the
Rawls5 *odel of a just societ', social ine6ualities are tolerated onl' insofar as the' are based on
natural ine6ualities, which are considered contin$ent, not *erits. K +hat Rawls doesn5t see is how
such a societ' would create conditions for an uncontrolled e4plosion of resent*ent! in it, I would
know that *' lower status is full' 2justified,2 and would thus be deprived of e4cusin$ *' failure as
the result of social injustice. Rawls thus proposes a terrif'in$ *odel of a societ' in which hierarch' is
directl' le$iti*ized in natural properties, thereb' *issin$ the si*ple lesson of an anecdote about a
Slovene peasant who is $iven a choice b' a $ood witch! she will either $ive hi* one cow, and to his
nei$hbor two cows, or take fro* hi* one cow, and fro* his nei$hbor two cows / the peasant
i**ediatel' chooses the second option. 0In a *ore *orbid version, the witch tells hi*! 2I will do to
'ou whatever 'ou want, but I warn 'ou, I will do it to 'our nei$hbor twiceG2 The peasant, with a
cunnin$ s*ile, asks her! 2Take one of *' e'esG21.
riedrich <a'ek ( knew that it is *uch easier to accept ine6ualities if one can clai* that the' result
fro* an i*personal blind force, so the $ood thin$ about 2irrationalit'2 of the *arket success or failure
in capitalis* 0recall the old *otif of *arket as the *odern version of the i*ponderable ate1 is that it
allows *e precisel' to perceive *' failure 0or success1 as 2undeserved2, contin$ent... The fact that
capitalis* is not 2just2 is thus a ke' feature that *akes it palpable to the *ajorit' 0I can accept *uch
*ore easil' *' failure if I know that it is not due to *' inferior 6ualities, but to chance1.
+hat "ietzsche and reud share is the idea that justice as e6ualit' is founded on env' / on the env' of
the #ther who has what we do not have, and who enjo's it9 the de*and for justice is thus ulti*atel'
the de*and that the e4cessive enjo'*ent of the #ther should be curtailed, so that ever'one5s access to
'ouissance should be e6ual. The necessar' outco*e of this de*and, of course, is asceticis*! since it is
not possible to i*pose e6ual 'ouissance, what one 7:" i*pose is onl' the e6uall' shared
,R#<I;ITI#". <owever, one should not for$et that toda', in our alle$edl' per*issive societ', this
asceticis* assu*es precisel' the for* of its opposite, of the C-"-R:8IZ-? supere$o injunction
2-njo'G2. +e are all under the spell of this injunction, with the outco*e that our enjo'*ent is *ore
hindered than ever / recall the 'uppie who co*bines "arcissistic 2Self/ulfill*ent2 with utter ascetic
discipline of jo$$in$, eatin$ health food, etc. This, perhaps, is what "ietzsche had in *ind with his
notion of the 8ast &an / it is onl' toda' that we can reall' discern the contours of the 8ast &an, in the
$uise of the hedonistic asceticis* of 'uppies. "ietzsche thus does not si*pl' ur$e life/assertion
a$ainst asceticis*! he is well aware how a certain asceticis* is the obverse of the decadent e4cessive
sensualit' / therein resides his criticis* of +a$ner5s $arsifal, and, *ore $enerall', of the late
Ro*antic decadence oscillatin$ between da*p sensualit' and obscure spiritualis*.
So what IS env'3 Recall a$ain the :u$ustinian scene of a siblin$ env'in$ his brother who is suckin$
the *other5s breast! the subject does not env' the #ther5s possession of the prized object as such, but
rather the wa' the #ther is able to -"@#A this object / which is wh' it is not enou$h for hi* si*pl' to
steal and thus $ain possession of the object! his true ai* is to destro' the #ther5s abilit'Lcapacit' to
enjo' the object. :s such, env' is to be located into the triad of env', thrift and *elanchol', the three
for*s of not bein$ able to enjo' the object 0and, of course, refle4ivel' enjo'in$ this ver'
i*possibilit'1. In contrast to the subject of env', who envies the other5s possession andLor 'ouissance
of the object, the *iser possesses the object, but cannot enjo'Lconsu*e it / his satisfaction derives
fro* just possessin$ it, elevatin$ it into a sacred, untouchableLprohibited, entit' which should under no
conditions be consu*ed 0recall the proverbial fi$ure of the lone *iser who, upon returnin$ ho*e,
safel' locks the doors, opens up his chest and then takes the secret peek at his prized object, observin$
it in awe19 this ver' hindrance that prevents the consu**ation of the object $uarantees its status of the
object of desire. The *elancholic subject, like the *iser, possesses the object, but loses the cause that
*ade hi* desire it! this fi$ure, *ost tra$ic of the* all, has free access to all he wants, but finds no
satisfaction in it.
This e4cess of env' is the base of Rousseau5s well/known, but nonetheless not full' e4ploited,
distinction between e$otis*, amour(#e(soi 0which natural1, and amour(propre, the perverted
preferrin$ of oneself to others in which I focus not on achievin$ the $oal, but on destro'in$ the
obstacle to it!
2The pri*itive passions, which all directl' tend towards our happiness, *ake us deal onl' with
objects which relate to the*, and whose principle is onl' amour #e soi, are all in their essence
lovable and tender9 however, when, diverted fro* their objects b' obstacles, the' are *ore
occupied with the obstacle the' tr' to $et rid of, than with the object the' tr' to reach, the'
chan$e their nature and beco*e irascible and hateful. This is how a*our de soi, which is a
noble and absolute feelin$, beco*es amour(propre, that is to sa', a relative feelin$ b' *eans
of which one co*pares oneself, a feelin$ which de*ands preferences, whose enjo'*ent is
purel' ne$ative and which does not strive to find satisfaction in our own well/bein$, but onl'
in the *isfortune of others.2 0Rousseau, )uge #e )ean()ac*ues, first dialo$ue1
or Rousseau, an evil person is "#T an e$otist, 2thinkin$ onl' about his own interests2! a true e$otist
is all too bus' with takin$ care of his own $ood to have ti*e to cause *isfortunes to others, while the
pri*ar' vice of a bad person is precisel' that he is *ore occupied with others than with hi*self.
