Critical theory and libertarian socialism : realizing the political potential of critical social theory PDF
Preview Critical theory and libertarian socialism : realizing the political potential of critical social theory
Critical Theory and Libertarian Socialism ABOUT THE SERIES Critical Theory and Contemporary Society explores the relationship between contemporary society as a complex and highly differentiated phenomenon, on the one hand, and Critical Theory as a correspondingly sophisticated methodology for studying and understanding social and political relations today, on the other. Each volume highlights in distinctive ways why (1) Critical Theory offers the most appropriate concepts for understanding political movements, socioeconomic conflicts and state institutions in an increasingly global world and (2) why Critical Theory nonetheless needs updating in order to keep pace with the realities of the twenty-first century. The books in the series look at global warming, financial crisis, post–nation state legitimacy, international relations, cinema, terrorism and other issues, applying an interdisciplinary approach, in order to help students and citizens understand the specificity and uniqueness of the current situation. Series Editor Darrow Schecter Reader in the School of History, Art History and Humanities, University of Sussex, UK BOOKS IN THE SERIES Critical Theory and Film: Fabio Vighi, Reader and Co-director of the Žižek Centre for Ideology Critique at Cardiff University, UK Critical Theory and Contemporary Europe: William Outhwaite, Chair and Professor of Sociology at Newcastle University, UK Critical Theory, Legal Theory, and the Evolution of Contemporary Society: Hauke Brunkhorst, Professor of Sociology and Head of the Institute of Sociology at the University of Flensburg, Germany Critical Theory in the Twenty-First Century: Darrow Schecter, Reader in the School of History, Art History and Humanities, University of Sussex, UK Critical Theory and the Digital: David Berry, Department of Political and Cultural Studies at Swansea University, UK Critical Theory and the Contemporary Crisis of Capital: Heiko Feldner, Co-director of the Centre for Ideology Critique and Žižek Studies at Cardiff University, UK Critical Theory and Libertarian Socialism Realizing the political potential of critical social theory CHARLES MASQUELIER NEW YORK • LONDON • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc 1385 Broadway 50 Bedford Square New York London NY 10018 WC1B 3DP USA UK www.bloomsbury.com Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2014 © Charles Masquelier, 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: HB: 978-1-4411-1339-9 ePub: 978-1-4411-7570-0 ePDF: 978-1-4411-1928-5 Typeset by Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd To the memory of my father Contents Acknowledgements viii Introduction 1 1 Human emancipation and labour as self-realization 9 2 Towards the reconciliation of humanity and nature 29 3 Realizing the transformative potential of critical theory 53 4 The premises of institutionalized emancipatory practice 71 5 Human emancipation and communication 95 6 Drawing the contours of institutionalized emancipatory practice 125 7 Critical theory, libertarian socialism and reconciliation 143 8 Conclusion: Critical theory, libertarian socialism and contemporary Western capitalist societies 169 Bibliography 197 Index 205 Acknowledgements Iw ould firstly like to thank Darrow Schecter for his comments on the book proposal and giving me the opportunity to make my own contribution to this critical theory series. I am also grateful to my ex-colleagues and friends, Alana Lentin and Matt Dawson, in the Sociology department at Sussex University, whose moral and intellectual support has been, and remains, indispensable. Many thanks also go to Luke Martell, Eric Jacobson and the two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments on earlier versions of this book. I would also like to thank Him, Mis´a and Dave, and the Serruys family for their unique kindness, generosity and joie de vivre, which have played an invaluable role in making the whole process of writing this book manuscript an enjoyable one. I am particularly grateful to my parents, whose constant support – amid fundamentally different political views – made it possible for this piece to see the light of day. Introduction The financial crisis of 2007/8 not only developed into one of the most virulent economic crises since the Great Depression of the 1930s but also exposed and exacerbated sharp inequalities within advanced capitalist economies, revealed a striking democratic deficit most clearly illustrated by neoliberal governments’ decisions to bail out the culprits of the crisis at the expense of ordinary citizens and clearly indicated the extent of existing political elites’ incapacity to exert control over the large-scale economic structures they were responsible for liberating. Whilst, in the aftermath of the crisis, several political leaders and commentators called for, and even signalled the end of, a ‘predatory’ form of capitalism,1 several years later no clear sign of change can be observed. On the one hand, financial speculation retains a central function in the culture of economic competitiveness promoted by governments in advanced capitalist economies. On the other, politicians continue to play the technocratic game by favouring short-term monetarist measures and injecting heavy doses of public spending cuts allegedly aimed at restoring economic growth and quelling the fears of existing and potential investors within their respective economic spaces.2 Above all, however, what the crisis most clearly revealed is an all too evident lack of willingness on the part of mainstream left- wing political elites in contemporary Western capitalist societies to confront the systemic pathologies ensuing from the subordination of society to the economy and call into question the authority of economic facts. Whilst such an attitude can be partly explained by these same elites’ incapacity to envision progress and welfare beyond the liberal-productivist regime of growth and re-invent themselves into bearers of progressive social change capable of providing credible and historically relevant avenues for the actualization of the modern promise of human dignity, I shall contend that the Left can continue to promote and serve the realization of such a goal. Its success in doing so, however, depends upon the twofold task of defetishizing the liberal- productivist regime of growth and anticipating institutional forms capable of restoring individuals’ control over the socio-political and economic structures governing their life. It is this twofold task that I propose to undertake by uniting social and political theory and, more specifically, by both rethinking the
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