Wounded Attachments

Author(s): Wendy Brown

Source: Political Theory, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Aug., 1993), pp. 390-410
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 WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS

WENDYBROWN
SantaCruz
ofCalifornia,
University

Ifsomething itmustbe burnedin:onlythatwhichneverceases

is tostayinthememory,
to hurtstaysinthememory.
-FriedrichNietzsche
(fromOn theGenealogyofMorals)

M ANY HAVE ASKED HOW, given the totalizing regulatoryand

"othering" characteristicsof identityin/as language, identitycan avoid
reiteratingsuch effectsin itsostensiblyemancipatorymode.' I wantto ask a
similarquestion but in a historicallyspecific,culturaland political register
notbecause the linguisticframeis unimportant butbecause it is insufficient
fordiscerningthecharacterof contemporary politicizedidentity'sproblem-
atic investments. There are two levels to thisinquiry.First,given thesubjec-
tivizingconditionsof identityproductionin a late modernliberal,capitalist,
and disciplinary-bureaucratic social order, how can reiterationof these
conditionsbe avertedin identity'spurportedly emancipatoryproject?What
kindof politicalrecognitioncan identity-based claims seek-and whatkind
can theybe counted on to want-that will not resubordinate thesubjectitself
historicallysubjugated through identity categories such as "race" or "sex,"
especially when these categories operate within discourses of liberal essen-
tialism and disciplinary normalization? Second, given the averred interestof
politicized identity in achieving emancipatory political recognition in a
posthumanist discourse, what are the logics of pain in subject formation
withinlatemodernity thatmightcontainor subvert thisaim?Whatarethe
constituents-specific
particular toour time,yetroughly genericfora diverse
spectrum of identities-of desire
identity's forrecognitionthatseemas often
to breed a politicsof recrimination and rancor,of culturally dispersed
paralysisand suffering,a tendencytoreproach power rather than toit,
aspire
to disdainfreedomratherthanpracticeit? In short,wheredo elementsof
politicizedidentity'sinvestmentsin itselfand especiallyin itsownhistory
POLiTICAL THEORY,Vol.21 No. 3, August1993 390-410
Inc.
(? 1993Sage Publications,
390

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 Brown/WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 391

of sufferingcomeintoconflict withtheneedtogiveup theseinvestments in

thepursuit of an emancipatory democratic project?
I approachthesequestionsby sketching, first,thediscursivecontextof
identitypolitics'emergencein the UnitedStates,and thenelaborating,
through of Nietzsche'sgenealogyof thelogicsof ressenti-
reconsideration
ment,the woundedcharacterof politicizedidentity's desirewithinthis
context.Whatthisessayis notis a partisanpositionin theargument about
thevirtuesandvicesof a contemporary politicalformation called "identity
politics,"an argument sufficientlystalemated to suggestthelimitations of
discussingidentity eitherin termsof the(implicitlytimeless)metaphysical
or linguisticelementsof itsconstitutionor in themoraltermsof good and
anexploration
evil.Itis,rather, ofthewaysinwhichcertain troubling aspects
of thespecificgenealogyof politicizedidentity are carriedin itspolitical
demands,waysin whichcertainemancipatory aimsof politicizedidentity
aresubverted notonlybytheconstraints ofthepoliticaldiscoursesin which
itsoperations butbyitsownwoundedattachments.
transpire

The tensionbetweenparticularistic "I's" anda universal"we" inliberal-

ism is sustainableas long as theconstituent termsof the"I" remainun-
politicizedindeed,as longas the"I" itselfremains ononehand,
unpoliticized
andthestate(as theexpression oftheidealofpoliticaluniversality)remains
unpoliticizedon the other.That is, the latentconflictwithinliberalism
betweenuniversalrepresentation andindividualism remainslatent,remains
unpoliticized,as longas differentialpowersin civilsocietyremainnatural-
ized and as longas the"I" is subordinated to theabstract"we" encodedin
thestate'sguarantee of universalfreedomandequality.Thissubordination
is achievedeitherbythe"I" abstracting fromitselfin itspoliticalrepresen-
tation,thustrivializingits"difference" so as to remainpartof the"we" (as
in homosexualswhoare"justlikeeveryoneelse exceptforwhomwe sleep
with")orbythe"I" accepting itsconstructionas a supplement,complement,
or partialoutsiderto the "we" (as in homosexualswho arejust "a little
different,"a bit "queer").The historyof liberalism'smanagement of its
inheritedandconstructed "others"couldbe readas a history ofvariations on
andvacillations betweenthesetwostrategies.
The abstract character of liberalpoliticalmembership and theideologi-
cally naturalized characterof liberalindividualism togetherworkagainst
politicizedidentityformation inliberalregimes. A formulationofthepolitical

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392 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

stateandofcitizenship that,as Marxputitinthe"Jewish Question," abstracts

fromthesubstantive conditions ofourlives,workstoprevent recognition or
articulation of differences as political-as effects of power-in theirvery
construction andorganization; theyareatmostthestuff ofdivergent political
oreconomicinterests.2 Equallyimportant, to theextentthatpoliticalmem-
bershipin theliberalstateinvolvesabstracting fromone's social being,it
involvesabstracting notonlyfromthecontingent productions ofone's life
circumstances butfromtheidentificatory processesconstitutive of one's
social construction and position.Whetherread fromthe frontispiece of
Hobbes'Leviathan, inwhichthemanyaremadeonethrough theunityofthe
sovereign, or fromtheformulations of tolerancecodifiedby JohnLocke,
JohnStuartMill,and,morecontemporaneously, GeorgeKateb,inwhichthe
minimalist liberalstateis cast as preciselywhatenablesour politically
unfettered individuality, we are invitedto seek equal deference-equal
blindnessfrom-butnotequalizingrecognition fromthestate,liberalism's
universalmoment.3 As Marxdiscerned in hiscritiqueofHegel,theuniver-
salityof thestateis ideologically achievedbyturning awayfromandthus
depoliticizing, yetat thesametimepresupposing ourcollectiveparticulars,
notbyembracing them,letaloneemancipating us fromthem.4 In short,"the
in is
political" liberalism precisely not a domain for social identification:
expectedtorecognizeourpoliticalselvesinthestate,wearenotledtoexpect
deeprecognition there.Indeed,in a smoothandlegitimate liberalorder, the
particularistic "I's" must remain unpoliticized, and the universalistic "we"
mustremainwithout specificcontent oraim,without a commongoodother
than abstract universal representation or pluralism. The abstractness ofthe
"we" is preciselywhatinsistsupon,reiterates, andevenenforcesthedepo-
liticizednatureofthe"I." In ErnestoLaclau's formulation, "ifdemocracy is
possible,itis becausetheuniversal does nothaveanynecessarybody,any
necessary content.'"5
Although thisdetentebetweenuniversal andparticular withinliberalism
is pottedwithvolatileconceits,it is ratherthoroughly unraveledby two
featuresof late modernity, spurredby developments in whatMarx and
Foucault,respectively, revealas liberalism's companionpowers:capitalism
anddisciplinarity. On one side,thestatelosesevenitsguiseofuniversality
as it becomesever moretransparently investedin particulareconomic
interests,politicalends,and socialformations. Thisoccursas itshiftsfrom
a relatively minimalist "nightwatchman" stateto a heavilybureaucratized,
managerial, fiscallycomplex,and highlyinterventionist welfare-warfare
state,a transmogrification occasionedbythecombined imperatives ofcapital
andtheautoproliferating characteristicsofbureaucracy.6 On theotherside,
a rangeof economicand politicalforcesincreasingly disintertheliberal

