Identity Politics was: Re: AUT: Backward workers, was: Negri and

[Thiago Oppermann <difference_3ngine@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 30/11/2004 11:54 PM, "Lowe Laclau" <lowe.laclau@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I don't know for sure (I don't really read any of these theorists of
> identity politics, although I had to familiarize myself with them when
> I was still a student, in undergraduate... and thus my conception of
> them may now be inadequate). My suspicion however is that most if not
> all of the pomo characterization of "radical difference" allow
> themselves to be recuperated in forms of sovereignty as if some
> expanded more inclusive sovereignty were something to rejoice about.
> This reformism which IMO(observations) flies the banner of "identity
> politics" and uses this term "identity" in general as if it expresses
> the *soul* of ones possible difference and gives far too much credence
> to ones consciousness to represent itself as difference is opposed to
> the concept of the singularity which knows no formal means for a
> sovereignty to recuperate it. The singularity is defined
> 'in-the-instant' so to speak, and is relational (viz. the substance,
> the how and the what of cooperation).

As I said, I think that a lot of what Hardt and Negri are about is
recomposing these identity politics theories in relation to the critique of
sovereignty. However, this is largely a matter of different spin, since
IdPol (now there is a acronym to make Sukharno blush...) was very much about
the critique of sovereignty. True, a lot of it 'degenerated' very quickly
into a radical liberal assertion of universal human goodness (we are all
different, isn't that lovely!) but that is to be expected: Hardt, in my
view, represents Negri tracing the same trajectory.  The more prickly
aspects of identity politics were very much posited against radical
liberalism, humanism, etc... And sepcifically, there is a mountain of queer
theory stuff that is explicitly oriented against sovereignty. The very name
"identity" was the source of infiite problematizations of... 'identity',
much as you have just argued. This stuff is without doubt the source of much
of the Multitude theory.

And it is definitely not the reason why that theory is insufficient.



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