OverlegitimationAuthor(s): Jacques Rancière and Kristin RossSource:
Social Text,
No. 31/32, Third World and Post-Colonial Issues (1992), pp. 252-257Published by: Duke University PressStable URL:
Accessed: 13/10/2009 02:26
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Overlegitimation
JACQUESRANCIERETranslatedbyKRISTINROSSI willaddressinthese remarks severalquestionsraisedbythe GulfWarinrelation to thepoliticalandphilosophicalconjuncturethat dominatedFranceduringthe80's.Thatconjuncturewas understoodthroughoutthe world to be theend ofutopias.Thisendwasplayedoutontherespectivestagesofpoliticsandphilosophy-orwhatpassesforpoliticsandphilosophy-inthe formoftwokeywords. Thegoverningword forpoliticswas "realism."Thekeywordinthephilosophicalarena waslaw,a return to the law andto thelawful State.The alliance betweentherealist,pragmaticwisdom of theday-to-dayaffairsofstate,onthe onehand,and the absoluterigoroflaw,ontheother,wasestablishedinseveral differentways.Firstofall,negatively:the double error ofutopiaingeneralandMarxistutopiainparticularwas to associateblindnessinperceptionwithcontemptfor thelaw.Theirfailure thusguaranteeda contrario thattheempiricalwisdom of realistpoliticsandtheuniversalityoflawwouldwalktogetherhandinhand,bothadvocatingthe virtueofprudenceforbuilding peacewithin nations and between nations.From thispointon,aphilosophyand apracticeofharmoniousagree-mentbetweenfactand law were established.Philosophically,theloudlyproclaimedreturn to Kant and tothepri-macyoflaw asthebasisformoralitywasmirroredbya more orlessdiffuse,ifnotrampant,Aristotelianism:anidea ofdistributivejustice,orthefair distributionofthesharespropertoeach,tendstoward astate ofequilibriumthat makes thelegalsubjectand theempiricalsubjectone andthesame. Laws thatwere first heroicized underthefigureof theRightsofMan,lawsopposedto alltyranny,slippedlittlebylittle intothatidentificationwith anequilibriumbetweengroups,partners,and Stateswhere factualpeaceatteststothe coincidence betweenthereignof lawand therealismthatallowseveryoneto reachtheirpointofequilibriumintheglobalorder.Inpracticalterms,andparticularlyinsocialistFrance,allthisbecamemanifestinaproliferationoflegislativeactivity:inthe creation ordevel-opmentofjuridical rightsandnorms,ever moreconcernedwithbringingtogetherindividualsandgroups,withfollowingthe movementsinlife-
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JacquesRancierestylesandnew moralcodes,thediscoveries ofscience,technologicalconquests,etc.Moreandmore,one endeavored toinvestintheterrain ofany legaldispute.Thisinvestment wasgreetedas asteady progresstoward the lawful State. Butanotherinterpretationcanbe madewhich,upto acertainpoint,does not contradictthefirst:to the extent that thelawcomestoblanketeverysituation andeverypossible dispute,it is moreandmoreidentified with asystemofguaranteesthat are first of allguaranteesofpower:thegrowingassurance that the law cannot make amistake,thatit cannotbeunjust,thatitiscompletelysecureinits actions. Theconjunc-tion ofthisproliferating juridicalpowerwith thepracticesofgeneralizedexpertise(consulting specialinterests beforearrivingatdecisions,end-lesspollingof differentgroups) pointstoa newfigureof theexpertorprudentState-a State that combines theuniversalityof law withrealistempiricisminorderthatitsacts berenderedspontaneouslyconsistentwith the naturalequilibriumstowardwhichsocialgroupsand humansocietyingeneral progress naturally.State actionisthus morelegitimate,engagedinaspiralofoverlegitimation.Andthepowerofthe law isidentified allthe morewith thispowerofoverlegitimation.Toputitdifferently,the discourse about the endofutopiashas insti-tuted anew kind ofutopia,theutopiaof an idealcorrespondenceor ofapreestablishedharmonybetween the interests ofequilibriumandtheexigenciesof law.Everything transpiresasthoughthe law could bereadintheopenbook of asociety'sstatisticsoron a worldmap.It isthisutopiathat wasexpressedinthe intellectualconjunctureoftheGulfWar. It wasvulgarly expressedinthe warplanswhere littledrawingsof tanksorplanes,substituted for absentimages,allowedthenakedeuphoriaofpowerto beplayedout asthoughwithtoysoldiers. It wasexpressedina more refinedwayincertainintellectual demonstrations ofsupportforthealliedmilitaryaction.Iamthinkinginparticularof thetextcalled "TheNecessaryWar,"'co-authoredbyagroupofintellectuals,someofwhom are our friends. At the heart of thistextlayanemphasisontheexceptional,miraculousconcordance betweenpositivelaw,justice,and fact.Thewar,sotheysaid,isat oncelegal, legitimate,andnecessary:legalbecausevoted forbytheU.N.,legitimatebecausewagedagainstaninvadingdictatorwhowanted towipeaneighboring peopleoffthemap,necessarybecauseoftheequilibriumoftheregionand,inparticular,becauseof theimpossibilityofallowing40% oftheworld'soilsupplytoremaininthe handsof adictator.Theirreasoningmakes animplicitreferencetothe Kantiantheoryofthesign ofhistory:thesignificantevent that allowsthefeelingthathumanityismovingintherightdirection,toward thereignoflaw. Butthereis atiny step separatingtheprudent thoughtofthe Kantiansignofhistoryfrom theconqueringthoughtoftheHegelian cunningof reason253
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Overlegitimation by Ranciere
“Overlegitimation” Social Text. N 31 / 32. 1992. Pp 252 – 257.
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