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 Brown/WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 393

subjectfromsubstantive nation-state identification: deterritorializing demo-

graphicflows;disintegration fromwithinand invasionfromwithoutof
familyandcommunity as (relatively) autonomous sitesofsocialproduction
and identification; consumercapitalism'smarketing discoursein which
individual(andsubindividual) desiresareproduced, commodified, andmo-
bilized as identities;and disciplinary productions of a fantastic arrayof
behavior-based identities ranging fromrecovering alcoholicprofessionals to
unrepentant crackmothers. Thesedisciplinary productions workto conjure
andregulatesubjectsthrough classificatoryschemes,namingandnormaliz-
ing social behaviorsas social positions.Operatingthrough whatFoucault
calls "an anatomy of detail,""disciplinary power"producessocialidentities
(availableforpoliticization becausetheyaredeployedforpurposes ofpolitical
regulation) thatcrosscut juridicalidentities basedon abstract right.Thus,for
example,thewelfare state'sproduction ofwelfare subjects-themselves subdi-
videdthrough thesociallyregulated categories ofmotherhood, race,
disability,
age,andso forth-potentially produce politicalidentity through thesecategories,
produceidentities as thesecategories.
In thisstory,thealwaysimminent butincreasingly politicallymanifest
failureofliberaluniversalism tobe universal-thetransparent fiction ofstate
universality-combines withtheincreasing individuation ofsocial subjects
throughcapitalistdisinternments and disciplinary productions. Together,
theybreedtheemergence ofpoliticizedidentity rootedin disciplinary pro-
ductionsbutorientedby liberaldiscoursetowardprotestagainstexclusion
froma discursiveformation ofuniversal justice.Thisproduction, however,
is notlinearorevenbuthighly contradictory: although theterms ofliberalism
are partof thegroundof production of a politicizedidentity thatreiterates
yetexceedstheseterms, liberaldiscourseitselfalso continuously recolonizes
as
politicalidentity political interest-a conversion thatrecasts politicized
identity'ssubstantive and often deconstructive cultural claims and critiques
as genericclaimsof particularism endemicto universalist politicalculture.
Similarly, disciplinarypowermanagesliberalism's production ofpoliticized
subjectivity by neutralizing (re-depoliticizing) identity through normalizing
practices.As liberaldiscourseconvertspoliticalidentity intoessentialized
privateinterest,disciplinary powerconverts interest intonormativized social
identity manageablebyregulatory regimes.Thusdisciplinary powerpoliti-
callyneutralizes entitlement claimsgenerated byliberalindividuation, whereas
liberalismpoliticallyneutralizesrightsclaims generatedby disciplinary
identities.
In additionto theformations ofidentity thatmaybe thecomplexeffects
of disciplinary and liberalmodalitiesofpower,I wantto suggestone other
historicalstrandrelevantto theproduction of politicizedidentity, thisone

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394 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

hewnmorespecifically torecent developments inpoliticalculture. Although

sanguine tovarying degreesaboutthephenomenon theyaredescribing, many
on theEuropeanandNorthAmerican Lefthavearguedthatidentity politics
emergesfromthedemiseof class politicsconsequentto post-Fordism or
pursuant toMay 1968.Without adjudicating thepreciserelationship between
thebreakupof class politicsandtheproliferation of othersitesof political
I wanttorefigure
identification, thisclaimbysuggesting thatwhatwe have
cometocall identity politicsis partlydependent on thedemiseofa critique
of capitalismand of bourgeoisculturaland economicvalues.In a reading
thatlinksthenewidentity claimsto a certainrelegitimation of capitalism,
identity politicsconcernedwithrace,sexuality, andgenderwillappearnot
as a supplement to class politics,notas an expansionof Leftcategoriesof
oppressionandemancipation, notas an enriching complexification ofpro-
gressiveformulations ofpowerandpersons-allofwhichtheyalso are-but
as tethered to a formulation ofjusticewhich,ironically, reinscribes a bour-
geois ideal as its measure.If it is thisideal thatsignifieseducationaland
vocational opportunity, upwardmobility, relative
protection againstarbitrary
violence,andreward inproportion toeffort,andifitis thisidealagainstwhich
manyoftheexclusionsandprivations ofpeopleofcolor,gaysandlesbians,
and womenare articulated, thenthepoliticalpurchaseof contemporary
Americanidentity politicswouldseem to be achievedin partthrougha
certaindiscursiverenaturalization of capitalismthatcan be said to have
markedprogressive discoursesincethe1970s.
Whatthissuggestsis thatidentity politicsmaybe partly configured bya
peculiarly shapedandpeculiarly disguised form ofresentment-class resent-
mentwithoutclass consciousnessor class analysis.This resentment is
displacedontodiscoursesof injusticeotherthanclass but,like all resent-
ments,retainstherealor imaginedholdingsof itsreviledsubject-in this
case,bourgeoismaleprivileges-asobjectsofdesire.Fromthisperspective,
it wouldappearthatthearticulation of politicizedidentities through race,
gender,and sexualityrequire, rather than incidentallyproduce,a relatively
limitedidentification through class.Theynecessarily rather thanincidentally
abjurea critique ofclasspower and class norms precisely because theinjuries
suffered by these identities are measured by bourgeois norms of social
acceptance,legalprotection, relativematerial comfort, and social indepen-
dence.The problemis thatwhennotonlyeconomicstratification butother
injuriestobodyandpsycheenactedbycapitalism (alienation, commodifica-
tion,exploitation, displacement, of
disintegrationsustaining, albeitcontra-
dictory,social forms such as families and neighborhoods) are discursively
normalized and thusdepoliticized, othermarkers of social difference may

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 Brown/WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 395

cometobearaninordinate weight. Absentanarticulation ofcapitalism inthe

politicaldiscourseofidentity, themarkedidentity bearsall theweightofthe
sufferings producedbycapitalismin additiontothatboundtotheexplicitly
politicizedmarking.
If thereis one class thatis politically articulated in latemodemU.S. life,
itis thatwhichgivesitselfthenameofthe"middleclass."Thisis the"class"
thatrepresents thenormalization ratherthanthepoliticization ofcapitalism,
thedenialofcapitalism's powereffects inordering sociallife,therepresen-
tationoftheidealofcapitalism toprovidethegoodlifeforall.Poisedbetween
therichand thepoor,feelingitselfto be protected fromtheencroachments
of neither,thephantasmatic middleclass signifies thenaturaland thegood
betweenthedecadentorthecorrupt, on theone side,andtheaberrant orthe
decaying,on theother.Middleclass identity is a conservative inthe
identity
sense thatit semioticallyrecursto a phantasmatic past, an idyllicand
uncorrupted historical moment(implicitly locatedaround1955) whenlife
was good-housing was affordable, mensupported familieson singlein-
comes,anddrugswereconfined tourbanghettos. Butitis nota reactionary
identity in thesense of reactingto an insurgent politicizedidentity from
below.Rather,it embodiestheideal to whichnonclassidentities referfor
proofof theirexclusionor injury:homosexualswholacktheprotection of
marriage,guaranteesof childcustodyor job security, and freedomfrom
harassment; singlewomenwhoare strained and impoverished bytrying to
raisechildren and holdpaidjobs simultaneously; peopleof colordispropor-
tionately affectedbyunemployment, punishing urbanhousingcosts,inade-
quatehealthcareprograms, anddisproportionately subjectedtounwarranted
harassment and violence,figured as criminals, ignoredbycab drivers.The
pointis notthattheseprivations aretrivial butthatwithout recoursetoa white
masculinemiddleclass ideal,politicizedidentities wouldforfeit a gooddeal
of theirclaimsto injuryandexclusion,theirclaimsto thepoliticalsignifi-
cance of theirdifference. If theythusrequirethisidealforthepotencyand
poignancyoftheirpoliticalclaims,we mightasktowhatextenta critiqueof
capitalismis foreclosed bythecurrent configuration ofoppositional politics
and notsimplyby the"loss of thesocialistalternative" or theostensible
"triumph ofliberalism" intheglobalorder. To whatextent do identitypolitics
requirea standardinternal to existingsocietyagainstwhichto pitchtheir
claims,a standardthatnot only preservescapitalismfromcritiquebut
sustainstheinvisibility and inarticulateness of class, notaccidentally, but
endemically? Couldwe havestumbled on onereasonwhyclassis invariably
namedbutrarely theorized ordevelopedinthemulticulturalist mantra,"race,
class,gender,sexuality?"

