"ru1m��11

VI Libr&rY
AUI l,IOh.,,.,,,_d

As the final installment of Public Culture's Millennial Quar• 1

CM
tet, Cosmopolitanism assesses the pasts and possible fu M3001000060 101

tures of cosmopolitanism-or ways of thinking, feeling, and

acting beyond one's particular society. With contributions
from distinguished scholars in disciplines such as literary
studies, art history, South Asian studies, and anthropology,
this volume recenters the history and theory of translocal
political aspirations and cultural ideas from the usual West·
ern vantage point to areas outside Europe, such as South
Asia, China, and Africa.
By examining new archives, proposing new theoretical
formulations, and suggesting new possibilities of political
practice, the contributors critically probe the concept of
cosmopolitanism. On the one hand, cosmopolitanism may
be taken to promise a form of supraregional political soli·
darity, but on the other, these essays argue, it may erode
precisely those intimate cultural differences that derive
their meaning from particular places and traditions. Given
that most cosmopolitan political formations-from the
Roman Empire and European imperialism to contemporary
globalization-have been coercive and unequal, can there
be a noncoercive and egalitarian cosmopolitan politics?
Finally, the volume asks whether cosmopolitanism can
promise any universalism that is not the unwarranted gen­
eralization of some Western particular.

CONTRIBUTORS. Ackbar Abbas, Arjun Appadurai, Homi K.

Bhabha, T. K. Biaya, Carol A. Breckenridge, Dipesh Chakra­
barty, Ousmane Ndiaye Dago, Mamadou Diouf, Wu Hung,
Walter O. Mignolo, Sheldon Pollock, Steven Rendait

CAROL A. BRECKENRIDGE teaches in the Department of

South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University
of Chicago and is the founding editor of Public Culture.
SHELDON POLLOCK is George V. Bobrinskoy Professor of
Sanskrit and Indic Studies at the University of Chicago.
HOMI K. BHABHA is Professor of English and African-Amer­
ican Studies at Harvard University. DIPESH CHAKRABARTY
teaches in the departments of History and South Asian Lan­
guages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago.

Cover photograph by Ousmane Ndiaye Oago

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Cosmopolitanism Mohammej
VI Llbrary

Edited by Carol A. Breckenridge, Sheldon Poll

ock,

A MILLENNIAL QUARTET BOOK

Homi K. Bhabha, and Dipesh Chakrabarty

DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS • DURHAM & LONDON 2002

, ALTERNATIVE MODERNITIES,

edited by Dilip Parameshwar Gaonkar

G LOB A LI Z ATl ON , edited by Arjun Appadurai

MILLENNIAL CAPITALISM AND THE

CULTURE OF NEOLIBERALISM, edited

by Jean Comaroff & John L. Comaroff

COSMOPOLITAN ISM, edited by

Carol A. Breckenridge, Sheldon Pollock,

Homi K. Bhabha, & Dipesh Chakrabarty

PUBLIC CULTURE BOOKS

 ln ho n o rof D. R. N agaraj

2 0 Febru ary 1954-1 2 A ugu st 1998

Sch olar, Vision ray, Friend

a nd Insp iration for this book.

C.100.1 Duke Uni�it y Press exce pt fo

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"SpcctraJ Housing and Urban Cleansing: Notes o
n
MiUenniaJ Mumbai"CArjun Ap padurai A11 rig hts d
rese ver
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Conte nt s

Sheldon Pol lock, Homi K. Bhabha, Car olA. Br

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kenri d
ec

D es
a n
d ip h Chakrabarty ms 1
Cos ompol itan is

n
a
Sheldo Pollock Cosrnopolit ann d Vemacular in H istory 15
Arjun Appadurai Spectral Housin and Urba Cl an ing:
g n e s
Notes on M ille n ni al Mumbai 54
Di pe sh Chakra r
b a ty Un ive g in the
rsalisrn and Belong in
Log ic of Cap ital 82

Mamadou Diouf The Senegalese Murid Trade D aspora and

in i
the Mak g of a Vern acular Co srnopo li tanis m 111
T. K. Biay "C rus hing th e Pistachio": Eroticism
a

e
in S ne g al and the Art of Ous an m e N diaye Dago 13 8

Walte r D. Mi gnolo
The Many Faces of C osmo-p ols: Bo r der
in i
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g d C iti alc C smo
o po is
lit an rn 1 5
7

Wu Hu ng Zhan gD 'ali
s Dialo gu rsatio
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A a A as
Cosmopo lit an De-scri pti no s:
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Shang ah i and Ho n gKong 209

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 cosmopolitanisms
Sheldon Pollock, Homi K. Bhabha,
Carol A. Breckenridge, and Dipesh Chakrabarty

There must be some way out ofhere.

Cosmopolitanism comprises some of today's most challenging prob­

lems of academic analysis and political practice, especially when analy­
sis and practice are seen -as they are seen in the essays that make up
this collection-as a conjoint activity. For one thing, cosmopolitanism
is not some known entity existing in the world, with a clear genealogy
from the Stoics to lmmanuel Kant, that simply awaits more detailed de­
scription at the hands of scholarship. We are not exactly certain what
it is, and figuring out why this is so and what cosmopolitanism may be
raises difficult conceptual issues. As a practice, too, cosmopolitanism is
yet to corne, something awaiting realization. Again, this is not because
we already understand and can practice it but have not-a mode of
action whose rules we are farniliar with and need merely to apply. Cos­
mopolitanism may instead be a project whose conceptual content and
pragmatic character are not only as yet unspecified but also must always
escape positive and definite specification, precisely because specifying
cosmopolitanism positively and definitely is an uncosmopolitan thing
to do.
The indeterminacy of how to achieve a cosmopolitan political prac­
tice feeds back into the problem of academic analysis. As a historical
category, the cosrnopolitan should be considered entirely open, and
not pregiven or foreclosed by the definition of any particular society
or discourse. Its various embodiments, including past embodiments,
await discovery and explication. In this way, the components of the
linked academic-political activity of cosmopolitanism become mutu­
ally reinforcing: new descriptions of cosmopolitanism as a historical
phenomenon and theoretical object may suggest new practices, even

...
 as better practices may offer a better understanding of the theory and
history of cosmopolitanism.
The foregoing assessment is not always acknowledged, let alone ex­
plicitly argued, in various recent contributions to the discussion of cos­
mopolitanism.1 These tex:ts do serve, however, to suggest that the sense
of timeliness or even urgency about the question of cosmopolitanism is
widely shared. And it is worth pausing a moment, before exploring fur­
ther the approaches adopted in the essays that follow, to consider what
accounts for this renewed concern. Three closely related forces that are
powerfully at work in the contemporary world seem especially perti­
nent: nationalism, globalization, and multiculturalism.
The twentieth century ended much as it began, convincingly dem­
onstrating that nationalism, whether of an ethnie or religious or other
stripe, has lost little of its power for producing evil in the world. In
recognizing the harm that nationalism does in promoting territorially
based identities, we do not suggest that it has been always and ·only a
negative force. It is famously Janus-faced, and nowhere more·so than
in the non-West. The emphasis of anticolonial nationalisms on bound-
aries and territories has something to do with how European colônial-
ism was experienced by the colonized. For many, colonialisni was-an/i
acute experience of displacement. Sorne people were literallydispla·ced�,
(indigenous peoples, but also the so-called nomadic in many countries). · ·
Others, in particular those excited by and open to the newly intro-
duced European knowledges, underwent a powerful cultural experience
of being dislodged from "tradition." Think only of the various culture
wars, typical of many non-Western nationalisms, over the merits and
demerits of Westernization.
These experiences gave meaning to nationalist emphases on a family
of ideas ail of which, in the end, connected identities to imaginations of
place: home, boundary, territory, and roots. These imaginations were
not always tied to fixed geographical places. Pakistan, for instance, while
definitely imagined from as early as the 1920s as a homeland for the
Muslims of the Indian subcontinent, had only the vaguest geographical
referent for a long tune in its career as a concept. Yet it was powerful in its
capacity to address the experience of cultural and political displacement
that colonialism had meant for many Muslims in South Asia. Thus, the
nationalist search for home and authenticity may have been modern -
2 • POLLOCK ET Al.
and vulnerable, therefore, to postmodern critiques of ail static, reified,
and bounded imaginations of place and home- but it was not, for that
reason, inauthentic or illegitimate in itself.
Granti ng a legitimacy to nationalism does not, however, take away
from the point that the modernist (and nationalist) insistence on terri­
torialized imaginations of identity has produced horrendous confücts in
recent history. Besides, in a world increasingly deterritorialized by mi­
gration, mediatization, and capital flows, modernist nationalisms with
their tendency to connect cultures and identities to specific places have
become an ever more retrograde ideology, even as they retain ever
greater power to produce history.
This is not, to be sure, precisely the same history over and over. The
events at the end of the twentieth century that accompanied the breakup
of Yugoslavia are not easily brought under the same explanatory um­
brella as those at its beginning that accompanied the breakup of the
Habsburg Empire. Nationalism is not just Janus-like but is also protean.
Degrees of popular support, emotional cathexis, and official manipu­
lation differ from case to case. In addition to this multiform phenome­
nology of nationalism, there are countless other factors that serve to
differentiate the Sarajevo of 1994 from the Sarajevo of 1914. Not the least
is that, the second time around, the cosmopolitan character of the city
and ail that it stood for were finally destroyed.
But we would have to be fussy pedants to allow finer points of histori­
cal differences to obscure the overpowering and deeply disquieting rec­
ognition of repetition and even intensification. Moreover, the morphing
of empire into nation-state and nation-state into national-statelets is no
longer just a Balkan game but a universal one. Sorne of its most deadly
serious participants are the new pfayers of the postcolonial world, thosc,
for instance, who seek an independent Kashmir-a failed state in the
making if there ever was one- in the perilous space between two brand­
new nuclear powers. It is not simply that we are going forward into the
past; we are going into a past that is at the same time somehow new,
a grotesque caricature of the past where the propositions of Western
modernity, now catastrophically universalized, are being re-enacted.
We are headed toward a League of Nations with ten thousand fractious
and anxious expansion teams.
This is not a good way to organize human life.
3 * COSMOPOLITANISMS
 There's roo m uch confusion,
I , na 't gel no rel efi vidualist aspirati ons and universalist norms. But this revenant late b­
li
are riven w ith dee h· e ai m e ea ls, i n a more exaggerated form,a struggle at the heart o
Emer gent d1. scourses of cosmopolitanism r l s rv f
. . .
bout what it means to hve m our tlmes . . . What dp c 1s. li b er alth oe r y,w r a genuine des ire for equalityasa universal norm is
he e
tonca! . ironiesa . the ed to a tena icous ethnocentric provincialism inmattersofcultura
1s too easy to name our e 11nes te r
our . ttmes. , What times are ours? lt rno ... n l
transnational. It . 1s fundamentally facile to .. ,e t ju dgment a ndreco g nitio n.The discriminatory perspectivesofano d r
as� Col d War or c . fo m of globalizat ion -colonization-seem to have revived themse v es
l e
(as y o that new media and market technolo�ie_s have Ush l re l
man d )
r
d t e p nt t whi ch we readily consi derourselves to be wor ldwideciti­
in undre a m ed o f possibi litie s of access and conn ectiv1ty on a g eb al a h oi a
t
lo z ens for ever "hoo ked up " (connected) on-line. Ali the derring -d o be­
sca l e, re ndering the po
stco lonial paradigms of justice and redist .
ri bu t
tween thelocal and he gl obal in thedia ectic of worldlythinking hou ld
l s
o in the face of choice, opp o rtu
n ity, and en terprise. e
Y t .
tion
b t
s loe e o al e fa
n o t c nce t h ct t hat ne olib e ral cosmo p o lit na thoug h tis found ed o n
rnfit r s, we are proper y resistant do
l e
spite our d ico s nt e n t s and d isco u e
t a a on fo r mis t sen s e ofwhat it means to bea "person" as an ab stractun i
i c t
rad c al re vanch ism that seeks a return to the certainties ofa wor o ofcu l tural e xchan ge.
h h l d f
t e
eit er/o r : ei the r F irst or Third World; either cornrnunism or c ­ Whe re once politi cal discussi on focused on the systemic nature of
al p
a i
t ism; eithe r pla nned economies or free markets; either the secular or
l
pub ic cu lt u re s and the distribution of political goods, today there i s a
the sacre d; eit he r class po litics ab o ve revi val of the hu mani stdiscourse of rights founded onthe unique and
f th a11 o eth r d ifferen ces o r a betray al
e piri f story itself. inviolabl e pres e nce of"human "personhood.A rightscultureisin many
o s t o Hi
the light ofdecades o f
f
Cosm o politan ism, in i ts wide and waveri ng nets, catches somethin g res pec ts e e ss nti ; aJit is h istor ically appropriate in
o o u rnee d to g o r und o u r sense of mutuality in conditions of muta­ b
a use of u h man an d civ il rig hts obscured by the totalitarian dr awng
i
ili
b ty, and to le arnt o l iv e tenacious l y in terrains of historie and cultura l of the iron c ur tain, or the neo-imperi alist flourishing of the stars and
t
ran i
i hide the fact that the fetishizationof liberal
s t on. The twti il i g ht of Transition, rather than the dawn of mille n­ es. None
of t hs i should
i

s trdp id
­
sm h as, i the past few years, created acosmopolitan imag i
ial
uali
n
na transfor n, marks the que sti ons of our times: Do we live
iv

Cold m a o
n

in i i ifi
What represen t s
po s t - nary sg ed b yt e ic o ns o fsingularpersonhood.
h th e
War wo rld tout court, or in the long shadow of that dis­ irit n to t h is ques ­
as t rous p stw r exper ence of superpower collusion and competiti n sp o f ci
w o rl d li z ns ti e hi today?
In recent years the ans wer
th d fo o dathe i p
o
a t e rm e tion has not e cit ed ide a s and ideal s, but philanthropie individuals­
deve l o pment ofthe rest of t he world? Is South Af i ca
r
th
free or is its anxi ou s emancipati on still caught in the unresolved pu r ­ M o e r The r e sa (for he r lov e of the world's poor), George Soros (for
hi
s
uit for t s e co no mic investment in Central Euro pe),Ted Turner (forhis billion
tru h and rec oncili at ion?Is one measure ofth e(Jack of) success ll b
f do a r contri u t i on to the Unit ed Na tions), the late Princ e ss D i ana (for
o New La bo r i
n Great Brit ain it s inabi lity to deaJ with the old colonial d tifi
the gl oba li ssue s of AIDS and land mines), and
bl
her i en cat io n w th
p ro em o f North e rn Ireland? Is the nuclear contest between India and h
i
(for his lord ly hold on the univer e).
s
G
an
Pakist part fo th e new l y found confid enc eo fp os tc o l on a nation s or p e r a ps Bill at es
i l moment of transi ­
the g
am Acosmopo lita n m grounded in the tenebrous
is
e oft h e ri
t al s of Partition? of cosmopolitical
nd
e t r
tion is dis inct f om othe r more t riu m phalist notions
Aswe nego tiate t hi s transitional territory, we often .find ourselve s coe xist M o erni y as neve falle n short of making universalist
d
i en ce. t h r
in the in terst c esof the o ld and the new, confronting the past as the i
s on the spectacular success ofthe En­
a d am t ow o r ld ci i zenship, based
pre t. Perh p s the most s gni ficant such revisionary experience fo
t

senmo p li i c i r li h g tenment as pedago gic al and pol it

icalproject. Capitalismenvisages
co s is the neoliber l consen es a
o t a n ing sus that has becom o unism ap­
rld
ork ofma rket s and profits; comm
lf
h h
l t i k a
i itse ast a wo rke r wo i f n tw
de e
aphepar e nt n t e pos t-Cold Wa r period. Where once we conceived o p l o
w o unite; ate libe alismarguespass onat
r i ely
�
f ea s
ag i t i ru
s t he world to m l ,
r d 0rder in terms of vyi ng and competing politicaJ systems an-d al m or d e m and fo the e c gn ti on of the
i deo wolo !cal ures, t a ns n s t ment is et r ini s r r o i
g1 str u ct d he n l b r l d
es e wor ldl vi y sion s
to ay eo i e a e pmhasis fa lls m o re on in i hu m an asthe bea er of univ r l r g
r e s a i h t s. Bu t e ach o f th
4 • P
OL O K
L C ET Al. 5 * MPOLITA I
C OS O N S SM
 is frarned by the ideal of national sovereignty; and nationhood is the
social form that renders modernity self-conscious-conscious of being
contemporary-so that the cosmopolitan spirit may inhabit a world
that is ethically synchronous and politically symmetrical. But, sadly, we
know better than to daim (in the spirit of Gertrude Stein) that a nation
is a nation is a nation. Nationhood-or nation-ness-may be the corn­
mon currency of world culture and international poli tics, but its varied
geopolitical histories have demonstrated, more often than not, the ter­
rible asymmetries of the idea of modernity itself.
T he cosmopolitanism of our times does not spring from the capital-
ized "virtues" of Rationality, Universality, and Progress; nor is it em-
bodied in the myth of the nation writ large in the figure of the citizen
of the world. Cosmopolitans today are often the victims of modernity,
failed by capitalism's upward mobility, and bereft of those comforts
and customs of national belonging. Refugees, peoples of the diaspora,
and migrants and exiles represent the spirit of the cosmopolitical com­
munity. Too often, in the West, these peoples are grouped together in
a vocabulary of victimage and corne to be recognized as ·constituting
the "problem" of multiculturalism to which late liberalism extends its
generous promise of a pluralist existence. Cultural pluralism recognizes. _.
difference so long as the general category of the people is still fonda�:�,
mentally understood within a national frame. Such benevolence is often
well intentioned, but it fails to acknowledge the critique of modernity
that minoritarian cosmopolitans embody in their historie witness to the
twentieth century.
What we are calling a minoritarian modernity (as a source for con­
temporary cosmopolitical thinking) is visible in the new forms of trans­
disciplin ary knowledges that we initiate in the "multicultural" academy.
Where once we attempted to teach difference by emphasizing areal
locality and specificity, today we try to struggle free from the self­
fu.lfilling dialectic of the general and the particular. Instead we attempt
to provincialize Europe and we seek cosmopolitical genealogies from
the non-Christian Sanskrit world. In each of these cases we are involved,
at the sa.me tirne, in a vernacularization of a great tradition and the
amplification of a petit récit. Transdisciplinary knowledge, in the cos­
mopolitan cause, is more readily a translational process of culture's in­
betweenness than a transcendent knowledge of what lies beyond dif-
6 • POLLOCK ET AL.
ference, in some common pursuit of the universality of the human
experience.
None of them along the line
know what any of it is worth
We have suggested that the nature of late-twentieth-century nation­
alism, multiculturalism, and the globalization of late liberalism has cre­
ated a historical context for reconsidering concepts of cosmopolitan­
ism. These categories are by now commonplaces for debate. Many of
the key terms central to these debates- "universal," "theoretical," "ab­
stract," "conceptual" -have been characterized as implicitly masculine
because of their properties of mastery, distance from experience, indif­
ference to specifics, and concern for absolutes in human life. These are
the terms of a disembodied, free-floating, or generalizing scientific or
humanistic thought. To focus, therefore, on these three historical prac­
tices is to ignore another pressure and inspiration to think about the
cosmopolitan, namely, feminism. Feminism has learned to wrestle with
problems and attendant possibilities while struggling to keep the situ­
ated rather than the universal subject in the foreground.
Thus, for cosmopolitanism, feminism may serve a role similar to
but different from the other contested "isms" of the late twentieth cen­
tury- nationalism, multiculturalism, and globalism-whose critiques
are grounded in other econornies and ideologies of difference and simi­
larity. U.S. mainstream feminisms have noted that the "our" of our times
is a noninclusive our that consists of able-bodied, white, heterosexual
men. Asian American and African American feminists have pointed out
the racialized nature of U.S. mainstrearn feminism itself, and together
they have made an argument for the constitutive nature of gende.r and
race in relation to each other. South Asian feminism has had to probe
its class and cultural moorings in the world of the Hindu upper cl&SS
with its attendant erasure of the lower class woman as well as the woman
marked as Muslim, Christian, or tribal. Thus, ail feminisms have had to
struggle with their own universalisms.
l
No true universalism can be constructed without recognitng that
there is a diversity of universals on which analyses are based, and that
these are often in fact quite particular-not universals at ail, but rather
7 • COSMOPOLITANISMS
interpretations devised for particular histor
ical and concep
tl· ons. Th ese are less universals, and more in the tu al si. tua
. nature of arg umen . which would no longer be confined spatially or socially to the private
t he un1versal. Twentieth-century femin ism develope t8 f,or
d concurrent( sphere. This perspective would allow us to recognize that domesticity
many parts of the world with an apparent promise of uni Y in
. . versa1·1ty. lt hel itself is a vital interlocutor and not just an interloper in law, politics, and
o ut th e hope that fem1msm would be good for ail d
. . womank"md and wou public ethics. From this reconfigured understanding of the public life
.
d1spel ail nati onal, racial, and cultural barriers.2 Feminism t d
was to be a of domesticity and intimacy it follows that spheres of intimacy gener­
g lo ba I touchstone for ail humankind. But femin ism has had t • ate Iegitimate pressure on any understanding of cosmopolitan solidari­
. . o cntic . ally
engage h1stonca l change, as well as the tendency towards eXC1U • ties and networks. The cosmofeminine could thus be seen as subverting
S1on In
centers of do�inance, based o gender, race, class, and regi onal those Iarger networks that refuse to recognize their own nature as spe­
� biases.
Thus, recognition of the plurahty of feminisms (and their own cific systems of relations among others. That is, wewould no longer have
. nee d.1or
mternal debate and differentiation) has now become a cornmonp feminism as the voice of specificity interrogating the claims of other
. . 1ace putative universals. Instead we would have the cosmofeminine as the
al ter native to the 1dea that there exists a singular, universal
feminism.
sign of an argument for a situated universalism that invites other uni­
Just as feminist thought continues to struggle w ith the objections to
versalisms into a broader debate based on a recognition of their own
universal discourse, so also cosmopolitanism must give way to the plu­
situatedeness. A focus on this extensional understanding of domesticity
rality of modes and histories -not necessarily shared in degree or in and intimacy could generate a ditferent picture of more public univer­
concept regionally, na tionally, or internati onally-that comprise cos­ salisms, making the domestic sphere subversive of thin claims to uni­
mopolitan practice and h istory. We propose therefore that cosmopoli­ versalism.
tanism be consi dered in the plural, as cosmopolitan isms. In so doing,
we leave open the question of the center and periphery in intellectual
There are many here among us
debates, and we hope to avo ï°d the imposition of practices and histories
who fee/ that life is but a joke.
that do not necessarily fit interpretations devised for histori cal situa­
But you and I, we've been through that
tions elsewhere.
Feminisms in relation to co smopolitanisms: this opens up two prob­ lt is in the context of these powerful trends, which show every sign
lematic issues. First, how can we think feminism to develop a cosmopoli­ of intensifying, that the essays on cosmopolitanisms that follow have
tanism that is not based on the concept of a "citizen of the world"? W ho tried to situate themselves. They are ail responding to the phenomena
is the subject of citizenship? Is citizenship a necessary common frame of nationalism, globalization (including its most violent embodiment,
to be shared universally? Is the co smopolitan necessarily about the pro­ European colon ialism), and multiculturalism. The exercise of bring­
ing feminisms to bear on cosmopolitan ism, however, remains. Cosmo­
duction of the sort of indiv idual interest, w ill, and belief that most ide­
feminism is a space yet to be well inhabited. Although the perspectives
ologies of citizenship appear to require? What would be the basis for
and analyses of the essays here are heterogeneous, this heterogeneity
a feminist cosmopolitanism that understands solidarities as something
is not something we mean to express in a concessive clause, as if we
other than the co ïncidence and coordinati on of indiv idual w ills? The
found it a cause of concern about incoherence or of regret at failing to
second is an issue of scale: if co smopolitanism seeks to take the large reach consensus. On the contrary, we intentionally sought ways to en­
v iew, how can we think the intimate under its sign without restricting sure precisely the kind of mix we offer here. We were interested to see
intimacy to the domestic sphere? Any cosmofeminism would have to cre­ what new archives might be brought to bear on the analysis of cosmo­
ate a cri tically engaged space that is not just a screen for globalization politanism; to discover whether the historical and, what is equally in1-
or an antidote to nationalism but is rather a focus on projects of the portant, the geocultural perspective on the problem could be extended
inti mate sphere conce ived as a part of the cosmopolitan. Such a critical beyond the singular, privi leged location of European thought and his-
perspective would also open up a new understanding of the domesti c,
9 • COSMOPOLITANISMS
8 • POLLOCK ET AL.
 tory; and t d r i
o ete m ne whet e rdsci i plin ar yapproach es ould b r .
c
h

as to ove di s ussio n bey nd th

m t e c
s
e st u lt fying preoccu ae_vna te
h
o
Western cosm opol itanism already coded in t_he recent r ectificati n ofnames g­
o i

p o s op y and o allow the poss bi li y of ca t s od

pturingtPh io d f o
h
si
hil
t i t
r an g eo fco sm polit n
o a ct a
a pr ices t t havea u lly e sted in a ew · naled by that brutal forw ard sla sh;JUS! as an analys is of thetwi or
n
h

t is o nly thro d ct xi h's o 1 eor histories �f Shang hai a�d Hong Kong might c pl xifyd n e
suc h p r a t t ry r inverted o me u
ug rocedu es - d cingnew emp r catego r ies by offermg two very d1fferent yet equally c os mpolitan ofo r
h
i
the variet of o m opoli m u i i Jca data· p n o r­
c s t n a s s a n th new prob e 0
i

p nythe m . d. e l matics th a Ia co mations. If postc olon iaJ Afr ca is off the cosmopolitan ma fo Kant
, decent ermg the con n on l o s c rn i p r or
y

a ve tt a l c u , and investigat· the Stoics, consider what could be learned (both i n te s f the p ss
awide ra g in g fr r m o o ­
n e o s o l ar y pe rs p ec tv es
at new and post-u 11iV r ao
f ch l

cosmo p olitani m , th o var i - t h • e sh rnIS bilities and tensions of cosmopolitanism) from thebiograph y of i
s s o e s rt ou y propo s e in h J' I a rur
f

t es e ess a Senegalese Muslim br other hood and its transformation i o o e of

s

the potenua ·1 t rne · b · . i

emg l d n
o m o ,
ys ave thal
oc t most remarkable global tradin g netw o rks ofthe cont mpnt ra y wo l e;
Most dis uss ion c o e o r rd
s n o ofthe photographed anda sthe ici d b
c of smopolita i sm as a h t ricaJ conc
p a or from the recent h ze
tiv ity lar gel y is e t and ody
istory
e t
pre eterm n ethe o ut co m e byt heir very choice of in Senegal, and itsneg ot iation wit htrans- African , slam cat e, nd c s
d i

. .
ais. If1t1 al ea . . m t n- I a o­
ear t at co s m opoh a e �. mopolitan norms oferos-especially eros that sells.
i
s r m be gin s with the Sto1 c
ycl h a
m
s
d

invented th t rm, r with Kan , w oh · s ,w

t

e e t re nven t ed t, then philo 'l\vo things should already be clear from the kin ds ofm tae rials th t
o i i sophi
reRecti on o th
n es e momen ts i sgoing o ena le s alway make their appearance n thi s collectio n ofessay s an d th probl mat cas
t b u s to find what i e e
are looki ng fo . Ye h i f they generate. The fust is how radic ally we can r ew rit th e his toryio
r t w at we w re e to t r yto e archiv al ly cosmopolit:
b e
and to sa , "Let' irn ly l an cosmopolitanism and how dramatically we can red r aw itsmap o n e we f
ss ook at the wo r da cr o s s lime and space and c
how pe o leh l see
tho are prepared tothink outside the box of Eur op ean inte ll ct u la his ry.
y p
ave gh
p u t an acte d b e yond the lo ca " e
d

encounter an xt v l. We would then And the second is how manifold is the range ofpracti es tha t mig
e ra a an g t array ofpossibilit es. h
to

i c t
We wouJd find an ws ig i ica ce allow for new and alternative theorization. Conside r ag ain, as an i ­
e n n in t e As ia -wi d e ci rculation ofSan­ n
h b
l

skrit poet ry n the lir stance of export cosmopolitanism, the circulat or y ne two ks r of Sa n k t
s tm n
e ni um h w ere y part i pa ion in a transloc s ri
ill ic
i t aJ literature inprecolonial Asiaandthevast space theycove d, for m Ce ­
, u n ve e n andre tsr cte li ef chan ces though it was, neither re­
n
i d

tral Asia to the South China Sea. Or, as cases of mpor t co mopolti an ­
cultur
by
e
re
quireden for e
c m en ta t the po n t of a s w ord nor enta led the ob iteratio i s
i

i l n ism, the architectural styles of pre -w ar Shan gh ai, wh pe l

o pe r d i
of eve ryth in g lre ad y in e re t e
a plac e . We wou ld recapture a moment befo re to rebuild the whole worl d on thei r city streets (w ith Tud -s tylevill ,
Kant of a cosmopo li an um r
h anis m i n vers ity of Salamanca an o l man
t Un i Span ish-style town houses,Russian-style churches, Germ an- tye
Francisc o de Vito i think rs for wh th m d
as

s ­
e

r a, e o E ro u pean expansion meant s ons, Shanghai-esquelane houses, and Li lo ng hous ing com le xes ;
p )
i
not t ravelin g to dist t pl , ee ­
an ace s m t ing in t ere st ing peoples, an d k ill or the tran sformation of the nude in contemporary pho to rg p a hy n
in gthem, but a ther co nfron ing i
r t he ad-on the challenge of enlarging the Senegal into animage at once profoundl ydomest ca ed and irre duc ibl
definition of h i t y
uman t a st y un ders tood t. We would see, further­
y exoticized. Ail these instances are wa ys of l ving at hom ea b a d or
i
i he

more , that the cate or y o f capi al i

g t itsel -f that m os t aggressive ly un i ver­ abroad at home-ways of inhabi ting multiplep l aces at once, o f be in g
ro

salizing ofcate o ies- h no im l , un dilferent beings sirnul o

g r a s s pe idirectionalrelationship to his­ t ean usl ,y of s e eing the larger picture stereoscopi­
toricalditfe en ce , even in he cally with the smaller.
r t ght of its apparently most aggressively
thol
u

universalizing
o
f th
eor ts, Kar Mar . Al to gethe beyond the purvie:v
is
A certain kind of logic teaches us alaw of the exclu de d m iddle: an
x r
ofa self-limiting W t rn phil obj ect may be here or there, but not in both places at o nce ; so thing
e se o s o phica reflection -where cosmopoh­ me
l n
tanism becom s j
e ust an o er c apter i a h storyo f dead deas- i s the may be xor not-x, but not somewhere in between; a predi ca o n ca
th h ti

n i i be only true or false. Whether this logic holds in ail possible wo r s o r

archive of archit tu
ec re an d n the mul ti tu�es
ld

housing in Asia . St u
d

and fa te ofp
avem n e t dwe
ll s
i B mb y/ u not is for others to say. But the application ofits d ualism i the re of
y i g
s ba i, a city crowdedwitb
n alm

e r n o a M m
e d ra n m o n o u
empty building wou ld e ble u og p
n a
ew k ind of endang re e
cultu l and p loti ical a ctio is d c id edly
e
d rn. I d eed, it c nst it t es
st ras a n
s

10 • PO L LOC K E T A
11 * COSMOP QLI ATN ISM S
L.
 a o e pro • ect of modernil y. And here we encounter a s
c r J trikin
. .
. in Ih e ep•1 st emo logical-h1s . 1onc al tr aJectory of cosmopolitangParad
. . Pr o �
Th e m Or e recent 1hese pract1ces are , the more mtensel y and r Ilaqic . ur e realize what we
. C8 10 h av e always been has ha
e d he most awful c
me d. d and netwo rked they ar e. Yet, at the same ti q , h so t hat h a e
1a t e me• the e lCiv e en ce s t e o n se ­
t
. 1 rs t awakened thesense of
rn urgency behind
v
d ecomes .
t e ver y fact of the. r bemg med1ated and n .... re y. o u
oll c i . Ali n
c1 ud e b e a t is
1
c e lo o
u th r s are sen itiveto th
h
. th epeculiar demandso h
the , the e,vvo Oc s
ra media tion s not so much concealed as rendered rke d
i ob ec of a ys t e p f t
Or r ill i · t s: h l t ic s of the question of cosm h is
opolitanism
j n al i o i
m e:cosmop ohtan pract· ,ces come to be seen e . as edcu ib as hey are
at ·
as mixtu res of thin g .1i . r r le t are u n totalizable
. Her e aga in, accordingl
· g y, g
i
li ved
h
s
h
ha been previously unmixed andon a i ve n
to tha account, in th s be
t
t t t e ab oul t eu nive r sa li sms of West e rn cosmopol tanis
mmust
e ve
e
of many (s ch as n a t io na lists),
ail the more authentic. In fact ever i sui bvert it om w h
fr
i t in a n d from the star,t
i
fo r ­
u
rn l:8 in d v on- l le as , in real strength ma
nity i t self is just th i s contrad.1c t ory, even d up1.1c1to ' ey
si a t a d iv isi on that hol ds y lie
. us, attem oder. division as a value-
pt to true n n m ty in a and
u ai i co n e sua n l dissensus. ln one essay,
rate ad n h p ru ify real m s-the nat ura 1, soc1a . J, and empyrean .
s
accordingly,
realrns,Sepa h w h fr m w i inMarx s own it i s
n ow , o
h
r t ing a d people and god IV . U
h s o h ' anal ysisof the categories
s-that have never been sepa t
of cap
t ei s n
raie an an d
ab ract a t at it a l
p wou ld appear to h om ogenize
u r e, an d s illt are not. This ho Ids true above all for sup p d st l bo r h ail h storical ­
osedly indiv fere ce, m y find i di f
u. we h a o
a cr ss -the - grain thinking, ideas tha suggest
a t ed and un iqu e cu ltu r es, each of which is better d n
t res ­
caJl seen-more histi . ce e s blat of is
n d
a
t t o t io n ffere nce in t o thelogic ofcapital
ys e e n- as a "q ua si object" ocatedat the inters o. even asca ­
u
ection of a rang n
i
l xp nd . h
pi
t h ult e of a I n a no t e r e ssay, a new cosmopol ita n politics is
expresse
a s
o er c al q uas i o b j e cts 3 What the new i
t l e
e idiom f " r
archjves, geographies
ur
. g " that d
h

pra , and o a bit ra e , is, doing better in the domain

ce s ofsoc a
of dHferent histori cal cosmopolitanjsms might reve
n t
p il
owe r , identi llit e s, and communities what multinat ionalcorp
c ti
aJ is ­
cis e ya
cul t ural illogic for rno de rniy pre d orations ­
a l
l t that makes perfectly good n rea ydo we i n t e d o main of busi ne ss. ln anot er, the formula
on­ h
mode rn sen se. T ed h ti o n
hey might help us see that cosmopolitarusm isn "c ic
ff
o e rf i r t d d og cal cosm o oli an
it l i gh i al a n i al sm," wherein dive rs
ir l s
oi a y
c ce
d i
creat e y ult ure diffused froma ce
p t

se m t beco me a un v sa l p o
i
b c net r, but in s t e th r ject. In yet afourth,a poli
ad, at ce nters
it
i er tics "
are e eryw ere a n th ­
v
b o
li
h d ci umfe r ences nowh ere.
c o sm opo t a - nd-
a p ssn a vern a c u lar " - i n short, a refusai to ch oo se-is th
rc