Rousseau describes here a precise libidinal *echanis*! the inversion which $enerates the shift of the
libidinal invest*ent fro* the object to the obstacle itself. This is wh' e$alitarianis* itself should
never be accepted at its face value! the notion 0and practice1 of e$alitarian justice, insofar as it is
sustained b' env', relies on the inversion of the standard renunciation acco*plished to benefit others!
2I a* read' to renounce it, so that others will 0also1 "#T 0be able to1 have itG2 ar fro* bein$ opposed
to the spirit of sacrifice, -vil is thus the ver' spirit of sacrifice, read' to i$nore one5s own well/bein$ /
if, throu$h *' sacrifice, I can deprive the #ther of his 'ouissance... Is this sad fact that the opposition
to the s'ste* cannot articulate itself in the $uise of a realistic alternative, or at least a *eanin$ful
utopian project, but onl' as a *eanin$less outburst, not the stron$est indict*ent of our predica*ent3
+here is here the celebrated freedo* of choice, when the onl' choice is the one between pla'in$ b'
the rules and 0self/1destructive violence, a violence which is al*ost e4clusivel' directed a$ainst one5s
own / the cars burned and the schools torched were not fro* rich nei$hborhoods, but were part of the
hard/won ac6uisitions of the ver' strata fro* which protesters ori$inate.
+hich is wh' the notion of evaluation is crucial for the functionin$ of a de*ocratic societ'! if, at the
level of their s'*bolic identit', all subjects are e6ual, if, here, un su'et vaut l'autre, if the' can be
indefinitel' substituted to each other, since each of the* is reduced to an e*pt' punctual place 0M1, to
a 2*an without 6ualities/properties2 0to recall the title of Robert &usil5s magnum opus1 / if,
conse6uentl', ever' reference to their properl' s'*bolic *andate is prohibited, how then, are the' to
be distributed within the social edifice, how can their occupation be le$iti*ized3 The answer is, of
course, evaluation! one has to evaluate / as objectivel' as possible, and throu$h all possible *eans,
fro* 6uantified testin$ of their abilities to *ore 2personalized2 in/depth interviews / their potentials.
The underl'in$ ideal notion is to produce their characterization deprived of all traces of s'*bolic
identities. N <ere the standard 8eftist critics who denounce the hidden cultural bias of evaluations and
tests *iss the point! the proble* with evaluation, with its total objectivation of criteria, is not that it is
unjust, but precisel' that it IS just.
+hat this *eans is that the 2deconstructionist2 L 2risk societ'2 co**onplace accordin$ to which the
conte*porar' individual e4periences hi*self as thorou$hl' denaturalized, that he e4periences even his
*ost 2natural2 features 0fro* his ethnic identit' to his se4ual preferences1 as so*ethin$ chosen,
historicall' contin$ent, to be learned, is profoundl' deceivin$! what we are effectivel' witnessin$
toda' is the opposite process of an unheard/of re/naturalization! all bi$ 2public issues2 are
0re1translated into 6uestions about the re$ulation and stances towards inti*ate 2natural2L2personal2
idios'ncrasies. This is also wh', at a *ore $eneral level, the pseudo/naturalized ethnico/reli$ious
conflicts are the for* of stru$$le which fits $lobal capitalis*! in our a$e of Hpost/politics,I when
politics proper is pro$ressivel' replaced b' e4pert social ad*inistration, the onl' re*ainin$ le$iti*ate
source of conflicts are cultural 0reli$ious1 or natural 0ethnic1 tensions. / :nd 2evaluation2 is precisel'
the re$ulation of social pro*otion that fits this *assive renaturalization. So, perhaps, the ti*e has
co*e to reassert, as the truth of evaluation, the perverted lo$ic to which &ar4 refers ironicall' in his
description of co**odit' fetishis*, when he 6uotes ?o$berr'5s advice to Seacoal fro* Shakespeare5s
Much A#o A&out +othing 0:ct >, Scene >1 which concludes 7hapter 1 of Das "apital! 2To be a well/
favored *an is the $ift of fortune9 but readin$ and writin$ co*es b' nature.2 Toda', in our ti*es of
evaluation, to be a co*puter e4pert or a successful *ana$er is a $ift of nature, while to have a
beautiful lips or e'es is a fact of culture..
"otes!
1. @ean/,ierre ?upu', Avions(nous ou&li, le ma- $enser la politi*ue apr.s le // septem&re, ,aris! ;a'ard =DD=.
2. ?onald ?avidson, %ssays on Actions an# %vents, #4ford! #4ford .niversit' ,ress 1B)D.
3. Ouoted in ;radle' %. &artin, 0n#er the oving "are of the Fatherly ea#er, "ew Aork! Tho*as ?unne
;ooks =DDF, p. )K.
4. Robert :4elrod, The %volution of "ooperation, "ew Aork! ;asic ;ooks 1B)F.
5. @ohn Rawls, A Theory of )ustice, 7a*brid$e! <arvard .niversit' ,ress 1BN1 0revised edition 1BBB1.
6.riedrich <a'ek, The !oa# to Serf#om, 7hica$o! .niversit' of 7hica$o ,ress 1BBF.
7. @ac6ues/:lain &iller, @ean/7laude &ilner, 1oule2(vous 3tre ,valu,-, ,aris! Crasset =DDF.
>. -scape fro* "ew #rleans
This sa*e deadlock is clearl' discernible also beneath the "ew #rleans outbursts. #ne of the pop
heroes of the .S/Ira6 war, enjo'in$ a short fa*e and toda' for$otten, was &uha**ed Saeed al/
Sahaf, the unfortunate Ira6i infor*ation *inister who, in his dail' press conferences, heroicall' denied
even the *ost evident facts and stuck to the Ira6i line / when the .S tanks were onl' hundreds of
'ards fro* his office, he continued to clai* that the .S TV shots of the tanks on the ;a$hdad streets
are just <oll'wood special effects. So*eti*es, however, he struck a stran$e truth / sa', when,
confronted with the clai*s that :*ericans are in control of parts of ;a$hdad, he snapped back! 2The'
are not in control of an'thin$ / the' don5t even control the*selvesG2
It is as if, with the "ew #rleans descent into chaos, &ar45s old sa'in$ that tra$ed' repeats itself as
co*ed' was turned around! Saeed5s co*ic repartee turned into a tra$ed'. The .S authorities, this
universal police*an endeavorin$ to control the threats to peace, freedo* and de*ocrac' all around
the $lobe, lost control of a part of the *etropolis itself! for a couple of da's, the cit' re$ressed to a
wild preserve of free lootin$, killin$ and rapes, it beca*e the cit' of the dead and d'in$, a post/
apocal'ptic Zone in which what Cior$io :$a*ben called homini sacer / those e4cluded fro* the civil
order / wander around. : lot can be said about this fear that per*eates our lives, the fear that, because
of so*e natural or technolo$ical accident 0electricit' failure, earth6uake...1, our entire social fabric
will disinte$rate / recall the &illeniu* ;u$ fear a couple of 'ears a$o. This feelin$ of the fra$ilit' of
our social bond is in itself a social s'*pto*! precisel' where one would e4pect a sur$e of social
solidarit' in the face of a disaster, the *ost ruthless e$otis* e4plodes.