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396 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

II

Thestory oftheemergence ofcontemporary identity politicscouldbe told

inmanyotherways-as thedevelopment of"newsocialantagonisms" rooted
inconsumer capitalism's commodification ofall spheresofsocial life; as the
relentlessdenaturalization of all socialrelations occasionedby the fabrica-
tionsandborderviolations ofpostmodern technologies andcultural produc-
tions;as a formof politicalconsciousnessprecipitated by theblackcivil
rightsmovement intheUnitedStates.7 I havetoldthestorythiswayinorder
toemphasizethediscursive politicalcontext ofitsemergence, itsdisciplin-
ary,capitalist, and liberalparentage, and thisin orderto grasppoliticized
identity'sgenealogicalstructure as composedofandnotonlyopposingthese
verymodalitiesof politicalpower.Indeed,if theostensibly oppositional
characterofidentity politicsalso render themsomething ofthe "illegitimate
offspring" of liberal,capitalist, disciplinary discourses, theirabsentfathers
arenot,as DonnaHarawaysuggests, "inessential" but,rather,enthroned in
theverystructure ofdesirefueling identity-based politicalclaims. (The psyche
ofthebastard childis hardly independent ofitsfamily oforigin.)8Andifwe are
interestedindeveloping the contestatory, subversive, potentially transforma-
tiveelements ofidentity-based politicalclaims, we need toknow the implica-
tionsof theparticulargenealogy and production conditions of identity's
desireforrecognition. Weneedtobeabletoask:givenwhatproduced it,given
whatshapesand suffuses it,what does politicized identity want?
These investigations mightprofitably beginwitha reflection on their
curiouselisionby the philosopher who also frames them, Michel Foucault.
ForFoucault,theconstraints ofemancipatory politicsinlatemodern democ-
racypertainbothto theubiquity andpervasiveness ofpower-theimpossi-
bilityofeschewing powerinhumanaffairs-aswellas tothewaysinwhich
subjectsand practices arealwaysatriskofbeingresubordinated through the
discourses naming and politicizing them. Best known for hisformulation of
thisdual problem in thedomain of sexual liberation, Foucault offers a more
generictheoretical accountin his discussionof thedisinternment of the
"insurrectionary knowledges," ofmarginalized populations andpractices:

Is therelationof forcestodaystillsuchas to allowthesedisinterred knowledges some

kindofautonomous life?Can theybe isolatedbythesemeansfromeverysubjugating
relationship?Whatforcedo theyhavetakeninthemselves? ... Is itnotperhapsthecase
thatthesefragments of genealogiesare no soonerbrought to light,thattheparticular
elementsoftheknowledgeone seeksto disinter are no sooneraccredited and putinto
circulation,thantheyrunthe riskof re-codification, re-colonisation? In fact,those
unitarydiscourses whichfirst andthenignoredthemwhentheymadetheir
disqualified
appearance, areitseemns, quitereadynowto annexthem,to takethembackwithinthe

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 Brown/WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 397

foldoftheirowndiscourseandto investthemwitheverything thisimpliesin termsof

ofknowledge
theireffects andpower.Andifwewanttoprotect theseonlylatelyliberated
fragments,are we notin dangerof ourselvesconstructing,
withourown hands,that
unitarydiscourse?9

Foucault'scautionabout the annexing,colonizingeffectsof invariably

unifying discoursesis animportantone.Butthequestionoftheemancipatory
orientation ofhistorically
subordinated discourseis notlimitedtotheriskof
cooptation orresubordination byextantornewlyformed unitary
discourses-
whether thoseofhumanism, ononeside,orofcultural studies,
multicultural-
ism,subaltern studies,andminority discourse,ontheother. Noris itreducible
to whathas alwaysstruckme as an unexamined Frankfurt Schoolstrainin
Foucault:theextenttowhichtheFoucauldiansubjectoriginally desirousof
freedom comesto willitsowndomination or,inFoucault'srubric, becomes
a gooddisciplinary I think
subject.Rather, thatforFoucault,insofar as power
alwaysproducesresistance, eventhedisciplinary subjectis perversely capa-
ble ofresistance,andinpracticing it,practicesfreedom. Discerniblehereis
thebasisof a curiousoptimism, evenvolunteerism in Foucault,namely, his
oddlyphysicalist andinsistentlynonpsychic accountofpower,practices, and
subjectformation. His removalof the "will to power"fromNietzsche's
complexpsychologyof need, frustration, impotence,and compensatory
deeds is whatpermits Foucaultto featureresistance as alwayspossibleand
as equivalentto practicing freedom.In an interviewwithPaul Rabinow,
Foucaultmuses,

thatitispossibletosaythatonething
I do notthink isoftheorderof"liberation"
andanother
is oftheorderof"oppression.". . . No matter
howterrifying
a givensystem maybe,there
alwaysremainthepossibilities ofresistance, andoppositional
disobedience, groupings.
On theotherhand,I do notthinkthatthereis anything thatis functionally
... abso-
lutelyliberating.Libertyis a practice.... The libertyof menis neverassuredby the
institutionsand laws thatare intendedto guaranteethem.. . . Not becausetheyare
ambiguous,butsimplybecause"liberty" is whatmustbe exercised.... The guarantee
of freedom is freedom.'0

My quarrelhereis notwithFoucault'svaluableinsistence on freedomas a

practicebut withhis distinctlack of attentionto whatmightconstitute,
negate,or redirectthedesireforfreedom."Notwithstanding hiscritiqueof
therepressive andpostulation
hypothesis ofthesubjectas aneffectofpower,
Foucaultseemsto tacitlyassumethegivennessand resilienceof thedesire
forfreedom, a givennessthatarisesconsequentto hisimplicitconflationof
the will to powerin resistancewitha will to freedom.Thus Foucault's
confidenceabout thepossibilitiesof "practicing" or "exercising"liberty

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398 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

residesin a quasi-empirical concernwiththerelativecapacityor space for

actionin thecontextof certainregimesofdomination. But whether or not
resistance questionfromwhatitsaim is, whatitis
is possibleis a different
for,and especiallywhetheror not it resubjugates the resistingsubject.
Foucault'srejection ofpsychoanalysisandhisarrested readingofNietzsche
(hisutter eclipseofNietzsche'sdiagnosisoftheculture ofmodernity as the
triumph of "slavemorality") combineto locatetheproblemoffreedom for
Foucaultas one ofdomainand discourserather thantheproblemof "will"
thatitis forNietzsche. Indeed,whatrequiresforitsanswera profoundly more
psychological Nietzschethantheone Foucaultembracesis nota question
aboutwhenorwherethepracticeoffreedom is possiblebuta questionabout
thedirection ofthewilltopower,a willthatpotentially, butonlypotentially,
animatesa desireforfreedom.Especiallyforthe Nietzscheof On the
GenealogyofMorals,themodernsubjectdoes notsimplycease to desire
freedom, as is thecase withFoucault'sdisciplinarysubject,butmuchmore
problematically loathesfreedom.12Letus nowconsiderwhy.