This u ima y
i
z d ib
eo­
su gges ts that we alrea dy are and have alway r e le
lt lit t el
s bee a o o ption o u t of th e liv ed ex perience of real peop
h n The s
le.
c o smopo an, t ou gh we may not always have know s e m a y s ou d l
n it. Cosmopo ­ n ik e eve r mor e pr iva t e acade mi c fantasies,and pe ­
aru
t sm t j ust-orperha s not at all-a li ah ps they are. But th e au o th r s share deeplya sen se that such
r
i s in fini is wn o of p n idea. Cosmopolitan
si m questions
m an
t h
e
ar i port t e fate o fh uman colle ctivi es
te a y b e in g. T o und erst a nd that we are already cosmopo ­ out o f th ir
ot ti -a sense that corn
li es
t s

an, howe ve r muc h and often th js mo d e of being has a ct u e ngage men ts, whe t her with Bombay pave
a l

ers, M id tra e
been thre atened ders, mentdwe ­
ur ll
bythe w k o p r i fic ta ion , means to orA co loni alruscourse and other
brea d h o rthro f hu underst and these ways in their ful tanis as k ow coe rc ive cos ­
m s o t e p t. k mopol i
f h
f
l t e y n o ,wi the y n thi e e
u g ad is c i i pl nary cosmo politanism. That s why this p ­ n d h w
li l a r vo l u e no n l s , that e
t
ar shou ld no t t a g
m
cu al ly n o ,wthe hou r isgetti ng a
i
ran g e s
across lang uage and literary hi story, critical inet ­ lk f se l et .
l
i
lect u al hs t ry , p o cal ph ilo o
o
S
lit i s phy, e t hnog raphy, urban studies, arch ­
NOTE
o U
tu ra hist r y, and ar hi tor y.And, had there A ep g rap s rc take
l
i
tc e uld n from Bob Dy an'sAliAlong tire Watclrtower.
t s been time and space, i h a
il l
1. Se e, for instance, Martha Nussbaum with respondents, For Love of Country: De-­
ve
c o ha g ne o w th
o n i ou t di sciplinary limit in o ­
exp lori g n cosm poli
i
tan rp a es hi bDhating t /1e li111its of Patriorism, cd.Joshua Cohen (Boston: Beaco n Press 1996); Vin a
c ,w
B idt c ch are themselves without Iim arwadk ,
es e a it. er, ed., Cosmopolitan Geographies: New l ocations in littmture a n d Cu y ­
ttemptin o l
hi g t e xpa nd the reperto y of archives, geog ture ( Lon d on: Ro utled ge, 2000 ); !Gmberly Hutchings andRoland Da nnreuther, ed
s
r raphies,
5ot r e s, an d s c p n s th s .,
i

d
th i i li e a t have beari
ng on thediscussion ofcosmo­ Cos mo polita n Citizenship (New York:S . Martin's Pre s s, 1999); Roel Meijcr ed. Cos
t ,
l
,
i
m ­
po h'. t � n s fs, e e ssay s here, e a ch in thei m, ldemity. a11dAuthenticity n the MiddleEast (Richmond, England: Cu ­
r own way, seek to address t�e mz op
ta
oli
ic 1 n is
on, 9 9 ); n g h ah an r u cie
9
o t o c o m
o
polianism. a d P hen C e bb d
r
p t d B R o in ,se s. , Cosm o l 11i c s: T'l 11 nk111 an
s s
lt is in th e pol t i ical s h po g d
pere that o r fa il· Fee/ rri g 8eyo1 1d the Nat io rr (M in neapo il :s y 9
f i n nes ota Press, 1 98 .
u
Un ive rs it o M
) A p-

1 2 • P O L LO C K .
ET A L 13 • COSMOPOLJ T
AN ISMS
 parently unknown to the authors in
Cosmopolitics is the rema
by the historian of science Isabelle rkable series of
Stengers, which argues fo studi
no longer contained within the r a forrn of
separation of nature and soci P OUtiea
Enlightenment and modernity. Sten ety that ch ara
gers, Cosmopolitiques, 7 vols cterize�
verte, 1997). . (Paris: La
Déeou. Cosmopolitan and Vernacular in Histo
2. Asuncion Lavrin, "International ry
Feminisms: Latin Arnerican
Feminisms and lnternationalism, Alternatives; Sheldon Pollock
ed. Mrinalini Sinha, Donna in
lacon (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999), 175. Guy, and Angela Wo
ol­
3. See Bruno Latour, We Have Nev
er Been Modern, trans. Catheri
bridge: Harvard University Press, 1993 ne Porter (Cam.
).

fe w things seem to us as n atural as the multip

licity ofvernacular Jan­
guages that different peopl es use for m aking sen
se oflife through
that is, for making literature . And few things s texts,
eem as unn atura
abandonme nt and graduai disappearan
l as their
ce in the present. In fact, lit
er­
ary J anguage Joss is oft en vie wed as part of a mor
e general reduction
of cultural diversity, one considered as dange
rous as the reduction of
biological diversity to which it is often comp
ared. The homoge

"'
of culture today, of which language Ioss is nization
one aspect, seems without
p recedent in human history, at least for
.. -:'-�.._, . in which changes are taking place .
the scope, speed, and m anner

This commonsense view of the wor

ld needs two important quaJifi.
cations. First, the vernacular w ays of
being that we see vanishing every­
where were themselves created over
tirne. These are not prirneval ways
ofautochthons, for autochthons (lik
e the Spartoi ofThebes,
p eople" born from the dragon t ee "the sown
th planted by C admus) do not exist
outside their own mythical self-re
presentation. Second, by the very fact
of their creation, the new vernacul
ars replaced a range ofmuch older
cultural practices. These earlie
r practices, which seemed to belong to
everywhere in gen
e ral and nowhe re in parti
cular, affi.liated their users to
a larger world rather than a smal
ler place. They were, in a sense to be ar­
gued out in this essay, cosmo
politan practices. These great t ransforma­
tions in the course ofthe last
two millennia-from the old cosmopolitan
to the vernacular, and from
the vernacular to the new and disquieting
cosmopolitan of today- result
ed from choices ma de by people at dif.
ferent times and places, for very
complex. reasons. Studying the history
of such choices may have somet
hing important, perhaps even urgent,
to tell us abou t choices availa
bl e to us in the future.
In earlier work I have studied the period followin
g the old cosmo-
14 • POLLOCK ET AL.

JI,
 J aJ d
po lit an epoc h, whic h c Je t he ve rna c u a r millemlium. This be g
/ ' an
in so uthern A s an w ern Eu p e w i d
r these cosmopolitan formations, as wellas the dramatic diff es t
a est ro i th e m ark a ble simultaneity
in e ren c hat
the ea rl seco d become perceptible wh n we place them sideby side; and,second , w t
ill e
y n m ennium, a n d it de ve loped with equaJJy striki
· fi . 1 "b h n i
par a ll sl f o wmg ve ec n uries. say egan" emp at ca g considering the ways they may hav e contributcd to shaping the verh­
h oll
e o ve t e
r
t i lly:
vern c l litera nacu ar vari eties that replaced them (whose hist o ries , for th ir pa.r ,
t e consciousdec s ons o
l
r e n t e l
a u a r h r ychu tu es dwe ri i i i at d by h i i f
e
can only briefly summarize here). Verydifferen t cosmopolit a n nd t ­I
wr ite to re s b r
rs apet e oun ar es ofthe ir c u ltura l u in vers e by renounc­ a
i n g th l e wo h nacularpracticeshave existed int hepast, and these may have i m port ve an
e a rg r
rld
for e sm allerp lace, na d t hey d d so in full awa ­ t
t i re tions for future practice in the face of what often seems to
s
nes s oft hesig ca c e o ft h e rdec sion N w c
e , o a ways ofma ingc u­
k
implica be
i i .
ifi

l l
t re- w ith h i thesingle, desperate choice we are offered: between, on the o e h n ,
n
n
l
t e r w ho y historical a n d factit ious lo cal id e ntities-a ,
ll
u n r a d
a national vernacularity dressed in the fayed period costume of vio­
n
concomit nt , d
w w a ys ofo rderin gso ci teyand politycame into bein ,
l
a y n e
rep la cin th h g lent revanchism and b ent on preser ving difference at ail costs nd, o
e o e r t ran s oca m.
ld l li
s T e se dev leopm ents in culture an d
the other, a clear-cutting, strip-miningmul tin taion a l cosmopo nis
a n
powerar his r ca
g
li k d,
y n e at the veryleas by t e
t i ll t
e o lit a m
new la gua h fact that using a that is bent, at all costs, on eliminating it.
ge fo r co m u mnica ingliteraril y to acommunity of reade rs
t
n
and listen r s can Let me takea momenttoexpia n howand whyI proceed as J do i my
e conso a te ifnot crea te t a t v er commu n
lid
i
ity, as bot n
a sociotextu aJ an a li i
c l fo m a o .
n h y h historical analysis of cosmopolitan and v ernac ular ways of being na
po t a d
d

Whil th l t rar y- lt ura J p

r ti
e the kinds ofcultural and polit icalbelonging to which they havere l te ,
e e e rocess so fth i s res a ping are remarkabl
h
cu a d
as well as mypurpose intrying to make sense of this history. Firs t, m
i

simi ar in sou thern A iaan y

s d wes tern u rope,the po cal logics th y
l
followed a E lit i intention here is to think about cosmopolitanism and vernacularismas
p p e ra to h a ve dif ered fund amenta ly. In Europe, vernacular­
f J ey

ization cc om p i d
action rather than idea, as something people do rather than somethi g
an e a n
den a bled t he pro du c ti o n fo thenation-state; n n

Indi a, it acc om
a
i d an d b l d th i theydeclare, as practice rather than proposition (lea st of ail, philos o phi­
p ane en a e e p
u c on of a political form cal proposition). This enables us to seethat some people in the past h ve
r ti
od

we m y ne tr a y aJJ t h ll
a c u r polit y , n o r d re to signal its di ­
la a
a u c e ve rn been able to be cosmopolitan or vernacuJar without direc ly prof ess
ference. In bo h
wo
rld
s, howe v e r, vern acu ar i za ion hel ped initiateaf t ­
inge the r, perhaps even white finding itimpossible rationally to just
i i
earl y od
t l i t n fy
era, e ac a g a n marke d by it s speci fi c type of modernity.
h i
m ern either. B y contrast, the attempt to vindicate cosmopoli anism or ver­
And it is onJ y n for the fir t
ow st m ti e, wh e n th is epo ch seems to be draw­ nacuJarism-the production of the very discourse on theuniver salor
in g to a clos as rn uJ f
e ac
a mod se o cuJtur al and p ol iticaJ being ar the particular-seems to entail an objectification and abstract io ,n and
everywher e o ing un d r po
ve r
f e
c m we r ul pre ssure s fro m an altogether n their associat ed political practices, that havemade the cosmop olit s
universaJiz ing d
e
ew an o
or e r o cu
f lt
e p
ur - ow e ca ll it g o a zation, or libera ­ often take o the charac ter o f o m n tion a
ization, o r Am i r ( l b li l n d i a n d th e e uJ , th at o f
v rnac ar
er ca n za
i ti
o )
n , th at we may beg n to conceive ofthis pas inevitabi l ity.
i d t
histor yas a h le ur
an m e so me s ense o fi t fo r cult a an l
po itica l Second, the specific practices I have in mind arcthose of literary cu l ­
o d ak
w
theor y. l
ture, by which I mean most simply how people do things with tex s :
t
I wouJd like h
ere to e a o ra et n o c
l b
s
the e e arl ier ar guments by situat­ writing, reciting, reading, copying, printing, and cir ulating texts. These
ingthe ver i
l
ar ill i h
in a may be expressive, discursive, or poli tical texts, but I am interested at
n a u
c m en n u w
m t comparati ve -his torical accoun
of the cosmop o lit ism h rece d d t
an st a p e i t. T h ese, too,c o mprised forms present, above ai ,in the first kind. For purposesofourdiscussion here,
l
t

of identit ythat re vea l el (and

e sm ve s aspro duc d e and en t irely provisional; cosmopolitan and vernacular can be taken as modes of literary
h

t
the y are loc d s y i i
tw o d iffer
ecure n t e a n m in ellectual, and political) communication directed toward
a e d in the choices ma de by the pro­
t
l t
ducers ofcuJt i ­
u re to pa r t cipat e n ew t. T one
i
ent audiences, whom Jay actorsknow full well to be differen
he
n fr am se of reference, routes of cir­
culation , andki ds f
other is practi ­
n o commu ni ty. And ea c h w
ad its o n specific poüti­ is unbounded and potentia Jly infinite in extensio n; the
ca log ic. My c ncerns w ill b fir s th h
l o e, t, w ci ll s w n c l n te n
i t a n g th e para e l bet e e o nd ed byothe rfinite audiences, with who m , th rough
aJ y fi i a d b u
r
16 SH EL DON P L
• O LOC K 17 • COSMOPOLIT A NAND VERN C Y
A RIN HISTO R
AU L
 th e
v d
ry . y na
of vern a culariz ation, r e lati ons ofe
e
. rnic . ver-,n · creas. 1n
mrnumca u o n co rne mto b e. mg.2 We can thinkofthis .
c o
d. . . . most read 8
i
stru ct on and a n alys i s o t he se m att rs s
a 1 s tm c t1 on m c ommunicat . .
ive capac1ty an . 1ly inas .
. co n f e
i little short of astonis
d co n c er ns bet w bt th
guage h ve N o do u it is a.na o er co nseq ue n ce of what hi n g.
ls far and one that travels little. ee a 1 a n. Norbert Elias once
n
t a t tra h ci
tilied as t i d n ­
D ng th ngs w h t ext s th e so c i l s e nc e" re t ea t int o the present" -th
r e
oi i it , e practices of li e rarycult fa h
so al s desp i te th e
t ure i i
a 'may e ct t a t h sc i e n c e s pre m
sed on a narrative of
l o ng wa y frorn t eh d es perate choice mentioned above And s e
ci
rn cial i
the pre-prese
. . esp lyt n t,
m f 1
t1 on o · 1terary cu ture . 1mp
. ye e e pre-mode n r ,t ha t is still only partially
written.'
co m u ortantly shapes the socialt th e The p
mca i
). . 1 I c es fli ra m
p o 1 1t c se
ra c t o t e r yc o e m unica tion that actualize
'b · t h at m e an m po litan d ve modes of
. J ti ' ' ak suc h c h oices possible. Literatu co s ­
. l re, in a d . a n rna c ula r b lo n gn g to be examine
a n s 1 1 e s
..
1

ti cu a r , c ons t 1t ut i
o
an spe . all y sensitive
c1 p r sou thern A a an d d here are those
gau g e ofsentiments of
i

. . e s e w e s t rn Euro of
e

bel s pe .And since t he

m g: c reatm g o r consum. mg 11tera . on i h analytical framew
tu r e meant for large worlds - si ar t o rk
I . d I or 5 g comp a ve an d t e t e m pora l rarnework is vast we
p a c es 1s a e c ara . on o f affili ation . a i t f , need to th
w1 m il eme
l

t1 ' th that world or place. ink

s f

n er ni tar y prac it c e s an d to be drastically

m

d · Thep o o e
sch ematic an
irc .ul a il· on _ofi'1tera� ure, accordingly, are utterly unlik r .
l
u c t1 n _
o a n d c·
h el ss
s arn ve d
d

e e y re u c t . T he re exists a r e m a rk able parallel

produc io th e ca l d in the hist ­
andc1 rc u at1on of th m gs. The univ of liter ary comm o ri
t n l ersalization of partic e velo pm e n t u c
ni at on in these two worlds,
i
tec
h l
no
gi ul ar l g pe i d f whe
s
o e or the pa t on r o o co smopolitan literary production was re a
r icularization of unive rsal nes that
o charac e ­ ul i h followed bya ­
iz a d min ar t w ubse qu e v er
an t fo r mof contem porary globaJization carries no hin
t r
e o n ac y ose s n t mill enn u i m-long ascend
belo gi ng t h , b o f wher s h f ancy now eve ­
ra ic ar lt t ry
sign s o colla pse. T is historical symme
s
; f ow
n e p c t es o lit er y c u u s! c ic e
h try, along w
ch re y co ra , a re pra t es of a r id
ith
n t
ve y w e r ange o forma]
f
nt .3
a tta m
e co ngru e nces, distinguishes the south
As an i d
e ern
A for th " era ry" in part cular, et me stress an wes t rn E u ro p ean c ases sharply from
s e t lit i that thiswas no o h others. Contrast,
l examp l t e w de ph
i
cat g o h pea of fo r
e wo rld s an d plac es under cons ideration here,
e, re Chin eliterary communicat
es
e ryin but som ­
s e
ion, whereth
d ve rn transfo tio
rma n in pl a ce like ietn
u
e
e
ac
lar

thin g re ucible and re d u ce d to a th oreticaJ and practica s V am or Korea occu

e l system ofd ­ late as to p ar be h rred
if pe t project f a deriva t ve so
fe re nce s Cro m ail o the r kind s of texts, a sy stem of coovent onalityan a o t e modem ization.6Th
in sa id, p ro fo d o i at
i a i d n düef re c are o be foun
te tn on J i t y t h ou g h peo ple who think about such things now ca in the
u n es t d in the ideological form
s an
. AJ n
daliti
es c al
d
i an
f

mo
d politic a l action to which these comm ­
h
vet literary in a JJ sorts of texts an d ail sorts of texts in the ­ nicativ p a cti
o so
p e r ce i e lit
l
u
e r ce s re ate and w hi ch
they underwrote. One world presents
rar
in these ea r e rs ystems not ev e rything could be literature an - and he ar e tw eping
e y, li swe
d
tiation will be
re o ge n eralizations for which some substa
vi d d
literatu re o u l not be everythin g. At the beginning of the first mille n ­ n­
nium Sancskr idt pro i
n what ll ws-what we may
identifyas a co­
, and L a t i n writers had yet to read Derrida, and so th ercive cosm e fo o
po
li i
m
ans a nda vern
fail
d
to grasp h ey p ation in larg
o t
a il
cu larism of necessity, where partic ­
a
t at th e re is no way to identify the literary object, t a t sm
h
e i
lite ur h e ro r e wo rwo rlds is co mpelled bythestate or demande
by the blood; th
ra t e as n o e ss e nce, that the do�umentary is irreducibly rhetori­ e th rld d
presen s a voluntaristic cosm
i
and a ve rn ul om er t opo an m
c aJ . Qu te the co n t rar y , S ans krit lit erar ythe o ris s were true essentiaJis ts lit is
t
ac a r
is f cco ,
ir
are at wor k i viting affili
o a mm o
d a tio n where very different principl
in the s e arch f or wh at they ca lled the "se f" of poetry. If they faile a i es
l d Just as remar k b as
n
t o n t ot
he s cultural-political orders.
e
h
t oa g re e
o n at ti was, they ha d no doubt it existed. Accordingly, t e th eu d e r de velopmentof macrohistorical com
n

in bil y f wh t para tivism i th a le ­

e fact th
i l
s ta t o textu aJ s that to our eyes may be phenomeno ogicall an a y f osmopolitanism are
yp e l y s at so c the mse lves
i h rarely cosmop lit Th d
s e
v us as h
. e wi
b

to t e ­
fo oh i
o w
i rs e
thn o- e istemolo gically impossible-and t
p er e to thi s as do o h an espre a d ah st oricismno doubtcontributes
i
. , t d y
c
ri a y e n t to us e pt as a second-order problem • e n n
tra e on pronouncements rathe
ir r le v a
l

re s t o
l xce
than practices Di t e e
es
n c t oc o c e n
hird
l s ss i
t
r
, I o n typ ic y takes place on a highly loc alized
T c n side r the cos mo poli tan a nd the vernacu arcomparativey conceptual te . i n c u d o
l
his all
an d o icall y,
t r an I axioma tic ally rejec t the narrow European an�­ pean cu l t u re. B t
rra an in a very ve rn acu ar diom constituted byEuro
l i ­
d
sm
yti l li
l ca
m
am ewor ks th a t are usual ly thought to contaJJl u co o p o t an i s n t ss iaryl t be wi h
and t e po ral fr any on e e c o eq uated
th Th owad · a c ultural -politicaJ t
. bse n st i th m croh ri aJ re form of universaJ reason, let alone w un ive saJ
em e a n ce ays of inte re n e a is t o c ith a r
19 •
1
8
• S H EL D O N P OL LO CK CO M
SOPOL IT A N AND VERN A CUL A R IN HI TSOR Y
 lar
church or empire, any more than vernacu is to be taken to be syno
the contrar y, as I have already suggest . oY-
mous with nationa l. On ed•llh
without asse . as
. to be the one or the other
historically been possible
- li g
the compulsion ofthe national-cultural through talle ofmoth er to� :
U ge
and mother's milk-of language and blood-or offering sp uri o s n_
versalizations ofthis or that particular rationality or deity or p ow e�
i-
As importa nt as it is not to reify the cosmopolita n or the vernacu.
Jar by foregrounding doctrines while ignoring actions, we must
"h p�
against filling either category m . ad vance w1t any particular soc ·
. . 1a 1 or
political content. My whole pomt here 1s to suggest how variable th·
18
content has been and may still be. Yet it is no easy thing to think OUt­
side the Euro-forms, for they inevitably prestructure for us the con tent
ofboth the cosmopolitan and the vernacular. The very termin ology we
use imprisons us, assuming for the moment that we believe etymology is
truth and. predetermines the thought even ofthe etymologically igno­
rant. The term cosmopolitan presupposes a great deal, while at the same
time it ironically undercuts its own logic: it assumes the univers al intel­
ligibility and applicability of a very particular and privileged mode or
political identity, citizenship in the polis or Greek city-state. The term
vernacular, for its part, refers to a very particular and unprivileged mode
of social identity-the language of the verna or house-born slave or
Republican Rome-and is thus hobbled by its own particularity, since
there is no reason to believe that every vernacular is the idiom ofthe
humiliated demanding vindication.
A11 this is reasonably well known, but the constraints remain con­
siderable, and some scholars have tried to find ways o ut. The alterna­
tives are scarcely Jess problematic, however. Take the binary "philologies
ofcommunity" and "philologies ofcontact."7 The troub lesome assump­
tions here are not hard to identify. For one thing, comm unity is posited
as existing primevally and prior to ail interaction; for another, universal­
izing forms ofculture are implicitly supposed to affect comm unity from
the outside (through "contact"). Communities, however, are never un­
created but rather create themselves through a process of interaction­
emulation, differentiation, and so on -with non-community, or, rather,
with what by that very process becomes non-community. Any daim 10
indigenou sness thus becomes simplyevidence ofhistorical ignorance of
the source- or suppression of the source-from which the indigenous
has been borrowed. Glo bal cultu ral forms, for their part, are generated
20 • SHELDON POLLOCK
�
(rom within communities themselves, and thus only in a restricted sense
stand outs ide some of them. lnstead of cosmopolitan and vernacular,
therefo re, or any one of their conceptual derivatives, [ would actually
prefer to use terms oflndian _cultures (Kannada, for example, or Telugu)
that make far fewer assumptlons-terms, for example, that refer simply
to cultural practices of the great "Way" and those of "Place" (marga
and deshi, respectively). But, in fact, as we will see, those cultures' own
understanding of these Lerms significantly restricts their domain ofref­
erence.
Last, one needs to ask clearly and unambiguously why we should
even bother to think historically about these matters. For this hardly
seems meaningful any longer in a world where last week's news seems
to be history enough, and where historical thinking has anyway lost
its innocence to ideology critique, discourse analysis, or-perhaps the
worst predator of ail- boredom. The problem ofwhy we want histori­
cal knowledge has a degree of urgency directly proportionate to our
awareness of the fact that the past is always written from location in the
present. ln this case, however, it seems especially pressing since we are
dealing with a question that, after ail, we raise because it is a malter not
ofthe past or even of the present but of the future-a matter ofchoices
yet to b e made about self and other, freedom and necessity, even war
and peace. Given ail this, it strikes me as unhelpful to say (as a leading
intellectual historian ofearly modern Europe puts it in a recent analysis
of the history of liberty) that our historiographical purpose should be
simply to "uncover the often neglected riches ofour intellectual heri­
tage and display them once more to view," holding ourselves "alooffrom
enthusiasm and indignation alike."' The continua! invocation of this
sentiment ofdispassion since Tacitus first gave expression to it makes it
no more true or practicable, or anything more than a preemptive strike
against critics. Our enthusi asrn and indignation shape our argument
willy-nilly. One can hardly doubt, in fact, that the neo-Roman theory of
positive freedom that the historian has so valuably reconstructed for us
is the theory he prefers. And it may reasonably be asked whether such
passions do more to undermine historical argument the more they are
suppres sed.
We must corne clean about our purposes, and the more modcst these
purposes are, the better. There is nothing very problematic or theo­
retically interesting about exarnining the past to see how people have
21 • COSMO POLITAN AND VERNACULAR IN HISTORY
 acted a n d tryni g to un e rstand the acts with bad
d consequ
ac s th g ood. We do th. 1s even �o e nc
w i u�h w e know that the ehis san
d _
t
kn o w edg er ived from such exarnmat io t 0 lht their un ve r sal t spat ai l ity, the two langu
l ed n carries no guar
is ages are comparable in
kn a n e e t Caj1 10 o
i d tha t b e tter p rac ticesmu st necessarily follow. A history tf th e r
i

of te mp or d e ve l pmkent as w ritte n codes for what bath c o nceptualiz i

al

p
m o olit na and vernacular m1g . ht 0 th th s -world (/au i a, e w la r e comm ed as
t herefore seek-enthus, a . e ly unication a
turies of t h e
m g l, and ge nera Uy upramunda n ft
k s a
ind gnan tl - o compar e
past cho. 1ces, when there hav · s1 1ca1Iy 'Os-
)
lit ru gic al, a ica
i e rc e n
y t e textuality (and
e be larg e
in orde o fo m fut u en ch illl d
i
l y
s

r e ones. Such cho1ces w

. oral te xt au il ty) t o whic h t ey had r e s t ricted themselves
h
r t in r ill always be res o i
dt s �. Al b fo .
t oco n i i on of polit ics a nd culture far l e re t he b ng of the fir t m enn ium, after cent
more complexthan
i
tt

c u � ur e
e n s

ofs ch u ge o r a hical a n dd i s curs iv e r e s tri ct i on, t he two languages i s

i e i
n ill

a co nht can hop e to capture, cond1t1 . . an

g

on s tha t sometimes seerys ll.!csmg1e e ­m

ceed n bar di
on a n e xt ra o r nary p rocess of spatial dissem
p

ry p
g
d
ss i bility of int entional and ke i nation and
'f' t . ve
e

knowledgeab)e actio� . e x­
press i ve e lab o rat '. on . Within fo�� or �ve c en t �ries, Sanskr i would
o
1 in te n t ions an d know Ied ge count, g oo o e �
d mte · nt1o ns are bette fo
a n k n ow edg e i s be tte r than ignoranc e. S h
· r than Bu · t und in u s for hte ra r yand p oh llc al d1scourse man area that exten be
d l t

ank ara, the eighth-cen b a ,

e

fr y's Af n an to Java a nd from S d ed

Jn a n thi n , p ut it with unargu d m t a

,t:
gha is t r Lanka to Nepal. Th
di
t
k
able s implicity: Tw
od

p for was t in n al a bou t lin d ing a Chines e traveler study

o
" o persons
i

g u u su
er h
ing S a ­n
ere
er e
m th same act , both the onewh
o understands and mma r n uS
no

the one
k i
g m a tr ain th e seventh ce ntury, an intellectual fr m
does no t. ut underst andin and ignora s r t r ka i
B nce are diff erent, .., Si L a w g S i
t an
and what / n s kr it l ter ary theory in the nor thern Deccan
o
o rn ro r
n

und
g
pe rform w i th s e r ts an ing b ec n 0 0
d
th n h
ri i
ar
a
e sf st Khme p n ces composing Sanskri polit
r

ge than wha ne pe : ete t , or

in
r ri i cal poetry for
forms in g o ran c e. 9 to
r. p th e
ars o Me
t
" ma n c e nand Pr e Rupin Angkor in thetwelft
ifi ll bo

th f h. Ne ra
n
Th p n n c e of my lon
i nt

e en o t e co o p oli an e p och, the poe t Bilhana-who had

i
e ti e g -term and comparative historica
d h
g
t
l an ­ hirnse l f
f
er
sm

si o li rar y prac ces and al y

f
s the meaningfulness of past trave e in searcho p o
f
ti a trona g ethr ug h thesub continent from Kashm
e
l
cosmopo l
d

t G jar
t
d rn cular c o ices to futur one s will become mor i tan B n aras ir
an ve a h at t o a d n south to K arnataka -could announce th
e intelligib
e
le i f
a
w e re rmulat e th e m ina mor e famili ar idiom "th re i
u
o vill
fo o
g e
or co
un t ry ,n o capital cityorfore st region, no ple ­
a t
. This I try to provid sn
the latter p t f th s essay byexar e
a
su
e

in ning how Antonio Gramsci took in r ega r en or sc oo l w h

h er e ear l ned and ignoran t ,young and old, m e
d a

up n a l
ar o
f
i
these ques t ons in the 193Os. I then brief an e alike do ot re ad my poem s and shake with pleasure." 11 H
d m al
ly consider how several reœn
is
e
t
i
attemps b oas may hav e e xagge ra ted the social cr culatio
abil i tate vern acularisrn from the Le ft may be illumina
t

by th t to re h ed
i n o f h is wo rk , bu t he
s lon m e ar lier history. To these, inconcl was desc ing th u nvi er s e fo rwh ch
rib

g-ter h bee n writ in ge f o Sa ns k r it poets and intellectua

th usion, arejuxtapo
t i

e vi e sed th p
i
edin g thousand ye a rs.
ls
ws al of s o e p o stcolonial thinkers who-beneficiaries again o
m
d

hi s H a
a r e c

f a
r e

c tradi wo away, La inha bee n disseminate d acrossan equally vas

t

tio n, bu tone very different from that of Europe-see

lf rld

spac , o
ri

tha t
a

m
d

t at th
t o

to me to su gg es p ssi bl e escape routes from n h ie ght of the empire extended on the west fro
t o the dilemma confronti Britanni Hisp i e m
e e
ng a, an a, and Maure a ni a (in north Africa) to Mesopot ami a
us in t dispa a e cosmo olit n
h t

e r t a -ver nacular c onflicts (theca o an d Palest ina n

being se
p ara gm c) th t cl d o th ni rn. f Se bi i th e eas t . And in places as diverse as Gallia, Lusitani ,
p

o s e ut e s c e nd m ill Tripolit a
d r a
a ti a en ana, E t
gyp , Cappod oci a, an Syria, writers were producing li ­
i d

erature d t
o u
for i ul
e s in e c c a ti n thr oughout this space.12 Horace coul
r
*
t d

daim rea de s fo h d
r s o de in D cia a d on the Black Sea, and
o

Ifw e c o nce i ve o f h pra ct ce of co s could brag th hi i

r Mart ial
t e mopol itanism as Jiterary comm
s a n
nth a t s w or t ve r
u· a l ed as far as Britannia and t hat in tow ns
k

n at o a t
ic i
on the Rho i Galli
i

t ravel s fa r , inde ed , with out

ob st ruction from any bound­
ar e ne n a en yo ng a nd old, and girls as well, were read­
m
ing hi s ep i am ." u
i
k
s ba t ail, an
d
, m or e i mport ant, that thinks o g r s U i eS
f i ts elf as unbounde ,
an r i t lite rary competen c e and communi ­
l

n
u o s truc t e , un ocated-wri ingofthe great d catio , whi h sk
d

c r emained c t nu
n

Pl c -th l t Way, nsteadof the sma us througho u t the first mille

n

e i nnium,
worl d o w iters and re ll th is gr and f L
ha d e mo e o a t n it y w o ul d e d i s ru ed b th e m o vernen ts
o o

t produced, on the
i
n

o f r ader s that Sansk ri

a !