This is no ti*e for an' kind of Scha#enfreu#e, of 2the .S $ot what it deserved2 / the tra$ed' is
i**ense, what we have is no ordinar' floodin$, since "ew #rleans is below the sea level, so that
water will not just retreat b' itself. ;ut it is the ti*e for anal'sis. So*ethin$ happened that we5ve
alread' seen / where3 The scenes we saw on the TV news in the last da's cannot but recall a whole
series of real life, *edia and cultural pheno*ena. The first association, of course, is that of the TV
reports fro* Third +orld cities descendin$ into chaos durin$ a civil war 0%abul, ;a$hdad, So*alia,
8iberia...1 / and this accounts for the true surprise of the "ew #rleans eclipse! what we were used to
see happenin$ T<-R-, it now took place <-R-. 0The iron' is that 8ouisiana IS often desi$nated as
the 2.S banana republic,2 the Third +orld part of the .S.1 This is probabl' one of the reasons wh'
the reaction of the authorities ca*e too late! althou$h one rationall' knew what could have happened,
one did not reall' believe that it can happen, as with the threat of ecolo$ical catastrophe / althou$h we
know all about it, we so*ehow do not reall' believe that it can happen...
<owever, it ?I? alread' happen in the .S! in <oll'wood, of course, the -scape fro*... series 0%scape
from +ew 4ork, %scape from os Angeles1, in which a .S *e$alopolis is cut off fro* the do*ain of
public order and cri*inal $an$s take over. &ore interestin$ in this respect is ?avid %oepp5s The
Trigger %ffect fro* 1BB(, in which, when the power $oes out in the bi$ cit', societ' starts to break
down9 the fil* pla's i*a$inativel' with race relations, and our prejudicial attitudes toward stran$ers /
as the publicit' for the fil* put it! 2+hen nothin$ works, an'thin$ $oes.2 -ven further behind is
lurkin$ the aura of "ew #rleans as the cit' of va*pires, livin$ dead and voodoo, where so*e dark
spiritual force is alwa's threatenin$ to e4plode the social fabric. So, a$ain, as with BL11, the surprise
was not just a surprise! what happened was not that the self/enclosed ivor' tower of the .S life was
shattered b' the intrusion of the Third +orld realit' of social chaos, violence and hun$er, but, on the
contrar', that 0what was hitherto perceived as1 so*ethin$ which is not part of our realit', so*ethin$
that we were onl' aware of as a fictional presence on TV and theatre screens, brutall' entered our
realit'.
So what +:S the catastroph' that took place in "ew #rleans3 .pon a closer look, the first thin$ one
can note is its stran$e te*poralit', a kind of dela'ed reaction. I**ediatel' after the hurricane strike,
there was a *o*entar' relief! its e'e *issed "ew #rleans b' about =K *iles, onl' 1D people were
reported dead, so the worst, the feared catastrophe, was a$ain avoided. Then, in the after*ath, thin$s
started to $o reall' wron$! part of the protective walls broke down, the cit' was sub*er$ed into water,
and social order disinte$rated... The natural catastrophe 0hurricane1 thus revealed itself 2sociall'
*ediated2 in *ultiple wa's. irst, there are $ood reasons to suspect that the .S is $ettin$ *ore
hurricanes than usual due to *an/*ade $lobal war*in$. Second, the catastrophic i**ediate effect of
the hurricane 0the cit' under water1 was to a lar$e e4tent due to hu*an failure! the protective da*s
were not $ood enou$h, and the authorities were not read' for the 0easil' predictable1 hu*anitarian
needs. ;ut the true shock took place :T-R+:R?S, in the $uise of the social effect of the natural
catastroph', the disinte$ration of the social order / as if, in a kind of deferred action, natural
catastroph' repeated itself as a social one. <ow are we to read this social breakdown3
The first reaction is the standard conservative one! the events in "ew #rleans confir* 'et a$ain how
fra$ile social order is, how we need a severe law enforce*ent and ethical pressure to prevent the
e4plosion of violent passions. <u*an nature is naturall' evil, descent into social chaos is a per*anent
threat... This ar$u*ent can also be $iven a racist twist! those who e4ploded into violence were al*ost
e4clusivel' black, so here we have a new proof of how blacks are not reall' civilized. "atural
catastrophes brin$ to the li$ht the scu* which is barel' kept under check in nor*al ti*es.
#f course, the obvious answer to this line of ar$u*entation is that the "ew #rleans descent into chaos
rendered visible the persistin$ racial divide in the .S! "ew #rleans was ()P black, the' are the poor
and the underprivile$ed, the' had no *eans to leave the cit' in ti*e and were left behind, starvin$ and
without care, so no wonder the' e4ploded / their violent e4plosions should thus be seen as echoin$ the
Rodne' %in$ riots in 8:, or even the ?etroit and "ewark outbursts in the late 1B(Ds.
&ore funda*entall', what if the tension that led to the e4plosion in "ew #rleans was not the tension
between 2hu*an nature2 and the force of civilization that keeps it in check, but the tension between
the two aspects of our civilization itself3 +hat if, in endeavorin$ to control e4plosions like the one in
"ew #rleans, the forces of 8aw and #rder were confronted with the 2nature2 of capitalis* at its
purest, the lo$ic of individualist co*petition, of ruthless self/assertion, $enerated b' the capitalist
d'na*ics, a 2nature2 *uch *ore threatenin$ and violent than all the hurricanes and earth6uakes3
In his theor' of the subli*e 0#as %rha&ene1, I**anuel %ant interpreted our fascination b' the
outbursts of the power of nature as a ne$ative proof of the superiorit' of spirit over nature! no *atter
how brutal the displa' of ferocious nature is, it cannot touch the *oral law in ourselves. ?oes the
catastroph' of "ew #rleans not provide a si*ilar e4a*ple of the subli*e3 "o *atter how brutal the
vorte4 of the hurricane, it cannot disrupt the vorte4 of the capitalist d'na*ic...
