AUT: Negri's translation

[Júlio Béjar <jbexar@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

 Dear all,
here you are one approximate translation on Negri's reminiscence in the
meantime someone prepares another better one. Apologies if it´s not full
comprehensible.
 By the way, you'll can find the italian and spanish full version up in
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thanks

            Júlio



 TWO TESTS ABOUT THE FLORENCE'S THINKER
 THE PRINCE OF THE REVOLUTION
 A great philosopher who interrogates the construction of a radical
political subject. The Althusser' Machiavelo, one study lasted beyond thirty
years translated now from manifesto-books.

 -TONI NEGRI-

Reading in italian this book, "Machiavelli e noi" (Machiavelo and
us) -manifestolibri, 168 pages, 25.000 Lires-, is for me to remember the
relationship that left to us, strangely but in the most effective way, Louis
Althusser and the italian "operaisti". Some biblio-biographical notations in
order to begin. After the death of Althusser (but already in good part of
the period of his civil death) it's Yann Moulier Boutang that is taken care,
while all the althusserian school is out of time, to reconstruct the
thought, the life and -above all- to publish again (or to publish "ex novo")
the works of the structuralism french marxist master. From this jobs comes
outside the first volume of Althusser's biography (of second and, perhaps,
third party we're attending); the publication (true and just a publishing
case) of "L'avenir dure longtemps" (The future lasts too much), that is the
analytical story of Althusser's own life; the magnificent collection of
"Lettres à Franca"; and finally the three political volumes of political,
philosophical and psychoanalytical writtings.
 Moulier Boutang, that has assumed this task, is an "(italiano) operaista"
to all round: he's the french translator  of "Operai e capitale" (Laborers
and capital) of Mario Tronti and many other fundamental ones documents of
the italian workerism, besides an important editor of  "Futur Antérieur",
the parisian review that took care to renew the workerism tradition of the
communist revolutionary  thought in the european space of 90's. François
Matheron, that signs the job of collection of the althusserian lessons on
Machiavelo, comes fro the same political tradition and analogous hard work
of translation in french of communist revolutionary culture stranger to the
PCI. But allow me to bring back the strange issue of the relationship
between Althusser and the italian workerism to mine experience. At 1973 I
was invited the first time from Althusser to École Normal Supérieur of Ulm
Street: but it was still a formal invite. When I was invited again, to
developpe a course on the "Grundrisse" in 1977-78, the atmosphere had
changed indeed. Same Althusser had said it:"quelque chose s'est brisé",
something has broken in our relationship with the international communist
movement and in particular (Althusser had way to emphasize it in the Venice
convention, from the manifest in that same year) in the belongings to the
european communist parties incapable to represent that revolutionary
movement at that time.
 I remember very well that course of 1977-78. The "althusseriani" reacted
with eagerness and confusion of the provocaton of an argument that carried
on Marx beyond Marx. On the contrary, Althusser received me nearly every
week for tell me that, in this "Marx altre Marx" (Marx beyond Marx), he
found again Machiavelo. It's to say that he found, beyond the "Theory", the
vitality and the joy of communism, the renewal of its categories, the
discovery of a new horizon of proletarian fight and organization.Of the
"Theory", and of the first althusserian structuralism, Althusser was
evidently making justice in that period.. Not to case, always refering to
the Venice convention in 1977, Althusser qualifies therefore (16 January '
78), in one letter to a russian correspondet, the "Theory": "I have clearly
like the day that what I have made fifteen years ago (to invent the theory),
has been nothing but to construct one justification (very french however),
in a good small nourished rationalism of some reference (Cavaillès,
Bachelard, Canguilhem, and behind these some of the Spinoza-Hegel tradition)
to the marxism pretension (the historical materialism) to shor itself like a
science... The scaffolding that I have constructed has allow to much people
go over the roof of the house!... For that it regards to me feel like a
prisoner of that theoretical past".
 Now, in full load '78, when he meets me, he has no anyone resentment of
those that continue remembering him like a philosopher of the theory: by now
"everything has broken", all is consequently in crisis. Now, while te crisis
is left over, it's Machiavelo who reappears, that's to say a strong
subjectivity, to serve of a plan that is utopic but only in the shape.
Communist in the substance, powerful in the effectuality. It's the resetting
of the subject, considered in the new technological  and social dimensions
of the exploitation, that it can reconstruct the perspective of communism.
Althusser will then begin to say, to say himself: "the communism has never
been therefore near". After that structuralism theory, after that small
rationalistic theorize, the "virtù" (virtue) of the subject resurged to the
center of the scene. "Beyond the theory" the communist biopolitics began.
 For two times, in 1993 and 1997, "Futur Antérieur" is returned on
Althusser, with two special numbers, the first one after the first volume of
Moulier's biography, the second one as a discussion ("Colloquio della École
Normale Supérieur of Ulm Street of 1995) on the althusserian bequest and the
shape of its edition.
 In this second ocassion I've been assigned to the study of the witnesses
(lessons, conferences) of Althusser on Machiavello. It was for me to resume
a discussion diluted in twenty years. From the arguments of 1978, to those
(very sadder) with the sick man of the half of years Eighty: and above all a
dive behind, within the lessons of Althusser of Sixty and Seventy years, for
meeting again the sense of that opposition that now, all the reunited
materials, appeared therefore obvious: Machiavelo against marxism, against
dogmatism, against stupidity and bureaucratic repression. But, at the same
time, Machiavelo with Marx, Machiavelo plus Marx, to the base of our attempt
to reconstruct the thought and the revolutionary action: because Machiavelo
is contemporary.
 In fact, while Marx constructed on a given working class, introduced like
social subject, Machiavelo addressed his political hypothesis to a virtual
subject, to construct. Machiavelo, built the contemporary utopy of a subject
to construct. Already Gramsci had spoken in so far as; but Althusser knows
to be more radical: it is on the edge of the emptiness", better, in its
exasperation, that this new subject is constructed: it is a new subject, a
new actor of the revolutionary transformation. I don't know well what to
add: I've been too much involved in this problematic for being able to add
original reflections. But, here at once, it comes to my mind that terrible
misery the most recent academy jobs on the thought and the worko of
Machiavelo represents. Misery, conformity, machaivellism. No, it's not
possible. Let's resume the Althusser's intuition: Machiavelo is a great
philosopher; let's resume the development, best, the appel that he makes to
follow to the intuition: young people, make of Machiavelo the inspirer of
every practical philosophy, because the practical philosophy is called
communism. Here therefore where Althusser and the italian "operaisti" (and
the european ones) have been met: where Marx catches up Machiavelo and this
last one characterized the ways in order to reconstruct a collective
subject. It's the task -better, the duty- today. Young and old people, read
"Machiavelli e noi" (Machiavelo and us) of Althusser.



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