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I A M T H E P E O P L E REFLECTIONS ON POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY TODAY PARTHA CHATTERJEE I AM THE PEOPLE RUTH BENEDICT BOOK SERIES Edited by David Scott and Elizabeth A. Povinelli Named after one of the found ers of American anthropology and the Columbia Department of Anthropology, the Ruth Benedict Book Series is inspired by Benedict’s passionate engagement with the critical po liti cal, aesthetic, and theoretical prob lems of the twentieth century but places them in the global condi- tions of the twenty-f irst. Contributions to the series explore cont emporary critical thought in politics and aesthetics through a deep knowledge of the global condition in specific localities and regions. The scope of the series is capaciously theoretical and determinately international with special emphasis on settler- colonial, postcolonial, and capi tal ist regimes. The books pres ent crisp interven- tions in a multiplicity of disciplines, but are also statements whose reckoning cuts across the critical humanistic and social sciences. Secular Translations: Nation- State, Modern Self, and Calculative Reason, Talal Asad I A M T H E P E O P L E REFLECTIONS ON POPU LAR SOVEREIGNTY TODAY PA R T H A C H AT T E R J E E COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS New York columbia university press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex cup . columbia . edu Copyright © 2020 Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Caṭṭopādhyāẏa, Pārtha, author. Title: I am the people : reflections on popu lar sovereignty today / Partha Chatterjee. Description: New York : Columbia University Press, [2020] | Series: Ruth benedict book series | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019028666 (print) | LCCN 2019028667 (e-book) | ISBN 9780231195485 (hardback) | ISBN 9780231195492 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780231551359 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Pop u lism. | Liberalism. | Democracy. | Legitimacy of governments. | Sovereignty. | World politics—1989– Classification: LCC JC423 .C366 2020 (print) | LCC JC423 (e-book) | DDC 320.56/62— dc23 LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2019028666 LC e-book rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2019028667 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid- free paper. Printed in the United States of Amer i ca Cover design: Chang Jae Lee In memory of Arup Mallik (1944–2017) CONTENTS preface ix 1. Even Justice 1 2. The Cynicism of Power 31 3. “I Am the People” 73 Afterword: The Optimism of the Intellect 123 notes 153 bibliography 167 index 175 PREFACE T here is much discussion these days in the acad emy and in public forums on the threats that have suddenly appeared before Western liberal democracies. Since the end of World War II, t hese countries had enjoyed an unpre ce dented and unbro- ken spell of economic prosperity, social peace, and po liti cal legitimacy. Why is it that in the United States, Britain, and virtu- ally every country in western Eu rope there is today, on the one hand, the rise of populist movements, authoritarian leaders, and a vis i ble fragility of liberal institutions and, on the other, the fail- ure of established po liti cal parties and representative governments to build consensus and maintain the legitimacy of the prevailing order? To many, the pre sent situation has revived memories of the turmoil that ran through Eu rope in the period between the two world wars, ultimately plunging the whole world into the deadliest war in h uman history. Not surprisingly, there is urgent and deep concern in intellectual circles today on what should be done to preserve demo cratic institutions and liberal values from yet another menacing onslaught. This book, based on the Ruth Benedict Lectures delivered at Columbia University in April 2018, points out the narrow