F. The Subject Supposed to 8oot and Rape Revisited
There is, however, another aspect of the "ew #rleans outbursts that is no less crucial with re$ard to
ideolo$ical *echanis*s that re$ulate our lives. :ccordin$ to a well/known anthropolo$ical anecdote,
the 2pri*itives2 to who* one attributed certain superstitious beliefs 0that the' descend fro* a fish or
fro* a bird, for e4a*ple1, when directl' asked about these beliefs, answered! 2#f course not / we5re
not that stupidG ;ut I was told that so*e of our ancestors effectivel' did believe that...2 / in short, the'
transferred their belief onto another. :re we not doin$ the sa*e with our children! we $o throu$h the
ritual of Santa 7laus, since our children 0are supposed to1 believe in it and we do not want to
disappoint the*9 the' pretend to believe not to disappoint us, our belief in their naivet' 0and to $et the
presents, of course1, etc. Is this not also the usual e4cuse of the *'thical crooked politician who turns
honest3 / 2I cannot disappoint the ordinar' people who believe in it 0or in *e1.2 :nd, further*ore, is
this need to find another who 2reall' believes,2 also not that which propels us in our need to sti$*atize
the #ther as a 0reli$ious or ethnic1 2funda*entalist23 In an uncann' wa', so*e beliefs alwa's see* to
function 2at a distance2! in order for the belief to function, there has to be so*e ulti*ate $uarantor of
it, 'et this $uarantor is alwa's deferred, displaced, never present in persona. The point, of course, is
that this other subject who directl' believes, needs not e4ist for the belief to be operative! it is enou$h
precisel' to presuppose his e4istence, i.e. to believe in it, either in the $uise of the pri*itive other or in
the $uise of the i*personal 2one2 02one believes...21.
:nd is it not si*ilar with our inner*ost feelin$s and attitudes, inclusive of cr'in$ and lau$hin$3
Suffice it to recall the old eni$*a of transposed e*otions at work fro* the so/called 2weepers2
0wo*en hired to cr' at funerals1 in 2pri*itive2 societies, to the 2canned lau$hter2 on a TV/screen 0the
reaction of lau$hter to a co*ic scene which is included into the soundtrack itself1, and to adoptin$ a
screen persona in c'berspace. +hen I construct a 2false2 i*a$e of *'self which stands for *e in a
virtual co**unit' in which I participate 0in se4ual $a*es, for e4a*ple, a sh' *an often assu*es the
screen persona of an attractive pro*iscuous wo*an1, the e*otions I feel and 2fei$n2 as part of *'
screen persona are not si*pl' false! althou$h 0what I e4perience as1 *' 2true self2 does not feel the*,
the' are nonetheless in a sense 2true2 / the sa*e as with watchin$ a TV *ini/series with canned
lau$hter where, even if I do not lau$h, but si*pl' stare at the screen, tired after a hard da's work, I
nonetheless feel relieved after the show...
The events in "ew #rleans after the cit' was struck b' the hurricane %atrina provide a new addition to
this series of subjects supposed to...! T<- S.;@-7T S.,,#S-? T# 8##T :"? R:,-. +e all
re*e*ber the reports on the disinte$ration of public order, the e4plosion of black violence, rape and
lootin$ / however, later in6uiries de*onstrated that, in the lar$e *ajorit' of cases, these alle$ed or$ies
of violence si*pl' did not occur! non/verified ru*ors were reported as facts b' the *edia. or
e4a*ple, on Septe*ber F, the Superintendent 7o*pass of the "ew #rleans ,olice ?epart*ent was
6uoted in "ew Aork Ti*es about conditions at the convention centre! 2The tourists are walkin$
around there, and as soon as these individuals see the*, the'5re bein$ pre'ed upon. The' are beatin$,
the' are rapin$ the* in the streets.2 In an interview two weeks later, he conceded that so*e of his
*ost shockin$ state*ents turned out to be untrue! 2+e have no official reports to docu*ent an'
*urder. "ot one official report of rape or se4ual assault.2 0See @i* ?w'er and 7hristopher ?rew,
2ear -4ceeded 7ri*e5s Realit' in "ew #rleans,2 +ew 4ork Times, Septe*ber =B =DDK.1
The realit' of poor ;lacks, abandoned, left without *eans to survive, was thus transfor*ed into the
specter of the e4plosion of ;lack violence, of tourists robbed and killed on streets that had slid into
anarch', on the Superdo*e co*pounded b' $an$s that were rapin$ wo*en and children... These
reports were not *erel' words, the' were words which had precise *aterial effects! the' $enerated
fears that led the authorities to chan$e troop deplo'*ents, the' dela'ed *edical evacuations, drove
police officers to 6uit, $rounded helicopters... or e4a*ple, :cadian :*bulance 7o*pan'5s cars were
locked down after word ca*e that a firehouse in 7ovin$ton had been looted b' ar*ed robbers of all its
water / a report that proved totall' untrue.
#f course, the sense of *enace had been i$nited b' $enuine disorder and violence! lootin$ did be$in at
the *o*ent the stor* passed over "ew #rleans, ran$in$ fro* base thiever' to fora$in$ for the
necessities of life. <owever, the 0li*ited1 realit' of cri*es in no wa' condones 2reports2 on the total
breakdown of law and order / not because these reports were 2e4a$$erated,2 but for a *uch *ore
radical reason. @ac6ues 8acan clai*ed that, even if the patient5s wife is reall' sleepin$ around with
other *en, the patient5s jealous' is still to be treated as a patholo$ical condition9 in a ho*olo$ous wa',
even if rich @ews in the Cer*an' of the earl' 1B>Ds 2reall'2 e4ploited Cer*an workers, seduced their
dau$hters, do*inated the popular press, etc., the "azi anti/Se*itis* was still an e*phaticall'
2untrue,2 a patholo$ical ideolo$ical condition / wh'3 +hat *ade it patholo$ical was the disavowed
libidinal invest*ent into the fi$ure of the @ew! the cause of all social anta$onis*s was projected into
the 2@ew,2 the object of perverted love/hatred, the spectral fi$ure of *i4ed fascination and dis$ust.