d La in b pt ( y
d i

ne n , an
t o nthe othe r, a rerema r b
k aly sim a r 1 0 n a ti o pe oples, the destruction of educati onal institutions, and the ge ne ral
il . I f
d dion
22 • SH D
ELON POLLOCK 2 3 • COSMOPOLIT A AN D VERN A C U LAR N I T
N I H S OR Y
eros ion of linguistic competence) in the
. fourth' seventh and
tunes, and attempts to recreate it largely by ' tenth cen-
rmg1a· n and Ottonian renewals) would be made again and ag eCaro
state intervention (th
· 0ther-
am.
w1se,
· b oth the fact . and the perception of universality
were m · t he tw0
cases remarkably analogous. This universality perta
ined to substance
too, as well as to space. For what people wrot e was
derived from simi­
lar mode s of cultural discipline, care for language, and
study of literary
canons and masterworks of systematic thought. In a very
literai sense,
both Sanskrit and Latin were written to be readable acros
s space and
through time-as indeed they were.
With this pair of features, however-unbounded spatiotempo
ral cir­
culation and normativity in literary and intellectual practice that
sought
to ensure that circulation-the parallels between the two types of cos­
mopolitanism end. In ail other respects, they· differed as radically as
the historical experiences that produced them. We may begin our brief
review of these divergences by restating an earlier point about termi­
nology. It is striking to note that there is no specific Sanskrit term aside
from the "Way" itself (which has narrow application to the world of lit�
erary style) for referring to what, as a result, I have named the Sans��
cosmopolis.14 Unlike the spatial category orbis terrarum and tlie· li�t�
aryand cultural category Latinitas, which both appear at the beginning
of Latin's cosmopolitan career (with Cicero) and become increasingly
prorninent in irnperial Rome, there is no self-generated descriptor for
either the spatial or the cultural sphere that Sanskrit created and inhab-
ited.15 Samskrti, the classicizing term adopted for translating "culture"
in many modern South Asian languages, is itself unattested in Sanskrit
in this sense. The fact that Sanskrit never sought to theorize its own uni­
versality is consistent with its entire historical character as a cosmopoli-
tan formation, an alternative form of cosmopolitanism in which "here,"
instead of being equated with "everywhere," is equated with "nowhere
in particular."
Latin traveled where it did as the language of a conquest state, first
Roman and later (through what Claude Nicolet bas called the "nos­
talgia of ecumenism") in the irnperial recreations under Charlemagne
and Otto, but also as the language of a missionizing and eventually
a conquest church.16 The state for which Latin spoke was centralized
and militarized; it was standardized (in terms of such things as cur­
rencyand law), and rationalized, with populations enumerated for taxa-
24 • SHELDON POLLOCK
tion and territory delimited by frontiers that could be very concrete in­
deed (Hadrian's wall in northern Britain, now a UNESCO World Heritage
as a twelve-foot-high, ten-foot-thick, seventy­
tou rist site, was designed
-
five mile-l ong barrier to "separate the Romans from the barbarians").17
Roman state employed coercion, taxation, legal
, To imp ose its will, the
machinery, intimidation, and, on occasion, a policy of Romanization
in cultural and political behavior, with selective award of citizenship 10
incorporate elites from the periphery.
As for the Latin language itself, wherever it traveled it obliterated
what it found. Italie literary cultures and, later, those of the western
provinces (Gallic, Celtic, Iberian) gave way before the same combina­
tion of military victory and administrative cooptation, with profound
and lasting transformations of their cultural systems. By the end of the
first century B.C., all languages other than Latin had disappeared from
the inscriptional record ofltaly; Gallic and the languages oflberia van­
ished within a couple centuries of conques!; and Celtic scarcely was
permitted to enter the record at ail, even in areas where we know it
long persisted as a medium of oral communication. In North Africa,
Punie and Libyan maintained a documentary existence and oral vitality
for some centuries, but their long-term trajectory conformed to that
of every other language that confronted Latin: toward extinction. The
Roman Near East (west of the Euphrates) was, according to Fergus Mil­
lar's recent study, the site of even more dramatic linguistic devastation:
Graeco-Roman imperial culture allowed little that preexisted to outlast
it; in fact, only the Jews and the Palmyrenes retained their pre-Roman
script languages.18
In other areas of life, such as religious practices, there seems to be
evidence of a general indifference to the cultural diversity of conquered
peoples, perhaps even an imperial policy of toleration. But in the do­
mains of both the literary and the political, Romanization represented
what has been called "a sort of decapitation of the conquered culture."19
Focusing on such practices of culture and power rather than on pro•
fessions of moral commitment thus gives us a rather different vision of
Roman cosmopolitanism from what we might infer from the writings
of, say, the Stoics. These thinkers may have thought themselves to be
kosmou politeis, citizens of the world (though they never actually said
so in Latin), but this seems at least in part owing to the fact that they
h ad been able to transform the kosmos into their polis, or, rather-as
25 • COSM
OPOLITAN AND VERNACULAR IN HISTORY
 the poet Ovid put it
on the eve of Augu
transform the orbis into stus's eastern
. . their urbs' the world campai.g
mc1dentally, we find the into the1r . . . n-to
own cuy
histor ical correlate of li mopolitan worlds in t�e early centu�ies of the millennium at the po
made to a recent account the the oret'1cal obJ.' ere, int
of Stoic cosmopol
itanism -ofef re ec 11.0 0 where they nearly met m western As1a. Her e Rome sought to contain
forfin-de-millénaire if
Americ ans unsym d as a o not destroy the region's inhabitants-demonized by Horace as the Par­
conversati·on m · pathetic to the � de!
wh'1ch they were bein
g
SO-caJIed nati
on thos feroces, the �erocious Parthians-while at the same lime peop
that it is basically "an invita
tion to those who
invite d to · ate-na al
part·1c1p
akin to the Parth1ans, the Shakas and Kushanas, were migrating into the
les
l.k are different ... nie fY,
1 e us.»20 W h oever could . to becorn sou thern Asian subcontinent. The Shakas helped create the great cos­
. not be mcorp orate e
city, such as the Parthians d into t he sing· 1e Ro mopolitan cultural order of Sanskrit by producing the first royal
. . . . (Rome's eastern enem rnan pub­
ies), became lic inscriptions that made use of the language (and, according to some
an 1mpenal poht1cal
demonology that prov sub .Ject to
of cosmopohtan . oked n o cou nterexpress1 scholars, by stimulating the invention of new genres of Sanskrit litera­
. nty
solida . from the Stoic on
declarat1on. s. In the face of s ture itself); the Kushanas patronized new and highly influential forms
_ s as the one Augustus made • en.al
uch unp of
fore1gn peoples could safely in his last testa Sanskrit Buddhism and established a remarkable transregional political
be pardoned I have ment ("W hen
rather than to exterminate preferred to pre order that would link South and Central Asia.
them" -words writt serve
foreign peoples Rome's "pow en to make know The space of Sanskrit culture and the power that culture articulated
ers of collective life n to
versalism the Stoics otfered and death"), the u were never demarcated in any concrete fashion; the populations that
was astonishingly timid ni­ inhabited it were never enumerated; nowhere was a standardizat
The Sanskr it cosmopolis indeed.21 ion
was also created by action of Jegal practices sought, beyond a vague conception of moral order
actions o f a conqu est state. , though not the
It was made, instead, (dharma) to which power was universally expected to profess
traders, literati , religious by the circulation of its com­
professionals, and freelan mitment. Nor was any attempt ever made to transform the world
ercion, cooptation, juridi ce adventurers. Co­ into
cal control, and even persua a metropolitan center; in fact, no recognizable core-periphery concep
in evidence. Those who par sion are nowhere ­
ticipated in Sanskrit cosmo tion ever prevailed in the Sanskrit cosmopolis. Every center was
chose to do so, and could cho politan culture in­
ose to do so. This was not, finitely reproducible across cosmopolitan space, such that the golden
world of absolu te free will. In add of course, a Mount Meru and the river Ganga cou.Id be and were transported
ition to everyday limits on life cha every­
traces of archak ritu al restrictions nces, where. As a result, people in tenth-century Angkor or Java
on participation in some dimensi could see
of Sanskrit culture (especia!Jy its on themselves no Jess than people i n tenth-century Karnataka as
liturgical side) were preserved far into living not
the cosmopolitan peri od. The amb in some overseas extension of lndia but inside "an Indi
ivalence about demotic participa­ an world."2' The
tion in the Sanskrit cosmopolitan production of this kind of feeling beyond one's immed
order is etfectively captured in a verse iate environ­
foun d in a thirteenth-century anth ment, this vast cosmopolitanization of southern
ology. It praises the Sanskrit poetry Asia, has rightly been
of a simple potter, declaring that "cast described as "one of the most impressive instances of large-scale
e is no constraint for those ren­ accul­
dere d pure by the Goddess of Speech," turation in the history of the world."25 lt comprised the synth
esis and
and in doing so affirms the old circulation of a wide range of cultural and political practices through
restrictions on access to Sanskrit even as
it seeks to deny them.22 Neither borrowing, lending, and perhaps even the convergen productio of
was it a cosmopolis entirely without other t n
ness. According to the repre­ comparable forms across a vast space.
sentation of the physical world that foun This entire culture-power com­
d its stable formulation by the plex was invented on the fly, so to speak, which makes the very idea of
fifth centu ry and was to be transmitted more
or Jess unchanged for a "lndianization" or "Sanskritization" a crude
thous and years, the inhabitable sphere was a sort of teleology, errone­
vast continent "ever beset ously presupposing as cause what was
a t its borders by the uncivilized." 23 But here again, bound only produced as effect. More­
aries and cul­ over, the processes of identity formation, cultural choice, and politi­
tural restrictions had far Jess salience in action than they may have had cal governanc e involved in the invention of the Sanskrit cosmopolitan
in representation. Contrast the very different practices in our two cos- order can be very
unfamiliar to us. Power, for exarnple, was interested
26 • S H E l D O N PO L LO C K 27 • COSM
OPOLITAN AND VERNACULAR IN HISTORY
 in culture but not in a way that necessarily reduced culture to an in str u­
ptas, unlike Aeneas to Augustus).28 The two texts are
ment of legitimation, as Weberian sociology might lead us to suppose the imperial Gu
fferin g us here two profoundly different visions of the "cosmos" that is
a priori. Here and elsewhere, we need to theorize Indian cosmopolitan­ l for human life: in the one case, the "circle of the lands" (orbis
:ea ni ngfu
ism from its effects. m) that have fallen under Roman power, in the other, "ail that
terrar u
One such effect in the domain of language was that, far from pro­ wi th li fe" (jagat). They also offer two profoundly different con­
mov es
scribing local script vernaculars, Sanskrit mediated their creation every­ ons of h ow literary culture functions purposefully in the cosmos,
cepti
where it traveled and often at the very moment it arrived. To be sure, her as a verbal instrument for celebrating power or as a ce\ebration
whet
these languages would be confined to the realm of the documentary and of the p ower of the verbal instrument itself.
excluded from that of the expressive for many centuries- half a millen­ We ha ve thus two cosmopolitan isms, not a European comprehen­
nium in the case of Javanese, Kannada, Telugu, or Marathi; a full mil­ sive univ ersali sm (as T. S. Eliot, for instance, in his own provincial way
lennium in the case of Khmer, Hindi, or Newari. This was, I believe, thought of Virgil) and a narrow Asian particularism. They were gen­
because the literary function was coterminous with the political fonc­ erated by a very similar set of literary practices that also underwrote,
tion, and the sphere of the political-"extending to the horizons" - in very different ways, a new vision of power. And if the cosmopolitan­
was, by definition, the exclusive preserve of a Sanskrit that knew no ism s were similar in transcending the local and stimulating feelings of
boundaries but the horizons themselves.26 But for local language to be living in a large world, their modalities were radically different: the one
a language of record-ta inscribe a temple endowment, a mortgage, a coercive, the other voluntaristic.
deed-was for it to be an instrument of central cultural significance;
*
what we now call French and German were not authorized for such a
function until the fourteenth or fifteenth century. An additional, small Thus a certain syrnmetry allows for reasonable comparison between
but telling sign of the difference between our two cosmopolitanism�� the Sanskrit cosmopolis and Latinitas in the open-endedness of their
the graphie sign itself. Roman script was constitutive of Latin litera= spatializations and in the normative practices of literary communica­
ture: arma virumque cano could be written in only a single alphabet. tion intended to ensure that texts could circulate across a cultural space
The graphie forms of Sanskrit literature, by contrast, were innumerable: and time thought of as endless. T he vernacular formations that super­
vagarthau iva samprktau could be inscribed in Javanese script; in Thai, seded them, for their part, have a range of parallels that are even more
Sinhala, and Grantha in Tamil country; and in Sharada in Kashmir­ astonishing. Like the two models of cosmopolitanism that they replaced,
a substitutability unique among Benedict Anderson's "immense com­ however, they show important and irreducible differences as well. A
munities" of premodernity.27 comparative argument about vernacularization obviously presupposes
Contrast, moreover, the two foundational cosmopolitan fictions some shared understanding of the object of analysis. And it is precisely
whose opening words have just been quoted-here I make a concession because no such understanding exists that vernacularization, despite its
to thinking about dedarations, though these remain declarations about crucial importance, has so long been off the map of historical cultural
practices. At the opening of the Aeneid, Virgil "sings of arms and the studies.
man," the flight from Troy to Italy, the origins of the Latin people (genus As I noted at the start, vernacularization is a new way ofdoing things
Latinum), the high walls of Rome, and imperium without end. In his with texts, especially written literary texts, in a stay-at-home language.
fourth-century courtly epic, Raghuvamsha, Kalidasa bows down to the By written, I exclude the oral, even if the written may continue to be
mother and father of the universe, who are "fused together like sound performed and received orally; by literary, I exclude the docurnentary.
and sense," in order that he might more deeply understand sound and Both these latter categories, the literary and the docurnentary, how­
sense when he tells the story of a universalistic political power, the dy­ ever porous in contemporary theoretical terms, are fully distinguish­
nasty of the mythopoetic Raghus (who are only faintly allegorized to able within the subjective universe of the premodern actors involved. By
29 • COS
28 • SHELDON POLLOCK MOPOLITAN AND VERNACULAR IN HISTORY

i,
 stay -
at-home I
, e xcl u d th -t ra
e e we ve edco m
though s ta -y at-h s o po litan ·d
ll l

om e languages ay o I t· om,an
s metim es tra d eve cons ell at on f p liti al a t
ally become . m el faran d n doc umentary politicaJ te� . Th o c nd
p t a v � � i o a es hetic
s

co o o n t emse ves (a n here mamf ts 1 tself in ma y oth

the moment of s i . feat ures visible n er re o o r e
h

h t
h

l fa ap pened wit
sm

l . . .
h La . s
e ve
n s c ve i th
t

vern a cu anza t o
e

g
i

n 1 h rac e e coming five centuries: to a large degree , litera r rod ctio

amu .ety- ndd . s co a t riz . nti u)
c

a e by a fuJ y p u te
e n wa re n ss o a ati n to d I · 1
f s rnetun • ftexts derived from cosm o politan genres an d the a on ons is d
1

a ne r
f ffil

.
nicat1on . t hat.1s fi . t . A b i domain ofliter ry a p p p at nof
o

m e n d I as y comniu rit olik

n e w, I affirm not n :anyoftheir formai features (in pointoflex icon, me i
f

, r , an
o

1anz . a t1on
. b gm . b al h t l o ly tha v er . he e .
s u t s o t a a a c s kno wt th se
d

e t na u. .But new a esthetic of Place mode ra )

t

that t he y are i b eg 3 e s
t c

. . . . ns or , rath er, kn ow t m borrowing b y

t e
d

b mn g
1 . V e ac l i lo cal form while at th arn i
balancin them wi s, w
c
(deshi)

eg m s e
y

e ne pro ect
to

rn za t
an i o n c anno t be explained
r
u

natural hist or y ofc l ur al

g th e

-a k ind of vernacu l chrono t i Mikh il Bakh j 's

u t ch ge ( eth r by a of s patiality ,
t

t nce . nacosm . .d . an esult of an erosion of corn e n tin

ar

the doma in of vernacu a r c ltur ,

o p
e

ht s
a

p an fo e , tha t plot s out t t

� '. 1 1om, r amp e), p - idiom l u e a u s cul ­
s1de h 1st or y (d �te th J and it does not stand o place f or the first time- began to fin d expression i
p
x

esp 1 e u t- i s
h
o

c om
mon ture in n lit re
t

vi ew tha e c s war y
text always p es t very putatively inaugu ry st imulus fo r v ernacul n in both
p
r up o ses los prede es ra) texts.29Th e prima
t

vernacular lit c so r , sa nfin itum). es n Ka ak. (the

ase as
di People inve t provided by the courts of the ruling ynasti at a
izati

e ra ry c l tures a n
ar o

Ras ­
t

s s u ch, in the sam e way as they ve

d

Italian sonn t th E nu li h ukyas) and And hra (the E t ern Chalukyash

h in nt the trakutasand Western Cha
i

e , e g s st o a ry nove) ,
rn

d
l

e
, th K an na a c a u, an
i

the Marathi b hang turn inc as

a .
ep
mp who had begun li kewise to re ng l t the e a a
i y o ul as
)
e
l

v rn r t
as

d
cation h
Thus c o nce iv d , th
e e pro c
f Janguage of chancery communi .
c

ve rn a c u la ization represents a p
found and who ll the s a
me time , or in the next fe w e n a
y a ve hi o ro­ Around
s t r ic al trans rma ion in c tu ries, cro ss south­
ess o r

f li his ­
practic es, as we ll as in th ti es f fo literary-cultur ern Asia vernacularcultures burst on the s c o terary tory: Sin
i

e pr a c a)
c t

o poli i l power that

t

the narr a ti e sub t t ca formed bot Javanes e (ten M ( th irte n

hala ( ninthcent ury), ,
en e

v h e ), Tha ( ­
s ance and rea -w o A ain, t h oci urr
c arathi th

fo ur
th)

r con t t o f so much of the

litera­ te.en th) ,and Oriya (fifteenth), amon g many o ers. g
l

ture i n qu ti . lt w ill ul l d c ed
es n be h pf e here t o rev ew very briefly the h in ri
largelyat the instigation ofcour tly elites: in P nna r wa
ex
l
th

i is­
is

torical traj cto y u S Lanka

e r o vernacu arizat on in wes
o

e rn and souther sari M hit e;

i n a, in the emergent polities of Kadiri, Singha , a n a of e t
l

t ict d begi n in Euras

from its s n the la
o o

i
f l

res r e
j a

e the as w rrn k
d

n hi
g i s tc enturies ofthe f irst millen Java; among the De vagiri Yadavas ofMah arash tra (in t s cas
t

nium its com ­ o

ap

e n m
p t on i o t
p
lac
es by
th
e s ixt eenth century,
wh e bas i n factbeen lost); at t he Thai courts ofSukh o ta ian
A th a ; an
l i

at the same t m il
o

g th ai ld ­
d

eno chara cet r o

t
s

the political location in whi among the Gangas and Gajapatis of Orissa. And eve rywhere a ya
, g n, ti
tin

e
yu

it was fostere d an d ch
i

its rela t ons p t o w e cosmopolitan aesthe ic erary idioms and models from cosmopolit an Sanskri wer e assimil ted
a
f

i th
h

that it would r pla . In all t

i

e hese a t ures -
ard

ce c hronology , polity, the loca ­ for the creation of literatur es i regional langua g , w d
e reor ered
t

fe
t

ization ofthe o th l es
hil
l b -
g e southern
n

al Asian an d western European cases notions of politicaJ space and aspirat ons of govemance were o ed
show quitere c in
d

e p a e s. We ill e be in a i
mar a w th n position to con the new vernacular texts- textsth a t for t h e firs ti
me began to speakco­
k bl ll l

sider the factors that ­

t

herently ofsuch places as "the cultivated- lan do f Ka a da ," "th hear

ar

m th em f e ren t and give one the characte r nn e t

ak

e d
i

of a vernacula izati o n
necess it an th
the o er vernac ar iza ti o n of of the land of Andhra," and "Beau tiful La dy Lank ." Eve n Tamil,the
f

r
accommodatio . y d a ul a
f

n on South Asian regional language with a his t r o f literary produ ­

o

o y
e

The verna l iz i n
u ar a to the Sans r it w o rld began in the last cen­ tion that long antedated the start of the vern a m ennium, an
c

k d
ill

f o
cul

tur y ofthe fu t m ill en i ehi le

f

n um i n Hindi, which was almost cer tainly fust fashi one d into a r
c

s cen rt al De c r ve ­
o

c an pla teau. Here, in th

ar

t v
h c

course of the i e e
n n o e le ve th en
n u r e s, Ka nnada and Telugu nacular l iterature outside the do main of the ou r t by Sufi poets n i t e
t i were h
transforme d i o t Iangu ag
h

fourteenth and fifte enth centuries , began to develo p new mode of ex­
n es for literatu r e and
t t c

political expression a f t�r

c

s
four or m thi i d I th firs t cas e,
en t uries of su te r ar y ex s te nce, during which Sans
kn pression and courtly characteristics during s pe r o . n e
bli

fo i
functioned as the ro d -t th
r

o
e

s o e me um ucti on o non s to k plac un er t he m e r o ee v a

o c

erar y
an thi e i p ial Ch las (
in l e enth nd twelfth
di

r p d f li d
l h
e

t t

JO • SHELDON P L
O LO C
K LI NA AN D VER N A CULAR I N HISTO R Y
3l • COSMO PO T
 centuri es ); in t he second, it too
ti k place under nor
such as O th Jndian ri
es r cha and Gwalior that fell w it h P nci.p a .)j
M gh hi n the pow
u als (in the fi fteen th and s1xt . ee nth
centuries).
er s
ad (Es tori a de Espa nna ).
"
In France, th� p�oces
s attains its
I d d l p
i
��th fu] e x p esso at the court most p
n vi u a e isodes in the history of ver r i n ofFrançoisI m themid-six o ew r ­
Europ nacularization in ri rs of t h e Pl éiade su ch teen th centur .
e y
ear b ette r know n, though . 1t bears repea Wes t ern
W te as Pierre Ronsard saw them
seJves ch
ting that a synthe
c u nt (whic hth orizes vern rge
o
r ca t
wi th he t ask of s e cur i ng the trium ph of the v er a d
e acularity , establishes n ac u l ra, and their wo ks
y, nd its historicaJ n eed to be un ders tood in relation to the
to r a
xp its link age to the political 1 . c. new forms ofJanguagego r
. e lor es
sphere) rernai ; a m n ty hat ver ­
wntt e n. Western Europ ean ver c . . . beg · /ec. e t a li t th e Fre nch court was then instituting. n
ins in earne���
. na ulanzation Th r e i no ne ehes
the pr d u i t s
1 - to p rov ide further detail or
o d ci t on x .
of e t s that enter mto a secure trailit w1 e
w
d r e
mention theo
i
ion of re ro th weU-k no n d evelo p me ts n f rom Dante to Luthe r ht er
t on an th c rcul. a tion - at the court of Alfre d , but it is worth no
d in lat -n nth nelast e x a mple fro m �ntral Europe, which pre tin
g an d ( us 1 t u e i -cent�ry ue. sents something g
Lati te r v all y co tempor .
aneously w1th events E - o
H n in Karnat n m ! i of a
l
ce o e ent process of cultura l -political trans
od e nst n
rre
n lit y cult ak
a f th forma n
ere ure, especiallyin its renew a)
Carolingian imp m ise
a e r
ar
ed form durin co pr d un de r t
he idea o vernacularization. (The v
f t oi
, p ernaculariza
consciously followed t h ·
f
eriu m rovid es the mode! astern op fo ll ows an ana tion
in n i ve f!r o e Eur e logous pattern, though it occu
t es ranl sa t io n p g ram under ilirec l rs mu
t ro
tion of the court inte ndw thin the context ofa verydiffe ch
llect�u­ ater a i rent cosmopolitanism: Byzan.
l h
a s, w o at t he same tm i e began to projecta
t rr i far more coherent visio t ium and Eas t Chr i
st anity.) Among Hungarian
i i e rn
-speaking peop es
tor al y and n of
alf i
l ,
ceul t e uni ty of Angelcyon. It was for aJm os th a millenniwn the medium oftex:tualprod
tha tAn th this Insular ver
nacu uction was x­
tur e glo-Norman elites discovered at the end of th lar clusi v el yLatin. Itis only in thesixteenth cent
ury, ina turn that may
e
c e ury, and whe , as one e eleventh
t
o

rec linked h o be
n ent study puts it, they wer as uc t new political energies st imulated by theOtto
d
e thus "c ­ fi5m 26 manvi ­
fro nte . . . fo t e firs time o n t or fo

r h with the idea and the fact of a s to the R e rmation, that vernacular intellectua begin c
yo
t
d l i an exten ve ls
an ve c
g o ro us rn a ul ar literature" theydevel oped a French s i insc ibe H g i an
r to
" dd analog, un ar -lan guageliterary te xts, almost sim ultaneousl
he du in an y pro­
n i
su e ss ue of im gin at ive cultura l engin a t c g tir ea ppa ratus of Hungarianliterar y cultur
e ering." The creation d ! di en e on the La
30
ti
co a l

o a f o e ( tin
ra
n ne n
th
t F r ench lit e ryculture, f or its part, begins soon therea r mf cltion aries, grammars, and histories). Here the soc ial locat n
o
an unp fte o ve rn a cu i
wi the h
of r e c
ed n t e e d proli feration of new textualizations, above ariza i a
to n ppe ars, exceptionally, to occuroutsidethe cent
c
anso n de gest e and rel ted o po li tical powe
f
ail rs
genres. At precisely the same tim r, t h ou g
a th Hungar i an h i t m a ha pre c
e e n th e i ns e f
t
e y ve b ded the is y t o
(b u as f as we kn ow, without direct connection), courts in Occita e court a e r 130 0 tha t retar turn
el towardta region ­
d ar ft bili y al
ew n ai la n u ga e lit y pro u c on.
crtieatul genre o lite rature, the trouba dour lyric, that
e r ar
an E n thi b d ti
g
e
f would h ve s f
el p r i e rev ewi shou ld suffice to invite reth inking ofa nurn
s m a t e compar a e vernacular transfor m
bl a ti o ns a t cour t s across th e
f l
­
t
ber o o l ng-he d be efs ab ut vernacularizatio n.
wes e rn Medite rra e n a n to Ita ly and Germany. th . Fir , li o Let m e briefly ook
l at
I was th corpu s tion re ein st we ha ve se en r epe a tedlythat the bearers of vernaculariza
t
of northern French c hanson de geste that woul b h ­
p id thee o t s ou th rn A a and
rov
e d e si we stern Europe were the culturaland
m d e for the Poema de mio Cid (1207), a work withouth poli ic
do s
lit
]
l
ic
i s­ t a who
court Geame ci a dw e re associated with or ilirectly controlled the royal
al
t or p ce en t in any Ibe ria n la ngu a ge and which
f re signais the begin ­ . s n
Bakhtin,two ofthe few thinkers to have understood
r
ning o vernacu ar li era t re in Spai the signi fic
Cas ti e l t u n. In th e same epoch, the courto an c o fthi
l (largel n f and cial ( e str ansfor mation while appreciating it asapolitical
dam r y i m i t a t i on of the wonder that
had been Cordoba) w so as ll
t c
i all i as we as lt ral) phenomenon, were thus both wrong t
a believ th v ac c
u
o
y c ating a v ernacula rd ocum entarystate of the sort
e a t t e e rn uul s
r
d re
h
i we a e
n s La tinit ar n Europe were upraised against a Mandari
so o to f n e w er e in western Europe This attaine x nd i n
h el h . d its fullest e · a c m a e o b
, o th t e written down only when "the people" regained
i
cour t o fonsoX " ElSabio in the mid-thir importy
r e o at t
p ss nh e f Al " teenth ce ­
n
an ce r a
social fo t t the ve rnacular tout court represented a popular
, co rce o b di i gu s h
r
tu y w e r e one am j r urtproject was anew m
lawcode in the vernacu­
lar, aJ ng ith
a n w disco
o
o h h e st n i e d fro and set a gainstan " ffi o ci at Latin.n
w h
o e urse n t e i st ry verna ul c a sp ac Unquestionably, some altoget her different cultural-po li al proc ess
O K o of t e r tic is
3 2 D N P L e
• SHEL O 3 3 • COSMO P L
O L C OI ATN AND VER NACULAR IN H IS T O YR
 -,.
at work in the cases we have mentioned. To understand this pro
cess
means to understand, among other things, the new and more limite
vision of governance that seems to be projected throug h new for ms
d those in In
of
territorialization in early vernacular texts. For it was now that, thank s to
the work of literary vernacularization, regions came for the firs t time
to be coherently conceptualized as such (ifnot always for the first ti me
to be actually named): Tamil akam, Kannada nadu, Lanka, Maharash­
tra, Yavadvipa, England, France, Hispania.
Also wrong is the historiography that (following Ernest Gellner)
makes industrialization the engine for the vernacular transformation_JJ
We may not be able to say with precision what changes in the material
world may have contributed to the conditions of possibility for ver­
nacularization, but it is certainly clear that monocausal explanations
have to be avoided. A vast expansion of agricultural production across
Eurasia; the development of a new, complex, and profitable interna­
tional trading network that linked Bruges in westernmost Europe to
Hangchow in eastern China through intermediary nodes in South Asia
such as Cambay and Cochin, and that reached its apogee in the mid­
fourteenth century; the movement of nomadic peoples acrôss Eur�ia
that first made this network possible and that powerfully (if diff���
an'èFCII.
tially) affected the social and political conditions of southernAsia
western Europe; the expansion oflslam on its eastern and western fron-
tiers (recall that Gibraltar and Sind were both captured by Arab armies
in the same year, 711) bringing new modalities ofliterary culture to India
while disrupting older forms of cultural reproduction in Europe-ail
these world-historical events no doubt helped create an environment
in which, for the first time, the choice to think and write locally began
to make better sense than writing and thinking globally.34 Then again,
the "lonely hour ofthe last instance" in which the economic is determi-
nant may never have arrived in this world-why, after ail, should the
social science logic ofcapital be generalizable beyond capitalism?-and
something altogether ditferent may be at issue in this transformation,
something like peer-polity emulation or a new aesthetic value of being
"in place." Although different proximate causes may thus be identified
for specific developments in dilferent regions, there seems to have been
a widely shared sense that everybody was going native, as earlier they
had gone global.
The third point in need of rethinking (closely related to the first) is
34 * SHElDON POLLOCK
rd assumption that counterdominant religiou s movements­
the standa
dia �rouped under the in�dequate and historically vagu
_ e
m de votion ahsm (bhakt1 ), along w1th Buddhism in Southeast Asia,
te r
Reformation in Europe-drive forward vernacularization.
and even the
does not, ge��rally speaking, have demotic spiritual
Vernaculariz ation
r courtly, pohtical-aesthetic origins. Here Buddhism,
origins, but rathe
spread vernacular transformation in parts of Asia, is
a vehicle of wide
its social location among the mercantile, political, and cul­
typical in
And whereas the development of new vernacular literary
tural elite.
etimes draw on the energies of religious change, as
cultures mig ht som
in sixteenth-century Hungary or Sufi northern lndia, many historical
cases show quite clearly that religious movements often reacted against
an already existing high vernacular (what I have called the cosmopoli­
tan vernacular) that attempted to replicate an irnperial culture-power
formation at the regional level.35 ln this, the Kannada case is again exem­
plary. The Militant Shaiva (Virashaiva) movement that arose in Karna­
taka during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries advocated a relocalized
idiom, perhaps even a return to premanuscript and preliterary culture
(since the vacanakaras or "makers of utterances" eschewed both high­
cultural genres and inscription as such), and certainly a political order
that did not seek regional empire.
But, again, with the creation ofthe cosmopolitan vernacular, the new
reading communities, and new visions of vernacular political space,
comparability between the two worlds of vernacularization ends.
Recently, I have tried to sketch out some of the remarkable di­
vergences in the conceptualization of the vernacularization process in 1
southern Asia and western Europe.36 These pertain to every aspect of
language ideology, including the sources and moral status of language
diversity, the correlation between language and community, and, per­
haps most important, the linkage between vernacular language and
political power. On all counts, the two cases present incommensurate
univer ses. While care for language was as intense in southern Asia as
anywhere in the world, no southern Asian writer before the colonial
period ever represented this care by means of an affective attachment
to language, as Dante was the first to do when in the introduction to
his Convivio he spoke of "the natural love for one's own language":
"Not simply love but the most perfect love is what I ought to have, and
do have, for [my vernacular]." 37 Prior to Europeanization, no southern
35 * COS MOPOLITAN AND VERNACULAR IN HISTORY
 Asian writer ever biologized the relationship to the vernacular as o n f Florentines to "work for the enhanc
eo
5ei ed
fifteenth-century . . . ement of
. the notion
maternal generat1on; . "mother tongue" 1tself,
. as scholars hav power by w ntmg m Tuscan,,, or Wenceslas li wh
e f}o rent·n1 e , o a cen-
repeatedly noted, has no conceptual status whatever in pre-Europe er had been offered the cro�n of Polan� on the grounds that
South Asia.
an tutY earli those who do not d1ffer much m speakm· g the SI avt.
.
''it 1s fitt"m· g th. at • . ,, c
Furthermore, no southern Asian writer ever held the view' cornmo J0Y the rule of a sm�le pnnce. No language in southern
at the start of the vernacular millennium in Europe that "language
n \anguage en
e the target of direct royal regulation; sanctions were
' s Asia ever becam
make peoples," as the epigram ofa tenth-century Christian poet puts it . osed requiring the use of one (like French for Iegal pract·
In fact-and here is a distinction that makes a most serious diff"erence� never un p . . . Kes
I) or prohibitmg the use of another (like Polish under
und er François
there exists no explicit discourse on vernacular language origins at ail knights). Indeed, around the tirne episodes of vernacular
the Teutonic
that ties them with peoples, as there is no discourse on the origins of ere occurring in Europe, vernacular kings in what is
exterminatio n w
peoples themselves (dynastie lineages excepted). Origins of languages rn atak a were issuing royal inscriptions in Telugu in the east and
now Ka
and peoples, morphing into chronicles and histories of kingdoms and in the west, as well as in Kannada, and in their court they would
Marathi
peoples, can fairly be called an obsession in Europe during the fust half rtai ned with songs in these languages as well as in Avadhi, Bihari,
be ente
ofthe vernacular millennium. T hese include the late-medieval specula­ Bengali, Ori ya, and Madhyadeshiya-producin g, in fact, a virtual cos­
tions on the Greek sources ofthe Spanish language, the Celtic-Gallic or mopo litanism ofthe vernaculars.•0
Germanic-Frankish sources ofFrench, and the Celtic-British sources of In short, all the indices ofvernacular power that the history ofEurope
English; the historical origins myths that trace the French to the Trojans invites us to think ofas constitutive ofthe vernacularization process are
(end ofthe twelfth century), the Scots to the Scythians (1320), and the absent in the historical experience of southern Asia. If language was of
Hungarians to the Huns (1283}; and full-dress historical narratives such interest to courtly elites in southem Asia-and it was most certainly of it
as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (1000), the Alfonsine Estoria (ca. 1270), the greatest interest-the logic by which they conducted their cultural l
and the Grandes chroniques de France (late fourteenth century).38 politics was as unfamiliar as that of their cosmocratic predecessors, for l
In southern Asia, by contrast, ifwe are to take seriously the term by whom Sanskrit's principal value seems to have resided in its capacity for 1
which people referred to the vernaculars-they are, after ail, fust and an aestheticization ofthe political. Thus, despite striking parallels in the
!
foremost the "languages of Place" (desha-bhasha)-then we must con­ times and structures ofcultural change, vernacularization in these two
1
clude it is as much region as anything that makes language. Kannada, worlds differed as profoundly as their respective forms of cosrnopoli­ 1
for example, is the language of "the land of black soi!," Malaya[la] that tanism. In Europe, we find everywhere a necessary correlation between l
of "the sandalwood mountains," Dakani that of "the south," Braj that people, polity, and language. In South Asia, by contrast, there appears
of the place of Krishna's birth, and Gwalayeri that of "the mountain of to have been some linguistic and cultural accommodation to the con­
cowherds." They are, accordingly, not facts ofbiology, like the language ditions of a region on the part of those who entered it; and if power
of the Franks, for example, or of the Angles, which would eventually typically expressed itself in the language of Place, power did not make

underwrite a culture-power region ofbirth, the natio. On the contrary,
in many cases they seem to be facts of ecology. 39 (How the culture of
Place, deshi, which for a millennium stood in contrast to the cosmopoli­
tan Way, marga, would be transformed into Swadeshi- "our own place,"
that is, "national"-in India's early-twentieth-century engagement with
colonialism, is a story for another occasion.)
Nor did any writer in southern Asia ever directly link political power
with Jinguistic particularism like Lorenzo de' Medici when he coun-
36 * S H El O ON POLLOCK
1
that language instrumental to its own self-conception, let alone to the
being of the citizen-subject.
*
Thus, around the beginning of the first millennium, two vast, histori­
cally influential supraregional cultures and their assoc.iated conceptions
ofpower- imperium sine fine (power without limit) and diganta mjya
(power to the horizons)-came into existence at either end ofEurnsia.
37 • COSMOPOLITAN
AND VERNACULA R IN HISTORY
 Th e y w e re discu rsiv e ly embod ied pre eminent y i n a new
l lit e rat
arrived mor e o r
co u d
l d
b e r ea d everywhere be cause it was co mposed
i n a la ng uaU th t
re . repre sented, an d which, acc ordi ngly, Je
ss
" rnati ons . gion s
ra
t ve l e ev e ryw re. Th y s ha e d a w1' de van e ty ofa dd iti
h e r . . t a ,o r y .
m de p e nden tly m the two re
e
ona l co uslyand wholl .
s i.rnultane o h oweve r, . 1 deolog.1 eso f language an d mstrum e ntalit es
ll
a s we : Jan gu age d iscipline, nor mat1 vi .ty, c anoni. c1ty . . , rh n f
et or ic_ By ge Ce r n s }-{ere, to , o i o
the rela tions hip betw
re s t of c ha n ge and the e rasur e of the lo cal that they
ensu red, a
t h h a1 differed profound l y. In the on e c ase, e e n
f ac t o rs il t a .r cultur e .1 a s dete r mma . e, so much 50 th t
t
en d e d t o pro mote th e ema nci ation of litera ture from �
p tpe oples and the r lan gu ges wa t
a
differen . age (a con ception that, fo r
angst ame a fo nct ion of langu
r i m -
e th e g r e a t o
fh t everna cu l ar .1 s 1ts
. spatio . tem
p o ra J entrs P a .
ce leh ood bec
all
el c on t u
p r eci s y as pol iti c al power was meant t t hat we find to u nder mine it,
to be emanc ipat ed. The o peop e lativi tyand c on ing ency i
n es
i th 41
ln the other , this rel ati onsh ip seems alm
p r oc ess es by w hi c h th e se cultu ral forms wer e is � � e rak n stron g m i
nds). o st
d d seminate d and
p o d, ad o t e 10 we e
al u st as place s c rea te water and so 1 I, so the ywere t ho ugh t ir -
an ro m h owev er,had no thing w ha te .
t e ve r in com mon. Th p ec o1 og1c · .J·
. o . v
ey r e e ple use like wate ror s oi!. In wes e rn
Ja t ed to p o w r in w a y s th at differ ed li to crea t languages ,wh1chpe t
e as u tterly as thep rac ti
ces of p
� tua Y erv 1e . nt to power Indeed it -
h m se s , w h c h sha red ittle be yond o wer uage w as held t o be subs ' a b e
t e lve i l beli efi n the infinitud e ofg Europe, lang .
.
n era del imp e r io)
an . tw o r a l o ve ­ eexpli c itly the " attendan t of em pi re " (com pa t th e
n fo ce th eir Th e f o m tions are right y rega rded as c osm r carn
r op olit an,
b o th that p ower was firs tproJe . cted m . a trulygl o bal m ann e r in
co n ce pt ion of culture - power a s un limited a nd f or the v very mo m ent . .. , ·
r e d . 1s Neb nJas, wh o used it w h e
t i o ns of bel o ngin g o -a cting in, writing berian
co loni a hsm (th e famous phrase n
n o t f or, speaking to-a J a i ­ J ) l n So th
le ss mi lian gramma r t o Q ueen Isabe lla in 1492 .
wo rl d th a t , a ta certain eve of cons
ciousne ss, th ey most decid i
t de di c ating h is C asti u
l l or som e th in g
. e d ly avehlcle ofaest hetic dis ti nctio n, style,
co m pr i s e d I h a e ch ar a ct er ized the
by hich thi s v s ra di cal d ifference in the proce ss A s ia,lan guage w as
to b e explaine d a cc ording to e
w s
co n ci o u n e ss w as ge n e rated
es el s e th a t rev eals no simple pur pose th
an d ch as on e b e twe e n om p uls ion moder n s ocialscience .The s e diff e ren ce s h
o ic e
. c fu n ctio n al is t mo dels of I ave
n ecess i ty
Th es e c o sm op oli t an orde rs we re dra u gh to orde r by ident i fyin g the first as a vernacularity of
ma tical y cha l!enged by s o t
ommodation.
for m s o f cul t ur e and p ower that were l n
e w n d th e sec o n d as a vernacul arit y of acc
broug ht into being ar ouod a i oryofc osmopolitanis man d
be ginnin g o f th e s e con d mill enniurn and, within a f ew cent th e I am v ery m uch awar e t hat this br efhist
ul compl ­
d
uries, w re entar y aspects has ign ore dvast
t r ao s ce d e e ve rn ac a r ism a nd the irelem ex i
i ho ul n d b y th e se n e w for ms a l m ost eve rywh ere . In neith er wo , ha v e requir ed far
rl d es . An es pe cially important o m issio n, whi c h wo u ld
t s b e s t r ess e d, was su cce s s ever truly achie ved i n reconci ti tic be­
ling th e a good here, is discussio n ofthe dialec
co s m o p oli t an an d t h e vern a cular, alb eit both Latin and Sanskr t o o m uc h s p ce to make
it p re ­ ular that createsth em bot . h ( Th ese cul ­
t we e n c os m o ol itan an d vernac
p
st h e rv e d a re s i d u al fo
r ce int o t e ninet
e d i sp lay
h eent h c entur y, p roviding a code ically co nstituted bu t mut uall y consti ­
r ms h s
o fs ch o lar s hi p or the cult vat on ofn osta lgie antiqu arianis fo
r tu ral foo ar e n ot just i tor t u
of it s own
i i m ti ve , f r th v ernac ul ar loca lizes the c osm opoli tan as p art
byve r n a c ular i nt e ll e ctua l s a nd writ ers. W e do not y et fully understa i f e
n d s e l f- o unwitt i ngly relo calizin g what the c os mo ­
t he p rec is e m a t e r i a l conditio ns for the gre at vernac co tins t uti n, i t is o ft e n
n the risk
ular tran sforma tio n , po l i t an b o rr ow e d from it in t he first pla ce.) 4 1 I have had to ru
an y m o re under stand th ose for the quasi g loba lisms that of c aric a
d d it. th a n we pre ­ , h to ju xta p ose to a
ce e t t ur e t o o , in crea tin g a l argel y demon ic Nort
B ce rt itude of the mat erial grou nd s would s eem to ha
Ii tt le b ari nu e ve n atmight seem ; an d
e g o n o u r an al ysis . What w ve lar ge lya nge li c So ut h, refresh i ng depart ure though th
e are abl e to perceive clearly ro e d by an d large to a logic
tha t ve rn a c ar is afco m p le x p c e ss of ch a nge has be en reduc
th e firs i m ul I angu a g e s or I ang uage s ofPl aceat th atmom ent and fo o p i d ea li s m . B ut, gran ting ail these short co mings, t he his to
ri cal re ­
r u re
t t e cam e t o be us e d for pro du cin g w t y that ye t
ir
d ritten l iterary cultu r es co n hst r uc t i o n off e red h e re do es make d aim to a ce rtain reali
a n th e c o n c o mi nt p oli ticaJ culture s of
s tat . T h ta the eme rgent doc umenta r i pe r rni tted to fl atten F i rs t, th e co s­ .
es e y u s h e lp e d, intheirdi ffer ent y furt e r qu al i f c a ti on s h ou ld n ot be
f th ways, to cons titute thenati on ­ i nd culture-­
o t an an d the ver nacular ha ve been actua l and pr ofou
s t a t e s o Eu m wpo lal
ro pe lJ an d t h e vernac ularp olitie s of s outhern Asia; help ed to a ve ro e . ec , th w eer
t it te we h
p o e r
t e r n t i s i n A s i a n o e s s h an
t in
E u
p S o n d bo
c n o s u
, - Jc e d b y d
as , t e e ar ly m o d e rn i t y th t d c h us
e v er y wh e re a n d a l w a y s pr o u ra t o i c e s an d co n s oci
lib

a th es e n e wc u lt ur a l p lito i e e e
cal
3 8 • S H EL O O N P O L l O C k ) 9 • C OS M O P OLI TA N A N D V E R N CA U L A R I N H I ST O R Y
 Practices . The t n sforma ti n we ha ve examin d in
ra o s e
make culture an d the w ays e
organ ize power can n o t be expl ined by h P o . Swayamsev ak Sangh (Rss; National Volunteers u mon . ), an
a t e an tu P 1 e d
izati on of cultu r al c han ge , h re . s n. ashtnYa
w e mec am s m t gge d by ... . ra 1 • R 'd logical wi ng, the V.1shwa Hmdu . Parishad (VHP; World tt·1n
h

techno logical i nova t.ion ar e t ho ugh s1mply .