III

Contemporary politicizedidentity thetermsofliberaldiscourse

contests
insofaras itchallengesliberalism's universal"we" as a strategic fictionof
historicallyhegemonicgroupsand assertsliberalism's "I" as social-both
relationaland constructed by power-ratherthancontingent, private,or
autarkic.Yetitreiterates thetermsofliberaldiscourseinsofaras itpositsa
sovereignand unified"I" thatis disenfranchised by an exclusive"we."
Indeed,I have suggestedthatpoliticizedidentity emergesand obtainsits
unifying coherence through ofexclusionfromanostensible
thepoliticization
universal,as a protestagainstexclusion,a protest premised on thefiction of
an inclusive/universal community, a protest that reinstalls the humanist
ideal-and a specificwhite,middle-class, masculinist expressionof this
ideal-insofaras it premisesitselfon exclusionfrom Puttheotherway
it.
around,politicizedidentities generated outofliberal,disciplinary societies,
insofaras theyarepremised on exclusion from a universal ideal,requirethat
exclusion
ideal,as wellas their from it,for
theirown perpetuity as identities.
3
Politicizedidentityis also potentiallyreiterativeof regulatory, disciplin-
arysocietyin itsconfiguration ofa disciplinarysubject.It is bothproduced
by and potentially accelerates the production thataspectof disciplinary
of
societythat "ceaselesslycharacterizes, andspecializes,"
classifies, thatworks
through "surveillance,continuousregistration, perpetualassessment,and

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 Brown/WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 399

classification," through a socialmachinery "thatis bothimmenseandmin-

ute."14A recent examplefrom theworldoflocalpolitics makesclearpoliticized
identity's imbrication indisciplinary power,as wellas thewayin which,as
Foucaultremindsus, disciplinary power"infiltrates" ratherthanreplaces
liberaljuridicalmodalities.'5 Lastyear,thecitycouncilofmytownreviewed
an ordinance, devisedandpromulgated bya broadcoalitionofidentity-based
politicalgroups,whichaimedtobandiscrimination inemployment, housing,
andpublicaccommodations on thebasisof"sexualorientation, transsexual-
ity,age, height,weight,personalappearance, physicalcharacteristics, race,
color,creed,religion, nationalorigin,ancestry, maritalstatus,sex
disability,
or gender."'6Here is a perfectinstanceof theuniversaljuridicalidea of
liberalismand thenormalizing principleof disciplinary regimesconjoined
and takenup withinthediscourseof politicizedidentity. Thisordinance-
variouslycalled the "purplehairordinance"or the "uglyordinance"by
nationalnewsmedia-aims to counteverydifference as no difference,as
partof a seamlesswhole,butalso to counteverypotentially subversive
rejectionof culturally enforcednormsas themselves normal,as normaliz-
able, and as normativizable through law. Indeed,through thedefinitional,
procedural, andremediessectionofthisordinance(e.g.,"sexualorientation
shallmeanknownor assumedhomosexuality, heterosexuality,or bisexual-
ity"),personsarereducedtoobservablesocialattributes andpractices; these
are definedempirically, positivistically, if
as their existence were intrinsic
and factual,ratherthaneffectsof discursiveand institutional power;and
thesepositivistdefinitions of personsas theirattributes and practicesare
written intolaw,ensuringthatpersonsdescribable according to themwill
nowbecomeregulated through them.Benthamcouldn't have done itbetter.
Indeed,hereis a perfect instanceof howthelanguage of unfreedom, how
in
articulation language, in the context of liberaland disciplinarydiscourse,
becomesa vehicleof subordination through individualization,normaliza-
tion, and regulation,even as it strives to produce visibilityand acceptance.
Here,also, is a perfect instanceofthewayin whichdifferences thatarethe
effects ofsocialpowerareneutralized through theirarticulationas attributes
and theircirculation through liberaladministrative discourse:whatdo we
make of a documentthatrendersas juridicalequivalentsthe denial of
employment toanAfrican American, anobeseman,anda whitemiddle-class
youthfestooned withtattoosandfuschiahair?
WantI wantto consider,though, is whythisstrikingly unemancipatory
politicalprojectemergesfroma potentially moreradicalcritiqueof liberal
juridicialanddisciplinary modalities ofpower.Forthisordinance, I wantto
suggest,is notsimplymisguided in itscomplicity withtherationalizing and
disciplinary elementsoflatemodernculturenorsimplynaivewithregardto

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400 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

theregulatory apparatuswithinwhichitoperates.Rather, itis symptomatic

desirewithinliberal-bureaucratic
of a featureof politicizedidentity's re-
gimes,itsforeclosure ofitsownfreedom, itsimpulseto inscribeinthelaw
and in otherpoliticalregistersits historicaland presentpain ratherthan
conjureanimagined futureofpowertomakeitself. To see whatthissymptom
is a symptom of,we needto return once moreto a schematic consideration
ofliberalism,thistimeinordertoreaditthrough Nietzsche'saccountofthe
complex logics of ressentiment.

IV

Liberalismcontainsfromitsinception a generalized incitement to what

Nietzschetermsressentiment, themoralizing revengeofthepowerless, "the
triumph oftheweakas weak."'7Thisincitement to ressentiment inheresin
tworelatedconstitutive paradoxesofliberalism. Thereis a paradoxbetween
individual liberty andsocialegalitarianism, whichproducesfailureturned to
recrimination by the subordinated and guiltturnedto resentment by the
"successful." Thereis one betweentheindividualism thatlegitimatesliber-
alismandtheculturalhomogeneity requiredbyitscommitment topolitical
universality. This latterparadoxstimulates thearticulation of politically
significant differences,on theone hand,andthesuppression ofthem,on the
other,and offersa formof articulation thatpressesagainstthelimitsof
universalist discourseevenwhilethatwhichis beingarticulated seeksto be
harbored within-included-inthetermsofuniversalism.
Premising itselfonthenatural ofhumanbeings,liberalism
equality makes
a politicalpromiseofuniversal individualfreedom inordertoarriveatsocial
equalityorachievea civilizedretrieval oftheequalitypostulated inthestate
ofnature. Itis thetensionbetweenthepromises ofindividualisticliberty and
therequisites of equalitythatyieldsressentiment in one of twodirections,
depending onhowtheparadoxis brokered. A strong commitment tofreedom
vitiatesthefulfillment of theequalitypromiseand breedsressentiment as
welfare-state liberalism-attenuations oftheunmitigated licenseoftherich
andpowerful on behalfof the"disadvantaged." Conversely, a strongcom-
mitment to equality,requiring heavystateinterventionism and economic
redistribution,attenuates thecommitment tofreedom andbreedsressentiment
expressed as neoconservative racism,
antistatism, chargesof reverseracism,
andso forth.
However,itis notonlythetensionbetweenfreedom andequalitybutthe
priorpresumption and self-madecapacitiesof liberal
of the self-reliant