:nd e4actl' the sa*e $oes for the lootin$ in "ew #rleans! even if :88 reports on violence and rapes
were to be proven factuall' true, the stories circulatin$ about the* would still be 2patholo$ical2 and
racist, since what *otivated these stories were not facts, but racist prejudices, the satisfaction felt b'
those who would be able to sa'! 2Aou see, ;lacks are reall' like than, violent barbarians under the thin
la'er of civilizationG2 In other words, we would be dealin$ b' what one can call l'in$ in the $uise of
truth! even if what I a* sa'in$ is factuall' true, the *otives that *ake *e sa' it are false.
#f course, we do not openl' ad*it these *otifs / fro* ti*e to ti*e, the' nonetheless pop up in our
public space in the censored for*, in the $uise of dene$ation, evoked as an option and then
i**ediatel' discarded. Recall what +illia* ;ennett, the neo/con co*pulsive $a*bler author of The
5ook of 1irtues, said on Sept =) =DDK on his call/in pro$ra* 2&ornin$ in :*erica2! 2;ut I do know
that it5s true that if 'ou wanted to reduce cri*e, 'ou could, if that were 'our sole purpose, 'ou could
abort ever' black bab' in this countr', and 'our cri*e rate would $o down. That would be an
i*possibl' ridiculous and *orall' reprehensible thin$ to do, but 'our cri*e rate would $o down.2 The
+hite <ouse spokes*an i**ediatel' reacted! 2The president believes the co**ents were not
appropriate.2 Two da's later, ;ennett 6ualified his state*ent! 2I was puttin$ a h'pothetical proposition
... and then said about it, it was *orall' reprehensible to reco**end abortion of an entire $roup of
people. ;ut this is what happens when 'ou ar$ue that ends can justif' the *eans.2 T<IS is what reud
*eant when he wrote that the .nconscious knows no ne$ation! the official 07hristian, de*ocratic...1
discourse is acco*panied and sustained b' a whole nest of obscene brutal racist, se4ist, etc., fantasies,
which can onl' be ad*itted in a censored for*.
;ut we are not dealin$ here onl' with the $ood old racis* / so*ethin$ *ore is at stake! a funda*ental
feature of the e*er$in$ 2$lobal2 societ'. #n Septe*ber 11, =DD1, the Twin Towers were hit. Twelve
'ears earlier, on "ove*ber B, 1B)B, the ;erlin +all fell. "ove*ber B announced the 2happ' 5BDs,2 the
rancis uku'a*a drea* of the 2end of histor',2 the belief that liberal de*ocrac' had, in principle,
won, that the search is over, that the advent of a $lobal, liberal world co**unit' lurks just around the
corner, that the obstacles to this ultra/<oll'wood happ' endin$ are *erel' e*pirical and contin$ent
0local pockets of resistance where the leaders did not 'et $rasp that their ti*e is over1. In contrast to it,
BL11 is the *ain s'*bol of the end of the 7lintonite happ' 5BDs, of the forthco*in$ era in which new
walls are e*er$in$ ever'where, between Israel and the +est ;ank, around the -uropean .nion, on the
..S./&e4ico border. The rise of the populist "ew Ri$ht is just the *ost pro*inent e4a*ple of the
ur$e to raise new walls.
: couple of 'ears a$o, an o*inous decision of the -uropean .nion passed al*ost unnoticed! the plan
to establish an all/-uropean border police force to secure the isolation of the .nion territor' and thus
to prevent the influ4 of the i**i$rants. T<IS is the truth of $lobalization! the construction of "-+
walls safe$uardin$ the prosperous -urope fro* the i**i$rant flood. #ne is te*pted to resuscitate
here the old &ar4ist Hhu*anistI opposition of Hrelations between thin$sI and Hrelations between
personsI! in the *uch celebrated free circulation opened up b' the $lobal capitalis*, it is 2thin$s2
0co**odities1 which freel' circulate, while the circulation of 2persons2 is *ore and *ore controlled.
+e are thus not dealin$ with 2$lobalization as an unfinished project,2 but with a true 2dialectics of
$lobalization2! the se$re$ation of the people IS the realit' of econo*ic $lobalization. This new racis*
of the of the developed is in a wa' *uch *ore brutal than the previous one5s! its i*plicit le$iti*ization
is neither naturalist 0the HnaturalI superiorit' of the developed +est1 nor an' lon$er culturalist 0we in
the +est also want to preserve our cultural identit'1, but the unabashed econo*ic e$otis* / the
funda*ental divide is the one between those included into the sphere of 0relative1 econo*ic prosperit'
and those e4cluded fro* it.
+hen, at the be$innin$ of #ctober =DDK, the Spanish police dealt with the proble* of how to stop the
influ4 of desperate :frican i**i$rants who tried to penetrate the s*all Spanish territor' across
Cibraltar, the' displa'ed the plans to build a wall there between Spanish and &orocco border. The
i*a$es presented / a co*ple4 structure with all the electronic e6uip*ent / rese*bled uncannil' those
of the ;erlin +all, onl' in the opposite direction, destined to prevent people fro* co*in$ in, not
$ettin$ out.
The cruel iron' of the situation is that it was the $overn*ent of Zapatero, at this *o*ent ar$uabl' the
*ost anti/racist and tolerant in -urope, that is forced to adopt these *easures of se$re$ation / a clear
si$n of the li*it of the *ulticulturalist 2tolerant2 approach which preaches open borders and
acceptance of #thers. If one were to open the borders, the first to rebel would be local workin$
classes. It is thus beco*in$ clear that the solution is not 2tear down the walls and let the* all in,2 this
eas' e*pt' de*and of soft/hearted liberal 2radicals.2 The onl' true solution is to tear down the TR.-
+all, not the police one, but the social/econo*ic one! to chan$e societ' so that people will no lon$er
desperatel' tr' to escape their own world.