tngg . r e ult ..,at ri e a itS 1 eol) have now had unpreced ented access to central po d u
n to er c ural J 0t ' wer. Th
tion. By the sam t k w h . 1. d e eounc1 , e
t

e o en, at s o me re a m e e o char c i2e e groups now speak what had neverbee nspok enbe
m t a te r voJu · ..,es of thes -
·
nacular p runor dial" ty · s h t b h'
r. veryn� ....,. . .
case asingle . .
Ind1an "peop eh d" ( .
i 1s own o e a 1mera ve c as tulat ng in.the one . l oo
andev er ywhe re be en r odu ced . Thi d, c
h we ; rrnampul ar b iytl has
ma 1a Ve;ays fore, pos i
o rHmdu1smasan aggressIVe universalism (vishwa) Th
ana

p r ve c
d. the othe
t a

ara e
;

been the basic c o diti a t.

anlJI to the large w orId,,beu
1i n o n s o po s b il ti y t at obtained
th: e . duced not by an affec ive atctachment
o

latter 1s pro nt t
i
oss
f h

asi an world du ri n th fifteen-hu n a c

r a
r -year peri th t h
vr
t n of di. p as ora, as a re e s t r ct n its own onfuse
lped EU . ca o S
111 e od a p od sl o s R c
e b ythe di i i d
d ed

cultural and politigc l c ha h diffr u ear

a nge a v co m p a a r e r e ren ce a es
so t, t e
f
e ry m
bl

l in both the cosm o p lit w Y al< cl :

a nan ac ar for mat ons i the wo
o

ve rn fora indu, the entire universe is his home. He considers himself as

d ul
t sphe
i

are de ep and irre ducib . AU thi pr om p us o eth n n h H

j le ts
o

s t r k th � thewhole world. For him,"Swadesho bhuvanatrayam"

charac er ofloca l d su a loca l a hm e if o ly i fare as ihe s tori� belonging to

1
t a n p r t ta c nts , n i ns o world-eart�, sk , and h��v�n-i� one's own Place) i s
re cons ider e d here p . [The triple
y
cesses of litera ry cultu
- th p ro uc on a dt rc ul ro , but IS the very spm mgramed in his rnind s
tion and consu mpti e d ti n c a not a mere slogan . A
t

o no express ve e xt -are abl i .

t s mbo such, from tirne immemorial, Hindus are widely spread the wor l d
i

e to e y rn
the probel
f

No Jess complex th d t h e .
m of kn o wing his p in more than 150 co un tries and have been at­
is the question of why we t ast, how r
e over. Hindus reside
ve ln fact, ina couple of countri
an

an
w to kno i at aU C a n e
th u e tan n home wherever they have reached.
t

i ng of such histo i al w t .
r c exp er iences as e h ere d rs d ius, Fiji, Trinidad, etc., they form the majority and byt h
� like Maurit
w a viewed here open up fo
es
is
us a domain of alt rn i ve ssibili i es v r
e at po t a a time w en the choi are occupy ing high positio ns in those countries. It is no won ­
b d dt virtue
culture-p ower befo us a ll see m h cesof who take pride in bein
re a an the emmas ole der that when swayamsevaks [ RSS cadres], g
d

unavoidable? Cosm p lit i il in t ra ble y et 1

g
o o an sm an vernacul irsm n t eir con
a emp o­ the h r a bingers of the Sangh ideology, and who for other reasons o 1
d

rar y Western forms- Am i i h t

is one such domain f b d o ti
e r ca n g o a iza o and
l b l

I i
ti n ethn n i o at o n
a lism ­
abroad, also start S g hSh
an
as
akhU
[
n ion bra ch n es] n co un
i tries they i11
o a p o n s. t s hardnot t eir most d ­ e o
cho so t r es id e in. 0
formed developmen i t e th e
ts n h con a
o see
on tat on betwe e n NAT branc
O and Ser i
Universal ism exists for the RSS onl y in the network of its
fr i

that dosed out a ce ntury f a i n No h

,
o con on t t o b
. simple rm ula will cap­ offices, in the magnitude and extent of i t s paramilitary network.
This i
fr

turethe complexi yoft his fo

t co n t n , b i Parivar 1
n o ta o ut t is not too far wrong Hindutva complex of whi ch the RSS is part, the so-called Sangh
fr i

see itas p itting adyi n g t o l

vernac a rity- ro, a least ,s o th t at coul a s recent!y corne to be known, instan
t m e ng h
ul
(Family ofOrgan za ons), as it h ­
i
be retailedas vern ular d
ti

ac ity to the p o pl
e o Ser ia-gr own mistrustfu ,
i

e tiates the very type of"reactionary modernism" familiar from interwar

f b

pathological and eth l

, , a
no ! g st a new kindof cosmopolitanism ion of India's
Europe: it is committed at once to a wholesalenu learizat
cida ain

with a mission t hat

c
h i b ful
so e m ave c aract r ze y t e use i f wo rr o
i s me r
e military capabilities (as demonstrated in the BJP's May 1998 nuclea
h d h

oxym oron "militar i tic h .

s s "m test), and to a cultural program of pseudotraditionalism that hasc ni ­
i

India, for its part is h uman

y

, ard ! yimm u n enow to bad cho c s . e worst a cally coopted and polluted the great cosmopolitan past. Thus the BJP
e Th
presentis thatbetw e a
e n ve r ity mo bili a! gi ost gilte
acu a on the m fra proclaim ed 1999 the Y ear ofSanskrit," while the RSS now cultivates the
rn !

fault linesofre gion r elig i d "

h eg
, , a n d ca ste a n rotesque m on
ut tai of ands in Sanskrit. All th
ze

t p rac tice at its branch meetings of issuing comm

d is

the toxinsofp o stc o l

n

o n r esse n t en t and m
o

r ity kn
n nas Hin swad es hi, a new militant vernacu­
ow is carr ied out in the name of a new
ia! im

dutva, or fundame tali o e ·

d

Hi
n st n us m . Hin utva's p li c ization , larism. "The new rding to the B P vice
o a g
r a watc hword is 'Swadeshi,'" acco
d i
ti o n
d

the Bharati y a Janata l J

Par t y (B P ; India Peopl 's ty), tooks cu er s a t n a
J ti M n e P e re con­ president: "The world has been o d u s t e t
trolof the national g o rn t l n im
ve m e n n ar c
h 19 8 i s
9 ; amili ar w ing the c in akabl m th I di
no t e t en r
ar
t pa r t y , t "44
an b ak e d .
40 • SHELDON POLLOCK fo gran
41 * COSMO P ITA N A
O L LR IN HISTO R Y
ND VER N A C U A
 I wa nt to be in thinkin a b ut t h kin ds
e of choices betw en
cosmopolit an a gd the g l o and d epending onthe particular. The particular
vernacu ar t a tare d e rived f rom
h
n now a v ailable m e the
- ostl b a1ways· for
and bi·tter and s a dh' c 01 ces, 1t · · e1· 192os, wever, was, prec1sely, the national: the questio
ho
seem s- m r atton t o the h
i
st Yad . manY In the n
past we hav e ju st su rve b . t e o n d Gramsc i ac cordingly ask i s whether being particular itsel
·
e d p u g h m in a m
ttm
ca enda an
idiom wi th a disc ss i n
y
o o f tw
y to ore !:a . . J B ily function of bemg . .
nationa
f
l, as many conservative intell -JS
u o short t e x ts from the early 111s
1 1 1b ar necessar 3 ec
.
sisted, such as thosewh o m 1919ask ed.m a publi.c manifesto' " s
Antonio Grams ci tha t are c on cern ed w t h he verna c l -n 1o930l y
i t u ar a ti na an tuas1 .in . . rature I
cosmopolit an-u ni rsa list p ble b national. izmg .
1tself that a hte tak es on a more univer-
g n� y
ci
ve ro m ta ic s . Grams , it be ars repeati
virtua lly unique in the s cho lar ly e cord for t he innova ive an d · n , g d more human ly general mterest?... Is it not a pro
r t 15 �� . ni'fication, a
pass n a ur
believe thatone ca work o behalf o Europe n cult e
n
ate reflection he de vo te d ot the lar i O ­
found error to
ge qu es t ons of li terarycultur I n . f
e an d . 1
through a denation a1 �ed 11 erature. .,.,
t
political power ov er the lon his t o y oft h W st, tho gh
g r e e u t s not cl e .
that he eversucceed e d in dev elo pin c he e n tpo i i abi ui t he oemar Wh at in ter ests me m these refl ct1ons on the hteraryparticular, b -
a o r s t on o t c l
e
peting daims of the cos mo olitan g d he ve la e h r cu ­ n ealogy of th e idea and its remarkabl e imp ications-that
an t c
rn a u r a s
it e l l ond the ge
or political values For one thing he
p
have pl ce the b am t ura �he particular is the real general and that nationalism may "equivocate"
, s ems to a d
forthe f.ùlure ofnatio . de p in Italy n a ce l ne asthetrue universalism-isthe response offered by Benda and endorse
na lcon s cio s n e ss to ve lo
u o r at i T hi s takes two forms. For one, the national particular d
"cosmopolita n casteism" an d the long e
-t rm alien a on of the t ll ­ by Gramsci. is
tual class from the s tate, some thin g int i ately con t e c d in
i ram
in e ec
said to b
e only a first- degree " vanety,
"
. u.e t h e species catego
rather J'L
m t e s ci' s ry
mind with the continu in g s f L
n G " mammal" that charac erizes all humans, wher ea s a "second degree"
t
u e o a tin and th c o n c om tant ilur
of a nat ional language- n i de e d D
e i fa e ofparticularization, and the more impor ant, is a function of dis tin ­
t
, a n te's "illust rious vernacular" -
corne int o bein g The v e ry de velo p m n f hi to guish ing oneself from one's fellow citizens.48 For another-and this
e to s notio nof the a is
.
popula ," howeve r as a p t bili "n
tional­ the far more powerful insight- Benda and Gramsci differentiat e be­
r , u r e ra s gy fo zation beyond t he
te
r m ass mo
Communis t Party prope sugg tween two modalities of particularity: there is a radical difference, as
ests his regre t at the unhappy inds o
they emp hatically put it, between being particular and preaching par­
r
compromises re quired a t th a t histo ric l a ju ure , o s a y no i k ng f hisf
n c t t th o
appreciation ofthe she erfactitio sn ess f h ti nal ti m e sel f. ticularism. Expressed in the term s that have been used in the presen
u t n a o s e n n t it t
o e
essay, this distinction comprise s t h e understanding thatwhile vernacu ­
Idoubt Iam alone inofte n s ns in g he re a e
e t nsion in rams ' s ough larity is essential for art and for life, we can distinguish between a ver­
between, on the one ha nd , an idea l o fc ul ural co s G mo p ci th t
t o tli anism an n a cularity of neces sity an one o accom m o d at o n
political internationalis m a n d , o nt h e h
o t er the v ry d d f i and strive someh ow
ram atic pr es ­ to achieve
e
, p g the latter . 49
sures of national-po pular ac ti . 45 The two s a ll exts o be co i edred
on m t t ns
meclitate, i n their ow n wa y , o n h es e pro ble s. The second text is a br ef comment on the pastan d future ofthe ide a
t i
m of the Italian nation-stat e . Gramsci raises the questionof the universal
The first ofthesete ts is t all y f
x ac u a summ ar yo and com m ent on a n
articlepublished in 19 29 by J lien Ben d a (w i h while pUi suing the same basic problem as in the first text, wondering
n el­
h
t w o se ide al
lectual "non-pratiq u " G u of the i t now whether the fo rces that produced the unification of ltaly must also
e ra m sci mus o herwise have ha d nos t
t
t ympa­ inevi ably produce a militaristic na tionalism.50 His response is actually
thy ) concerning the ela tio hip b etw e nthe i
r ns part cula r a n d e uni v er­ rather CUii ous. He argues t ha t such nationalism is antihistor ical: "ltis,
s al in literature 46 Benda no tes th t e i p ople - hem n th
. a s r o us e e tion s ndré in reality ,
�
Gide-believ e a writera b le to e r A contrary to a i l the Italian traditions, first Roman and then
ve t hege e l i n t t t de­
n ra e re s nly
g ree that he orsheprodu c es wo s k th i t o
o
he s Catholic," which he tells us are cosmopolita n. But then, asif sensing 1
at s m roe partic ula r. i d
l
r e h im e l f howunh stori
had original ly d evelo p ed this id e aw ithi apu re l y th etic t par ad igm:
G i cal or in complete is the answer he has justgiven,he asks
n ae s is whether a ne
w type of cosmopolitanism may ever be possible, beyond
one cannot promote the un ve i
rsal or a ny ot her good w ith o u e per ­
"nati nalism and militaristic imperialism: Not the c tizen of the world
i
o
fection of "artistic po w r ho
t th
e, ve rde fine d,"an d t he l t t re s s o m
we eth ng a
a i i s o c u t er o v i tio nu11 ln
civ is rom a usn
or
42 • SHELDON POLLOCK as Cath li b as a produc f ci il za .
43
• COSMOPOLITAN AND VERN C A IN H IS T R
AUL R O Y

�
 other wor s s
d : l i ta t ail p oss e o
ib l t b e n . v r
versalis m? u , e s a l w·1 t ou
h t pre a · � �
ch th ult r s an d
The ant. momy bet rt l fr o erc . they would be u
ween the particu e . s oma di u e. , . . nable toens
lar an d h s er i ct n tiona
, ure the.1r
nacularand the cosmopolitan te 1 5 st n culture. . Mos
, the nationaland th u n • ver 1 a l
t people (someh
. sal, the 5 ur v k ow
ail precisely the e in t1 e ve . ows most e p ple "would rat her be free a Kym.
a

same ph e nome n d equal

n· n
v a

r n a.itonal-
)

non, to be sure th n b fre a w,·thin

o

.lmked-ha s , bu t ick a nd e q . . · the1.

lost little of its s n
t ow i n x no r t to · · a e c1t1zens of the
world , ·•fth· r
a lien ce sinc e tr a bt 0 w n na 1 lik · 1s means
ual

e Gramsc 1. ' s t b abl to bv . e and wor .

ic

trary, .1t seems to

e

have shown itself d a · Q UJ.t e h e y

y he a e J ess e k m theirown lang
y u d
l

to b e eve r t co n. t y » s2A n
.r essa ry rn acularis . m if . there age an
e

mo re ur n
e

table, w . th new and

o

ge t and in r ulture N i ehc a J ssv e pe ever was one

1 even more com .
plex v ers n t a c- n as o nl . ·
velopm . g
in response to io s ofvern Tom a ·r h ap
. e y culturolog1 cal defens of
c

what is perce1v
e d acul ari y d e th e vernacula
· as cosm t e. problem through r
ugly-American emb opo ri an1rn in i al sm ' s e the domai o e
naltion
he

s p
i

odimen t . To get a t ti al. Na i a gu es that the eventso n f th

sense of wh rn 198 buried th
ro c a

may be h e Ipfu1 to look e re we s a po i c f

al : _ � e old intern
very briefl y at two t n dn � ation­
recent a tte ,it o p ro m o wo rking-dass solidanty to
ts

accomp1.1s h ed thm . m p tsm o w si m counteract capitalism

t

b
m

kers, inhe r i to s of one d d a . l its pl a has co n

of the h" on . n m n e "internationalit
r on a s
e g

naculansm . 1s t c a ty ees oY v ry adan n t us y ," the bla

a i ce

and cosmopolitanism nd bu
li
r

l p d f ver- hom o n ization of the

whose g enes1s . h ger ot h
e wo ld whose
very effect (a familiat
hab1. hta
.
te the national-verna we a ve t r ace n ) is to p oduce � r
cular under a 1'b . e • t ore - e local res,stance, oft
g

r a 1 o r ar me r en violent resistanc
. p g
e
r

In conclus1on, we ro ressive . h e on wa forw e.

can ask wh e ther any . gu _ gu w , we are instru
cted, must be th ough and
respon e t o th. a r no
.1sm 1s ne w dig 15e ly y no
d

may be ava1 . l . T ( d of course

able m a postco oniaJism in e ­ n a m an thr ou t
r

ou t s n a t ohid e gh capit
s

tha tm a y b e th alism) Ali that

i li

beart h e . unpress or s ored l oug h tsti . o s ts ave l to do is t "decide wh . intr­e

nat on
l]

nt e
s

t ener gy- or wha ever m o at sort of nationalis

i

y et
ft

t s the
h e n · g ht d e t a-
li

b li th
phor-of those o . o e." ln e r w , the onl y wa yto be uni y
a

,
the r very 1 e o m will bec rn
d ffe r nt yp
t e s f c o s m op o ver sal
a

ti no w is to b
ords

n l. As for the dan

t

. t a a n er e
nac uJar h1stones. a
ver- n ? Weil
s asks
o

. n o a , Nairn, "Aie the frag

mentatio
o b d " Thes n
Inbis recent book on mul ticult u s e word s we e written two
g

ra J citiz enship, Will yml ck int a nd an ar c y re ?

r years in
h

th
a

e sie e o f Sara je vo, fi e years into the renewe

y

K i a ro­ to
ll

duces the idea of what he calls

a

"so ci etaJ culture." Th , d strugg e n K as

are te n in o t h e m vement for T l hmr ,
is we t o d , is " a s i i
l

year amjJ Eelam -with Rwanda one

g v

culture which provides its mem b rs i t o

e w th meaningful w ys oflif aw year
the full range of human activ e across , Che chn ya tw , Srebrenica three
o Of course, these are not
i ties, in clud ing soc al, iden ­
a

educationa , re ­ al si .
i o- ns nor have ail twentieth- cent ury ti
ay

gious, recreat ional, and econom c l li t horror s, man y far worse

i

i life, encompassing bo pub c an than tu th , b o lly sub

sumable under the extr
c

e e n ew
th a

private spheres In fac , these tu rn out to li d eme vernacular m

bilization
h

. " beno d fferen fr o o­

t t o m nati nal n t ion alisrn Yet each of these rec
es

i ent cases seems to me

cultures and ar e said to constit ut .
f

e t h e true basis of e b p i se d in it to
fr edom. While s own w ayon the particularistic brink the
o a

e o vernacul ar-
Ky Jicka is aware th at th e congeries of p actices w h Na irn ca ll the "Ethnie
, or
tal cul­
r ns ocie
he t r
m

r e s at A byss ," which seems increasingl y resistan

tures "did not always exis Na ir 's d
s
t" but derive (in accor da nce wit h Gellners ' o iaJ th t "there
isno a byss in the hysterical-li t
n en , beral sens "s1
flawed theory) from the new e levatio n ofthe vern cuJa r n e Kymlick a nd N airn r e.
t

i the r v ic se epresen t a wide ra

a

n ge ofthinkers forw
hom ver­
of the educational homogen zati on required by i nac ul r ty t
a

i d outs ide
ndustr iali za
a

ti n s an history (exc ept to the degr

o , t ey tinuall
a i s ee thathistorycon ­
h

somehow escape the histo ricit y o the ninet ee t d mo st ates

f n -cenur y momen t of
th y e n r i ts necessity) and constitu es an eses nt al com ­
their genesis. Vernacular culture s are given and po n e of huma n exi s ten i
e em a d u
the r ; th yd n n­ They therefore hold the conservation
nt t

c . o
e

equivocal ly to be acco mmo date d just as they are, unq es t on ed i cult re and the a cquisit ion
ofvernacular polity-nowcot f
e

n ve r na c u ar
i any u
er ­
l

minou
way about their present, let alo ne his orical, const ution. In fact, the y s w th nationalis
u

i m -to be a categori cal imperat ve in the

t it face of
a i
are portrayed as the only "meaningful cont ext o choic for pe p un vers a s m s een o nly as compulso r y To such a vision
o le" a o
i

f e d fut
ofthe pres
li

<l an we m yjuxtapose . e n
worth preserving at all costs . Violati ons o fthe space of e acula rc ­ re a the pe rspect ve of those who h ve
t

v rn e a n ­
hr e (if not alwa s self i i
ul u

tures, accordingly-through open borders, for e ampl -would b 3 - aw are y) the very different traditions of
it d

x e y
" eo e Sou th A i an cosm opolitan and l lhe
nce l 's w nnat vernacu ar sketched out in he o
disast er si p p e o i o nal com un m ity would be over n l f re-
ru by
s

4 5 • COSMOPOLITAN
t

4 4 * AR IN HISTO
S H EL O O N PO L LO C RY
A N D VERNACUL

K
 going pages. These are lega�ees, in a�dition, of the World's
1on . al) Might. this irreconcilability not. yield to a .strateg
most fraught engagement w1th globahzation in its hars hest gest and {set, hist
one · stltu te such a transformation from w1th.
ic poli-
. forms , co( _ in m com mu-
nt·a1·tsm. I t 1s a stn"k·mg rract that one fi nds amo ng these tn
. tel! e 0 . th at seeks 10
ucs . _
h eth er Mushm, Va1shnav, Maratha, or
rich an inventory of strong formulations abou t particulars ctuats s0 . . es th em seIves
01t1
(w . . . other) , while
and Univ
er. . d em an ds for Jiberalizat10n or d. emocrattzation that are official '
sals- especially Asian particulars and European un·1versa res isting
lated problematics of European thought. Contrast for a °
ls an
- d re. o and imposed from the outs1de? In other words, affective at-
'.11 ment the wp-d �;0 old structures of belonging offered by vernacular particu-
relative indifference to these matters arnong, say, Ch inese IIlte tachmen . . through new cosmopoli-
.
with the ir. very d "ffi
I erent h"1story. Th"1s ·1s something one ma
llectuats,
Jars must precede any effective trans .
fiormatlon
y ac countf, . ust be m . ev1dence, a . to preserve even as the
desrre
. · ���sals·' care m
I th 1nk, as a k"md of s ed"1mentat1on of historical experienc e . or,
-wa h0111 e changed. Assuredly, many of the discurs ive compo-
thereby committing oneself to an iron determinism-but 1t. s structure ·ls to b . . other contemporary debates
value.18 . such arguments are avadable m
harder to assess. Ge. tting b eaten up al! the time by the sch oo1yar nents in
seems to me special. It consists of a respo nse to a spe­
has a way of focusmg the mmd . on v10l .
ence more than is
d bullY bu t the m IX. here
the case for natio� an� enforced change, along with a critique
· · cüic history of domi -
1 s Ie ft unhurt. No d oubt, such h1stoncal experience does not con
k.d of trad1t10n 1�self, temp�red by a strategic desire to
of the oppression
vert automatica!Iy into an advantage for thought or practice, as 01pe cosmopohtan future m vernacular ways of being
. . sh· Jocate resources for a
Chakrabarty has often taken care to remmd me' but it clearly con vert s es. Ana logousl y, the choice between the global and the local,
themselv
into a propensity for thinking. We may not be wrong to supp ose, there- whether in literar y culture or in the organization of power, may now
fore, that these two powerful formative experiences (a long experie nce lind some kind of resolution in the blunt refusai to choose from among
with auton omously produced cosmopolitan and vernacular practic es,
followed by the n e w and hete ronomous cosmopolitanism of colonial-
the alternatives, a re fusai that can be performable in practice however l,
difficult to articulate in theory.
55
1

ism) have inclined some thinkers to search harder-not for a unified
theory of transcendence, but for what Chakrabarty has characterized for
me as "cracks in the master discourses" and, more important, for prac­
tices for overcoming the dichotomous thinking that marks our current
impasse.
It is from within the world of these intellectuals- I have in mind
the recent work of Partha Chatterjee, but a number of others including
the late D. R. Nagaraj provide good examples- that some of the more
desper ­
compelling suggestions are being offered on ways to address the
le, as some
ate choices imposed by modernity. Might it not be possib
54
t
None of this thinking should b e taken as exemplification of "hy­ l
bridity" in its usual cormotations of mélange or rnongrelization -a
banal concept and a dangerous one, implying an amalgamation of un­
alloyed, pure forms, whether vernacular or cosmopolitan, that have 1
never existed. The practice I have in mind, on the contrary, is a tacti­
t
cal reversai of domination-a resistance-through-appropriation, as it
has been described-which, in fact, approximates what I take to be the
very process of vernacularization before modernity.56 This practice de­
rives from a realization born of accumulated historical experience of
both pre- and postcoloniality that the future must sornehow become

moderniz­ one of and rather than either/or. Such a proclamation admittedly has the
of these thinkers suggest, to tran scend the dichotomies of ring of a slogan, and a certain unpleasantly utopian ring at that.Neither

1
rstanding
ing cosmopolitanism a nd vern acular tradition alism by unde does it m echanically yield
the past, policy outcomes capabl e of helping us di­
that the new must be made precisely through attachment to rec tly address today's
grasp what most pressing questions of the cosmopolitan and
and by recognizing that on ly such attachment enables one to _ vern acular (such as
be ? Take as o e example the seem in gly l!rec­ the minority cultural rights that we must support
can and must changed n or th e ethnocha
ral state­ uvinist politics that we must resist). In fact, I have bor­
oncilable alternatives of the u niversalist discourse of the libe rowed this pa
rticular formulation from the German sociologist Ulrich
r
renc e in
where secularism demands the submergence of religious diffe Be��• w hose arg
larities 0� a ument is not a precipitate of comparable historical ex­
a homogeneous juridical order- and the historical particu p enence bu t
derives instead from an abstract mode ! ofrisk theory, aocl
these are ,
10
given community's ways of life (it being understood that
47 • cos MOPOLITAN AND VERNACULAR IN HISTO RY
46 * S H El D ON P OL LOC K
 Precisely for this reason seems aJI the Jess comp ellin s, ..,
. g· •e t th
to seek and may denve some pragmat1e . e r Commentary of Shankara (Poona:
sustenance fro A ase, ed.•·
P oposai Chandogyopanisat with the . n .
.
of the varied cosmopohtan and vernacular possibiliti rn an ai.varenes.i J(. S. g ) 1 .1.10 (my translal!o )
a Pr ess, 1902 ' .
es th at h •"andashram , U owing section draw on ev1denc e and argument from a book J am
9·
available in history. To know that some people in ave bee � î tS. and�e� . .
Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit
. . . th e p ast h
ve be
0 10. h Jll ieu . ng. The Lan guage of the · · ·
and Power
able to be umversal and particular, w1thout making a e0 co p w ledge th e corn p I ex1ty o f t h ese questions in a way that is
eit ,0w
,. I ackn o
. . . h e .
r the1r p 0 where
ticularity ineluctable or the1r umversa 11sm compulsor y
, is to k ar. Joo-t5°"b• .in a short essay such as this one.
le
irnposSJ i Bharadvaj, ed., V 1kramankadevacarita of Bilhana, 3 vols.
better cosmopolitan and vernacular practices are at Ieas �ow
t c once1v bJ
1hat . s h w an ath Shastr · ·
a e 11. V . amskrit Sahitya Research C omm1ttee of the Banaras Hmdu University,
i
and perhaps even, in a way those people themselves neverfun as rS
. Y ac h · _d
tev
( V ar an
;9 (my translati
on).
. .
e
eventually reconcilable. 1964), 18· tern art o f this world, Latm had to. contend w1th another cosrnopoli-
l n t he e as P .
k, which would have 1ts own cornplex interactions with
uage, namely Gree . .
tan 1ang.
12.
Byzantin e empue. See, for example,
acuJars in the Jater
the SIavie.ve rn
NOTES Byzantium and
I am grateful to Benedict Anderson for his meticulous and construct · ed. Thor Sevcenke (Cambridge: Harvard Ukrainian
. . ve1y conten. LetIers a nd
,
. .1tano . .
readmg ofthe essay. Hom1 Bhabha, Carol A. Breckenrid ge Dipesh i
Cult ure
ttoUs the SIa vs m . . Naples: Instituto Uruvers Onenta le, 1991).
Chakrabarty C · ute,
trin Lynch, and Mica Pollock helped me sharpen a number of the' ' a1• Research Inst1t . 1 , see Paul Veyne, "Humanitas," in The Romans, ed. Andrea Giardina
argum ents a d 13· F or Mar t1a .. .
n
bear no responsibility for those that have remained dull. ity of Chicago Press, 1994), 365, and W1lham Harns, Ancient Lit•
(Chic ago: Um·vers .
1. Sheldon Pollock, "India in the Vernacular Millennium: Literary Cultu ·dge · Harvard University Press, 1989), 227. Harns also cites Horace on
1000-1500, ""E/M .. ·
re an d Pohty
. eracy (Cambn
m any o dermties, e d. Shmue1 Eisenstad t, Wolfgang Schluchte r
. · ck, spec1 ·a1·issue ofDaeda lus 127, no. 3 {!998): 41-74 , and . 300-1300: Transculturation,
BJôrn w1ttro . p14�:el don Pollo ck, "The Sanskrit Cosmopolis, A.D.
2. On the important idea of incommunication and its history (exemplifie d · · the Question of Ideology," in
Vernacularization
and The ldeology and Status ofSan-
in the
case of Bangla and Oriya), see Sudipta Kaviraj, "Writing, Speaking, Being: L angu e ed. J. E. M. Houben (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996), 197-
a skrit in South and Southeas t Asia,
and the Historical Formation of ldentities in India," in Nationalstaat und Sprac�­ 247.
lronflikt in Süd- und Südostasien, ed. Dagmar Hellmann-Rajanayagam and Dietmar 1 5. On the history of the concept of Latinitas (" 'Latinness' . .. and especially the
Rothermund (Stuttgart: Steiner, 1992), 25-65, especially 26. literary style that marked the high literature of Rome and those who sought to per­
3. See Roland Robertson, "The Universalism-Particularism Issue," in Globalization: petuate it''), see W. Martin Bloomer, Latinity and Literary Society at Rome (Philadel­
Social Theory and Global Culture (London: Sage, 1992), 102. phia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997), 1-2, where the point is aJso made that
4. For Derrida's unhistorical essentialization ofthe nonessentialized nature oflitera­ Latinitas and orbis terrarum are probably calqued on Hellenismos and oikoumene in
ture, see his Acts of Literature, ed. Derek Atridge (London: Routledge, 1992),espe• the Greek world. We mjght also compare, without speculating on their origins, such
cially 40-49. later terms as Arabiya and Farsiyat.
5. See Norbert Elias, "The Retreat of Sociologists into the Present," in Modern Ger­ 16. Claude Nicolet, Space, Geography, and Politics in the Early Roman Empire (Ann
Ar bor: University of Michigan Press, 1991), 33.
man Sociology, ed. Volker Meja, Dieter Misgeld, and Nico Stehr (New York: Columbia
17- See De Vita Hadriani of Aelius Spartianus 11.1: murumque per octoginta milia pas­
University Press, 1987), 150-72. The greater part of what is purveyed as the "pre·
suum pri mus duxit, qui barbaros Romanosque divideret. Available as of)uly 2000 on­
modern" in a work like Anthony Giddens 's The Consequences of Modernity (Stanford, line at http://www.gmu.edu/departments/fld/cLAss1cs/sha.hadr.html.
Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1990), finds Jittle support, and much contradiction, 18 · Ferg us Millar, The Roman NearEast, 31 B.C.-A.D. 337 (Cambridge: Harvard Uni­
in the historical record of southern Asia. versity Press, 1993).
6. Sejong's demotic reforms in Korea in the mid-fifteenth century, and the devel�p· 19· Ramsay MacMul
len, Changes in the Roman Empire: Essays in the Ordinary
ment of chu-nom script in Vietnam around the same time, clid not produce anythmg _
. · stern
(Pnncet on' N J· • prmceton
· ·
· · • Press, 1990), 32 (see al so 62).
umvers1ty
remotely comparable to what we find m fifteenth-century southern As1a or we 20· In ,'T he Occi dental Tagore," Boston Review 19, no. 5 (1994): 22, Lloyd Rudolph's
Europe. response to Mart
ha Nussbaum's "Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism.» in the same
7. Ulf Hannerz, "Culture between Center and Periphery: Toward a M acroa ntbro· m agazine· Her essay has . . L
. smce been reprinted as For Love of Country: Dtbahng tnt
pology," Ethnos 3-4 (1989): 210-11. .
Ltrmts
of pa trioti
· .s1ty (Bos ton: Beacon Press, 1996). The prominence given to classical
· sm
8. Quentin Skinner, Liberty before Liberalism (Cambridge: Cambridge Univer cosmo poli tani·sm m · contemp . . . .
orary discussions seems { to th1s lapsed class1c1st, at any
Press, 1998), 118.