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 Brown/WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 401

subjects,conjoinedwiththeirunavoweddependence on andconstruction by
a varietyof social relations
and forces,thatmakesall liberalsubjects,and
notonlymarkedly disenfranchised
ones,vulnerabletoressentiment:itis their
situatednesswithin power,theirproductionbypower,andliberaldiscourse's
denialof thissituatedness andproduction thatcaststheliberalsubjectinto
failure,thefailureto makeitselfin thecontextof a discoursein whichits
self-making is assumed,indeed,is itsassumednature.This failure,which
Nietzschecalls suffering, mustfindeithera reasonwithinitself(which
redoublesthefailure)ora siteofexternal blameon whichtoavengeitshurt
and redistributeitspain.Hereis Nietzsche'saccountofthismomentinthe
production ofressentiment:

Foreverysufferer seeksa cause forhissuffering,

instinctively moreexactly, an agent;
stillmorespecifically a guilty
agentwhoissusceptible tosuffering-in someliving
short,
thingupon whichhe can on some pretextor other,venthis affects,actuallyor in
effigy....This ... constitutestheactualphysiological causeofressentiment,vengeful-
ness,andthelike:a desiretodeadenpainbymeansof affects. .. to deaden,bymeans
of a moreviolentemotionof any kind,a tormenting, secretpain thatis becoming
unendurable, and to driveit outof consciousness at leastforthemoment: forthatone
requiresan affect,as savageanaffectas possible,and,inordertoexcitethat,anypretext
at all.'8

Ressentiment in thiscontextis a tripleachievement: itproducesan affect

(rage,righteousness) thatoverwhelms thehurt,itproducesa culpritrespon-
sibleforthehurt, anditproducesa siteofrevengetodisplacethehurt(a place
to inflicthurtas thesufferer has beenhurt).Together theseoperations both
ameliorate(in Nietzsche'sterms,"anaesthetize")and externalizewhatis
otherwise "unendurable."
Now,whatI wanttosuggestis thatina culturealreadystreaked withthe
pathosof ressentiment forthesereasons,thereareseveralcharacteristics of
latemodempostindustrial societiesthataccelerateandexpandtheconditions
of its production.My listingis necessarilyhighlyschematic.First,the
phenomenon thatWilliamConnollynames"increasedglobalcontingency"
combineswiththeexpandingpervasiveness andcomplexity ofdomination
bycapitalandbureaucratic stateandsocialnetworks tocreateanunparalleled
individualpowerlessnessover the fateand directionof one's own life,
intensifying theexperiences ofimpotence, dependence, andgratitudeinher-
entin liberalcapitalistordersandconsitutive ofressentiment.'9Second,the
steadydesacralization ofall regionsoflife-whatWebercalleddisenchant-
ment,whatNietzschecalled thedeathof God-would appearto add yet
anotherreversalto Nietzsche'sgenealogyof ressentiment as perpetually
available to "alternation of direction."In Nietzsche'saccount,theascetic

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402 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

priestdeployednotionsof"guilt,sin,sinfulness, depravity anddamnation"

to "directtheressentiment of theless severely afflicted sternly back upon
themselves ... andin thisway [exploited] thebad instincts of all sufferers
forthepurposeofself-discipline, self-surveillance, and self-overcoming."20
However,the desacralizingtendenciesof late modernity undermine the
efficacy of thisdeployment and turnsuffering's needforexculpation back
towarda siteof external agency.Third,theincreasedfragmentation, ifnot
disintegration, ofall forms ofassociationuntilrecently notorganizedbythe
commodities market-communities, churches,families-andthe ubiqui-
tousnessof theclassificatory, individuating schemesofdisciplinary society
combinetoproducean utterly unrelieved individual,one without insulation
fromtheinevitable failureentailedin liberalism's individualistic construc-
tion.In short,thecharacteristics of late modern secular society, in which
individuals arebuffeted and controlled by global configurations of disciplin-
aryand capitalist powerof extraordinary proportions, and are at thesame
timenakedly individuated, stripped of reprieve from relentless exposureand
accountability forthemselves, together add up to an incitement to ressenti-
mentthatmight have stunned even the finestphilosopher of itsoccasions and
logics. Starkly accountable, yet dramatically impotent, the late modem
liberalsubjectquiteliterally seetheswithressentiment.
Enterpoliticized identity,nowconceivableinpartas bothproduct ofand
"reaction" to thiscondition, where "reaction" acquires the meaning that
Nietzsche ascribed to it,namely, as an effectof domination that reiterates
impotence, a substituteforaction, forpower, forself-affirmation thatreinscribes
incapacity,powerlessness, andrejection. ForNietzsche,ressentiment itself
is rootedin "reaction"-thesubstitution of reasons,norms,and ethicsfor
deeds-and notonlymoralsystemsbut identities themselvestake their
bearingsin thisreaction.As TracyStrongreadsthiselementofNietzsche's
thought,

Identity... does notconsistof an activecomponent, butis a reactionto something

qualities,mustthenbecome
outside;actionin itself,withits inevitableself-assertive
something withthatagainstwhichoneis reacting.
evil,sinceitis identified The willto
powerofslavemorality mustconstantly reassert totheslave:
thatwhichgivesdefinition
thepainhe suffers by beingin theworld.Henceanyattempt to escape thatpainwill
merelyresultin thereaffirmation ofpainfulstructures.21

"cause"is suffering,
Ifressentiment's deed"is thereworking
its"creative
ofthispainintoa negativeformofaction,the"imaginary revenge"ofwhat
Nietzscheterms"natures denied the true reaction,that of deeds."22This
the
revengeis achievedthrough imposition of "on
suffering whatever does
and
notfeelwrath displeasure as hedoes"23 (accomplished through
especially

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 Brown! WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 403