This brin$s us back to ru*ours and 2reports2 about 2subjects supposed to loot and rape2! "ew #rleans
is the cit' within the .S which is a*on$ the *ost heavil' *arked b' the internal +all that separates
the afffluent fro* the $hettoized ;lacks. :nd it is about those on the other side of the +all that we
fantasize! the' *ore and *ore live in another world, in a blank zone that offers itself as a screen for
the projection of our fears, an4ieties, and secret desires. The 2subject supposed to loot and rape2 is on
the other side of the +all / it is about this subject that ;ennett can afford to *ake his slip of ton$ue
and confess in a censored *ode his *urderous drea*s. &ore than an'thin$ else, ru*ors and fake
reports fro* the after*ath of %atrina bear witness to the deep class division of :*erican societ'.
K. "'est mon choix ... to ;urn 7ars
The recent outbursts in ,aris bear witness to the sa*e +all in -urope itself. The thin$ to resist, when
we are faced with shockin$ reports and i*a$es of cars burnin$ in ,aris suburbs, is the 2her*eneutic
te*ptation2! the search for so*e deeper *eanin$ or *essa$e hidden in these outbursts. +hat is *ost
difficult to accept is precisel' their ut*ost *eanin$lessness! *ore than a for* of protest, the' are a
passage l'acte which bears witness not onl' to the i*potence of the perpetrators, but, even *ore, to
the lack of what redric @a*eson called 2co$nitive *appin$2, to their inabilit' to locate the e4perience
of their situation into a *eanin$ful +hole. The true 6uestion is thus! which are the roots of this
disorientation3
Social theorists like to repeat that toda'5s societ' is thorou$hl' 2refle4ive2! there is no "ature or
Tradition that would provide the fir* foundation on which one can rel', even our inner*ost i*petuses
0se4ual orientation1 are *ore and *ore e4perienced as so*ethin$ to be chosen. <ow to feed and
educate a child, how to proceed in se4ual seduction, how and what to eat, how to rela4 and a*use
oneself, all these spheres are *ore and *ore 2colonized2 b' refle4ivit', e4perienced as so*ethin$ to
be learned and decided upon. <owever, the ulti*ate deadlock of the risk societ' resides in the $ap
between knowled$e and decision! there is no one who 2reall' knows2 what to do, the situation is
radicall' 2undecidable2, but we nonetheless <:V- T# ?-7I?-. The proble* is thus not that of the
forced choice 0I a* free to choose / on condition that I *ake the ri$ht choice1, but the opposite one!
the choice is effectivel' free and, for this ver' reason, is e4perienced as utterl' *ore frustratin$.
+e find ourselves constantl' in the position of havin$ to decide about *atters that will fatefull' affect
our lives, but without a proper foundation in knowled$e. ar fro* bein$ e4perienced as liberatin$, this
co*pulsion freel' to decide is thus e4perienced as an an4iet'/provokin$ obscene $a*ble, a kind of
ironic reversal of ,redestination! I a* held accountable for decisions which I was forced to *ake
without proper knowled$e of the situation. The freedo* of decision enjo'ed b' the subject of the 2risk
societ'2 is not the freedo* of so*eone who can freel' choose his destin', but the an4iet'/provokin$
freedo* of so*ebod' who is constantl' co*pelled to *ake decisions without bein$ aware of their
conse6uences. There is no $uarantee that the de*ocratic politicization of crucial decisions, the active
involve*ent of thousands of concerned individuals, will necessaril' i*prove the 6ualit' and accurac'
of decisions and thus effectivel' lessen the risks / one is te*pted to evoke here the answer of a devote
7atholic to the reproach of the atheist liberal that the', 7atholics, are so stupid as to believe in the
infallibilit' of the ,ope! 2+e, 7atholics, at least believe in the infallibilit' of #"- and onl' one
person9 does de*ocrac' not rel' on a *uch *ore risk' notion that the *ajorit' of the people, i.e.
*illions of the*, are infallible32
The subject thus finds hi*self in a %afkaes6ue situation of bein$ $uilt' for not even knowin$ what 0if
an'thin$1 he is $uilt' of! the prospect forever haunts *e that I have alread' *ade decisions which will
endan$er *e and all *' beloved, but I will onl', if ever, learn the truth about it when it will be alread'
too late. 8et us recall here the fi$ure of orrest Cu*p, this perfect 2vanishin$ *ediator,2 the ver'
opposite of the &aster 0the one who s'*bolicall' re$isters an event b' no*inatin$ it, b' inscribin$ it
into the bi$ #ther1! Cu*p is presented as the innocent b'stander who, b' just doin$ what he does,
unknowin$l' sets in *otion a shift of historical proportions. +hen he visits ;erlin to pla' football and
inadvertentl' throws the ball across the wall, he thereb' starts the process which brin$s down the wall9
when he visits +ashin$ton and is $iven a roo* in the +ater$ate co*ple4, in the *iddle of the ni$ht
he notices so*e stran$e thin$s $oin$ on in the roo*s across the 'ard, calls the $uard and sets in
*otion the events which cul*inated in "i4on5s downfall / is this not the ulti*ate *etaphor for the
situation at which the proponents of the notion of 2risk societ'2 ai*, a situation in which we are forced
to *ake *oves whose ulti*ate effects are be'ond our reach3
+e are here at the ver' nerve center of the liberal ideolo$'! the rulin$ ideolo$' endeavors to sell us
the ver' insecurit' caused b' the dis*antlin$ of the +elfare State as the opportunit' for new
freedo*s. Aou have to chan$e job ever' 'ear, rel'in$ on short/ter* contracts instead of a lon$/ter*
stable appoint*ent3 +h' not see it as the liberation fro* the constraints of a fi4ed job, as the chance
to reinvent 'ourself a$ain and a$ain, to beco*e aware of and realize hidden potentials of 'our
personalit'3 Aou can no lon$er rel' on the standard health insurance and retire*ent plan, so that 'ou
have to opt for additional covera$e for which 'ou have to pa'3 +h' not perceive it as an additional
opportunit' to choose! either better life now or lon$/ter* securit'3 :nd if this predica*ent causes 'ou
an4iet', the post*odern or 2second *odernit'2 ideolo$ist will i**ediatel' accuse 'ou of bein$
unable to assu*e full freedo*, of the 2escape fro* freedo*,2 of the i**ature stickin$ to old stable
for*s... -ven better, when this is inscribed into the ideolo$' of the subject as the ps'cholo$ical
individual pre$nant with natural abilities and tendencies, then I as if were auto*aticall' interpret all
these chan$es as the results of *' personalit', not as the result of *e bein$ thrown around b' the
*arket forces.