49 • COS
AN D VE RNAC U LAR IN HIS TORy
MO PO LITAN
48 • S H EL D O N P O L LO C K
 rate) to be m uch exaggerated.
The word /cosmopolites ,�or .
on 1y m
· the m uch-cited (Greek) utteranc • instan ce see i88, 168; Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World (BI oom-
e attributed to o·1ogen . • rns to occur - press, 1991) •
fius•s b"iography, as well as in the es in o·1�
genes L v11iver511Y . 3 University Press, 1984), 465-74.
work of Philo, the (Greek) . · 1n dia11 .
Ale xand na.
· Ne1t · her the word itself nor any of its deri" Jew,s h philoso aer. ingl0n · Ernest Gel·Jner• Nat10ns and ,.atrona u · 1·rsm (v,uord:
'"'--c Blackwell• 1983) , and poI -
at·ives (n or eve pher of S e e
occurs m• 1 • . n cosmopo/is .
33 "Vern acuJar Mil Jenni um," 66-6 7 . Gellner's thesis has been rnuch dise
ussed -
c ass1cal Latin . On Ovid's (ingens) orbis in urbe (Ju " .
. 1 t)• a comrnon t ) Jock• y The State of the Natron: Ernest Gellner and the Theory oif "' "at·1ona1-
N1coJ et, S,pace, Geography, and Politics, 114 rope, see re ce ntl . . .
and cf. 33 . see rno
st
mb rid ge: Carnbndge Umvers1ty Press, 1998)-but not in tcrrns
21. The judg m ent on Stoic timidity is Veyne ohn Hall (Ca
's, "Humanitas" • 348_so. He cit . isTTI, ed- J histo riographical problems.
di scusses Augustus,s Res gestae 3.2 on 353_54 . es a d f fun darnenta!
. On the parth,ans, se e, rnost re o I· 15 arte m pt to grasp these ditferent factors as a whole -agricultural ex-
. " .
Ph1"liP Hardie, F1fth-Century Athenian and ce n1 for a recent .
Augustan Images of the n'. Y, 3· . incre ase, the impact of pastoral nomads, developrnents in state
0ther," Class1cs. Barban a 4a11s1on, PoPulation . . . . .
IreIand 4 (1997): 46-56; Hardie calls attention
to the lon g aft erJI"f, n m m� new_ v e1opmen1s m 1ernton ali . ty .m the subcontinent, see
n - in expla
P d
the images created here. e of tio
e
fo .r m a
An Agrarran H1storyofSouth Asia (Cambndgc: Cambridge University
22. E mbar Krishnamacharya, ed., Suktimuktava �
li or Jalhana • Gaekwad' s 0 • DaVl dLUdden •
senes • . nental press, 1999), cha p. 2' • .,
· 82 ( Baroda: Onen tal Instit�te, 1938), 45.69 (my translation). This
is a good ex- e! do n Pollock, "The Cosmopobtan Ve rnacular, Journal of Asian Studies
ample of what Freud called Vernernung, or the negati 35· See Sh
on whereby repression is sirnul
taneously mai ntained an d denied. ­ 57 (1998): 6-3 7• . . ..
"Vern acular Millenmum, 62-6 5.
.13. Vayupurana 45.82 (my translation); as printed in Willib 36. Po Ilock, .
ald Kirfel, Bharatavarsa Vol. of e d. G. Busnelli and G. Vandelli
37• Dan te• n Con vivio. 5 Opere d1 Dante,
e Le Mo nnier, 1964), 1.10.4 (�o _naturale amore
(Indien): Textgeschichtliche Darstellung zweier geographischen
Purana-Texte nebst (Flore nce: Feli c _
della propria /oquela)
Obersetzung (Stuttgart: W. Kohlham mer, 1931), 36. amore, ma perfettrss,mo amore s1a quello ch' io a {mio Vol­
and 1.13. 10 (non solamente
.14. The phrasing is that of Oliver Wolters, "Khmer 'Hinduism' in the
Seventh Cen­ gare) debbo avere ed ho>: .
tury," Barly South East Asia: Essays in Archaeolo , History and Historical c1te d by Robert Bartlett, The Makmg of Europe: Conquest,
gy Geography, 38_ The Christian poet IS
ed. R. B. Sm ith and W. Watson (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979), 438. The
Colonization and Cultural Change 950-i350 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University
uncentered world of Sanskrit has quite archaic origins; on the problem -in ritual­
Press, 1993), 198: gentem lingua facit. No synthetic accou nt exists of the cultural­
ism , see Charles Malamoud, "Sans lieu n i date: Note sur l'absence de fondation dans political gen ealogies of early modem Europe. See, for now, Nation und Literatur
l'Inde Védique," in Traces de fondation, ed. Marcel Detienne (Louvain: Peeîe;-s;t.99oa im Europa der frühen Neuzeit, ed. Klaus Garbe r (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1989), 36;
183-91. and Susan Reynolds, Kingdoms and Communities in Western Europe 900-1300, 2d ed.
.15. Paul Wheatley, "lndia beyond the Gan ges," Journal of Asian Studies 42 (1982): 28. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997), 250-331.
26. What is said of the mythic emperor Raghu by the poet Kalidasa in the fourth 39. Analogously, the cosm opolitan lan guages in southem Asia are facts of language
century- "His chariot of conques! would rest only at the furthest horizon" (Raghu­ processes them selves (samskrta, "refined"; prakrta, "unrefined"; apabhrashta, "cor­
vamsha 3.5)-would be repeated in reference to other, historical kin gs for centuries rupted"), unlike the ethnonyms of other cosm opolitan languages such as Arabiya,

..
to corne.
27. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (London : Verso, 1983), 20-25. I am
not overloolting the fact that ail these scripts ultimately derive from a single In dian
prototype. My point is that regional graphie diversity was allowed to develop, in fact,
was even sought.
28. See Virgil, The Aeneid of Virgil, ed. T. E. Page (London: MacMillan, 1962), 1.1-7
and H. D. Velankar, ed., Raghuvamsha (Bombay: Nirnaya Sagara Press, 1948), 1.1.
29. Mikhail Bakhtin, The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays (Austin: University of
Texas Press, 1981), 84-258.
30. David Howlett, The English Origins ofOld French Literature (Dublin: Four Cour ts
Press, 1996), 165-66.
31. The vernacular story for Iberia is particularly well told in the writings of the late
Colin Smith, most recently "The Vernacular," in The New Cambridge Medieval His­
tory, vol. 5, ed. David Abulafia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995-2ooo
).
vard
32. See Antonio Gramsci, Selections from Cultural Writings (Cambridge: Har
Parsi, English.
40. For the citation from Lorenzo's commentary on his sonnets, see Douglas M.
Painter, "Humanist Insights and the Vernacular in Sixteenth-Century France," His­
tory of European Ideas 16 (1993): 68. On language prohibition, extermination, and
politics, see Bartlett, Making of Europe, 202-3 (where the envoys to Wenceslas II
are cited). T he cultural practices of Oeccani kings are described in Someshvara's
twelfth-century encyclopedia, the Manasollasa (Baroda: Gaekwad Oriental Series,
1961), vol. 3, l-8 ,
3
1 is the
� · Charles Taylor, for example, is not alone in his conviction that language
essential viable and indispensable pole of identification" and that this identifica tion
ta
� ods outside history. See Pierre Birnbaum, "From Multiculturalism to N ational­
tsm,'' Politic a/ Theor
y 2 4 (1996): 39 (where the Taylor citation is given), and compare
� nlh o ny Appiah, "Ide ntity, Authenticity, Survival." in Charles Taylor, Mulrie11lt1m1I•
the Politics ofRecognition, ed. Amy Gutman (Princeton, N.J.: Prince-
ism: Exa mining
ton Un1v · ers11y Press,
1994), 156.

Sl • COSMOP HISTORY
50 • SHELDON POLLOCK OLITAN AND VERNACULAR IN
 �
42. A modest example is pro
vided in Pollock ' "Th K
e Cosmo oli offered in Jeremy Waldron,
25. p ta n y,ernac trong critique of ymlicka .is " .
T . . .
43 • his 1s c1ted from the RSS pamphle uJar'" 2 o ·
l S (7 9 -8 o). A s Cosm opo li tan Al terna tlve, .
tn The R1ghts of Minority
.
t "W'•denmg Honz . 1, utbec _c uit� and the ty
ons," avaUab �orit� d: Oxford Universi Press, 1995), 93-119 .
ber 1999 on-line at http://www.rss
.org/rss/lI'brary/books ' le asoro s, . Kyrnlicka (Oxfor
htmI por a recent general critique of /W Idenin gH e�
0r·12ons/ m. ,n,r111mt1e �;1 oternationalism and theSecond Comingt in Mapping the Nation
· H'm dutva culture a r"
n d politics, see Th c1i . "" rom Nai . a.n (London: Verso, 1996 ), 267 -80; the texts quoted are on 274_
,-0

ed. K. N . pa nik . e Co 8 s,·d,, G<>PalBaJak' rlShnhe lus 122, no. 3 (1993): 115-40.
cerned Indian's Guide to Communalism,
1999). kar (N ew De lh·1. n. blis d in Daeda
Pengu,
n, e . Qrig.1n3llY p u ha Ch atterjee,
44, See K. R. Malkani, "BJP History. ItsBirth• 6 Ie P art
7 , for eicamP ,
A Possible India: Essays in Political Criticism
· Growth and O nW , 1997 ); R. NagaraJ, Collected Essays (Delhi: Oxford
able as of December 1999 on-line at http·//www ard Ma rch •• avat. S4· · �ord University Press . .
ee D.
. N agaraJ, "Introduct1on," .m Ashis Nandy,
S
·b'Jp.org/hist
45, On the development of the national-popuI ory. h 1111 l (Dtlh1· o . Press, forthco ming ) , an d D . R .
ar, see the ''h· el fui · �e rs it y rd Umver · ·
s1ty Press, 1998 ) . I 1or
r be ar citing my Chicago
gacs, • "National-Popular: Genealogy of a Conce ,, . P ess ay ofDavid F Uni· me (Delhi: Oxfo
pt • m Tne Cult. ura or. f.x1·ted at Ho w1t
· h th ese ·
questlons ·is on display m this volume.
I Studies agernent ·
ed.Simon During (London: Routledge, 1 ) , whose eng
1 _ coUeagues . p uts several of these ideas well (see A Possible India, especially 26i-
993 ' 77 90. Reader,
· w et 1 1 eav e 11 to 01hers to
mine h her Porgacs is cor rect to state that Grams . . deter· hatterJe e . he evmces . .
ci be11eved t hat' · 55· C iVJty should not be bhthely generalized' how-
cosmopohtan . traditions of the Italian intellectuals had . m gene ral'
"the 2 a n d 2 8 0-85) · The sensit . .
•
1 og1cal . .
act1V1ty by wh1ch . 1mp ede d the 11101ec
ular ideo.
6
h th er t· n the sphere of• power or culture. Cons1der how, m a fit of rnisguided
[an intellectual and moral] reiorm . er, w umst Party-Manust government of West.Bengal in 1981
ation could be b sm, the eomrn ·
e
roughi e
about" (186). ve'frnac.u]ari · m
ctton · e1ementary educatlon; · this law was re-
. Eoglish-medium mstru
46. Gramsci, Selections from Cultural Writings, 26o-6i
("]u1·1an Benda,,) pro h1b1ted heate d protest s by
.
working-class people who were outraged at
']e '1s "Comment Be . 8 after
art1c un écrivain sert-il l'universel?" Les nouve 11es . · nd•as seinde d in 199
1ittérai.res' 2 Nove es for adva ncement bemg . deme ' d to t hem (a precedent ignored by
b er 1929, 1. (I make reference to material from the original a t' m- the opportuniti ·
d � smu . ·1ar 1aw regarding
Tamil Nad u, wh..ich .mst1tute
·
r 1c1e mas Tamil in
the government of
• much as it
known to Gramsci,. though not explicitly addressed in his note.
.
was
. Ben d • . ) Th'is 1argely restate The attemp t to preserve vernaculanty on the backs of the poor is a
'1d eas m a s La trahison des clercs (Paris: Grasset' 1927-• cf· 9 99, 29 s autum 99 n 1 8).
7- 6 -98), which y; see Gramsci, Selections from Cultural Writings, 166.
. .
1S a sull-troublesome text.See, for example, Ernest Gellner• "La trah·,s familia r Jiberal strateg
on de 1a trahi _ S H Bhab ha, "Signs Taken for Wonders;' in The Location of Culture (Lon­
son des clercs," in The P litical Responsibility of Intellectua/s, ed. Jan Maclean 56 ee omi
� , Ala� don: Rout ledge , 1996 ), especially 112-15.
Montefiore, and Peter Wmch (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990). Beck,
For 57 . Ulrich The Reinvention ofPolitics: Rethinking Modernity in the Global Social
the ideal that ule clerc doit se p r oclamer non-pratique" (except, evidently, when he 1997) .
Order (Oxford: Polity P ress,
demands the reform of the cléricature), seeBenda, La trahison des clercs, 231•35.
47. The signatories of this hypernationalist document, "Pour un parti de l'intel­
ligence," included Paul Bourget, Maurice Barrès, Jacques Maritain, and Francis
Jammes.
48. Ernest Renan, saysBenda, is not a "necessaryeffect" of the French consciousness,
but "an arbitrary, even unfor eseeable event," and his tr ue particularity and value lie
in the degree of his di.lference from the group of which he is pa r t, in the way that any
human being's value is what sets him or her apart from the species ("Comment un
écrivain sert-il l'universel?," 1).
y pre·
49. Benda himself, as we can see in hindsight, was dead wrong-or grossl
that
mature-to infer (on the grounds that one does not pray for the healthy)
the

fervor with which the "nationalization of the esprit" was being preached
in 192 9 ig·
s

naled its imminent dissolution in a new European consciousness,

ns of the Risor-
50. G ramsci, Selectionsfrom Cultural Writings, 246-47 ("Interpretatio
gimento [ii]").
51. Gramsci, Selections from Cultural Writings, 246.
Press, i995),_ 76•
52 . Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship (Oxford: Clar endon
1 Aroencan
t 've
Bo, 93. Despite h1s Gellnen. an mode!, Kymhck . a somehow counts a
N
. ans 0r
like those of the Puerto ruc
cultures as "genuinely distinct societal cultures,"
.
S) • COSM
OPOLITAN
52 * SHELDON POLLOCK
AND VERNACULAR IN HISTORY
 th em in large numbers from impoverished rural
P o p le corne to · d retam.. The ne . hm. thes e cities
s""ÎP· eork 1. s often di fficult to .ob tam an .
Spectral Houslng
.
and Urban Cle
w of their hve s as . possible, travelling from guarded
area5•
ansing:

O gat k
e as mu ch
Notes on Millen
t . d'1t o ed oflices, movmg . always in an
s c e k ened s to air-con 1 n
car
nial Mumbai
s to d ar
11om e f rivil ege through
the heat of public pov erty and the dust
Arjun Appadurai
o p eO P · · wher e cnme · an ·mt egral
envel es
.
s1on. Frequen tly,
th e se are c1t1es · 1s
. 0 55 . . .
of di P .
1c . al ord er
1p and where fear of the poor 1s steadily mcreasing.
f rn u n
p ar t O cir c ulation ofw alth in the
5

here the form of cash is

e are c1•ties w
Afld t hes. se, but the sources ofcash are always restricted,
e

ous a n d i m men
ostent a.u ble. Put another way, even for those who have
o us, or unpredicta .
rnYsteri search for cash m order to make : ends
A BRIEF HISTO

. wa ges, the meet

RY OF DECO

Cities like Bombay- now Mu a lar 1e s or

SMOPOLI

. ur e s . .
TANIZAT

mba1- h ave no clear s ec shot through .

ION

. Th us ever yday life 1s w1th soc1ally medi ated

told so far that lmk p1ace m. thest •15 en• dless. b - ween friends, neighbors, and coworke rs-stretched
Iate capitalism ' globalizat· orj.,
. ion, pos t-Ford' t bet
growmg dematerialization of cap . isrn, andt ..., chains O fde
ital • The·1r h'1story
1s une:'en- e
h on tinuum between m uItmatlon · · al banks and oth e r organized
sense made commonsensical by a cer in t he across the c
tain critical t rad'iti.o one hand, and loan sharks and thugs, on the other.
.
It is also charac tenz .
ed bydisjunct ' yet ad1·acent, h'
n m Marx:.1s
rn. Jenders, on the
. city. lt has an interesting history as a set offish-
. . .
t1es. In such c1t1e
1stones and temp
oraJi._ Bombay is o such ne
.
\'
s, Fordist manufacture• craft and . named after local goddesses, linked by bridge s and
ing vil lages, many
'
. artis anal producti.
service economies involving Jaw, leisure, finan on, a seat of colonial government in west ern
. . . ce, and bank.mg, an
d vir causeWays and turned into !
tual econom1es mvolvmg globa l finance capital Jndia. Later, in the second halfof the nineteenth century, it blossomed
. . and Joc aI s toc k m. ark
. ets ••
�
live m an uneasy ml.X. Certa mly, these cities are the loci ofthe
pra cti as a site ofcommer cially oriented bourgeois nationalism, and, until the
.
of predat�ry global capita l - here �um�ai belongs with Bangkok,Hong 195 0s, it retained the ethos of a well-managed, Fordist city, dominated
ces

Kong, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Mexico City, London, and Singa
pore. But
these cities also produce the social black holes of the effort to embrace
and seduce global capital in their own particular ways, which are tied
to varied histories (colonial and otherwise), varied political cultures of
citizenship and r ule, and varied ecologies of production and finance.
Such p articularities appear as images of globalization that are cracked
and refracted. They are also instances of the elusiveness of global flows
at the beginning of the new millennium.
Typically, these cities are large (10-15 million people) and are cur- . i
econo-
rently shifting from economies of m anufacture and indust ry to
more poor 1
mies of trade, tourism, and finance. They usually attract
they can absorb.
people than they c an handle and more capital than
and power ibroug
They offer the m agic of wealth, celebrity, glamour, at are
h
by commerce, trade, and manufacture, especially in the realm of tex­
tiles. Weil into the 1970s, in spite of phenomenal growth in its popula­ s
tion and increasing strain on its infrastructure, Bombay remained a civic t
mode! for India. Most people with jobs had housing; most basic services
l
(such as gas, electricity, water, and m ilk) reliably reached the salaried
1
middle classes. The laboring classes had reasonably secure occupational
niches. The truly destitute were always there, but even they fit into a
complex subeconomy of pavement dwelling, rag picking, petty crime,
and charity.
Until about 1960, the trains bringing in white- and blue-collar
workers fro m the outer suburbs to the commercial and political core
of the city (the For t area
in South Bomb ay) seemed to be able to move
p eople around with
some dignity and reliability and at relatively low
co st. T he same was
_ true of the city's buses, bicycles, and trams. A three-

. ow economies th m1le bus r·d • ·

their m ass medi a. But they often contam shad 1 e ID · 1965 Bombay cost about 15 pa1se (roughlythe equ1·va1ent
0� two U.S.
difficult to measure in traditional terms. . . n· ' cents at then-current rates). People actually observed the
site of vario us unce rtam· ues
· ab out c1t1ze etiquette of que
uing in most public contexts, and buses always stopped
Such cities, too, are the
55 • S p E CîRA
L HOUSING AND URBAN CLU.NSING
 .,
at �us stops rather than fift •·d ·n Ayodhya (in the state of Uttar Pradesh in
y feet befo re or after t h a br i MasJt i bay's Hindu
India today). em (as i n rno
St Of . of the B . du vandals on 6 December 1992. Bom
b uslim
Sometime in the 1970s all this beg
an to change and a l unonrth 111d ia) �inJ-iinth_,s period to join the national frenzy of anti-M . .
began to emerge from beneath the ma i o ge d . 1ence too had a Bombay. fl a vor. In keep mg with
surface of the cosm l"g na nt city .r1ght maJ13 th1S . VIO ' ' , . .
of the pno • r pen.od. The change was not op o i tan ethos ce, but Shiva Senas pecultar mtXof reg1onal chau-
sudde an . v1•olen wo decades of the .
v1s1
. "ble m. all spheres. But it was unmistak n, d it was not equa11y fll0re th 30 t
nali st h yste rics, Bombay ,s Hmdu . s managed to VlO-
able. Jobs became h d . aD d nau. o · a l, and H"mdu space. The
d, nat1on
get. More rural arrivals in the city foun
d themse1ves econom1c . ar er to viJl1SJll it . e urban space as sacre · ·
r o
SIums and shacks began to proliferate.
The wealthY began to
refu gees. lent1Y rew th1s . gradual ethnicizmg of India' s most cosmop litan c1ty
.
vous. The m1ddle classes had to wrestle get ner. decades Of os, 19g05' and into
the 1990s) were also the decades
with overcrowded stree h th e 1 97
buses, skyrocketm . es, and maddening traffi
• g pnc ts and (roug lY a site of crucial changes in trade, finance, and
c. The P1aces of le1su b becam e . part an euor
and p1easure- the great promenades alon . re When B om ay ufacture. This essay 1s . m a t to capture this
g the shore of the Arab1an S a tr1·a1 m an s of ethnographie
e i nd u now to a serie
the wonderfu1 parks and maidans (open gras cumstantial lin.k. I turn
5

and pastune . s fields designed c,or spor

t Jllore th� cir pur pose is to think through the complex caus­
· m · the colonial era), the cinema halls and tea
stalls-began .10tervenuons whose
to show the wear and tear of hypermodernization the steady demateriali:zation of Bombay's
. . . es 1hat roediate between
s this pro ess began to take its toll on all but ahu
relentless hype · of ·1ts otJze
rmaten·ali zanon · · ns through
. � � the wealthiest of the econ o my and the . . lence.
c1ty s population, the groundwork was laid for the and public VJo
birth of the most ewnic roobi"lization
•
,L
markedly xenophobic regional party in India-the Shiva far that Bombay belongs to a group of cities in
Sena-which 1 have suggested so
formed in 1966 as a pro-native, Marathi-centered, movement local poverty articulate a growing contradic­
for ethnie which global wealth and
control of Bombay. Today the Shiva Sena controls the city and the state effort to illuminate a general class of city
tion. But this essay is not an
and has a signi.ficant national profile as one of the many parties that effort to recognize two specifici­
or 3 global urban dilemma. It is ano
ity. The first is to
form the Sangh Parivar (or coalition of Hindu chauvinist parties-). :Its ties about Bombay that mark and prduce its singular
platform combines language chauvinism (Marathi) , regional primo�ili� note the peculiar ambiguit ies that divide and connect cash and capital
alism (a cuit of the regional state of Maharashtra), and a commitment to ··­ (two quite distinct forms of wealth) from one another. The second is
a Hinduized India (Hindutva, the land of Hinduness). The Shiva Sena's to show that this disjuncture is part of what rnight let us understand
appeal goes back at Jeast to 1956, shortly before Bombay was made the the peculiar ways in which cosmopolitanism in Bombay has been vio­
capital of the new linguistic state of Maharashtra and after intense riot­ lently compromised in its recent history. I do this by sketching a set of
ing in Bombay over the competing daims of Gujaratis for Bombay to be circumstances to make an argument about wealth, housing, and ethnie
in their own new linguistic state. In retrospect, 1956 marks a moment violence, that is, at this stage, circumstantial. Future work on Mumbai
when Bombay became Mumbai, the name now insisted on by the official may allow me to be more precise about causalities and more defuùte
machineries of the city, ail of which have been influenced by the Shiva about comparisons.
Sena. Since this period, mostly t!Jrough t!Je active and coercive tactics
of t!Je Shiva Sena and its cadres, Bombay's Marathi speakers have been
urged to see the city as theirs, and every few years a new enemy is found
CITY OF CASH

among t!Je city's minorities: Tamil clerks, Hindi-speaking cabdrivers, In some ways, Bombay is as familiar
with the history of capital as
Sikh businessmen, Malayali coconut vendors -each has provided the the most imp orta
nt cities of Europe and t!Je United States. Long a site
"allogenic" flavor of the month (or year). of seafari ng com
merce, imperial trade, and colonial power, Bombay's
colonia l elite-P
A high point of this ethnicization of the city was reached in late 1992. arsis, Muslims, and Hindus (as wcll as Baghdadi Jcws.
uc- Syrian Christians
and early 1993, when riots broke out throughout India after the destr , Armenians, and other exotics)- helped shape indus-
57 • SPEC
56 • ARJUN APPAOURAI TRAL HOUSING ANO
URIIAlf CLl!ANSING
 ers ra cket then was tied to the daily close
trial capitalism in the twilight of an
earlier world econom . trade. 'fhe nu mb
. bu. f htS E,c han ge (or so I was told), and this flashy fel-
the Indian Ocean. That earher world economy (made v yv" 11t arou n d renC'f o York Corton c soundmg . from his
.
Ghosh's ln An Antique Land) can still . i d. .
. psed in the tr iffi tn Arn1ta
ew g around with a little jingle
be ghm of the N r tired o f strollin ( etel nut rolled in betel leaf)
a c ofd v ve ou t pan b
between the west coast of India and the
states of the Persi an G hfows JoW lle o ul d lau gh as he b gh
ew d1·t"·, and when the panwalla wouId grab
the escalating illegal traffic in gold along ul .
this circuit, in the mov ' tn ch es t J-I local panwalla "on cre ing, gently guard.mg
of thousands of m_ïgrants to the Gu!f sta�e
s from Kerala and else
ern ent o .th e parent pocket, he would füt away, laugh
wher fr tll_ trans were still tokens of wealth then. Today,
on the west coast, m the post-OPEC mvas1on
of Arab tourists into B e for h1S
s n ear bis heart. Coins
n
bay seeking the pleasures of the monsoon,
cheap medical care, t he
orn. th e coi d eed aper m o ney in order not to look s1·11y.
ul n , and wea1th were linlce d•
trade, and the cheaper-than-Harrod's pric fles h he w o P w1. de1y .c
ielt that cash, chance
es for many delicious goo And it w as also th. Tauw
Bombay's citizens began to complain that
they could no longer afford
ds.
a e n bers racke teer' who happened to corne. from e ,__ :,
their favorite summer fruit- the Alphonso rh·i s s rn UIJl could speak to me in my native Tanu·1, always
mango-because expor ts t
o ut h o f In d'ia and thus . .
the Middle East had shrunk local supplies so e street to ask • with a half smile, for me to g1ve.him
and pushed mango prices grabbed rn e on th
beyond their reach. them to place his own bets. At lS.5\le
b s so that he could use
Partly because of its huge film industry 1wo nurn er . smail ch1dren
.
as bearers of good luck, 1diot savants
(still among the world's wa s sorn e n o u on of i
largest); partly because of its powerful role in T and I , a Br ahmi. n child from a respectable Tarnil f;:..-:1 éllll.Uy,
trade, banking, and com­ of probabi ty, .
merce; and partly because of its manufacturing i Ourgeois p rudence as well. This flashy hood some-
tiles but extending to metalworks, automobile
sector, centered on tex­ prob ably embod. 1ed b. • •
bosses, tumed into a hum1hated beggar over a
dustries, and more-for alI these reasons, Bombay
factories, chemical in­ h ow fell out w1th his
was quintessentially a cosmopolis of commerce. Peopl
after World War II pen·od of a few years, and, spurned by those very street people he had
out of
through "business" (a word taken over from English and
e met in and used and perh aps cheated, died broke. He surely never moved .
used to indi­ the magic · 1e of cash into
· erre the hazy world of bank accounts, msurance
cate professions, transactions, deals, and a whole ethos of comm
erce-);_ • savings, or other prudential strategies. He represented the raw
p olic1es,
and through "business" they forged and reproduced links across neigh� .
­ end of the cash economy. Today, the numbe rs trade, still a ma1or part
borhoods, ethnicities, and regional origins. No ethnicity in Bombay es­
of Bombay's street economy, has shifted away from the pr to-global
caped stereotyping, and ail stereotyping had its portfolio ofjokes. What �
link to U.S. commodity markets to-so the popular narrative goes­
counted was the color of money.
the play of pure chance: the pulling of cards out of a pot in a rumored­
And money leads a complex Jife in today's Mumbai. 1t is locked,
to-be real location in suburban Bombay every evening, with runners
hoarded, stored, and secreted in every possible way: injewelry, in bank
fanning out in minutes t o report the results. T his system is simply called
accounts, in household safes and mattresses, in land and housing and
matka (pot).
dowries, in boxes and purses and coffee tins, and behind shirts and
Yet there is a lot of interest in today's Bomba in such things as bank
blouses. It is frequently hidden money, made visible only in the fantas­ y
accounts, shares, and insurance
tic forms of cars and mansions, sharp suits and expensive restaurants, policies- instruments all concerned
with protecting money,
huge fiats and large numbers of servants. But even more, Mumbai is a providing against hazard, hedging risk, and en­
abling enterprise.
city of visible money-of cash-where wads, stacks, piles of rupees are Bombay's commercial economy includes a large part
of its citizen ry.
openly and joyously transacted. Even poor wage-earners strive to have small savings ac­
counts (w ith pass
I remember a local street hood in my 1950s Bombay neighborhood books) and, more fascinating, no one is immune from
tbe seduction
who managed to become the local controller of the numbers racket. He of "whole-life" insurance. I have sometimes suspected
tbat all of lndi
wore a terylene shirt with semi-transparent pockets in which there was a is divided into two groups: those who sell insurancc
(an extremely
popular trade for the le� credentiale among the literatc
always the glimmer and clink of a huge number of little coins, the cur- classes) a n d
d those who buy these
p olicie s. In Bom bay, the Life lnsur-
58 • AR J UN A P PA DUR A 1 59 • s PECT
RAL HOUSIN
G AND URISAN CllAKSING
 ance Corpo
. rat ion of lnd'ra . s . yh
c1ty bloc k-a monu r marnf oused . it is r d il
Ill a b uild most circles -insofaras ea
men tal vau
lt that co nt . in g th c o n s de red real- in .
y
e s· ill . sp . ,
p
cie s bough t an
a rn s h u yI·5 5t dominant en tenon o f pro e nty
al
sm t ndreds 0 11e . ty •
rs the
d of th IZe o L1 qui '
f

h s ofd most .,
i

ano t e r. S a n . ofte fr
o

g as ea rlyas the n om one ind oUsa ""' 'ble to cash, an d m . dividual s. New understandi n gs ofmon e-
o li

b t rt f ;i
di

g r 196os,ordrn . ary •d · . llds cD11vertJ th ,orp orat· tons

e a n to s or
t h e be nefits of var . m 1 dle-cJass h uai'"•d mortgages, and other teehn'1cal t e m-
k rous f,orm r bO ch as cred'it•
, s of o to fo be0omena 5u too,
sh old c s s ha , and related in struments Th corporate paper, llsew i g Bom bay- and that ,
ee

ow enterin fo r
t

p
- n
res
er e � o
incl d es
u \'· 1arral derivau. ves" are on1y n .mternatton. al
t sold- and their irc ughtrn " n th e most sophistica ted an
c ulation. thr:s: : ost1y or Jasses E ve d
ddI
e o

k ts kwas re st ir ct ed and slu gis until th t o i� P·11s upPer mi c . e'I strateg1s · . s and czars, who are now responsible fo
g s financia ... r
e Iast fevanou
h'
mar f finan
e

et h w ent, fin
B sb ave b e gun to get f a ye ars, W 11ati• o nal tly on the map of global investm
henn r ..o ,a r. b ay permanen d it
g t

st' volatile
ia

ut a ck • h •g' h-volume• g Bom

o
cas h. M uch of Bomb a nd s pecu ey pu ttl·n e n su us pp eals of c ash. We a lth is u nd er st ood
ay's film . ind Jatve ca th e
so- c
n

ed black mone UStry runs

on cas i b it is never seen as fully real in forms of pape r
all t

y . This is a huge m to es P.
a

th . dust dif!i tr action, ut

s e o

ry that produ . abs

re e-hundre ces rnore h -
cult

. . 10 bean
d Hindi films a ye ar for aworld n 'urrency.
wi'd e market. and h t are not
re nues at the box office. reaps a tha . s are not primarily what moves global wealth th u gh
. ve As a shrewd lo h uge in
B i. lls and co
t

ca 1analyst sa1d
ro

IS no re al m i dustry to me, ent offices, and corpora te hea -

fil. in Bombay sin
, ce there .1s no money th e re dust n ·a1 hous es' governrn d
th . Bornba y• s · m
m a e and mves e d within the y are s till the h alhna rk s of wealt h and sociability, an-
d n

. t world of film-R t th
a th
� fil
m �at� q uarter s, bu
no tono y gra y a rea of spe . . world ofinv isible wealt h .This is ashadow econ-
e

h · h us
1S
culation, solicitation• bo - h f mate . a1 1ty ma
l t

risk• and v10 . ch ors

w 1 c the key p a yer s 1enceg · h dow s take on their density from the steady flow o
is a
n

are men who have made o r ny whose very s a f

killings in other mar
O

(s u ch as the gram trade, tex iles, or . 'tn s d co• in s thr ou gh the lives of many kmds . oftransactors. Nor
othe commodities). Sorne of th et k
l

rea 1 bll an
i s . . . -
t

to ke e p t e r moneyout of the m . . US ein g the tax collector. It 1s also money seekmg un

r

see ne
is thlS J t mo y fl e
k

h i hands of the government,t

osp ­ . . .
la t e on e an of financing a hit ecu me . at e expe n di t ur e• racin g from pocket to pocket without the log1 st1. -
e

th ch film and to get the bonus ofhang

di

in co e . .
v rsion, storage, restnct:Jon, accountmg, and dematen- .
o t th s ars cal drag of n
c e

as well. Thi s sounds similar to the Hollywood patt

bu w i
th

u it an n
e

e
al i za tion t o sl ow th e fu eh l of consumption. And this is true for the poo r
t

en r
is t e ly arbi rary cast o characters who might finance a film,�
ir

er y o u want 10 rupees to send to u r m

f

a n d for th r .
t

et o the r in
t

so m c u h time is s pent by "producers" in trolling for busines smenw e i chWh yo

it h a pos t al m one yorde r or 4,000 ru pees to ha ve a bottle of Chivas Reg
al
r io
us c h as on their hands . And since thes e bankrotls are very larg e,
delivered t o your o d or, c h is king. The rest is rumor.
s e

the industry pay s b l ockbuster pr ces for stars, and the entire cult u as
i ral Note that n o ne of i s as much to do with galloping inflation, an
o f t e film world revolves around large cash tran actions th h y
ec n yo h s in ple ki d
om

s n d o feti hi zation , or the absence of immense local skills n

black mon ey. P e riodically big stars or producers are raided by income
im f

i
mone h n
y bala l ng, cr i,t tra
s

e , and trust
- b ased transactions that ar
i d

ts is off e red
ed

t off i s , and a media b l oodletting abo ut se ze ass e to e

ax e p c
i a

th blii i d truly glo . ltis enti r y wro n g t im ine

limi ed trus . O th el that cash transactions imp
c , b siness as usual resumes " . ,, . ly
b ; t t n e c n r
o a

Thi , since partingw ith cash is decisively te ­

g

ess world, m uge ak o t ary

e

thi:
r

o
s s r t of c as h is everywhere in Bombays busm
u efo u

� min , v gand
i g cash requires larger amounts oftrust than deal­
al i in

g th n
r

mento get t
d p e ts o gov e rnment officias or business si n
rum roe a ym n t i in o e r s of
mo g re th so h monet ar y i nst ruments. Cash handed over-even
n the daily small-scale traffic in black mar�e n
d on e • an d equally i
r t

in ot c
e ases in e world-vanishe s without a trace. Th
t

e pro­ diam d in
payment
o hc
o du tr r fo e
re ign goods, numbers rac ket r
a

ticke s ,sm ggled fo has n s y, pl

th
, which links cutters and polishers in
It
t u

ex. am
t
pa ymen ts, w a ge payments t manua11 abo r
andsso , pon. coasta
ec o e half Ant welr Suratd(G ja ra t) th c ast e- li nked trad rs in Bombay,
e

{
di mightb wi London,
n o u

. e
ti

p,a b y nd
th he "p ara llel" or "black" ec�nomy m n 1: th n is
be n e said a tt . m a , e
every v bie fo
e o ,
an ex q u i ite c
b a a a rm c di ase of o b t s rs at u s e
the tax-gen erat n g, n
i la ec o o y
offi c m B o y
s

aga n as lar ge i o r e t ( ased on tru s )g lbual r ran th

f

un o
i
as
il

hi h a t fe
n t he fuel o
b

b t
ra tio is pro a l g e r
.
h r dcash a t e v r y
. . f
b cn. •
y e ti ca1 s twi ch point.

