Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Radical critique as the paradox of post-political society
AU - Diken, Bulent
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - This article focuses on the intimate relationship between two concepts, revolution and critique, arguing that the understanding of radical critique within social and aesthetic theory was directly inspired by the concept of revolution - revolution as a libertarian utopia that links critical thought with its epoch. However, despite its previous role as the most important concept of modern social life, politics and critical thought, in today's post-political society, in which radical social change is not imaginable, 'revolution' seems to have become an obsolete idea. Today the concept of critique seems to be locked into and de-valued in a post-political paradigm, which tends to collapse the virtual aspect of politics and critique into the actual. Against this background, the article takes issue with critique as a paradoxical concept, a virtual 'problem' that can be actualised in different conceptions or 'solutions' but can never be reduced to them, an event that cannot fully actualise itself in a final form.
AB - This article focuses on the intimate relationship between two concepts, revolution and critique, arguing that the understanding of radical critique within social and aesthetic theory was directly inspired by the concept of revolution - revolution as a libertarian utopia that links critical thought with its epoch. However, despite its previous role as the most important concept of modern social life, politics and critical thought, in today's post-political society, in which radical social change is not imaginable, 'revolution' seems to have become an obsolete idea. Today the concept of critique seems to be locked into and de-valued in a post-political paradigm, which tends to collapse the virtual aspect of politics and critique into the actual. Against this background, the article takes issue with critique as a paradoxical concept, a virtual 'problem' that can be actualised in different conceptions or 'solutions' but can never be reduced to them, an event that cannot fully actualise itself in a final form.
KW - Critique
KW - revolution
KW - virtual
KW - negativity
KW - redemption
KW - anger
KW - nihilism
KW - exception
KW - biopolitics
KW - post-politics
U2 - 10.1080/09528820903184815
DO - 10.1080/09528820903184815
M3 - Journal article
VL - 23
SP - 579
EP - 586
JO - Third Text
JF - Third Text
SN - 1475-5297
IS - 5
ER -