theproduction ofguilt),through theestablishment ofsuffering as themeasure

of social virtue, and through castingstrength andgood fortune ("privilege"
as we say today)as self-recriminating, as itsownindictment in a cultureof
suffering: "itis disgraceful tobe fortunate, thereis toomuchmisery."24
Butin itsattempt todisplaceitssuffering, identitystructured byressenti-
mentat thesametimebecomesinvestedin itsown subjection. Thisinvest-
mentlies notonlyinitsdiscovery ofa siteofblameforitshurtwill,notonly
in itsacquisitionofrecognition through itshistory of subjection(a recogni-
tionpredicated on injury, nowrighteously revalued),butalso inthesatisfac-
tionsofrevengethatceaselesslyreenactevenas theyredistribute theinjuries
ofmarginalization and subordination in a liberaldiscursive orderthatalter-
natelydenies the verypossibilityof thesethingsor blames thosewho
experiencethemfortheirown condition.Identitypoliticsstructured by
ressentiment reverseswithout subverting thisblamingstructure: itdoes not
subjectto critiquethesovereignsubjectof accountability thatliberalindi-
vidualismpresupposesnor theeconomyof inclusion and exclusionthat
liberaluniversalism establishes. that
Thuspoliticizedidentity presents itself
as a self-affirmation now appears as the opposite, as predicated on and
requiring itssustainedrejectionby a "hostile extemal world."25
Insofaras whatNietzschecalls slavemorality producesidentity in reac-
tionto power,insofaras identity rooted in thisreaction achieves its moral
superiority by reproaching power and action themselves as evil, identity
structured bythisethosbecomesdeeplyinvested initsownimpotence, even
whileit seeks to assuage the pain of its powerlessness through its vengeful
moralizing, through itswidedistribution of suffering, through itsreproach
of power as such. Politicized identity, premised on exclusion and fueledby
the humiliation and suffering imposed by its historicallystructured impo-
tencein thecontextof a discourseof sovereignindividuals, is as likelyto
seek generalizedpoliticalparalysis, to feaston generalizedpoliticalimpo-
tence, as it is to seek itsown or collective liberation.Indeeditis morelikely
to punishand reproach-"punishment is whatrevengecalls itself;witha
hypocritical lie itcreatesa goodconscienceforitself'-thantofindvenues
of self-affirming action.26
But contemporary politicizedidentity's desireis notonlyshapedbythe
extenttowhichthesovereign willoftheliberalsubject,articulated evermore
nakedlybydisciplinary individuation andcapitalistdisinternments, is dom-
inatedby late twentieth-century configurations of politicaland economic
powers.Itis shapedas wellbythecontemporary problematic ofhistory itself,
bythelatemodernrupture ofhistory as a narrative, history as endedbecause
it has lostitsend,a rupture thatparadoxically producesan immeasurable
heavinesstohistory. As thegrimexperience ofreading DisciplineandPunish

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404 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

makesclear,thereis a sensein whichthegravitational forceof history is

multiplied at precisely the moment thathistory's narrative coherence and
objectivist foundation As theproblematic
is refuted. of powerin history is
resituated fromsubjectpositioning to subjectformation, poweris seen to
operatespatially, "microphysically"
infiltrationally, rather thanonlytempo-
rally;it is also seen to permeate and constructevery heretofore designated
"interior" spacein socialordersandin subjects.As theerosionofhistorical
metanarratives takeswiththembothlaws of history and thefuturity such
lawspurported toassure,thepresumed continuity ofhistory is replacedwith
a senseofitsviolent, contingent,andubiquitousforce. History becomesthat
whichhas weightbutno trajectory, mass butno coherence,forcebut no
direction;it is war withoutendsor end. Thus theextentto which"dead
generations weighlike a nightmare on thebrainsof theliving"is today
unparalleled even as history itselfdisintegrates as coherentcategoryor
practice.We knowourselvestobe saturated byhistory, we feeltheextraor-
dinaryforceof itsdeterminations; we arealso steepedin a discourseofits
insignificance, and aboveall, we knowthathistory willno longer(always
alreadydidnot)actas ourredeemer.
I raise thequestionof historybecause in thinking aboutlate modem
politicizedidentity's structuringbyressentiment, I havethusfarfocusedon
its foundation in thesufferings of a subordinated sovereignsubject.But
Nietzsche'saccountofthelogicofressentiment is also tetheredtothatfeature
ofthewillthatis stricken thatrailsagainsttimeitself,
byhistory, thatcannot
"will backwards,"thatcannotexertits powerover thepast-eitheras a
specificsetofeventsoras timeitself:

Willingliberatesbut whatis it thatputseven the liberatorhimselfin fetters?'It

was'-that is thenameof thewill's gnashingof teethand mostsecretmelancholy.
Powerlessagainstwhathasbeendone,he is an angryspectator ofall thatis past.... He
cannotbreaktimeandtime'scovetousness, thatis thewill'sloneliestmelancholy.27

AlthoughNietzscheappearshere to be speakingof the will as such,

Zarathustra'sownrelationshipto thewillas a "redeemer makes
ofhistory"
clearthatthis"angryspectatorship" can with greatdifficultybe reworkedas
a perverse of a
kind mastery,mastery thattriumphs over the pastbyreducing
itspower,byremaking thepresent againsttheterms ofthepast-in short, by
of
a project that
self-transformation arrays itself
againstits own genealogical
consciousness.In contrastwiththehumanruinhe sees everywhere around
him-"fragments and limbs anddreadful accidents"-it is own
Zarathustra's
capacityto discernand to makea future thatspareshimfroma rancorous

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 Brown/WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 405

sensibility,
fromcrushingdisappointment
in theliberatory
promiseof his
will:

The nowandthepaston earth-alas,myfriends, thatis whatI findmostunendurable;

and I shouldnotknowhowtoliveifI werenotalso a seerofthatwhichmuchcome.A
seer,a willer,a creator,
a futurehimself anda bridgeto thefuture-andalas,also as it
were,a crippleat thisbridge:all thisis Zarathustra.28

Nietzscheherediscernsboththenecessityand thenearimpossibility-the
extraordinary and fragileachievement-offormulating oneselfas a creator
of thefutureand a bridgeto thefuture in orderto appease theotherwise
inevitablerancorofthewillagainsttime,inordertoredeemthepastbylifting
theweightofit,byreducing thescopeofitsdeterminations."Andhowcould
I bearto be a manifmanwerenotalso a creatorandguesserofriddlesand
redeemer ofaccidents?"29
Of course,Zarathustra's in whathe is willingto confront
exceptionality
andbear,inhiscapacitiestoovercomeinordertocreate,is Nietzsche'sdevice
forrevealingus to ourselves.The ordinary will,steepedin theeconomyof
slave morality,devisesmeans"togetridofhismelancholy andto mockhis
dungeon"thatreiterate thecauseofthemelancholy, thatcontinually reinfect
thenarcissisticwoundtoitscapaciousnessinflicted bythepast."Alas,"says
Nietzsche,"everyprisoner becomesa fool;andtheimprisoned willredeems
himselffoolishly."30Fromthisfoolishredemption-foolish becauseitdoes
notresolvethewill'srancorbutonlymakesa worldinitsimage-is bornthe
wrathofrevenge:

'thatwhichwas' is thenameofthestone[thewill]cannotmove.Andso hemovesstones

out of wrathand displeasure, and he wreaksrevengeon whatever does notfeelwrath
and displeasureas he does.Thusthewill,theliberator, tooktohurting; andon all who
can sufferhe wreaksrevengeforhisinability togo backwards.This ... is whatrevenge
is: thewill'sill willagainsttimeandits'it was.'

Revengeas a "reaction,"a substitute

forthecapacitytoact,producesidentity
as bothboundtothehistory thatproduceditandas a reproachtothepresent
thatembodiesthathistory.The will that"took to hurting"in its own
impotenceagainstitspastbecomes(in theformof an identity whosevery
existenceis due to heightenedconsciousness of theimmovability ofits"it
was,"itshistoryofsubordination) a willthatmakesnotonlya psychological
buta politicalpracticeofrevenge,a practicethatreiteratestheexistenceof
an identity
whosepresent pastis oneofinsistentlyunredeemable injury.This
pastcannotbe redeemedunlesstheidentity ceases tobe investedinit,andit