60 R N A p p A D U R A 1
• A J U
61 • Sp
ECTRAL HOUSI GN AND U R
BA NCLEAN SI GN
 N r is thi
o c
&a u d th ghs borruh pt .on-at-lar
ou i
B omb ' ge, W he re cash . 1s b 1N G
as h mot b ·1e xst i n su b s t a
1 ntial rn est for exto . L 11ous
ay •1.
t e eas rt10 in Bombay. This s so
o
1 e and rn
a . l ins tantiafures .R at her , 'ash
t ena
s
th at housing is scarce
re d tosa y
1�
1
1

a kn own to beso I run a n a stract 1y. u t

p EC

mod . ti.za i o f the af rg e h

a s1 0 b . 0n off, J . . banality scarcely ev er discussed b
1 e trn":1 a ter al. This is orrns o f Wea is a ue th at - it 1 · 5 B
es .
t no s h 10 f i , ., wn to be tr resources, plans, hopes, and d rr es
1

i a i lt .
c r cy h i its lf t t h hat , 0 ns about
th;ore ne arlya 7 nv e rsat10 .
v1s ��1b i
en s treat dn a festishizatio n of o ·delY,__..rnany co . ru
u
e

ere c vil those who live .m mult1rr· on-

) sn c as pow erf uJ in c ornrnodity . "! haun
15
ns, r an g1•ng from . .
·
e th . llJ . i ze who pay prote ctio n money for nghts to six
e
1
e m b dd d oint ti S :
h

g aJ] of 1ts cit h

e

r en_c
y b e hind the currency :tehxtrerne. What• 1
e
. afllon es t t ose .
01:t o . . e when Jobs are
the t o o v g curre� and b : in. nenthoUS aq ed u ct. It is always at issu
in cy a
do)Jar r-- • spa c e m 1an u
e
m s ve d
e

r o und m �t the llt .

s
gene aJil zedcir )ypow e r fiuife
eepl takes . etilh sJ e p g when mar i r ages are negotta te d
- ttshes if you ill aterialtties th f ee of e d lll whe re w1• 1 you live?),
e

r c
u t·o n W a t art e
1 n e (But . ry?), when
i . Cash h
- and p i of y ur at a s pa r t of h1s dow
o
from a very differ a t co t ere, to borrow Fredric Uts them to Jll ent o ive y
son par t fl.
. .
en ,
Wh n e t, . IS a
x centr 1 .
J ameson's in (Will you g ..m d ( s u
o s
A s ho k st ay mgw1th you now?) or w e hn
h r in
at a " signature of the . ase . s are v sulte I c . g. m and out ofeac
n

k w b f gom
hazi - bwe fo r o a bo t u B m ay .
_ in the h ce t v1s. 1bJp e ". rel at1 ve 1 1 n th e id e ntiti e s o pe o p 1 e
h
y e e nin e en t ne hbors spe c a t e o
th a t. e n ury , o r both?).
o

and ig an a a
thro k t unof , ce rt ain)ysugg es t o re t ve
te

ts that cas • fi ts (ls X a s u t b en r l i

ug var ous
l

ns h and·1 . a
s housmg scene moves us b -e
h

i d
i

com m e r ce w t s c1rc-m u1 ore. o th r 5 f trality in bay'

e
. c B m
was the guar of cos 1 "' eak o s p f e
o
as a vital ingredient ofs li�lt on .
a nd an te e m .
o p · 1tan ism b ecaus e .
o c. 1a 10 p m . . e o in qu ty into th e xp en en ce ofshortage, specu -
dth s p mcs
ali

va e , its l c its sources y.

were d1' St 1 ee
o

r o al t raffic crossed isati on. It marks the space of specu-

i d
d. pub i c impro v
e
y io
ethn. 1c and r · tan 1 1ot n c r w mg,an
l
d
en�e was b h n .
��o�� hnes, and its p es.
t n o
ot e re p ren e urial
la att .o n ' a d c ies empty scenes of dissol ed industry, fant asies of
t

t r opi s i and civic The r

n spe u ar ' f
l it v

p an st importance of Par s .
n l ni n umors o r al e t1on pa ttern
rans rs, consurnp
hil

e e � of n a i n s
h

ce tu y B public!if .metee g r st.. oat t

th ci vi and an p
fe
nth- and twe r 'ir . . ir own
b e

n r is one o nti . the spat a prec o di ns,an

e

o f ma n e th uth t v i la bodes i that are the

mb
a tt
l
a a i n d
p blic
sp ere . y ex mp les o f t h c o m . o te
u s opolitanism of i ts hou sin . Th ab s gh ostly, the spe culative, th e fantast ic a.li have
h
,
ay
e g n t e
t h

Wh t h n
a t e is the ir p art t p ay i t e sim ane u s a n d Jacks of Bomb ay'
o s excess e
e e

y about cash. m the c. 1ty

ul

l s
da h
to n
ne w of cash? On
·i th at and o e It i th xp e ri d h
housing sc b
t

s cas cap ta ha e s s en e
c a sur t ies t a twarr an t my use
h

e e e
di

ve cor n e to re ate in a new .

en

m n · B b i • l and ,·ont eda ra � ict r a

o ry o fthe term spe ctra l in s ing h
an er s in and i ts lack are grossly
l
u
m om ay m e the 1970 s. Whi e ca sh st
c t
ill does i s circulao t e tt w ere ho s g
alitie
wo k . e real What are th s sw ll n r s?
. r ,_ guaran a com p x web of soci al and economic re lationsa ry
l

. o e
fa c g tha nd The social tra ffi o B
m e e e

md e c n om a ' se ra ord i naryvit al m e tropolitan tra

tee l
xt
b

e x gt
h
t t ofBomb ay is "business," capital y in
m

service is entire y pr mis d

b ne ss
th in
e usi
Bom h s b come o re a nxiou s This can be seen in two a eas. Th e on the fa that m o ns of people trave
ay e m . r illi l
b
e inc ea singly huge di t an
ct

firs t s the flig

l e

s ces (two h o
a

ht of ustr capita l away f rom the city, which is ad­ r urs and y m es is not uncom­
i in d i aJ fift il
dres dl i mo n) to get from home to n
.
ate r n thi s essay wor and b a k . d m an y of them undergo
c
se
k

h e seco nd is that financial capital in Bom­ A

T com plex transform ati on s int
, ur
disjunct re gister s: as the bas is for multinatio al
es in se v ran s t ning from oppressed dwellersin
it

ba opera eraJ
t

shanty towns, siums, and dis

y n
ho i g
osa e s
u n into well-dressed clerks
bl

corpo ra ons tempted by new ma r k et seductions in Indîa, as specula­ nurses, postmen bank tellersp
ti

tiv e cap i l o reneur

, , an secre ari . eir " hm es are ofte�
ille ga or black marke ts , and as entrep e s Th
d

t o "
i

ta per at g in al unstable products - ab nco . 1 a e o fsh dd

in

J g
energy o is in c r easin gly d ifficult to coordin t e
o y materi s , in s cure socialre
gin a ty w re i t 1at · ons, poor san·t al e -
a

c
ti

p rae 1 f on
a i , an d nea �
i
h
n

i k
e

the facto rs f a still gov­ r a a c f pri a cy. As hey

s pro d uction. Yet a large cash economy o o
l

int0 t he1r . pla ces of work • th' t t l v t move

aJ
c pi
o t i vast arm f th
t

e d le and working
erns B onship betwee n cash and capit
alcanbe class es usually 1s yo
d

om y. This une y as rel ati moves .i n t o mo f im

b

s c o
a
� c
see n ina v ariet
f t place to �o�l w re e ur e pac e o re s s g t ,c
o arenas
, u b t housingis per haps the bes and pred· t bT ni io n omfort
y their1' bs1c a h1 ity than the "h m " they r t u
o rn a gh ,
how thi disj la s c e con t1· ons s 1ty are arsh p e s e to t n i t cven whe�
unc t re tio n h p h e ps reat e th f po s 1b il oor1Y p i"d, or d n ro .
i l

s
0 o

' a g
di
fo ethnie vi en ce . us
o th· s a
l

r not
e

And i d o e t r y e i ut e s
es
sp ak O f
the u.l d t t : be gga rs; homcless
6 3 •
62 A RJ N A p SPECTRA
PA
U
,. D U RA 1
l HOU S ING AND U R
B A SING
N CL!A N
 children-' the maimed and the disfigured; the abandon
ed wo , 1·s subJ·ect to socially negotiated arrangements.
small children; and the aged who wander deaf, dumb e
'or bh. nctll1 hn With l d verh angs ese insecure spaces 1s m the hands of semi-
ai s, aJ1 ° v
l o er th
. .

Bombay's streets. These are the truly "hom eless," who t rough
ander lik
w
o ft en, c.ontro and extortJon. shade .mto one another.
counterparts in other world cities from Chicag o and W Johan n e theit
yerY e, where rent
. ,ga11ize.d crunapar tment buildings of the rich and upper middle dass,
Fran.kfurt and Bangkok. These are m som e cas es "stree e s bUrg 10 e
t Even in th
though this category must not be taken to be wholly gene . PeoP e," a(.
l commerdai core of South Bombay and in the posh areas
o

. . . nc acr0 s 5 pe ci ailY i .e
n th
e uffe Parade, Worli, and Bandra, there is a constant
ferent cities and societies. And that 1s because the streets s dif. l a bar H111 ' c
. space and thern of M a poor. The poor set up house anywhere they can
constitute spec1fi. c forms of public
traffic. s eJves from the bous e
pre ssure out a thin sheet to sleep on . As domestic ser­
Much could be said about Indian street life and the J'f,e re d stretch
. i of B ornb ,
a iI ght a fi �en have small rooms in the large apartment buildings of
streets in respect to housmg. But a few obser vati ons must vants, they
o
suffic e 8 y s
bay's "pavement dwellers" (like Calcutta's) have been mad c . 01ll- . an d these servants (for whom such housing is a huge privilege)
. . e a . the neh' . . ds and dependents, who spill out into the stairwells,
both sociology and popular media. It 1s tru e that there is , rnoUs 1n often bnng
fr ien
a v ast and nds, and the foyers. The official tenants, owners,
semiorganized part of Bombay's population that lives on p the encl osed compou ·
avernent a constant war agamst th"1s col omzation · · fr. om b e1 ow,
or' more exactly, on particular spots, stretches, and are as that a and Iandlords wage
re ne1. th-er . ntly Jost because- as m · ail soc1et1es
· · b ased on finana·a1
building nor street. These pavement dwellers are often able to
kee the 1r. but .it is. fr eque as servants but far away as
wan ts the poor near at hand
persona! belongings with others in shops or kiosks or even inside b . aparthe1d -one
P w� 1
ings (for some sort ofpnce, ofcourse). Sorne actually live on pavem humans.
.
. .
and others sleep in the gray spaces between buildings and street
ents, At the same time, small commercial enterpnses _sp�out on every pos-
s. Yet � . 1 eço t 1·n every possible street, attached to buildings, to telephone
others live on roofs and on parapets, above garages, and in a variety .
poles, to electricity switching houses, or to anythmg else that does not
of intersti tial spaces that are not fully controlled by either landlords or
move. These petty enterprises are by nature shelters, so many commer­
the state. As we shall see in the concluding section, "pavement dwell­ cial stalls are, de facto, homes on the street for one or more people. The
ers" and "sium dwellers" are no longer external labels but have b ecome
same is true of the kitchens of restaurants, parts of office buildings­
self-organizing, empowering labels for large parts of the urban poor in indeed, any structure where a poor person has the smallest legitimate
Bombay. right to stay in or near a habitable structure, especially one that has water
The important point here is that there is a vast range of insecure or a roof. Electricity and heat are rare luxuries, of course.
housing, from a six-foot stretch of sleeping space to a poorly defined In this setting, for the very poor, home is anywhere you can sleep.
tenancy situation shared by three families "renting" one room. Pave­ And sleep is in fact the sole form of secure being. It is one of the few
ments shade into jopad-pattis (complexes ofshacks with few amenitie s), states in which- though usuallyentirelyin public- there is respite from
which shade into semipermanent illegal structures. Another continuum work, from harassment, and from eviction. Sleeping bodies are to be
links these structures to chawls (tenement housing originally built for found everywhere in Bombay and indeed at ail times. People walk over
rnill workers in Central Bombay) and to other forms of substandaf<l sleeping bodies as they cross streets and as they go into apartments,
housing. Above this tier are the owned or rented flats of the large middle movie theaters, restaurants, and offices. Sorne ofthese people are sleep­
class and finally the fancy fiats and (in a tiny number of cases ) houses ing in spaces to which they are legitimately connected through work
. . not or kinship. Others, as on
owned by the nch and the super nch. These k"mds o f housing are park benches and street corners, are simply
. 1 reason .· the inse · taking their housing
neatly segregated by neighborhood, for one s1mp e on the hoof, renting sleep, in a manner of speak­
d ing. Public sleepin
curely housed poor are everywhere and are only part1Y concen trate g is the bottom of the hierarchy of spectral housing,
housing that exists
in bastis (siums), jopad-pattis, and chawls. Almost ever y O ne of these only by implication and by imputation. The sleep�g
nd body (wh ich
kinds of housing for the poor, including roofs, parape ts, compou is almost always the laboring bodyor the indigent body) 10
65 *
64 • A R J U N A P PA D U RA 1
S P E CT RA L H O U S I NG AN D U R 8AN C L t ANS I N G
 it s p blic, vulnerab el , a nd inactive form is the mo t
u
s cont e th "
the s pectr al house. P u blic slee ping is a ec i o ld " re nt, w h ch, from the p in of view of the m r
h
a n d for
b . . t
n que o f e i tliof e i a k t is
w o can . l ds dre am of a fr m ark t wh r they
h o
·1 1 o l'rlor o
t
e a t om e only m t e1 r bod es. Lando
n e
ss kick
c e
H h . h i fr l can
Y h 03t ,.,3pir ance.
tt
a b in
e e
y m
e
a
e
(b li ou
nd r n
r e
ere we mu st res 1tuate th e s)ee p· mg, .indigent, and • r t e nant
g wa e lth
u t t o n as
l in i l ve d
o be
s t

t 1 oo e ta ble Inthe
i

n s i t . , all he r buil d
e ing o
bac k i the pec cities of B om bay' s terrain of hab· �JCha Us ed he r P d vic . m an tl
m o w
e t
d
st
i
fi it atton 1 "-- . h0 nes t an e-
h
)
e e t e y
. y h a now i . o d _ f,o�ced
h
""Qy
into t e ge neh ric s ens e of th e urba n poor as a global
t
' est We t ; and the m unicipa ht m pse a p g am ofrep
re n 1 s a ir
- e s � ca d, r esto r ation s inc e the faça des o th se bui dings an d h ir int e i
ro
p s e c e o f t e not pr o pe rl y- ho u ed is partof a bigge yPe. For th hu.
f l r
s
y t e rn a
r netw k
e
0 at . af w m a i. o c oll aps d lot
pr sse ures
, a
nd po we rs th at sur round housing for ve "" an trt1 ure s a re fallin apar , cre mg es an
g
e . r Of ar f
t

Bom b ryo ne 1n JL fe s 5 ct e
a
r
. p p ·s ct o
a y has a hr , . o South and CentralBom
ay re s tr ewn 1 re air
w h
nk
i bu f V\l c c1 de n ts. S
b
i i ll l rge body o tenant l'll
n t st a
ob o l e s, gav er ned b a., ,
s
many
g
Me t ro Je s
et re nt co nt o a t a has b e
en the subject o a d a force d Jevy on tenants an d lan do l hil
r l c
th t bya� b.ise on r s. an w e ' of
d

t
s
si fenor .
o n nce t e beginn n s of c o buildings fe el hke
h
hrnous CO n m uso u m , as ten
the se oId r ent
a
i i in nom ic libe raliza tio n - . le s a tsn d or ov m
lnt eea1 1 t en
g e
Landlord s , p ci al s b y lockmg . th m p ie
nto their place u o hav in g s
but hoId o
e
es e ly o u th and Central Bombay a r Y 9 ervants
h ·r " d " S 9o s. e
g ot akh e
th em. The vista look .mg fr om on o ft hes buildi
r
t 1 o enan , ' re at War ·
J' I h
w o p ay t ·
m y ren s for real estat 1 care of t oan
i th e Wo rth r,0 W th - pn ess
e t t s e
d ir bl p hot e r
t e
t wi ndow s n t veran das
• n es e es a e ar ts of Bo m ay. n I the mi d-1 0s • .IS Of ghostl y spa ces, shu , s
a
c of u es
il

.
t
b 99 , in sp1te . ofr � es
s e
mati e drop in real without occupants, n a m . o u o
s
e s tate pric esacross the country p adra. e g z gat bo w us es o th
n e st r eets
fo for fi , nces . o ft di e s 1th t h
be low
o a in the most desirable par pe r square and pavements .
' t s ofBombay we b ng vas surns
d ill al inv
t ts
a d 1 ,2
00 0rup ee .s Thu s, n U. S . doll rs,
re etween8 Themarketin "ren tai"house s is bri an o vi t
sk
,
111 n
ap ar tm
n t w o uld be val i a a fifteen-hundred
-square.fi
•
Ooo
ofcash, tra n sacted as so-called pagri ( k y mo y
eg ), whi loft
en a
d at betw e mo un ts
en $Jo o,ooo an d $J e n e ch
in J et value of the hous . The
e
So,ooo. Pn
to more tha n the mark
u e
desira bl
e ar ea s were predi ctab ly lower, but consider su h . ootces
_
hi he rent ndi h
e pagri is spaid by e
th
new "tenant," who cornes n on a rn ch
e ss
. a co
m unt y wh re th c Pnow g , a s a d by
e m ore than 40 p centof e pop u l live be
l ces i
r li a on u
is h r eh
t he Jandlord and the "selling" tenant w ho in fact,
r
th ov e n .
e r
ti se lling ri gt to
e p r ty , o
orte renta terms The l se ks h best l is
e
Sinc e abo t m ney
i
sta yon dis t d
. an
dl
or t e b ck
a
d

th ere have b een wild swings in the rea] estate m .

e
deal, and the buyer pays whateve r the ar k t d m and .
u 19 2

ket a r t l u ll d fin ar
p, ancials p c ulators, both local
9

f e e b y m
dis ort d be
e e
and global. Since
s
y e This black market in "re ntais" is ev n mo its
o r so, w en real
h
199 4
tate pr e s hit their all-time high, e re
upmarket end is occupi ed by the multin ation als who th u
cause
there havt
e
ic
t
b e n drop Th eis
e s

s. o ( ro gh the
c m l e gal attle
e a pl ex b , invo lving the city of Bom­ rnid dlemen ) arewiUing to pay huge d own m ( q iv om ir ­
p ay ents e u ale n
e r

ba , the state o Maha r a

f
1
s h tr a, an d the union government (in Delhi) times to rent for twenty years), along with a hi thly .
t s e
y o n rent al n

!
10
h
fo
rm the ts p rt ni g to urban g m
re t en anc y a c ai n real es tate to give som addit ion, dealings with multina tionals allow ch ra n s ac ions to beI
i sem of e su t
e
bla
n c i
mar ket rational ty t o real estate prices. But the tenants legally binding and relatively t ran sparen t, as we ll , in som ways, pres­
t
e
as
are p we r o y or an zed (t o u gh t tigious. The grow ing presence of multina tion als w ith eed s for offi
e
r ela ively small in number),and t
landl d s lik theginfli h
full

he n
o e a te pr ces w n they sell butnot when they and residenti al space has do ne much to ke epreal e t values
ce
have ry high
d
r
t n an ts ho pay ld i he st a e
in the bes parts of Mu mbai, in s pi te of the m rg n t drift to find h ad­
ve
w o Hom e owne rs, in cooperatives and condo ­
t
e r ent.
mini um st yle
quarters outside the city This up per end ofthe ar k t is a o the zon of
e e e e
an
a gem e n t s, s o p t e upward sp ral since theyhm . m
to thin k f ho rr i al hel h i l
wi o
e
ng
s
o as their o t p c
e
indigenous speculators with large amounts ofblac k m sh t
m s o u s o e on, en i oney w ho
pot t ally con·
us re i p ss ss i
i to own rs
o fmiddl e-class
vertible n
makebig returns. Below this levelisthe uni
l!
a so r ts of other p iv g s.
r i l e e s e
ve r e
In this co :1-"d renters wh otyp ically entert ai ndreamso fth big kill wh n they
nt ex , mythologies o f housing run rife, and no one is im· ar
t
e
dre
e
mun from
e
fur­
in a posit on to sel) the ir property or their ren t i g t . And s
i
am an
d
!he
h
fan a day wh en
ill

as es enan t ea
by st e fi t- i b. T th ir s dr mfo of y fifteen y ars'y d a ri
e s s t
wi/1 b d -
a owe r n tenement s, ums,
ll
e a a o , s , e
r th e e a
ar es r ig
o a e
!h own h i r chy th v a
r i ti o f h t i si
t
e e s
h us e s r
t t e
e
uy

* A RJ U AP P
ADURAI • SPEC R
T AL H O
N
67 U ISNG AND URB A
N CL E A
NS NI G
66
 pavements, and shantytowns, where the buy ing and s
eU- . with the mills and their associated tenement
. decisively connected to local thugs, ward-leve( p ot· . . lng of tioL
1s 1 emBo mbay,
. ll1c1 ans ufac ur . f several square m1·1 es ·m CentraI Bornbay
small-time peddlers of influen ce. • and 0c,,1ta 0frJl an
tng an a rea o

complex
1h'r .. s occupy wher e). These were solidly working-class neigh-
Knitting together this edifice of housin
g-re1 a te d . e 1er areas eIse
)lo...,
rnal
. hY terj,. d •n the industrial cities of Europe and the United
a huge disorgamzed. army of brokers. and dealers' Wh0se s • ts (aJl s uch as 1
1..nrlioOds , m . ht of the industrial rev olution, and, like them, tied to
and . eal usy sub
s011 .darity• netw orkmg, o 1s noto rious and CUitu re "" e he1g
• . •J . • res ernbJ
es tha1 orf 51ates 3 1 th economies of the nmeteenth century. Over the fast
pimp sociologi es in many big cilles. �he�e are the individ O Jnperi -global I forces have played havoc with this manufacturing
. al
u a( s tbe i
Up like vultures in every context of v1ewmg or p otent·l a1 sal Wh o tu� -,, rwo dec ades
severa
e Or ch ng, .These include the growing obso escence of equipment,
l
Of tenant • ever fearful that buyer and seller will eut the � ou a
e o f o mba '
.
... t or 1ha co r B y wide become high tech, and the reluctance
will lose their share of the deal to others in their ow . s """they t 1e industries world .
. n bUSin es as teJCU· , . di enous capitalists to negotiate w1th . the umons,
. stem-
are the individuals who constitute the fiber optic s of rurn f B<>
rnbay s i n g ··
or, Pnc ·. • "C;ic o tion that cheaper and less m1htant labor was
formation, news about potent1'al 1ega1 c hanges, and salut· e . n- g (rom th
• r
e1r ecogni
1ons to 1. l rnin maller towns of Maharashtra state (Nasik, Pune, Au-
problems of money transfer, security, and value. They are ricky . th e s
. th foo avai1 able m many others) This process (as in many parts
and
diers of the spectral housmg scene, themselves fuelle d not be t so1 r angaba d
, Nagpur' .
a of the move toward
euect
urne of transactions but by the ideologyof the big hit when
Y_ th e Vol. wor Id) has been both a cause and an
. . • a single bi oflhe t'me and insecure forrns of labor, the growth in which
1 •
transaction . w11l make theJI fortunes. They are also
criti caJ p arts fleicibl e, part- the
-
umon movement
.
m Bombay. ln
. of theg I y taken the fangs out of
"nervous system" o f spectra 1 h ousrng . m Mum bai, in which rum has stea<l'i
disturbing global pull has reinforced this local pro-
·
bi g sales, b'1g t::
1ees, and"good" and "b ad" 1andlords c1rcula · ors of recent years, a more
te. lt isalso als al so start to flee Bombay seekmg lower
these brokers who ruthlessly boycott tenants who "sho w" their cess, as ma'J or multination
Ratsiust ents, more pliant labor, and simpl er logistical
to check the market, but always back out at the fast moment, just as rents, c1eaner environm
cer­ systems.
tain buyers always back out after everything has been settled. Give . . .
n the This trend, in which national and transnational manufactunng 1s
huge cash sums, the secrecy and fear, the greed and transient tru t
s that steadily feaving Bombay, is counterbalanced by the continued impor­
is required for these deals to be consummated, a reputation for being a
tance of Bombay's legal, political, and fiscal infrastructure, which can­
"tease" in this market can be fatal.
not be fully outsourced to smalJer towns and industrial centers. So the
Beyond al] this nervous greed and fluid dealing, in which fewexplo­ new geography of post-Fordism in Bombay has a set of abandoned fac­
rations actually lead to real changes of owner or occupant, and agairut tories (or un profitable ones)at its heart, a growing service economy that
the steady buzz of rumors about changes in the law that governs ten­ has locational advantages not yet matched by smaller towns, a working
ancy, ownership, sales, and rights, there is a larger picture of global­ cla s s that is little more than a host of fragmented unions, and a work­
ization, deindustrialization, and urban pl anning in which the nervous force that has massively shifted to the service sector-with jobs in res­
system of real estate deals meets the muscularity of long-term struc­ taurants, small offices, the film industry, domestic se rvice, computer
tural developments in Mumbai' s economy. This story has several inter­ cafes, "consulting" outfits, street vending, and the university system. In
active parts. this regard, Bombay fits the broad global profile of swollen megacities
Over the last thirty years or so, Bombay h as been steadily deindus· that localize national/global speculative and service-oriented interests.
trialized, especially in its historically most important industrial secto r, In a sense, these are"octroi" economies that subsist by charging fees for
the production of textiles.An industry intermediar y services
that represented the moSI clear in transport, licenses, and the like, as industrial
case of a workable compact between work fails to sustain a substan
state support, entrepreneurial 5k'1ll tial proletariat.
civic amenities, and productive
union organi zation, the mill sector :1 Among the familles that control large parts of these manufacturing
Central Bombay was for decad ente rpri ses that are
es the heart of the mod ernist geog
rap y being moved out to smaller towns, therc is an effort
68 • ARJUN APPADUR 69 • SPEC
AJ TRAL HOUSING AND URBAN CLEANSING
 to repackage their motives in the idio m of reaJ es, under-
. esta
they vacate the1r erstwh'II e m1·11s, 1 arge spaces Wil te' arguing an . . ers , lamps and window shad
d JUtc .
l be o that th er: b r as . h makers and clothespins, decorat!Ve
· compensati h o d w 1c
"home1ess" w1t· h appropnate on for the p ened llp tor 'a.s ac v s sa n
witJ'! e d cutting kn1· e ' ,s dressing gowns and men s Levis
, . . There
state. Here 1s. another maJor. spectral narrative mselves th 3fl . o m en
that do . through t ' we r a d -r-shlftS
, w . the c,act that
ce Wl'th these vendors, desp1te
ends of the nervous system of Mumbai's housin g rni na tes th h, �11. sch 311be no rea1 annoyan walkmg on the
. A new ·1 e upPt lJ'l o lcward posit ion of eithe r
afloat, where thousands of acres of factory space ar
e rurnore g ary ·
1lla in t see 5 t edestn. ans in the aw g into the sewage grates
idle behind the high walls that conceal the dying c ut p uld kil! them), fallin
. d t o be · � theY p(11ud ed bY c ars that co . ing . their .
way
,actories W,0 ly1ng g sometimes open), or p1ck
live in the tenements of Parei, Worli, and Nagpad · rkers 51.,, ro ad e c ur b ( w h .
ic h are
glass es. In t h' ex-
. a, and rn t to th T-shi.rts, sneakers , and drinking
IS
. . lu ·ust ne
J(

hsten to the s1rens of the factones as they trudge tow _ any of th e ts Of . .

l ugh carp ing, we see agam that cash 1s
. ar d
of mdustn'al dreams. But many of the buildings be • th1s dY·tng field
eni
tJirO fflorescence of street vend . al .
a energy m the
are s1·1ent, an d, 1t. 1s
. rumored, deals are being broker
hmd these ·
h h 1raor din fY eoney moves, and tha t some entrepreneun.
ed be ee tg lvaUs ]ClJI• th at m massively into this reta1l sec . pro-
tor, 1ts
dustrialists, big developers, large corporations ' a . � n thesein. g'
r u b a jarea has moved , . lf fuelled
1tse
nd cnrn1n ate M rn market in petty goods
to harvest these imagined thousands of acres in the v . al s .
Yndicat es gre . , and its mark et;"g '-" · This
er y industri al h visio n111g . e1Y h'tgh wages ' has taken the place of other forms
of Mumba1.. Ru.mors abound of major presentations e by ,Murnbai·•s rela
tiv
. . by b'g de art ��K li ers) and of expenditure (for the buye
rs).
m corporate boardrooms, d1spl ' aymg these lands i veloPtrs
. . g . with aen. al sh s of i ncome 1andscape of street -leve l traffic in the petty commodi-
proJec tm the feast of h1dden real estate just beyond the fa ot and fhl. s unmense ous to perma nent shops
mi.ne of the lifi • often physically contigu
streets and buildings of visible Mumbai. . Of every day e IS
ties A- list versions of the street comm odi
.
tles
tz y sto res w h
. ere the . . .
Here is the great imaginary of vast lands for Mumb . 3nd gli
. . a1,s poor and . These street markets (a late industnal repet1t1on of
homeless, wh1ch m1ght mag1c. .
ally y1eld housing for those are also on disp1 ay.
who, c,orafew eval European m arkets descn·bed by Fern and Braudel )
decades, have had to go further and further out in order to find the sort of me.di , poorer working people, whose money 1s . scarce but who
. This . . . . as pace to allow Mu mba1 5
hve. 1s the mast er specter of housmg m Mumbai, a fantasyofhuge . .,
f Mumb a1 s cashocracy, to
tracts, some with very few structures on them, ready to be trans have bou ght ·1nto the obJ ect assemblages o .
ced by real or
formed enter the world of consumpt i on - a world deeply mfluen
at the stroke of someone's pen, into Mumbai's paradise of habitation'. ti ns and app lications.
imagined foreign objects, their local incarna o
,
Thus is the logic of deindustrialization and capital flight rewritten as
B ut there is more to this than a surfeit of cash among Bombay s
the story of a chimerical landscape of trees, lakes, and open air waiting
middle and working classes (for the indigent can only gaze at these
to be uncovered just behind the noise of the madding crowd of Central p iles of cargo). The key elements of these street bazaars (though the
Mumbai. Yet global finance and its indigenous counterparts-as well as full taxonomy of vendor's goods is as complex as anything Jorge Luis
a host of other enterprises that rely on trade, speculation, and invest­ Borges might have imagined), are the materialities of modern domes­
ment-s till find Mumbai seductive, so that the pyramid of high priœs ticity: bras, children's underwear, women's dresses, men's T-shirts and
and rampant inflation is kept alive and every square foot of housing is jeans, perfume, cheap lipstick, talcum powder, decorative kitsch, sheets
defended as personal patrimony. an d pillows, mats and posters. The people who throng these places and
From the point of view of street life, consumption is fuelled by lhe succ eed in negotiating their deals walk away with virtual households, or
explosive growth in small-scale hucksters, vendors, and retailers 1h31 elements of the collection of goods that might constitute the bourgeois
have flooded Mumbai's pavements, rendering them almost impassa�le. household in some abstract modernist dream. Among other things,
Many of these vendor-dominated streets peddle items having to do with there are hundreds of vendors
in Mumbai who sell old maguines from
the fantasy of a global, middle-class consumer, with the truly smu�!ed, the West, includin
g such discrepancies as Architectural Digest and Home
the imitated pirates, and the homegrown simulacrum all joyously mixed and Garden, osten
sibly meant for the creative designer in Mumbai but

70 * A R J U N A P PA D U RA 1
71 * S P E CTRAL
HOUSING AND URBAN CLEANStNG
 m ers liv ing in one - or two-rooin
.......-
URBA N C
LEA NSING
,­
\
er consu
Jo o k e d at bY hum bl
act uall y In 1996 the Shiv a Sena .pro clai med .
that Bombay wouId henceforth
n rev olving a round the accou- mb 1. Even pnor to this date, Mumba1. had been
shacks, . c dramas of consomptio. . b e o n ly kn o
wn as Mu a
. preferred by many
These p ub li mvestment m the e quipp ing o f the c1ty of the Marathi-spe ak'mg ma-
cit y con stitute an . . the n am e for .
of dornes t"i
, wh ere .m d1V1dual space and
trements ov e rcrowded . ority, and esp ec1a lly by those who identify with the Shiva ' Sena. In one
may be s mal i and . l .
hous es that . hly restricted, and where mueh m the .way of modern sense, the de cis i o n to officialize the na me "Mumbai" ,·s par t of a w1de-
b e h ,g
rig hts may bsent. These h. umb. l e ob1 ects of doines- spread I
ndi an p a�te rn of_repl
ac ing n ames associated with colonial rule

ni. u. es m ay be limited or a .1c1ty w1thout h ouses• house- te w1th l ocal, n ation al ' and regio n al heroes. It 1s . an
e s of a do mes t 1
m oc a d
a
s proleptic tool with names ass
e
•f, ar e thu f these obj ects,' whi' c h tr tegy wo rldwid e i n cope.
. c1·ry• In the purchase and assemblage o
li p on y mie s a s
tic
. indigenizing to
Jess domes11 e that 1s _ surely
ex aggerated, B�mbay s work-
In the case o f Bombay, the move looks backward and forward simul­
a dom estic plenitud
imply es p roduce their ow n sp ectral ing backward, it imagines the deity Mumba D evi (a god­
npro!essio
na l service c lass taneously. Look
ing poor and no cash - base d, p leasurable soc ial reality
dess of one of the
shrines that was vital to the fishing islands that later
ch in its sen suous,
dom esticity, whi bouses in which these ob­ evokes the fis hing folk of these islands, and, because
ink ing horizon of th
e act u al became B ombay). It
recogniies the shr t w as always used by Marathi sp eakers, it privileges
hav e a predicta
ble life. Of course, ail modern shopping (i n it is the name tha
· ect s m i ght , th over those of many other vernacular r enditions
has the anticipatory, the im ag ined e a uratic , their ev eryday usage
�umbai and beyond) e "Bambai" favored by Hi ndi speakers and the
bout its ethos. But st r e et sh o pp in g i n Murnb ai, like
of the name (such as th
and the possessive a . Of course, it gai ns respectability as an
of cla im to housing t h a t no o ne c an co n test or "Bambaai" of Tamil sp eakers)
public sleeping, is a form of tion ng lophone name, Bombay, and thus
carries the surface
This is where the specters evic meet erasure of the A
subvert in the city of cash . onalism after 1947. But its subtext looks
tion. resp ectability of p op ular nati
the agencies of consump counter-Bombay or anti-Bombay, as imagined by th
e
to an e xplicit effort to engage the slippage between to the future, t o a
We now turn in the city wax and wane (as of this
s ay and in the so cial usa
ges of the city. Shiva Sen a , who se p olitical fortunes
Bombay and Mumbai, in this es life no one has dared to write off.
of commerce and cosmo olita
p nism, writing) but whose h old on ur ban
If Bombay was a historical space arashtrian he r oes and prac­
1
ecome Mumbai, so that, today, ail This i s a future in which M arathi and Mah
through what proj ect did Bombay b purified regional city joins a re­ l
c at Sahar air p ort to add
resses tices d ominate urban culture , and this
official dealings, from control-tower traffi at envisio n s Mumbai as a
point of
Mumbai? Wh a t ki! led Bom- nascent "Hindu" India ; it is a future th
on letters m ailed to the city, must refer to ren ascent Maharashtra
and a re­
trans lation and m ediation between a space,
bay? ure is sacred national
on by lin king the Hinduized India . This Mumbai of the fut
ln the section that follows, I try to an swer this questi Balasaheb Thac keray, the vit­
market to another ethnically pure but g lo bally competitive.
problems of scarcity and sp ec trality in the h ousing as h appy to welcome
Michael Jackso n to
of B ombay's ri olic head of the Shiv a Sena, w
kind of shrinkage, which is produced by the repositioning e facilitating a major dea
l for
as an urban ren­ his hom e a few years ago and h ad no troubl f co n ces­
streets, shops , and homes as a sacred n a tional space , wanted a major set o
a ce of Enron, a Texas-based mul tinational that
dition of a Hindu national geography. A s struggles over the sp in M aharashtra.
So the transformation
sense of s i on s for a new energy enterp ris e
housing, vending, an d sleeping g radually intensified , so did the in which an
contradictory utopia
ced. of Bombay into Mumbai is part of a
Bombay as a site for traffic a cross ethnie boundaries become redu way to the world.
ace ethnically c leansed city is s til l the gate n du vandals
The exp1OSivevio · · [ence of 1992-93 translated the problem o f scarce sp was destroyed by Hi
.
· bodies. When the Babri Masjid in Ay odhya the history of secul_ar­
mto the imaginary of cIeansed sp ace, a space w1· thout Mus11m she d wa s marked in
re- on 6 December 199 2, a water to hnk
ln an d through the v10 .
· 1ence o f these nots, an urban nightmare was a b ig effor t to
Hi nduize India and
. ism i n Indi a , in the c ontext of
sc npted as a nat ional dream.
A.NSING
O URBAN CLE
73 * SPECTRAL HOUSING AN
72 • A.RJUN APPADURAI
 local ethnopolitics and national xenoph
the product of an
obia. The events of Decem
immensel y complex p rocess
ber
• seen as traitors
(Pakistanis in disguise), but also their sacr
herous geography of vandalism and
ed site
. s were
'\