The *ost popular TV show of the all of =DDD in rance, with the viewer ratin$ two ti*es hi$her than
that of the notorious 2;i$ ;rother2 realit' soaps, was 6"'est mon choix6 02It is *' choice21 on France
7, the talk/show whose $uest is each ti*e an ordinar' 0or, e4ceptionall', well/known1 person who
*ade a peculiar choice which deter*ined his or her entire life/st'le! one of the* decided never to
wear underwear, another tries all the ti*e to find a *ore appropriate se4ual partner for his father and
*other / e4trava$ance is allowed, solicited even, but with the e4plicit e4clusion of the choices which
*a' disturb the public 0sa', a person whose choice is to be and act as a racist, is a priori e4cluded1.
7an one i*a$ine a better predica*ent of what the 2freedo* of choice2 effectivel' a*ounts to in our
liberal societies3 +e can $o on *akin$ our s*all choices, 2reinventin$ ourselves2 thorou$hl', on
condition that these choices do not seriousl' disturb the social and ideolo$ical balance. +ith re$ard to
the 6"'est mon choix86 the trul' radical thin$ would have been to focus precisel' on the 2disturbin$2
choices! to invite as $uests people like dedicated racists, i.e. people whose choice 0whose difference1
?#-S *ake a difference. This, also, is the reason wh', toda', 2de*ocrac'2 is *ore and *ore a false
issue, a notion so discredited b' its predo*inant use that, perhaps, one should take the risk of
abandonin$ it to the ene*'. +here, how, b' who* are the ke' decisions concernin$ $lobal social
issues *ade3 :re the' *ade in the public space, throu$h the en$a$ed participation of the *ajorit'3 If
the answer is 'es, it is of secondar' i*portance if the state has a one/part' s'ste*, etc. If the answer is
no, it is of secondar' i*portance if we have parlia*entar' de*ocrac' and freedo* of individual
choices.
(. 7lass Stru$$les in rance, :$ain
-tienne ;alibar 1 proposed the notion of e4cessive, non/functional cruelt' as a feature of
conte*porar' life! a cruelt' whose fi$ures ran$e fro* 2funda*entalist2 racist andLor reli$ious
slau$hter to the 2senseless2 outbursts of violence perfor*ed b' adolescents and the ho*eless in our
*e$alopolises, a violence one is te*pted to call 2Id/-vil2 0referrin$ to the reudian Id 0#as %s8 le 9a1,
a violence $rounded in no utilitarian or ideolo$ical reasons. :ll the talk about forei$ners stealin$ work
fro* us or about the threat the' represent to our +estern values should not deceive us! under closer
e4a*ination, it soon beco*es clear that this talk provides a rather superficial secondar'
rationalization. The answer we ulti*atel' obtain fro* a skinhead is that it *akes hi* feel $ood to beat
forei$ners, that their presence disturbs hi*. +hat we encounter here is indeed Id/-vil, the -vil
structured and *otivated b' the *ost ele*entar' i*balance in the relationship between the -$o and
'ouissance, b' the tension between pleasure and the forei$n bod' of 'ouissance in the ver' heart of it.
Id/-vil thus sta$es the *ost ele*entar' 2short/circuit2 in the relationship of the subject to the
pri*ordiall' *issin$ object/cause of his desire! what 2bothers2 us in the 2other2 0@ew, @apanese,
:frican, Turk1 is that he appears to entertain a privile$ed relationship to the object / the other either
possesses the object/treasure, havin$ snatched it awa' fro* us 0which is wh' we don5t have it1, or he
poses a threat to our possession of the object
+hat one should propose here, a$ain, is the <e$elian 5infinite jud$e*ent5 assertin$ the speculative
identit' of these 2useless2 and 2e4cessive2 outbursts of violence, which displa' nothin$ but a pure and
naked 02non/subli*ated21 hatred of the #therness, with the post/political *ulticulturalist universe of
tolerance for difference in which nobod' is e4cluded. #f course, we just used the ter* 2non/
subli*ated2 in its co**on *eanin$ which, in this case, stands for the e4act opposite of its strict
ps'choanal'tic *eanin$ / in short, what takes place in the focusin$ of our hatred on so*e
representative of the 0officiall' tolerated1 #ther is the ver' *echanis* of subli*ation at its *ost
ele*entar'! the all/enco*passin$ nature of the post/political 7oncrete .niversalit' which accounts for
ever'bod' at the level of s'*bolic inclusion, this *ulticulturalist vision/and/practice of 2unit' in
difference2 02all e6ual, all different21, leaves open, as the onl' wa' to *ark the ?ifference, the proto/
subli*ator' $esture of elevatin$ a contin$ent #ther 0of race, se4, reli$ion...1 into the 2absolute
#therness2 of the i*possible Thin$, the ulti*ate threat to our identit' / this Thin$ which *ust be
annihilated if we are to survive. Therein resides the properl' <e$elian parado4! the final arrival of the
trul' rational 2concrete universalit'2 / the abolition of anta$onis*s, the 2*ature2 universe of
ne$otiated co/e4istence of different $roups / coincides with its radical opposite, with thorou$hl'
contin$ent outbursts of violence.