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406 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

cannotcease to be investedin itwithout givingup itsidentity as such,thus

givingup itseconomyof avengingand at thesame timeperpetuating its
hurt-"whenhethenstillsthepainofthewound,heatthesame time reinfects
thewound."32
In its emergence as a protestagainstmarginalization or subordination,
politicized identity thusbecomesattached toitsownexclusionbothbecause
itis premised on thisexclusionforitsveryexistenceas identity andbecause
theformation of identity at thesiteofexclusion,as exclusion,augments
or "altersthe directionof the suffering" entailedin subordination or
marginalization byfinding a siteofblameforit.Butin so doing,itinstalls
itspain overitsunredeemed history in theveryfoundation of itspolitical
claim,in itsdemandforrecognition as identity. In locatinga siteof blame
foritspowerlessness overitspast,as a pastof injury, a pastas a hurtwill,
and locatinga "reason"forthe"unendurable pain"of socialpowerlessness
inthepresent, itconverts thisreasoning intoan ethicizing politics,a politics
of recrimination to
thatseeks avenge the hurt even while it reaffirms it,
discursively it.
codifies Politicized identity thus enunciates itself,makes
claimsforitself, onlybyentrenching, dramatizing, andinscribing itspainin
out
politicsandcan hold nofuture-for or
itself others-that triumphs over
thispain.The loss of historical direction, and with it theloss of futurity
characteristic ofthelatemodernage,is thushomologically refigured in the
structure ofdesireof the dominant political expression ofthe age-identity
politics.In thesameway,thegeneralized politicalimpotence producedby
the ubiquitous yet discontinuous networks of late modern political and
economicpower is reiterated inthe investments of late modern democracy's
primary oppositional politicalformations.
Whatmightbe entailedin transforming theseinvestments in an effort to
fashiona moreradically democratic andemancipatory politicalculture? One
avenue of exploration may lie in Nietzsche'scounselon the virtuesof
"forgetting," forif identity structured in partbyressentiment resubjugates
itselfthrough itsinvestment initsownpain,through itsrefusaltomakeitself
inthepresent, memory is thehouseofthisactivity andthisrefusal. Yeterased
histories andhistorical invisibility arethemselves suchintegral elementsof
thepaininscribed inmostsubjugated identitiesthatthecounselofforgetting,
at leastin itsunreconstructed Nietzschean form, seemsinappropriate, ifnot
cruel.33Indeed,itis alsopossiblethatwe havereacheda passwherewe ought
topartwithNietzsche, whoseskillsas diagnostician usuallyreachthelimits
of theirpoliticalefficacyin his privileging of individualcharacterand
capacityoverthetransformative possibilities of collectivepoliticalinven-
tion,inhisremovefrom therefigurative possibilities ofpoliticalconversation
or transformative cultural practices.ForifI am rightabouttheproblematic

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 Brown/WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 407

ofpaininstalledat theheartof manycontemporary contradictory demands

forpoliticalrecognition, all thatsuchpainmaylongformorethanrevenge
isthechancetobeheardintoa certain reprieve,recognized intoself-overcoming,
incitedintopossibilities fortriumphing over,and hencelosing,itself.Our
challenge,then,wouldbe toconfigure a radicallydemocratic politicalculture
thatcan sustainsucha projectin itsmidstwithout beingovertaken byit,a
challengethatincludesguarding againstabetting thesteadyslideofpolitical
intotherapeutic discourse,evenas weacknowledge theelements ofsuffering
andhealingwe mightbe negotiating.
Whatifitwerepossibletoincitea slightshiftinthecharacter ofpolitical
expression andpoliticalclaimscommontomuchpoliticizedidentity? What
ifwe soughtto supplantthelanguageof"I am"-with itsdefensive closure
on identity,itsinsistenceon thefixity ofposition,anditsequationofsocial
withmoralpositioning-with thelanguageofreflexive "wanting"? Whatif
it werepossibleto rehabilitate thememory of desirewithin identificatory
processes,themomentin desire-either"to have"or "to be"-prior to its
wounding andthuspriortotheformation ofidentity atthesiteofthewound?
Whatif"wantingto be" or "wantingto have"weretakenup as modesof
politicalspeechthatcould destabilizetheformulation of identity as fixed
position,as entrenchment by history,and as having necessary moral entail-
ments,evenas theyaffirm "position"and"history" as thatwhichmakesthe
speakingsubjectintelligible and locatable,as thatwhichcontributes to a
hermeneutics foradjudicating desires?If every"I am" is something of a
resolutionofdesireintofixedandsovereign identity,thenthisprojectmight
involvenotonlylearning tospeakbuttoread"I am" thisway,as inmotion,
as temporal, as not-I,as deconstructable accordingto a genealogyof want
ratherthanas fixedinterests or experiences. The subjectunderstood as an
effectof a (ongoing)genealogyof desire,includingthesocial processes
constitutive or frustrating
of,fulfilling, desire,is in thisway revealedas
neithersovereign norconclusiveevenas itis affirmed as an "I." In short,this
partialdissolutionof sovereignty intodesirecouldbe thatwhichreopensa
desireforfuturity whereNietzschesaw it sealed shutby festering wounds
expressedas rancorandressentiment. 'This instinct forfreedom pushedback
and repressed. . . incarceratedwithin."'
Such a slightshiftin thecharacter of thepoliticaldiscourseof identity
eschewsthekindsof ahistoricalor utopianturnsagainstidentity politics
madebya nostalgicandbrokenhumanist Leftas wellas thereactionaryand
disingenuous assaultson politicizedidentitytendered by theRight.Rather
thanopposingorseekingtotranscend investments,
identity thereplacement-
even thecomplexadmixture-ofthelanguageof "being"with"wanting"
wouldseektoexploitpolitically a recovery ofthemoreexpansivemoments

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408 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

inthegenealogyofidentity formation.It wouldseektoreopenthemoment

priorto itsown foreclosure againstitswant,priorto thepointat whichits
sovereignsubjectivity is establishedthrough suchforeclosure
and through
eternalrepetition of its pain. How mightdemocraticdiscourseitselfbe
invigorated bysucha shiftfromontologicalclaimsto thesekindsof more
expressly politicalones,claimswhich,rather thandispensingblameforan
unlivablepresent,inhabited thenecessarily theater
agonistic ofdiscursively
forgingan alternativefuture?

NOTES

1. "An identityis establishedinrelationtoa seriesofdifferences thathavebecomesocially

recognized. Thesedifferences areessentialtoitsbeing.Iftheydidnotcoexistas differences, it
wouldnotexistinitsdistinctness andsolidity....Identity requires difference inordertobe,and
itconverts difference intoothernessinordertosecureitsownself-certainty." WilliamConnolly,
Identity\Difference:Democratic NegotiationsofPoliticalParadox(Ithaca,NY: CornellUniver-
sityPress,1991),64.
I cite fromConnollyratherthanfromthe moreobviousDerridabecause Connollyis
exemplary oftheeffort withinpoliticaltheory to thinkaboutthepoliticalproblemof identity
workingheuristically withitslinguistic operation.I cite fromConnollyas well becausethe
present essayextendsa conversation beganata 1991APSA roundtable discussionofhisbook.
In thatdiscussion,notingthatConnollyidentifies latemodernity as producing certainproblems
foridentity butdoesnothistoricize identity
politicized as such,I calledforsucha historicization.
To thedegreethatthepresent essayis myownpartialresponsetothatcall,it-as thenotesmake
clear-is indebted toConnolly'sbookandthatpublicoccasionofitsdiscussion.
A shortlistof otherswhohavestruggled to takepoliticizedidentity through and pastthe
problem ofpoliticalexclusionandpoliticalclosureincludeStuartHall,TrinhT. Minh-ha, Homi
Bhabha,PaulGilroy,AiwahOng,Judith Butler,GayartiSpivak,andAnneNorton.
2. Karl Marx,"On theJewishQuestion,"in TheMarx-EngelsReader,2d ed., editedby
R. Tucker(New York:Norton,1974),34.
3. JohnLocke, Letteron Toleration;JohnStuartMill, "On Liberty,"George Kateb,
"DemocraticIndividuality andtheClaimsofPolitics,"PoliticalTheory, August1984.
4. In "JewishQuestion,"Marxargues,"farfromabolishingtheseeffective differences [in
civil society,thestate]existsonlyso faras theyare presupposed; it is consciousof beinga
politicalstateanditmanifests onlyinopposition
itsuniversality totheseelements"(p. 33). See
also Marx's Critiqueof Hegel's Philosophyof Right,editedby J. O'Malley (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press,1970),91, 116.
5. ErnestoLaclau,"Universalism, Particularism,andtheQuestionof Identity," October61
(Summer1992),90. Laclau is hereconcerned notwiththestatebutthepossibility ofretaining
a "universal"in social movement politicswherea critiqueofbourgeoishumanist universalism
has becomequitecentral.Interestingly, Laclau'seffort to preserve a universalist politicalideal
fromthischallengeentailsmakingthisidealevenmoreabstract, pullingitfurther awayfrom
anyspecificconfiguration orpurposethanthedistanceordinarily managedbyliberaldiscourse.