1 992 were themselves · by Por tr ay ed as a treac

. desec .
rati on, cal-
u . ht, most notabl y .
which the major political parties of th e H"md ng th culated to b ury Hmdu national
..
geogr aphy at both 1-1s centers and its
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP ), managed to turn a series of recent p olitica� rnargins. In a sense, the politlcal geography of sovere•gn
• ty, ,,ocuse d on
. Pakistan,
.
changes in the Hindi-speaking northern part of India to their advan­ borde r wars w1th was brought into the same emo .
11ona1 space
tage. These changes-most important among them the new political as the p olitical geography of cultural purity, focuse d on the deep archae-
power of lower castes-were often results of violent confrontations be. ology of religious monuments.
tween lower and upper castes over land tenure, government job quotas As it was the home of the Shiva Sena, Mumbai was drawn .
mto th.1s
.
and Jegal rights. In the late 1980s, building on a century of localized argument about national geography as Hindu geography in Decemb
er
movements toward Hindu nationalism and nationalized Hinduism, th e 19 92 in a special way. The story of the growth of the Shiva Sena &om
BJP and its allies had mobilized hitherto fragmented parties and move­
the 196os to the present has been well told and analyzed elsewhe re,
ments under the single banner of Hindutva (Hinduness). Seizing on the so just a few points need be made here. The party bas succeeded in
failures of other national parties, they managed to launch a full-scale identifying with _the in�erests of �umbai's growing Marathi-speaking
frontal attack on the ideals of secularism and interreligious harmony !umpen proletanat wh1le also actively destroying its left (communist)
enshrined in the constitution and to convince Hindus of ail classes that union culture. After starting mainly as a group of urban thugs, the Shiva
their salvation Jay in Hinduizing the state. Sena bas managed to become a regional and national political force. It
In the process, they focused particularly on a series of neoreligious bas hitched its regional nationalism (with deep roots in Maharashtra's
strategies and practices, drawing on existing cultural repertoires, to ethnohistory and vernacular self-consciousness) to a broader national
construct the imaginary of a Hindu soil, a Hindu history, and Hindu politics of Hindutva. It has created a relatively seamless link between its
sacred places that had been corrupted and obscured by many out­ nativist, pro-Maharashtrian message and a national politics of confron­
side forces, none worse than the forces of Islam. Anti-Muslim senti­ tation with Pakistan. lt has sutured a specific form of regional chauvin­ 1
l
ments, available in various earlier discourses and movements, were ism with a national message about Hindu power through the deploy­ l
transformed into what Romila Thapar called "syndicated" Hinduism, ment of the figure of the Muslim as the archetype of the invader, the �
and one form of this politicized Hinduism took as its major program stranger, and the traitor. The Shiva Sena has achieved this suture by a 1
the liberation of Hindu temples from what were argued to be their ille­ remarkably patient and powerful media campaign of hate, rumor, and i
gitimate Muslim superstructures. The Babri Masjid became the sym­ mobilization, n otably in the party newspaper Saamna, which has been
1
bolic epicenter of this more general campaign to cleanse Hindu space the favorite reading of Mumbai's policemen for at least two decades.
and nationalize the polity through a politics of archaeology, historical The Shiva Sena has done ail this by systematically gutting the apparatus
revisionism, and vandalism. The story of the events surrounding the de­ of city government, by criminalizing city politics at every level, and by
struction of the Babri Masjid have been well told elsewhere, and many working hand-in-glove with organized crime in many areas, notably in
scholars have placed these events in the deep history of Hindu-Muslim real estate, which brings us back to space and its politics in Mumbai.
relations on the subcontinent. Here we need to note certain important facts. According to several
There were riots after 6 December 1992 throughout India, substan­ analysts, about 50 percent of Mumbai's 12 million citizens live in siums
tially amounting to a national pogrom against Muslims (though there or other degraded forms of housing. Another 10 percent are estimated
was some Muslim violence against agents and sites of state power). But to be pavement dwellers. This amounts to more than 5 mi"Irion people
this was the first time there was a massive, nationwide campaign of vio­ living in degraded (and degrading) forms of housing. Yet, according to
lence against Muslims in which soil, space, and site came together in a one recent estimate ' sium dwellers occupy only about 8 percent of the
politics of national sovereignty and integrity. Not only were Muslims city's l and, which totals about 43,000 hectares. The rest Ofth e city · 's land

74 • ARJUN APPADURAI 75 • SPECTRAL HOUSING AND URBAN CLEANSING

 is either industrial land, middle- and high-income
land in the control of the
.
c1ty, the state, or
.
pnvate
housing • or vacan
com mercial inter ests
t
• proPerties we
Bottom line: 5 million poor people live in 8 percent of the land are a 0�
a city no bigger than Manhattan and its near boroughs. As some have
observed, it is amazing that in these conditions of unbelievable crowd­
ing, lack of amenities, and outright st ruggle for daily survival, Mumbai's
poor have n ot expl oded more often.
But they did explode in the riots of 1992-93. During the several weeks
of intense rioting afte r 6 December, there is no doubt that the worst
damage was done among those who Lived in the most crowded, unre­
deemable siums. The worst zones of violence were among the very poor­
est, in areas s uch as Behrampada, where Hindu and Muslim "toiler s"
in Sandeep Pendse's powerful usage, were pitted against each other by
neighborhood thugs, Shiva Sena bosses, and indifferent police. Though
the Indian Army was called in to impose order, the fabric of social rela­
ti ons among Mumbai 's poor was deeply damaged by repeated episodes
of arson, rape, murder, property damage, and eviction.
In these few weeks of December 1992 and Janu ary 1993, the re was also
a frenzied mobilization by the Shiva Sena of its sympathizers to create
public terror and to confront Muslims with the message that the re was
no public space for them and that they would be hunted clown and killed
or evicted from their homes wherever possible. There was a marked in­
crease in ethnocidal uses of a new ritual form-the maha arati-which
was a kind of guerrilla form of public worship organized by Hindu
groups to push Muslims out of streets and public spaces in areas where
the tw o groups lived cheek by jowl. 1 These ritual acts of ethnie war­
fare were mostly conducted in the middle-class rentai zones of Cen­
tral Mumbai; but in the siums and jopad-pattis of the north and west
there was firebombing and a rson, street murders and beatings, and the
main victims were the poorest of the Muslim poor-rag pickers, abat­
toir workers, manual laborers, indigents. Across the city, the Shiva Sena
mobilized a national geography, spreading the rumor that the Pakistani
navy was about to attack Mumbai from its shoreline on the Arabian Sea,
and anxious Hindu residents turned searchlights onto the ocean to spot
Pakistani warships.
Meanwhile, inside the city, Muslims were cornered in siums and
middle-class areas, in their own crowded spaces, hunted clown with lists
of names in the hands of organized mobs, and Muslim businesses and
76 * AR J U N AP PADU RA 1
cture
re relentlessly put to the torch. There was
betw een thesev1.0lent efforts to create Hin
a strange poi. nt of
'\
conJ·un . d u pub\'1c sp heres
and spaces,. to
depop. ulate Mushm. fiats and neighborhoods, and
to
Str oy
Mushm bodies and properttes, and an ongoing fiorm Of . . de- .
ience directed agamst Murnba1 s street dwellers • which I d'1sc uss beiow·
. ., CIVIC VIO-
In the weeks preceding 6 December, there had been a rene we d effo
Corpo ration to destroy the struc tures rt
by the Municipal built by un-
Jicensed street vendors and to destr oy unauthorized residential dwell­
ings that had sprou�ed throughout Mumb�i. Here, municipal zeal (per­
sonified by G. Kha1�nar, �n- overzealous _
ctty official who was stran
gely
no t a Shi va Sena citent) JOmed w1th political propaganda to create
a
tinderbox in the heavily Muslim areas of Central Bombay from Bhendi
Bazaar to Byculla, especially along Mohammed Ali Road, the great
Muslirn thoroughfare of contemporary Mumbai. In this neighborhood,
Muslirn gangste rs had worked with the connivance of shady financiers
and cor rupt city oflicials to build many unauthorized residential struc­
tures (through intimidation, forgery, and other subversions of the law)
while te rrorizing any potential resistors with armed force.
The Bombay municipality has had a tradition of chasing after street
vendors for at least three decades in a constant public battle of cat­
and-mouse that the vendors usually won. There was also a long and
dark history of efforts to tear clown sium dwellings, as in other cities
in India. But in the late 1980s, this battle was intensified, as the nexus
between real estate speculators, organized crime, and corrupt official­ 1
dom reached new heights. Although this nexus involved illegal housing l
and unlicensed vending throughout Mumbai, Khairnar's muncipal gen­ i
darmerie just happened to focus their civic violence on an area domi­
nated by the Muslirn underworld. Thus, tragically, j ust before the Babri
Masjid was destroyed in Ayodhya, Bombay's Muslim under world was in
a rage, and Mumbai's Muslim residents were convinced that there was,
indeed, a civic effort to dismantle their dwellings and vending stalls.
This is where the battle for space - a heated triangle involving orga­
nized mafias, corrupt local officiais and politicians, and a completely
predatory class of real estate speculators-met the radical politics of
Hindutva in December 1992.
The story of this encounter is sufficiently complex as to require de­
tailed treatment elsewhere. But the big picture is relevant here. The
geography of violence in Mumbai during December 1992 and Janu-
77 • SPECTRAL HOUSING AND URBAN CLEANSING

ary 1993 is overwhelmingly coincidental with the geograph o
. .
crowdmg, street commerce, and housmg nightmares in Murnb a.,
Y f ur ban
· In th1·5
violence, two grisly specters came to haunt and animate one anot
her •n
the world ofMumbai's poorest citize ns, as we ll as its worki ng c1a sse
s· the
specter of a zero-sum battle for residential space and street corn ·
. . . . rner ce
figured as a s trugg Ie between c1v1c
. d 1sc1p1me and organized cnrne; -
., . and
the specter ofMumba1 s Mushms as a fifth column from Pak·tstan, re ad
Y
to subvert Mumbai's sacred geography.
In this macabre conjuncture,_ the most horrendously poor, cro wd ed,
and degraded areas of the c1ty were turned into battle grounds of th e
. .
poor agamst the poor, w1th the figure of the Muslim providing the r
between scarce housing, illegal commerce, and national geogr �hy w�
. . m the twentieth centu��• and even_ m the nmeteenth century, Bombay had
urban. In 1992-93, m a word, spectral housmg met ethnie fear, and the
Muslim body was the site of this terrifying negotiation. Of course, the
middle and upper classes suffered as well, largely through the stoppage
of commerce, movement, and production. But the overwhelming bur­
den of violence- both its perpetration and its suffering-was borne
by the bodies of Mumbai's toilers, and the massive sense of having no
place in Mumbai (reinscribed as India) was overwhelmingly borne by
its Muslims.
Here we must return to consider the links between spectral housing,
the decosmopolitanizing of Bombay, and the ethnie violence of 1992
and 1993. The deliberate effort to terrorize Bombay's Muslims, to at­
tack their vending stalls, to burn their shops and homes, to Hinduize
their public spaces through violent ritual innovations, and to burn and
maim their bodies can hardly be seen as a public policy solution to Bom­
bay's housing problems. Neither can it be laid at the door of a single
as
agency or power, even one so powerful and central to the se events
city where
the Shiva Sena. But it does seem plausible to suggest that in a
se spatial stress, the
daily sociality involves the negotiations of immen
bodies to fan­
many spectraliti es that surround housing (from indigent
ions for a
tasy housing schemes and empty fiats) can create the condit
of 12 mil­
violent reinscription of public space as Hindu space. In a city
it is not
lion persons, many occupying no more space than their bodies,
and Hindu
hard to see that imagining a city without Muslims, a sacred
" (think of
city, free ofthe traffic ofcash and the prom iscuity of"business
briefly­
ail the burnt Muslirn shops of 1992 and 1993), could appear-
utopia can-
to be a bizarre utopia of urban renewal. This monstrous
78 * ARJ UN APPA DURAI
\
. agined without the spectral economies of Bombay'
no t be un
. also ne ede d a political vision-the Shiva Se s housing.
But it . na's vision of a Hin
du
it toward fire and death.
Murnba1-to move
fhe rest was contingency-or coniuncture.
FOI! THE f!EAL
Af!GUMENTS
rhis is a grim story about one. of
.
the world's most dram
atie seenes
. and spectral c1tJz
quality enship But spect
of ur ban ine
. . . . ers and utop1.as-
as practices of the 1magmatton-occupy the same moral terrain. And
Bombay does not Jack for a co�plex p�litics of the real. Throughout
powerfu l civic trad1t1ons of philanthropy, social work, political activ­
ism, and social justice. These traditions have stayed powerful in the
last three decades of the twentieth century and at the beginning of
the twenty-first century, where globaliza tion, deindustrialization, and
ethno- urbanism have become linked forces. Both before and after the
1992-93 riots, there have been extraordinary displays of courage and
critical imagination in Mumbai. These have corne from neighborhood
groups (mohulla committees) committed to squelching rumors and de­
fusing Hindu-Muslim tensions; from housing activists; from lawyers
and social workers; and from journalists, architects, and trade union
activists. Ali of these individuals and groups have held up powerful
images of a cosmopolitan, secular, multicultural Bombay, and a Mum­ j
bai whose 43,000 hectares could be reorganized to accommodate its i
1
5 million poorly housed citizens.
These activist organizations-among them some of the most creative
and brilliant pro-poor and housing-related nongovernmental organiza­
tions (NGOs)-are rnaking their own arguments about the political real
in Mumbai. Their story, which, among other things, has forced the pub­
lication of an extraordinary judicial report on the 1992-93 riots (which
the Shiva Sena government tried mightily to bury), will be fully told
elsewhere. This story is also linked to the extraordin ary courage of ordi•
nar y p eople in Mumbai, and often among the poorest of the poor, to
shelter their friends and neighbors from ethnoci dal mob viole�c�. These
_
utopian visions and critical practices are resolutely modermSI m therr
visions of equity, justice, and cultural cosmopolitanism. ln the spectral
world that I have described, they are not naïve or nostalgie. They are
79 * SPECTRAL HOUSING AND URBAN CLEANSING
 part of the ongo n stru
i g h t sp
ggle for t a a ce w h e
re Mumbai's Re f
g dd . l is m k d by
the real Bomb a . llleei., . od s a nd o e sse s t th <:entraJ
a
y var1ous H1. nd u g .
e it y o sacred
r hipamon.gHm
' a1 f lires (as
a r
s us , a nd, ·m 1h'1 new orm
in mo51 do mest 1c w o · d. )
e

e� a.bo d inc enclia

r an
-Mush
. s 1 , was alJo•ccom-
by a m
NOTES

A large scholarly literature const itutes h p anied a t li figu es t spe eches and �orta
r y By v rio t.ions by pro-
r e n
t e foundation for this et h nograph
1
ans d pu c .
l ie raHed c tai ions 1 offer some . . . ' 1c essa Hind u ht1c 1 an b n ls were
a us r eliable estimates i
st , ta p pea
u ofde i , md1ca 1ons ofa few ma jor debts and y·1 n po d f h e ci i grit.ua ag d m th rs thatsey.
arly engagements. This essay would have t
. SCho eral h un d re o t es in tn - e . · e pe n.od . between .6
been unthinkab le wit ua r y m s t reet s, m te Decembe
J. 1991 a n d 15 Jan 1993 i h J oik r r 1on s, par
a
hout the m L""" and n�g
sect
vol ume c o llect1on
. of essays on Bornb y ed . aJor po hborhoodsr
a ' lie d by SuJa ta Patel and Alice h two. y. R e rt of e Sr . .
h
in Bo m Th: ic ls tnd h rufr n iad Co m 1s on notes th e h1gh
S1

r tu m correlation be­
ba
- Bomb a v : Mosaic or Modern T orne t d t ruct ion ofM
z
1wee nth ese p u l disi a da af t e h en e
Culture and Bombay
(Bombay: r uslim lives and p
e
: M taphor fior ' od
.., Oxford Univ� ersit se mperty
. y Press
, 1995). See also Bombay: The
,.,'
s . e r er hig - int
es
ty politi -ritual
· crowd
ern fnd h
wh e n the ltu t lcscfo e ns
i
ra da Dwivedi and Rau Cit i es With i b ia p
r e w u . s spectacles. Afull
h l Mehrotra (Bombay: lnd o n ra r m yet to appeartn
ia Book House, 19 ) nd S a . a cocu n 1 of this maJ c . prm
n co
. t.
ing Verdict: Report o f 95 a 6a h 1

ion.(Mumba : Sabrang
the Srikrishna Commiss i
Comrnu � -
n
tions and Pubhsh . mg _
, n.d . ) . My sense of the pred1cament of n1ca.
elsewhere has been deeply info mega cities in ••.
rmed by the work of =•a a n
my friend and colleag
Sasse n. My understanding of Bombay ue S k· d
's special housin gdilemm
by aseries of case studiesand as has been enr
reports produced by A. i::
Jockin, Sundar Bur
D'Cru z, and Sheela Patel. My
debts in regard to the ana ra, Cclin ;
lysis of Hindu nation e
Bombayare 100 many t o alismin
list, but special mention
must be made ofthe ong
ofThomas Blom Hansen oing wo
-see, forinstance, TheSaff r k
ron Wave: Democray
c and
Nation alism in Mod
ern India (Princeton, H
N.J .: Princ e ton Un versity indu
Ranjit Hoskote and Kalpan i Press, 1999)­
, a Sharma. See also Rom
ila Th apar, " Syndicated
ism" in Hinduism Reconsid r Hindu ­
e ed, edited by Gün
t her-Dietz Sontheim
Kulke (New Delhi: Manoha er and Herman
r Publ cations, 1989), and San
i
deep Pendse, "T i!, Swe
n
and the City"in Patel and o at ,
Thorner's Bombay: Me ta
course to the trope of the spec a. My re ­
phor for Modern Indi
t l is on an ongo ng
ra engagement w th the work
Jacques Derrida, F edri c Jam i of
i

r eso n , and am es iege , tho u they m y we

ognize the m elves in this J S l gh a not rec­
U
s text.
This essay is dedicated to my
friends in the Housing A lli ance (SPAR
C, NSDP, an
Mahila Milan) in Mumbai d
who are producing theirown radic l proje
a cts for housin
in Bombay,based on situated g
secularism, grassroots energy, gender
equity,and dee
democracy. 1mustalso thank p
my hostsanda u diencesfor
helpful comments and re­
actions atthe confer nce
e on "Cosmopolitanism,' Universi
' ty of Chicago (May 199 ,
and the conference on "Urb 9
an Antagonisms" organized by the Wor Ac emy )
Local Govern ment and Demo
ld ad
for
cracy(WALD) and heldin Istanbul (also
in May 199 .
At the Universityof Chicago, 1 owe 9)
special thanks tonumerousfrien
dsand colle agu
w ho se commentshave helped me
strengt hen this essay, though not ees
might ha vewished:Hom as much as t
i Bhabha, Carol A Breckenridge, Dipe h y
. sh Chakrabarty, Jean
Comarol,f John Comarolf
, Claudio Lomnitz , Sheldon Pol lock, Eliza be h P o vine ,
Miche l- Rolph Ttouil ot, KatieTrumpene t Ui
r, and Candace Vogler aU provided valua
readin gs in the editoria b le
this essay originally came l con text o fthe sp ecial i u ss e of Public Cu lt ure 1 (23) fro m w hich
.
1. The maha arati is wid
ely conceded to be a ritual innova ion by the Shiva Sen a,
first developed in Dece t
mber 1992, in which a
domestic Hindu ritua l, traditiona
lly
c n o d uc e
t d ind oors, was con v erte
d in ot a lar g -e ca s e, u l c e o er n
l p b i d votion a l lf i g ot
HO USING A ND URBAN CLEANStNG

..
80 • ARJ NU AP P A Bl • S P ECT R
D U R IA AL
 . al by i ts own logic, would call fort its own disso lut on thr
capit , h i ou
l g in the Lo ic of t g
Universalism and Be ongin g pi l
C a labor, has not been born out. How do we think
agen Cy of
e

a a bout
the . an
tl· v e to capital in such. a context? Clearly, one cannot a
,, ny 1ong er
alterna
·nk ofth e "beyond of cap al as something that is totally op osed
it
abar
Dipesh Chakr ty
tht . " . . ,, or u to
1srn commumsm . Does it
(s uch as soc1a1
• ") P
even make sen
cap1tal ,, se
h·nJc ofsuch a " beyond when everything in the worldse be
to t I ems to
under the sway o capital itself1
ore and more · l re a d some
comin . gm f
cted texts by Marx to revisit this question . Howdoes capital .
se 1 e . ,a um-
. . n, negouate .
tegory by d h1Storica l difference in Manc s
versal ca
e fimt1o
'
i ion?D
oesMarx's account o� this negotiationcarryany hints th
The shadow of cultur al diver si y-the di r s e w hi h ex p os t at
t ays i nw t
"world" this earth-nowfa11s across all univ r s li ti c
c think abou the quest ion of hurnan be on n
can help us
ve
a s t g i g in a g lobe
� assurnp t o abo:
i th e techno logies ofcapital?
made one by
histo r y or human natur e th a t often unde he ropo i i ofns m d : increasingty
p s t o s
r o r questions, I pursue two of Marx's ideas that are in
political philoso Their inh e re E r sm ak es he n To a n swer these ­
. ur ceno s w hat m
n
i
i
phies t t i
ese from his critique of capit al: h s views on abstract tabor an
assumptions suspect in the eye s of pra ctitio e rs f th e h t sepa rable
n

scie es d
o c on the relationship between capit al and history. Manc 's philosoph ­
toda y. But neither cultural nor his to ric alr ela tiv ism n i
n

e
urnan

i s en as an a s r tal is planetary ( or global) in ts historicat aspiratio

-and right y so, for an absolutis t re la tiv ism
s asi y n we cal cat egory capi n
c a ne
l
s o
i

and universal in its constitution. Its categorical struct ure, at teast in

h
l be wn
bese l f contradictory . Understandably there fo re , man y po lo l to
-
, s t c o ni de­ is predicated on Enlightenment ideas ofjurid ­
bates on political p so su c as Mar lib ra li m often t
a Ma rx ' s ow n elaboration, i
sm o r e s
political righ ts of cit izenship.1 Labor that s
hilo phies h xi

ry cal equa l it y and abstract

to work out a middle ground be tw ee the w oop io s o f uni sal i
r
t

t n s m jur id ically and politically free-and yet socially unfree-is a conc ep

s ti ons i t
and relativism. Critical energiesar efoc u e
n

s o qu e
ve
ch as h
d
em b e d ded in Marx 's category of"abstract ta bor." Abstract tabor com ­
su o w
and where one locates this middle groun h n de li e taes its con­
n
d
, o wo e n binesin itse lf Enlightenment themes ofjuridical freedom (rights, citi ­
tours, wa ys onec an get out ofthe un i rs alis m /re lat v sm
ze n ship) and the concept of the univer sal and abstract h uman bein
i
bi ary , a nd s
i n

o g
on and so forth. But, as dis cussions ofhurn n a righ s n i cr easingly mak
ve

e who is the subj ectof this freedom. More important, it is also a concep
t t
clear, universalistic assumptionsare no te as ilygi up a d
, n the e s o cen ral to Mar x' s explan ation of why capital, in fulfilling itself in his­
tn i n t
between univers alism and historicaJ diffe re ce is
ven

n o eas ly tory, nece s sarily creates the ground for ts own dissolution. Examining
ed.
i
disrni
t

ss
i i
The struggle to find a middle g rou dre a mins. "S r a eg c esse t al sm"
n i

the dea ofabstract labor then ena bles us to see what may be politicalty
i
t t n
(associated with Ga yatri S pivak [1 88]) , "h b r idi ty" (a ss i d w
n i

o ca e ih e postc olonial scholars who do not

9 y t t t k toda y-
and intel lectu ally ats a for

Homi Bhabha /1994]) , "cosmo polita is m " th Iik xp ssion igno re ar x e a c e rs s m o t e en­
, an e e are e re s M ' sl g y- th uni al i t humanis f h
Ent i ght
d
in
fth m
ve
that remind us ofparticular strate gies fo i
n

r rn u la te n t e c o urse o s ent.
h
i
d

strugg le. of how the

The id ea of ab s t ract lab o r also leads us to the questio
n

The purpose o th is essa is to expl o r

e te n o between un ver ­
e th logic o ca it al relates to the i ssue of hist orical difference.
The idea o
f
f y
i
s n p

"history,"
f
salismandhistoricaldifference in th Iog i r to Marx's
c o f Marx's c a egory "c a pital." as all students of Ma x would know, was central
i

e
t

I do not need to demonstrate the rel a s a way ofex­

nce o fthis ca egory. Tru e, i be­ philo op l cr tique of capita l . Abstract ta or gave Marx
t
b
i
hica
t
longs to the nineteenth century b t s ffi it to say h t o manage d to extract,ou
ev

p a i ning how the capitalist mode of production

t
, u u a , t the ext e n
l

t t
that we think of g lobalization as a p ahomogeneous and corn­
f

o f g lo ba zati f cap al, o peoplesand histories that wereall di ff erent,

ce
ro c e ss
i
o o
li
t
the categor y remains of interest Ho
r the i a t hi k c y. A stract labor may thus be_rea
d

mon unit for measuring human a t ivit

n

. , res n e e o re
n thhe
d
t
b

category, and especially soin a wo ld an a ou o o w e o c o c a t s ae no t er-

w he re Marx's k ey a ssmpt o t s i t i t l he
we ve

r nt f u
at
i

u n t as cc h th I gi f pi al bl se f di ff

8 3 • U N I VE R SA li S M AN 0 B EL O N G I N G
 ence s of hist r . ln the cl udi n g part
o y co n f
o the essay h
dev elo a d1. stm . t .1 n M r m d betw kind • f · e r• 1 t
c o a x a e een two
J call Hp.1 s to s o 0hiswve
r 1an d H.1s o t ry
2 , r e s e c
.v
e �y torj ry o
1 f.. onvention" or law into the picture. For him• money re p
itself and y p ti : pas s
t "posi ed bes, IY�i idea o c . ..1t .1s for th1s. purpose re-
as tha don o t be ong t ocap1tal " fi -p t tion: [of exch angingdiss'1m. -
ts t l
s' li e ro c ."Y1 ca ta '
cfi
ente d suc ha conven 1
this distin pctio n tos how h w s
that money has been introduced: it becomes ,as t were,
o Marx'sown though s m y bess e p pli l far goods) i a
sist an I'd I M '
to arx sc nt 1 . . t a e d lt o r ,
que o fca i·ta l h at h el . llla e t o t . m ... it te lls us how many shoes areequal to a h o use" (19 ,:
t
e ac en ra nu.ddle ter
sublat es d·w a: re ces ·mto 1· e . : t t e 8
e n p o g co according to Aristotle, represented somekind of a gene
ts If i fc a · t 125)• Money' . . . ra
P1 al e ent a convenllon. A convenllon was ultunately arbitrary, - 1 w
3gre m • 1 as
lace by th� sheer force of law that �im�ly reflected the will f
CAPITAL, ABSTR C L BO held in p _ _
A T A R, AN the community. Anstotle mtroduc�d mto h1s discussion the noteo o
SUBLATION F DIFFERE D T HE i f a
a
will th t,asCornel us Casto ri adis comm nts, is abse
a
dical po it c l
l i
O N CE e n
Fundamental to M rx's dis : the text of Capital.2 In Aristotle's words: "Money has by gener ta
i
c u s son o a a
fc i l i om
a t s t e id a l
h
represent nee . That is why it has the name of'cur
mod.1ty . And fun d ame ntal he p e Of th c agreement corne to � ­
to t con eptiono c f e
the co m d' . 0111· rency'; it exists by curr�ntc�nven ll,?n and not by nature, and it s in o
question
. of d1'ff, re n . C o
th at are d·a-
e
111 eren t m
ce
. th . h.
mmo d1 t exc
. y
. h
a
n
g is
e abou e x
t chan gng
o
m ty
ii i .s th e
p
_
ower to change and mvahdate 11 (1981: 126). The translatorof Ari -
i u r
s
err 1 ts n es , mate ria lpr p r i th in ncy' (n -
commodit form, in tr insicalo is sup os d t
o e t es an
di d
gs totle points outth at"theGreekwor d ,or 'money,"coin C • "cur
, r e

�- �
l
• . h ' » o
y
eve r maten. al th y ma be-y.m mt p
,
ial
e
o make e renus esYet h t e e
misma) cor n es from th same ro o t as no o ms, 'law,' conven it on' r­
e 1 a er ff ( Ais
od1. y for the purpose of ex h an totle 1981: 126, n. 35).
The co ty fo r m do es n o tas h
s u c nega t edi re en
ff c
ge. Marx begins Capital by critiquing Aristotle. For Aristotle, wha
sus ens10n � ce bu tholds it t
so tha t han
p we c an ex c ge thing as diffe n in brought shoes and houses into a relationship ofexchange was a mer e
as beds andhouses. B th w o uld ha hs appe re t from one anothe r
o c t t n ? H wo c o u t "convention" - "a makeshift forpractical purposes,'' as Marx translate d
l d hings tha t
u
app aren tl y had n thi g
o n in common o
il. Yetit was not satisfactory for Marx to think that thetermthat me­
corne to f rm items in a s ri s
capitalist exchan es a e resi th a Marx wo uld th ink e e of
g , s t dia ted differences among commodities could be simply a convention,
andinfinite of as contin uous ol
? that is, an arbitrary expression of p itical will. Referring to Aris otles'
t
Readers w ill r em emb r a r
argument that the e could not be a "homogeneous element, i.e., th e
e M rx's argument with Ar s t o
Aristotle, in the cour e of his d libe a i o i i to le n this point. common substance" between the bed (Marx's copy of Aristotle seems
s e r t n n ch o ch n
suchissuesas justice, e s lNi ma ea Eth icso n to have used the e x ample of the bed and not that of the shoe!} and the
qua ity, a nd r o p rot on a i t , focused n the pro ­
l i

lem of exchan ge . Exchan e , he p y o b

arg e d , as cent l t o house, Ma rx ask ed: "But whynot? Towardsthe bed the house represents
g u w ra th e formation ofa
cornmunity . B t a comm n it was alwa m d something equal, in so far as it represents what isreally equal, bo thin
u u y ys a e up of pe o ple whowere t he bed and the house. And that is-human labour" (1990: 151).
"clifl'erent and u equ " O the ground, the re wer n l y n
n al. n
mensurabilities. Eve r in divid al was diffre
eo i finite incom­ This human labor, the "common substance" mediating differences,
y u n For e xch ge to act as
the basisof comm n ity, th h d e t. an was Marxs ' concept ofabst ract labor, which he descr ibedas "the secret
e re w a
a t o be y of find in a co mm on g .
of the expression o fva lue "It was only in a society inwhich bourgeo s
i
measure so that wha
u
t eq l a
t was n u a o c uld b equ alized. Aristotl e (1 981:
o e values h ad acquired a hege monic st atus that this "secret" could be un­
125- 27) underscores this im er ive : " The s b al d wi re
t
p at ym u t e equ ize [ h ­ veiled. 1t "could notbe deciphered" wrote Marx,"until the concep of
t
spec to a mea sur e J;a d ve r hing h
t n e yt t a t ent re s into an e x chan ge mu5! h um an equ ity had alreadyacquired the permanence ofa fixed popu­
al
somehowbe com r a bl With t hi
pa e. " ou t s measure ofequ ivale nc e thatal­ lar opinion." Th s, turn, was poss ble "only in a society where the
lowed for comparison, th re c ould n t b an excha n and i in i
e o e hence n o commodity-form [was ) t he universal form of the product of labour"
community. e y g i [was ) the relat ion be­
and where therefore " the dom nant social relation
Aristotle, as is w ell kn ow n, s o l d
v hi p l b br in
s - ol n na u re
e t s rob em ng g the en men e o ss of co m mo t es." e h di g t
y i twe as th p sse ors di i Th avel
84 * D I PE S H C H A K RA B R T Y
A 8 5 • NVERSALISM A N
U I D BELO N G
ING