<e$el5s funda*ental rule is that 2objective2 e4cess 0the direct rei$n of abstract universalit' which
i*poses its law 2*echanicall'2, with utter disre$ard for the concerned subject cau$ht in its web1 is
alwa's supple*ented b' the 2subjective2 e4cess 0the irre$ular, arbitrar' e4ercise of whi*s1. :n
e4e*plar' case of this interdependence is provided b' ;alibar, who distin$uishes two opposite but
co*ple*entar' *odes of e4cessive violence! the 2ultra/objective2 02structural21 violence that is
inherent in the social conditions of $lobal capitalis* 0the 2auto*atic2 creation of e4cluded and
dispensable individuals, fro* the ho*eless to the une*plo'ed1, and the 2ultra/subjective2 violence of
newl' e*er$in$ ethnic andLor reli$ious 0in short! racist1 2funda*entalis*s.2 This 2e4cessive2 and
2$roundless2 violence involves its own *ode of knowled$e, that of i*potent c'nical reflection / back
to our e4a*ple of Id/-vil, of a skinhead beatin$ up forei$ners! when reall' pressed for the reasons for
his violence, and if capable of *ini*al theoretical reflection, he will suddenl' start to talk like social
workers, sociolo$ists and social ps'cholo$ists, 6uotin$ di*inished social *obilit', risin$ insecurit',
the disinte$ration of paternal authorit', the lack of *aternal love in his earl' childhood... in short, he
will provide a *ore or less precise ps'cho/sociolo$ical account of his acts so dear to enli$htened
liberals ea$er to 2understand2 the violent 'outh as a tra$ic victi* of their social and fa*ilial
conditions. The standard enli$htened for*ula of the efficienc' of the 2criti6ue of ideolo$'2 fro* ,lato
onwards 02the' are doin$ it, because the' do not know what the' are doin$,2 i.e. knowled$e is in itself
liberatin$, when the errin$ subject reflects upon what he is doin$, he will no lon$er be doin$ it1 is here
turned around! the violent skinhead 2knows ver' well what he is doin$, but he is nonetheless doin$ it.2
The s'*bolicall' efficient knowled$e e*bedded in the subject5s effective social pra4is disinte$rates
into, on the one hand, e4cessive 2irrational2 violence with no ideolo$ico/political foundation and, on
the other hand, i*potent e4ternal reflection that leaves the subject5s acts intact. In the $uise of this
c'nicalll'/i*potent reflectin$ skinhead who, with an ironic s*ile, e4plains to the perple4ed journalist
the roots of his senselessl' violent behavior, the enli$htened tolerant *ulticulturalist bent on
2understandin$2 for*s of e4cessive violence $ets his own *essa$e in its inverted, true for* / in short,
as 8acan would have put it, at this point, the co**unication between hi* and the 2object2 of his
stud', the intolerant skinhead, is thorou$hl' successful.
+hat have these outbursts to do with the fact we live in a 2risk societ'2 of per*anent choices3
-ver'thin$! these 2useless2 and 2e4cessive2 outbursts of violence, which displa' nothin$ but a pure
and naked 02non/subli*ated21 hatred of the #therness, are the obverse of the 2refle4ivization2 of our
dail' lives. "owhere is this clearer than in the fate of ps'choanal'tic interpretation. Toda', the
for*ations of the .nconscious 0fro* drea*s to h'sterical s'*pto*s1 have definitel' lost their
innocence and are thorou$hl' refle4ivized! the 2free associations2 of a t'pical educated anal'sand
consist for the *ost part of atte*pts to provide a ps'choanal'tic e4planation of their disturbances, so
that one is 6uite justified in sa'in$ that we have not onl' @un$ian, %leinian, 8acanian... interpretations
of the s'*pto*s, but s'*pto*s the*selves which are @un$ian, %leinian, 8acanian..., i.e. whose realit'
involves i*plicit reference to so*e ps'choanal'tic theor'. The unfortunate result of this $lobal
refle4ivization of the interpretation 0ever'thin$ beco*es interpretation, the .nconscious interprets
itself1 is that the anal'st5s interpretation itself loses its perfor*ative 2s'*bolic efficienc'2 and leaves
the s'*pto* intact in the i**ediac' of its idiotic 'ouissance.
+hat happens in ps'choanal'tic treat*ent is strictl' ho*olo$ous to the response of neo/"azi skinhead
who, when reall' pressed for the reasons for his violence, suddenl' starts to talk like social workers,
sociolo$ists and social ps'cholo$ists, 6uotin$ di*inished social *obilit', risin$ insecurit', the
disinte$ration of paternal authorit', the lack of *aternal love in his earl' childhood / the unit' of
practice and its inherent ideolo$ical le$iti*ization disinte$rates into raw violence and its i*potent,
inefficient interpretation. The ree*er$ence of the brute Real of 2irrational2 violence, i*per*eable and
insensitive to refle4ive interpretation, is the necessar' obverse of the universalized refle4ivit' hailed
b' the risk/societ'/theorists. So the *ore toda'5s social theor' proclai*s the end of "ature andLor
Tradition and the rise of the 2risk societ',2 the *ore the i*plicit reference to 2nature2 pervades our
dail' discourse! even when we do not speak of the 2end of histor',2 do we not put forward the sa*e
*essa$e when we clai* that we are enterin$ a 2post/ideolo$ical2 pra$*atic era, which is another wa'
of clai*in$ that we are enterin$ a post/political order in which the onl' le$iti*ate conflicts are
ethnicLcultural conflicts3
T'picall', in toda'5s critical and political discourse, the ter* 2worker2 disappeared fro* the
vocabular', substituted andLor obliterated b' 2i**i$rants Li**i$rant workers! :l$erians in rance,
Turks in Cer*an', &e4icans in the .S:L2 / in this wa', the class proble*atic of workers5 e4ploitation
is transfor*ed into the *ulticulturalist proble*atic of the 2intolerance of the #therness,2 etc., and the
e4cessive invest*ent of the *ulticulturalist liberals in protectin$ i**i$rants5s ethnic ri$hts clearl'
draws its ener$' fro* the 2repressed2 class di*ension. :lthou$h rancis uku'a*a5s thesis on the
2end of histor'2 6uickl' fell into disrepute, we still silentl' presu*e that the liberal/de*ocratic
capitalist $lobal order is so*ehow the finall'/found 2natural2 social re$i*e, we still i*plicitl'
conceive conflicts in the Third +orld countries as a subspecies of natural catastrophes, as outbursts of
6uasi/natural violent passions, or as conflicts based on the fanatic identification to one5s ethnic roots /
and what is 2the ethnic2 here if not a$ain a codeword for nature3
There is a well/known anecdote about ,icasso durin$ the +orld +ar II! a Cer*an officer visited his
studio, saw there :uernica and, shocked at the *odernist confusion of the paintin$, asked hi*! 2?id
'ou do this32 ,icasso cal*l' replied! 2"o, A#. did thisG2 Toda', *an' liberals, when faced with
violent outbursts like the lootin$ in ,aris suburbs, ask us, the few re*ainin$ 8eftists who still count on
a radical social transfor*ation! 2?id A#. not do it3 Is T<IS what 'ou want32 :nd we should repl'
like ,icasso! 2"o, A#. did thisG This is the true result of A#.R politicsG2
"ote!
1. -tienne ;alibar, 28a violence! idealitQ et cruautQ,2 in a crainte #es masses, ,aris! -ditions CalilQe,
1BBN.