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 Brown/WOUNDED ATTACHMENTS 409

Interestingly, Laclau'saiminvoidingtheuniversal completely ofbodyandcontent is onlypartly

topermit ittobe morecompletely embracing ofall theparticulars;itis also intended torecognize
thestrategic valueofthediscourseofuniversality, theextent towhich"different groupscompete
to givetheirparticular aimsa temporary function ofuniversal representation" (p. 90). Buthow,
ifuniversal discoursemayalwaysbe revealedtohavethisstrategic function, canitalsobe taken
seriouslyas a substantive valueofdemocracy?
6. JurgenHabermas'sLegitimation Crisis,translated by T. McCarthy(Boston:Beacon,
1975),andJamesO'Connor'sFiscal CrisisoftheState(New York:St. Martin's,1973)remain
twoofthemostcompellingnarratives ofthisdevelopment. Also informing thisclaimareMax
Weber'sdiscussionofbureaucracy andrationalization inEconomy andSociety,SheldonWolin's
discussionof the"mega-state" in ThePresenceofthePast,as well as theresearches of Claus
Offe,Bob Jessop,andFredBlock.
7. See ErnestoLaclau and ChantalMouffe,Hegemony and SocialistStrategy(London:
Verso,1985), 161; ScottLash and JohnUrry,The End of OrganizedCapitalism(Madison:
University ofWisconsinPress,1987),chap.9; David Harvey,TheCondition ofPostmodemity
(Oxford:Blackwell,1989),chap.26; BerniceJohnson Reagon,"CoalitionPolitics:Turning the
Century," in Home Girls:A Black Feminist Anthology, editedby BarbaraSmith(New York:
KitchenTable:WomenofColorPress,1983),362.
8. In"A Manifesto forCyborgs," inFeminism/Postmodernism, editedbyL. Nicholson(New
York:Routledge,1990),Donna Harawaywritesthat"cyborgsaretheillegitimate offspring of
militarism andpatriarchal capitalism, notto mention statesocialism.Butillegitimate offspring
areoftenexceedingly unfaithfultotheirorigins.Theirfathers, afterall,areinessential" (p. 193).
9. "Two Lectures,"in Power/Knowledge, editedby Colin Gordon(New York:Pantheon,
1980),86.
10."Space,Knowledge,andPower,"interview withPaulRabinowin TheFoucaultReader,
editedby Paul Rabinow(New York:Pantheon, 1984),245.
11. JohnRajchmaninsiststhatFoucault'sphilosophy is "theendlessquestionoffreedom"
(p. 124),butRajchman, too,eschewsthequestionofdesireinhisaccountofFoucault'sfreedom
as the"motorandprinciple ofhisskepticism: theendlessquestioning ofconstituted experience"
(p. 7). Rajchman, MichelFoucault:TheFreedomofPhilosophy (New York:ColumbiaUniver-
sityPress,1985).
12. "Thisinstinct forfreedom forcibly madelatent-thisinstinct forfreedom pushedback
andrepressed, incarcerated withinand finallyable to dischargeand ventitselfonlyon itself."
On theGenealogyofMorals,translated by W. Kaufmann and P. J. Hollingdale(New York:
Vintage,1969),87.
13. As Connollyargues,politicizedidentity also reiterates thestructure of liberalism in its
configuration ofa sovereign, unified,accountable, individual.Connollyurges,although itis not
clear what would motivateidentity'stransformed orientation, a different configuration of
identity-onewhichunderstood itselfas contingent, relational,contestatory, and social. See
Identity\Difference, esp. 171-84.
14. MichelFoucault,Disciplineand Punish,translated byA. Sheridan(New York:Vintage,
1979),209, 212.
15. Ibid.,206.
16. Froman earlydraft of"An OrdinanceoftheCityofSantaCruzAddingChapter9.83 to
theSantaCruzMunicipalCode Pertaining totheProhibition ofDiscrimination."
17. Identity\Difference,21-27.
18. GenealogyofMorals,127.
19. Identity\Difference,24-26.

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410 POLITICAL THEORY /August1993

20. Ibid.,128.
expandeded.
21. TracyStrong,FriedrichNietzscheand thePoliticsof Transfiguration,
(Berkeley:University Press,1988),242.
ofCalifornia
22. GenealogyofMorals,36.
23. ThusSpokeZarathustra, editedbyW.Kaufmann
inThePortableNietzsche, (New York:
Penguin,1954),252.
24. GenealogyofMorals,123,124.
25. [bid.,34.
26. Zarathustra,252.
27. Ibid.,251.
28. [bid.,250-51.
29. [bid.,251.
30. [bid.
31. Ibid.,252.
32. GenealogyofMorals,126. Nietzsche'selaboration in an economyof
of thismoment
suffering therancorous
couldeasilycharacterize and
institutions
tenorofmanycontemporary
is strongly
eventsin whichpoliticizedidentity at play:
andpermissibly

Thesuffering eagerandinventive
areoneandall dreadfully indiscoveringoccasionsfor
theyenjoybeingmistrustful
painfulaffects; anddwellingonnastydeedsandimaginary
slights;theyscourtheentrailsof theirpastand presentforobscureand questionable
occurrences thatofferthemtheopportunity to revelin tormenting suspicionsand to
intoxicatethemselveswiththepoisonoftheirown malice:theytearopentheiroldest
wounds,theybleed fromlong-healed scars,theymakeevildoersoutof theirfriends,
wives,children,andwhoeverelse standsclosesttothem."I suffer: someonemustbe to
blameforit"-thusthinks everysicklysheep.(GenealogyofMorals,127)

33. Thispointhas beenmadebymany,butfora recent, quitepowerful phenomenological

see Patricia
betweenhistoricalerasureand lived identity,
explorationof the relationship
Williams,TheAlchemy ofRace andRights(Cambridge,MA: HarvardUniversity Press,1991).
34. GenealogyofMorals,87.

WendyBrownteachesat the University of California,Santa Cruz She is authorof

ManhoodandPolitics:A FeministReadinginPoliticalTheoryandofaforthcoming book
on latemodernpoliticallifeofwhichthisessayis a part.

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