---
 ofancient Greek society was what, according to Marx , o
. ccluded
. And by the same logi.c, the gen .A. ,. ctivity as spectral, "phantom-like" rather than "th·
totle's analyt1 cal v1s1on. erah.za_ l . ri fies this obje 1ng-like"·
equality under bourgeois hegemony io n of no w look at the products of [abstract) labour Th
contractual _ created the .. Let us ere . no
1s
histori em in each case but the same pha ntom-1"/1 ce. ob.1ec . . th
condition s for the birth of Marx's
.
insights
.
(Marx .
199 0• 15 2) T
- he·I dea o
e.il . g left of th
1n .. t1v1ty-_· theY
congealed quantlttes of hom ogen ous human Iabou
abstract labor was thus a parttcular ms tance of the idea of th
e abst q
f are merely r 1 e of
human-the bearer o f -
nghts, r
1or example - popularized b E ta hurnan labour-power expended without regard 10 the ,o c rm of' _- ·•
Y n hg . h te 1ts ex
. As crystals of this social substanc e• wh'1c h 1s.
ment philosophers. n. penditure .... common
they are values-commodity values" (Marx 1990.. 128,
This common measure of human activity, abstract Ia� b I.Sw t 0 them ail, . em-
. ). Or as h e exp1 ams elsewhere in Capital· "Not an ato
Marx opposes to the 1dea of real or concrete labor (which ts . hat p hasis added . . . . m of
What an mto the obJect1VJty of commodity as values,. 1n
specific form of labor is). Simply put, abstract tabor refiers to y rnatter enters . . th"is .11 .1
5
an"•n ·­ e dir ect op posite of the coarsely sensuous objectiv ity of comm
ditference to any specific kind of labour." By itself, this does not th . ects,,, and also, "commod1. . od"11te
. s
· " soc1ety- , rnake as physical obi t1es possess an objective char-
r:
1or cap1t· a1·1sm. A "b arbanan · Marx s expression',-m
ay be te r as val ues only in so far as they are ail expressions of an ident
marked by the absence ofa developed division oflabor that its me 50 ac ical
rnbers social substance, human labour, ... their objective character as value is
"are fi t by nature to do anyth"mg"(M arx 1973: 105). By Marx's argu 0:
purely social" (Marx 199 138-
ment 39).
it was pe_rfectly conceivable that such a society would have abstract lab How then is abstract labor to be conceptualized? If we do not share
or
though 1ts members would not be_ able to theorize it. Such theon•zi. Marx's assumption that the exchange of commodities in capitalism nec­
. . . ng
would be possible only m the cap1tahst mode of production in which essarily forms a continuous and infinite series, then abstract labor is per­
the very activity of abstracting became the most common strand of ail haps best understood as a performative, practical category. To organize
or most other kinds of labor. life under the sign of capital is to act as if labor could indeed be ab­
What indeed was abstract labor? Sometimes Marx would write as stracted from ail the social tissues in which it is always already embedded
though abstract labor was pure physiological expenditure ofenergy.For and which make any particular labor-eve n the labor of abstracting­
example: "If we leave aside the determinate quality of productive ac­ pe rceptibly concrete. Marx's "barbarians" ha d abstract labor.Anybody
tivity, and therefore the useful character ofthe labour, what remains is its in that society could take up any kind of activity.But their "indiffer­
quality of being an expenditure of human labour-power.Tailoring and ence to specific labour" would not be as visible to an analyst as in a
weaving, although they are qualitatively different productive activities, capitalist society, because in the case of these hypothetical barbarians,
are both a productive expenditure of human brains, muscles, nerves, this indifference itself would not be universally performed as a sepa­
rate, specia\ized kind of labor. T hat is to say, the ve ry concrete labor of
hands, etc." (Marx 1990: 134). Or this: "On the other hand, ail labour is
abstracting would not be separately observable as a general feature of
an expenditure ofhuman labour-power, in the physiological sense, and
the many different kinds of specific labor that society undertook.In a
it is in this quafüy ofbeing equal, or abstract, human labour that it forms
capitalist s ociety, by contrast, the particular work of abstracting would
the value ofcommodities" (Marx 1990: 137). But students of Marx from
, itselfbecome an element ofmost or al! othe r kinds of concrete labor and
different periods and as different from one another as Isaak Il'ich Rubin would thus be more visible to an observer. As Marx (1973: 104) put it: "As
tha t
Cornelius Castoriadis, Jon Elster, and Moishe Postone have shown a rule, most general abstractions arise only in the midst of the richest
to conceive of abstract labor as a thing-like substance, as a Cart esia n res
possible concrete development, where one thing appears as common t�
mis ­
extensa, to reduce it to "nervous and muscular energy,"is either to many, to ail. Then it ceases to be thinkable in a particular form alone.
e)
read Marx (as Rubin [1975: 131-38] and Postone [1993: 144-46] argu "Such a state ofaffairs "writes Marx (104-5), "is at ils most developed in
'
or to repeat a mistake of Marx's thoughts (as Castoriadis [1984: 3o7- the most modern form ofexistence of bourgeo·is soc1ety- · · the United
m
r as_a
8] and Elster [1995: 68] put it). Marx does speak of abstract Iabo S!ates. Here, then, for the first time , the point of departu of modern re
uah-
"social substance" possessing "objectivity," but he immediately q
87 • UN IVERSALI SM AND BELONGING
86 • DIPESH CHAKRABARTY

....
 econ omics, namely the abs t t
rac ion of th e ca tego b
such'Ia bourpure and si
, mple•becomes true 111. p ry .'la our•••1 ab
our. They do thiswithout bei n g awa o it"M arx, s
f
expression "the abst r actice." N ot·i c e oU.ril ur as human lab
r action · · · becom
es true i h-1 labo ny other places .m h.s wntt . n. g ,s 1. r etre o •·
.ic h ere as in ma 1 5 l r sp ect ive.
not have written a clearers atement
t m· d1' catin. gn prat ctbice."q"l,ta rboCou x
�•
1 g ,
J Marx agreed mo e with �ristot e th anhe a ck no we g ed a- bs rt act/
o r l d
nota thing-like entity, tha a tr I Jd
not p hysiologiea 11 ab sl a a r Ctl.ng labor,one. couId mdeed sa y,. w asa capitali ts "co nven tio n,.s
t
muscularand nervousener ro ' no a a c lab1 lv bstr a o
gy. lt referredt a p ic c u e s11in � ath t the middle term m exchange remams a matter ofconven tio nafter
o ra c
crete performance o f . t . e, a n a i vity
ct
of a h lt of pri
t h ework o a bs trac t.io n , s 11 n 1 la rt O Wh , a eon ail But Marx's position that the conve n tio n was no tt e res u or
. theanalyt1caJ
m . t at o n ll d A i t otl
s rategies of e c onom f ics whe e d Ots · . deci sion to abs trac t wou ld n ot
h ave a o w e s 's v -
n n ps aks o co nsc1·ou s . . r e o
category caJled " abor. «· . •
o e untarism in regard to th1s convention ( 111s m our power 10 ch a ge and
n
l " e f n
a ab
.
Somet1m S lta q r b a key 10 th
es Marx writes as if stract
ab I a bor was wh t ne o ïnvalidate")• . Abstract labor i� wh at Ma x d�codes to e e
after gom . g through a conscio a o b t ai ues d he worl .
us an d in te n tio
n aI
pr ocess_ tn uch n- a.1 "� herme neutic grid through which capital re qu p ufos to rea t
. l ik r m an ce f bt d
certain p roc d ma e ·1 Disciplinary processes are what make th e er o a s r a­
e ures
. ol f ropthema tic s-of m e t a li t . . tit i e c
.
t1es of th err
. ma
te n a p e
rti es: n y
s np
P
m g c o
in1110di .
n tion-the Jaborofabstr acting-visibl e (to Marx) cas a
e
typ a
con s u v fea
l i i io
d
t
of la
­
ture of the capita1 st mode of produ
i ctio .
n T h ii v s n bor
use- vaJue of comm d·1 ·1 ,
he l ti on
If. .. we disregard the ly r r e
o t es o n one in 3 capita1ist facto y, the codes of factory egulat on, t
r
a s hip
remams, • i
that ofproductso flab our .... Ifwe m k t between the machine ry and men, st ate legisla t ion h guid ng the o ­
a e a bs rac ,. onprope
t fro ny. l ak u p wrga
use-value, we aJso abstract from them al ft 111 111 nization of factory lives, the foreman's work-al t es e m e at
ts and fo
. .
a t
e ir c o n s 1u n e r fac is s u ch h e
wh1ch make1t a use-value. It is no l on ger a ab le a h a •ece. Marx calls disc ipline. The divisi on of labo r in the tory , h
t •h ouse, P ms o f o tni
yarn or any other useful th ng. AlJ itss ens ous c a iI S a wr ites (1990: 465), that it "creates a continu ty i ,a unif r ty, a regu­
i u rac ter·I S · C re ex- o q i diff r en t fr m
• • . larity, an order, and even an intensit y o l a b ur u te e
tmgu 1shed .... W1th the dis appeara n e of th e u ful h
c ara c ter of the f th t an ticip o
h se
c
that found in an independen t handicraft."ln se nt ences a at
products of labour, the useful ch aracter of t e kinds oflabo ur em­ i h by b t a
ea
i h b asic theme of Michel Fouca ult'sDiscipli a n
n e d u fp P n s a o u h nu­
bodied in them al sodisappears; th is in turn e nta lst ed sa p ar an
i
ce al
dred years, he describes how the " ove rsee 'rs book o en ties re pla ces
of the different concrete forms of l abour . They c an n olo g e be
n e r dis­ li i hm
e me kind o the slave-driv er's l as h [in capitalist manage m ent]." "A pun s e nt s,"
d
t n gu ishe d, bu t ar e a il toge th er re uced to th sa
f labow, i f in ­
ih m n l Marx writes (1990: 5 50), "na turally reso ve l th emselves n to es and d
a ur in the abstra t. (Marx 1990: 128; emphasis add e
u a bo c ed) ductio ns from wages."
d " h y ca m f
ab c ," n o Factory legislation also pa rticipates in thi s perfor an ce o s ­
Expressions like "if we disregard," "if w e stra t an t e l is tio di ci ­
plinary abstraction. Marx argu es (1990: 635) tha such t eg l a n "de
longer be distinguished" may gi v e the impr ess ion tha Ma rx ii s hwritinn g
t
hich th
stroys both the ancient and tra nsi o n al forms behind w e m d o i­
r disti g s . B u ti
here of a human subjec t who disreg ar ds, abs tract , so n u es t d al or
i cle nation of capital is still partially hi dden ... i n e a chin i idu v sho
a r t he do es not
h
Marx's discussion of factory disciplin e m ak es
t t a an dw th k conp­
it enfor ces unifo mity, regular ity, order and eco nom y" us
r ac i v i i s indeed
f
visualize the abstraction o f labor inher e n tin the proce ss o eh xcha ngeof tributes to sustaining the assum pt o n tha t huma n t ty
i
commodit es as a large-s cal e mental oper ation. Abstrac itioin pa pens i
i
t
o n measurable on a homogeneous scal e. But it is ni th e wa y he law-and
n of it
and through practice. It precede s one's co n cs iou s rec o gnbt i g th sper isx·­od through the law,the state and the capitalist classes-imagines lal tborers
tence. As Marx (1990: 166 - 6 7) pu it: "Men do n ot . .. r n e ,
through biolog ical/physiological categoriess uch a s adults, a u males
d
t e r
a th er as l s b ea t eh o
ucts oftheir labour into relation wi th e c h o va u c use y women, and chil dren tha tthework of h t e reduct iv e abstracT ti n o fl abo
his
see these abjects merely a s thematerial integument s of homo no from ail its attendant social ntegurnents is perfor med
.
mod
eo
. d·a. r t pge e
roductus s i f
en w from wilbin
h u am a
n l b our . T e hre ve rs
e is t ru e : b y qu
e a ti n g t . 1 he 1 r 11 e imagina t ion, Marx fu r ther s hows us, is also hat s tructu res
e ·a. e re nt kinds o f
to each other in excha nge a sval u es, they e qua et th 1r d w

B 9 • UNIVE R A S M AND BELON IGNG

S LI
88 • D IP ES H C H A K R A B A R T Y
 t he process of produ cti on. It is dye
d i n to a p
wo rker's relat ion c it a l'
ship with th e machin . s o n
e
In the first volume
ofCapua . t, M w Vision t
a x has rec 0f L'" n Jand, This history shows two simulta n eou s pr ce o ssesat w or k 1n.
ploy of staging what
he calls the voice" of w oursek .I 0 h
r

t e rh, E pgitahs . l Production, both ofthem cnt . . ca t o

" th e o r 10 1O . ca 1 l M ar x's u n d r s at nd'1n g
e o
out the character of his category labo . l'
r (To forest 11e r. Orde q0 b.J� the ,a 1eg ory worker asan abstract, re1fied . c at g e ory. Th e ma h·me pr
I should reit erate tha t a rn 1 u d ri . c o-
.
Marx i s w r ting bout h
i a t e re 1a tt o sh.
.s n erstand·ng duc es "the technical subordrnatton of the worke rto the unifo r m
categories and not between emp r t g mo
ca peop n. 1P n u.oos o f the instrument so f Ia b our ., (Marx 1990: 549; see also 5 3 5},
abstracted the category l le.) Th· 1c e
h
bei,,,. '
.
' . lt
"worker" or " abo is fr rn t sthvo r rs the motive force of pro d ucllon from the hum o thea rum
i

_s ivs h ' " ,rans,e

i

0
r" . r
ch.1c processes we commonsen . a y t i
o e SOctal 0iv
w�� chine, from hvmg to de ad labor. h c n o y ha n on a 1
. . an
s1c Il ass c o a te with "th a nd P . T isa n ppe 1�
l

example, this voice reduces age, ch dh od heal h sy co n d.1110

.
. ns·· the worker 1s first redu ced to h1s ro her biological andth
.
de everyday." o
.a il o , t , e -
log1c I or natural phys1.olo . , a n stren th1 F r fore, abstract body, and then movement s of this a stra ct bod are b re
g1cal s tatements, p ate fr g 0hio. y
b

s e ar . ned . rnto the ry sh ro-

an dh.1ston· callyspec1ficexpe ·
nen c es ofage ing ofb i
orn the d' ken up and indi idually des1g ve ape an m e ment
ov
"
v

iver st of
e ng ach· tld ofbe
d

hea lthy , and so on. " Apart from , the machine ·1tself. "C ap1t · al ab sor b s Iabou r . int o.1 tse 1f," Marx (197 3: 7
the nat l de i t· o h , · 1n }
etc.," Marx s categ orywo ur a t er o r a n t
i rou h g ould write in his no tebooks, quoting Go et he, "as t hough i body w04
' rker says to t ec pi a e re
h a tai si in av · oc th _g_ , : love pos sessed." The body that the ma ch n e c rn e t o po ess is
spective aswel l,"I mustbe abl atts111 ge.
t

i o s
ts

t tr o t h e
e to work tomorrow i h
e

w t th e samenor a:st ract body it ascribed to the workerto beg n w th. Marx (1990: 5
amount of stren i i
ss

gth, health, an d freshn ss s nuJ 0 }

meansthat "sentim th
e a today " This abstract . w rites: "Large-scale industry was cripp e in s wh le d ve
l d it o e lopmen 4as
. ents are is im g ary .
,, no par t o a in dial o gue bet 10 0 longas its characteristic instrumen o p duc t ion, th ma c h ine, owt
the abstracted labor er w ee t f ro e ed
and the capi tal t w o s l a fig n its existence to persona! strength an d per son a ( ski ll (an d] depen
f

u re ofab .
h

.
t1on. The vo1. ce of the worker " is i a so ra , d e d
say s I ... demand w s t c on th e mu scular devetopment,t he ke nes s of igh
: a o rking dayof en s t an the manuaI
mal length ... without n o
any appeal to yo u h ar , fo in m eym r­
d

dexterity with which speciali zed worke r ..

r e) t r on tter s s . w ie ded t e dwarflik - e
t

a
h ir

sentiment is out of pla ce. You may instruments." Once the worker's cap c ty fo abo c u ld betranst
b e a mode cit ze n ,pe h r a psa me .m a i r t r o a t ed
i

berof the R.s. P.C.A., andyou may be in th into a series of practices that abstr ac ted t pe s a} fr m the so ,
eo dou ro fsan tity c as well bu he r o n o cal
the th ng you represent
as you c o rne face to fac e w ith me has no eart
; t the machine could appropriate the a b t r bo dy th se p a ct icesthei ­m
i s a tc e r
h selves posited. One tendencyof th who l make ve
in its breast" (Marx 1990: 342
-43 ). t is in this f gure f o arational collec­ e process was to e nth e
I
i

h um anness of the capacity for lab o r r ed " t i p re ly cci ­

e

tive entity, the worker, that Marx r g ounds thequest ion o f kin a
u nd nt: I u a d ne
wor g-cl tai thatthe motive power happe ns o b e cloth d inthes fo m of hu a
unity, either potential or reali zed. The qu es t o n of w o ki g- class n ity t e r m n
r n u
as.i

i muscles; wind, water, s eam coul

is nota matterof emot ional or psy ch s ri y ofempirical w o rk rs. l t d just well t k e man's place" (
a

ic ol d a t e t as M ar x
i

1990: 497). At the sametime,tho ugh,cap ta - l in M ar x'sun ers t an

is not, in other words, an hing like w at num e ro us hu m ist-Ma i rxst i din g
d

a n of its l ogic-w ul
h o d on tbe able to do w th o u tl ving, hum an la bo .
la o historians, from E. P. Th o mp o no n i r
yt i

, h ve o ima i
s a g n e it to be.
b
en
r
ft d

The "wor ker is an abs ract and co c ve s ub j t b it v

" t e t i e c e ti•
ll y sh ryas co ns
tut on.5 It is within that co lec e e ,
i

ti v a n b
d a st ct s ra u ct t t a p i v ak
bj
S ABSTRACT LABOR AS CRITIQUE
(1988: 277) has rem inded us, the diale tc c of class-in-itse lf an class·
l

The universal category abstract ta b or has a wof old

i

f un ct on ni
d

t f bM ar x­:
i

for-itself p lays itself o ut .6 The " c o

ll ec ti ve f worke r," wri Marx i9 : it is both a desc
ription and a critique o fcap t I c a t . pi m akes
a strac
i div idual ( p9 ·o
t
al

umb i
al

468), "formed outof the combi n n o a n r se tionsrealineverydaylife, M xuse

es

at o o n s these ve r y sam eabst c i ns

e
i f

o t to give
t

cialized workers, is the i tem of o du i ra

-wi t­
machinery sp e c c lly a cteri l ic us asense of the everyday world thatcapi alis t r ct n rea es
ar

i fia ch ra S of t p o c
the manufacturingperiod." ness, for exam ical t go es
ple,Ma r x ' s use ofsuch reduc tivel bi otoy g ca e ri as
Marx co nstruc ts a fas inat in and fr ar
hi c g
su es t ve,
t ug
o a gm e n t y , "women,""children
and adult males, "ch o o " ctions
i h h d fa il

s r to f factory machi gg _ ao the "expe i t reu " il (1 h 0 :d,1" 1 m 8 .y 39fun 51 • , "

o nery in t e ea t ·a to m i l bour
y h rly ph e aso f ind us l" 1 za i n tn d n d o fd o e c
st a " 9 9 5 7 ,5 n , 6 5 46,
n
90 • D IPES H CH K
A RA B
AR T Y 9t • UNiVE SRALISM AND BELO GN IN G
 54 7). The idea of abst ra ct l abo r reprodu c the c
e nt ral r.
hermeneutic of capital-h o w capi l re hum a . ea
n act1vit t ure f
e
ds s

e y. o tht . This argument is int e gr al to Marx's arger poi t tha t ·r a p.uah. srn
labor is als oa crit que o t same h
Yet abstract Jog1c ,
t a

.1
a

erniene . Ic
i

. . e
f h

. t o u e d" .
t-the laborof abstr actm g -d efi nes f r M x a certa· . Utic beca wer eever 10 rea hz e1 s l f full y, 1 w l d al po s it t h c on i tion s for its
l n

ar
so

•nk1nd f llSt .
o

. " h" d O Unft o ution.

dom. He ca11 s. 1t "d espot1 sm . T 1s es oti sm is str w0 diss l
i

p Uc u r f tt o . au tocra t1c, w n. t es Mar x . R ist a .

is not simpl y h 1 stonc
. . a l. us ar x (19 0: 9 ) wr1·Ies: ,'Ca 0. capital•, ..
t a I Cal p•ta 's power 1s n ce 1s r oo ted in
Th M 9 3 5 . .
l

1 ess hro gh wh1ch capital appropria tes h will fth e work e

'

t w rest le with t h insu o rdinati a proc t t e

es

stantly compell ed o Pliai isCo 1 . r

•• x (1990: 549-50) wntes: .. In the facto ryc.o e • t
u

h e "h"ghly on ofthew '- n . ca 'ta1 ,

. 1· p i ·1s t, orrnu-
e b 0
1 .,ar
1 de aifed sp
d

Andhe d escn'b esd1" sc 1p me ast .

he

t ecif . or,.er s. • . p owe over h

ie
·r, · h time s th l . ications tates his autocrat
work er s h e a r iv e leg·1s1ator an
. ,, hk pill at , d
orm1 t y, t e i
r

regu 1 ate, w1t · h m1 ·1·1tar y u . .

m , rnits, the •l vh of h1s 1l T s w • rnbod·
1s

i purely as an eman atlon ow w d m . ca .

.. 1 . 1 e p .
e

work by the strok oft h e oc d , . d ped out f . Pa0ses .

pur e y de po t c" a d he u ses th 1
n

. . ev o 0 c1rcurn of . i ne, Marx descnbes a s

ta 1 1s1 -''uipl
k

l i s
i e

i • n
ch

e
el

of p
e

he m d uctio Sian
as natural l s o t mo e ro scnbe t e coe r on a
. îheir f, � an alogy of the army to de h s heart·• "A n 1n • dus­
d

i
UJO',
f

b the stat e we e horrnulation,

aw d n

official recogni t i on and proc co a d f ca i al r qui r es like

ern
•

a trial army of worke s under the mm n o

o

y p t e
c

,
l

"
t

a
am ti n t

r t e result
r

long class s tru ggl e. Marx (1 9 9 0: 48 - 0 is not s peakin f real army, officers ( ma nagers) and N. c .o. s [ noncom m ssio ed oflicer )
o

9 9
g merely of a du ri g h e l b r n
)

· t·io n from
° i

pa rt1cu · 1ar h·1ston· ca 1 stage, o f the t ran s i h d·c aft (foremen, ove rsee rs), who com mand a ou p ocess int
r s tom r he
s

clus fu
factures in England, wh en "t e full deve o p ment of its [ . ilnu. o be corn es t e ex c­
an

name ofcapita The work o f supe rv i si n

i n

i ve
t
h

cap1tal'sl . ow
ir

. t bstacle fro manyd

l l.

. .
h

tende c1es p g a s · tion" (Marx 1990: 450).9

pecuJ1a r cornes u a m s o
n

trecttons lli does

. . . . n isto actas thou
f mcludmgJ the ha ti s and t h res 1 s t a ce o the malewor kers � . . · Whycall capitalist discipline " de spo t ic" ifa t
n m

b gh
He1sa lsc, ·
e

abor could be abstracted and homogenized Mar x is clear th at t s

f

.. .
wntmg a bout res1 s tan ceto ca p1. tal" a s hin g i nternai · l hi
?

" 10 ca .
of wo r un d r capital ism e
omet

elf- p od
u ction pttal has nothing to do with the onerou sn ses
itsel f. As Marx writes el s ewhere, the s re r ofcapital" e .H
s k

o " he lighten ing of la

m would even use t he term torur t e to d es cribe t bor. •
in contradi ctions wh m e but just as constantv/ es
Marx's w iti gs on t h is poi nt un ersco r e th e im
c of the
co ­
h
ic
n
n nt erco
are co s ta /y ov
pos ite d. " He adds , ju s becau se c a pi l gets id e lly beyond every
rt

uJ
r n d

cept of abstract labor- a ve rs o i n o the n E ligh e m e nt fig r e of t eh

t
a ne

f
po

posedt o i al barr e rs an p j udices " "it does not by any

re
u

t b y"n a
t a a

t on , abstract human - as an in st rumen t of crit que . H et hou ght of abst ct

i d t n

means follow th it r
i

ha s eal ove co me i t " (Marx tabor as a compound category, s pec rally obj ecti ve an
d y t made u
19 7 :3 410 ; empha­
i

e p of
ra

a r ly t

b
sis added ). e , c ted from an
t

humanphysio ogy and hum anco nscious nss o a y

l
th b t

ar ise? Many labor histo

But f r om w h ere does s u c re s s a nce rians em iricaJ history. The conscious e n ss in quest o n w
as p
ure will. arx
M
i t s ra
i
h
p

is ­
think of re s tance t o factory wor asr sulting either from a cl as
e h be writes: "Fac tory work exhausts the n e rv ou s y s stem to the u
ttermo
; at
k

f i d i ] di i pline
us s and pre ndustrial h
tween the req iru eme n t o n tr a ab it s the same ti me, [through speciali za o n and the con sequ n pri legi n g
s t
e t vi

rly ph s eo in us tr ialization or from a he gh e e<l the m y sided pl y of the mus ecl s,

of worke rs in the ea ofthemachine,] it does aw ay wi th
s c

t n
i

an -
ti
f d

i a l t er phas e
n In other words , they see bodily an d i telle ctual a ­c
in
a

level o f wor er con sc o su ness and confiscates every atom ofJre e dom bo
a i

.
th

k a pi u " (Marx 19 7 }:
,
his to r ic l st ge o f capi tal st prod
c u tc o n. tivity. Even the i com es a t o rt re 548 ;
n

r
it a s resultin fr om ar t u ar o
g f l bo be
a

i l gh enin
i l

ta ce in the very logic of cap emphasis adde d).

In contrast , ar loc a es s res i s n ital­
a a i t a u
g

M x s me t hingas
re u d c­
hi

rt
that is, e oca es i in the s ruc ural "being" of capital rathe han in Why would fre edo m have anyt ng t do
w th d ! h
o
t t

o
i

h I hi
t

C t ra l tothi argument s whatMarx

sees as tively physiological as "the nervo s a m -si
u s ys tem... [ n
t

i t s his tori ca l" ec o m ng." en

t t any

s i
b a bo dedt
e

t
t

of ca pi " Thi desp otis m has nothing to do w play of themuscles" ? ecause, Marx (1973: ) explain s , th l e h
t he"despo ti sm
ith the B 2 r at
i 96

a
l.

s its c ontradictor i n g"

t s It uld not mat ter for Marx's ar e tn capi tal presupposes "as its co n r adict o n a d
n
h istorical sta ge o c ap m. wo i l ki f t be ­
y

o a rbo
li gum

and which in tur n res pp es cap " is a sp c e a

f a

q on Re e
t

a
i

were a develope d s i
5 n� " p os i .t al.
if the ca p i tal t co untr i on h r · u
d

.
i

is y n ue s "
n

. as t e vmg 5 0 rce of
e

labour not as an obj ect, but as actlVlty, . .

u

do th r's consciousness or t a h 5 i o
ti

es n o t refer to e em p rca wo rke i n· l b i -

i

" i m e re a
valu . 9 arx ont ues, i n ts ca pital, a o u r s t e ly b
i i l o

e"
cal stage of capit · t al' s M A s ag
h

al. It is th
e O th er of the e spo t is
m i ne t n
h
c a

i
n

d
i

ren i cap
93 • U N IVE R SA L IS M AN D BE LO NG IN G
92 A K RABARTY
• D IP ESH C H
 str act for m he m e p
, t r e o i b i lit yo f v l
o n1y a s a ca p ac1• ty as a ss a ue .111. n
r e so u rc e i n h e b - d·1· p os ga c 1. v t y lvh ·
t
. ns) • It 1• s only with d eath
that this un i t y
, t Ad ditio
19 73.. 29 8) Sci .en ce a. ds i n t hi s s of1 he i • artic le 2 16
. 1 a s b t · o I f m .e s . lvo r •ch � . falls rey to th e obj ecti ve forc e sof natu r e .
mach.m e ry, t he a pp o p ia ra c t i o hvin 1 b k er• ( i& , iso;se e al: ed and the b�Y ( �:
r r t i on o f livi n o 1n b g a or b . � "'.. 197 332
) put s it n
i e xplain ing this s e c ­
c aP• a � · ,
r
re ct reah. ty g a r by i.S disrner :o les Tay or
r
lt i s , firs t l t h o u .
. . .. n l y. h a
y
y, d 11
a] J s C m sm" break out o f the "su b -
a nd chem1c . al la ws a i
e a a
. s s a p li ca p . a c h· ev t e : • , · •. . l death •a ech ani.sm an dche i
, r si n g di c tl o u t i fa . P • w1t l e l' s Logt .c, " rn co n .
tinues." L1. fe, to
y o n ca ti on of ni hsa d i.
tiollO f}'l eg . h the y are h eId "as lo n g as life
ch.me to p er for m t h e am e l re s c e n h c
a. • ,, in whic .
a bo ru as th a t pi c .e o• u s ·i c h e a b J e i agai nst th e p oss .1b.1hty . o
w or k e r How ev er t he s re v w n es the n 1 ca 1 d' auon s . "is a stand'1 ng f ght" f
or ,n
. , de v el o rn J
en o t f rna h. i
Y P e r r rn ed i-,_ .
fo
J-{egeJ's expre sion'. h ' h dea th threate ns the uni t yof the livin g
on 1y aft e r
. . . ail t h e scie nces
ph
c i ne r.y a on g l h is
l
v r lll k a nt w ith w 1 c
a ve be en r:oberr ne ,o fe• in M arx' s analysis of ca pit al, 1s s1milarl y
. . . .
t al "(Ma rx 19 7 3 : 70 3 - 4 e ss d
a � thu.stedisr:oe 9 5· 281). 1.
) . p r e in to t e se P i t h f ' ' " h
(Hegel 1 7 · 1 . n tha t 1s . c onSùtu . uve.
T he cri. t1c . al pom . t is th at t h Jab th t rv
ce o ca u r ,
. i,ody .
h ,, ag ainst th e pro cess of a bs tractio
.
e o . b
P •· " s taJldingf ig t ofab stract ion and ongom g
Jab or. It w s as if the process .
a
1. s 'ts searc h c 1 or a co m mon m r a s a .
e a s u o fhu a is t .ra c t e d . n t he c . fthecateg ory cap1tah st modeofp rodu ct1o. n
wou d gro un d resist a n c e 1S • o . . ofthe wo rker• s b odyin the
t o c a pit real • th .m an a 1 v .
p
. ropnauon .
I vi n g •M 1 o e c t s e n o e
e!U
11 y • .. 1. • apP e rm t a
Y
ca11e d "I1 · c e . ,. The con n ect i o b e m a p p a ct nt
s l y rn . . a 1 ar aJ � threa tened t e ff i m em uru
e
t w en t h I re o rp a i l a d b f th ty th t th
i
1 n s ys te n .
. Us fa
e
c al economy a n d t he tr aditio e ur e an gua ge f cl - p d " itsel f was
n s o E o p e a n f h o h o
h assi ca M<> • Or i •tjvin g bo_ Y
tife e x pre ssed, h o weve , was so methin g
r

·v1talis t " a re a n und ere x p lo re d t uh g t t . a t o n

J P t.
li
T h is u
m t y of th e bod y that
r e a o f r es ea e c o uJd ea u h th e sheer P hYsical uni ty of the limbs.
" Life" impliesa con -
cas e o fMar x Mar x s , l a n g ua g e a r c , pa r ti u a r l y .
l
rnore t an t a . .t
(s

,e
h as h . s abstr ct and mnate capac 1 y fo r
. u u f th c so Illtht is Pu.r ely hwnan in i
/•1vm · g) an d h is biolo gic al m t ph sc ho is
s e e W o r ds / ; r. sciou
· sness th at
e a r oft0 an . . b d' d and pe culiarl y h uman " wi ll" - refiectedm · "th e
enc e ofnmet . een th- cent ur yvi t J io '
w e ve
r ,
e re v
ea l
d
e e . d willmg._ Th is em o i e
s : n a . mu scles - refuses t o bend to the " t ech ni c alsu b -
a "La bo ur i t h y P lllO e
1 Ofthe "
fcaptt . a J J, wh1c . h st ar ts .1t fe r e tin g " An d
m
s e e as t t hro w n · u. rn any-s1d d,,P ay
n . 6 . . d er which capital c o nsta ntly seeks to pl ace the wo rke r .
m ord m at10n un
powe r"a s commodi. y
t e 1x t s
.s m . h.1 s [th ela bfu o ru r ' ] v i ,a m
th er mo r e
s
M� lll ��to u
Marx wntes . " The presuppo ion of th si t
e mast er -s ervant r e 1 a tton
. .1s th e
e r li 1 • . .
t o mamtam . . th s. fromo d th e t t y .
1 n e ay
t
o n ex t . . . e
h h · .. • n ord e r a ppropna • · non of an a lien wil ,, Th!S will cou Jd not belong t o anu
l.
.. nals ,
quantït y o ffood , t o re plac e h us t o co n sume a r a .
e d -u p bl o o d, e as
t
is c et for anu· na s l c o uJd n ot be pa rt of the po litics of rec ogni ion th a t th
e
hi m th eamoun t o f obje ctifie dl b o u co ai t c. . .. Capi t alhas pa111 id
r n e i h d vi l for ce " ( H e eli an mas ter-sla ve relatio n assumed. A dog mi ght obey a man, bu
a t n n t a st s i t
298, 32 3) . Thes e vita l for ce s are th egr d f is
res 973: th g e man wo ul d never know for certain if the d og did not simply look o
o u n o o n t n
c st
an ve i an cet o ca i ­ him a s anot her bi gg er an d mo re powe rful dog. As M arx (1 973: 500 -501
taJ , th e abstrac t livin glabo r - a um f
us c le s, n e , an d o n sc o p
s o m r s . )
ness /will -that , accordin g t o Mar x , ca p i l i
c i us writ es: " Th e a n i mal m a y we ll provid e a service but does n ot thereb
t po s t s a s it c o t ic to ry y
sta rting poin t al l th e time I thi a s n f ra d m ake its o wner a mas ter. The d ialectic of mu tual r ecog nition on which
s vi a li s t u n d e s i "
. n
n
t r tan di g, l i e , i n ail t s the mas ter- se rvant relationsh ip turne d could
biologica l and c onsci o u s ca a it p fo r w ilfu 1 on ly tak e place between
c y a ct iv it y ( the " m an y s- i d h um ans: " The m ast er- serv ant relation ikewise belong s
ed
pla y o f th e muscles " ) is the ex ce ss tha t ca pit l , fo r ai l t l in th is formula
a i s di s c ipl in ary of t h e app r opr iation of th e i n strume ts o fpro d u c ion.
. .. It is rep ro­
p rocedu res , alwa y s n e ed s bu t c t n t
an n e ver q ui c n t ro l o r d o m � ti t
e o ca e d uced - in m edi a ed fo rm
- in cap ital , and thus . . .
i h s l g: , t s n
One is reminded h e r o fG W . F. Heg l's dis cu ss io n, n fo r m a fe rm e t o f
i t s dissol ution and is an emb lem of its limitati on."
tc
e . e 1 o
l
o fthe A ristotelian cat o r "li . " Heg e ep e
d
A i ot e ' s a ume n t rg Ma rx' s im man ent
eg y fe l a c c t r st c r itique of ca pital egins at the sam e poi nt w here
tha t lif e was exp ress i ve o fa to ta l ity o u m · ty m· 1 1· · ng in d du . " The
r v v al capit al b eg n s its ow n life- proc ss:
a 1 i i b i e wi thb a bst ractio n of l abor Yet this
rs o the bod y ,, H eg l · " re h they e labo�, wh ite .
sing le membe ar o n ly Y
s
f ,
e
wn te , a w a t a bstrac t, is alw ays li
.vhl ving labor to begi n w th. The "li ving"
. n to therr. u m. t y A ha d' e . g . , w e th e L vvu1 q u al i ty o f t he labor e nsur es tha i
and in relatw . n h n he w n o f f.fr ofam ,, 97 5 : t the c ap italist h as not bou ght a fuced
h d m· n am ( 1 a t a
is, as Arîs totle has obser ved, a an e o n , n o t o r
u
r a r
!y n r
m et t , a th e , v ia c o r
qu um o fl b b a r b l e " a p a c ity fo l ab ." St ill , be i n g

9 5
U N I V E R S A LI S
DI pE5 H C HA K R AB AR T Y
N O B
94 *
• M A E L O N G t N G
 "living"is · what makes
stra ction. The tend
this J abor a source
of r esi sta nc
e
Of CAPIT AL
1
por tance of h1s-
C
ency on the .par t of c
apital WouJd tohc apitali81
lE ANALYTI
replace, as much as
possible 1·1 v10g labor · t ro�1
s AN o rt . s o un der1·1ne the im t w here
w• th objectifi ereto re ab
E
� 1s p t es the pom
.
· thus faced with · '
Cap1· ta 1 is 1w ays at h o d i dica
t
e
Ul
. . O
a
t be . was 1 " u r m also 471-
living labor as the starti �:�::c:;tra d ic tion: it ne e;:�:ead la�� '{et rv1a. rJC .t ·que of cap1ta . ter .m" (Marx 1973: 460; see
a t n

ng c ycle of self-r straq a . h is_ cr1 t mus t e n l always] poin · t l s]

also wants to reduce to a m. .
tn 1mum the quantum o . roct Ucti o
ep
nd
to
1n ves tigationI where: "Bourgeois eco nomy
. .
Cap1ta 1 w1 1l therefore tend to d fhvi gJ b n, . hjsrofl' · al ) Or e se .is sys tem" (Marx 1973: 460-61. ) . Marx
100'

eveI op techno logy . n n a or it but it 05 ·

7z, 488 _59, 5 t lying beyo nd. th its be.mg
nee d to a minimu m.This is
exactl wh at w11] . i ord e r to e
re duen eds· p a s · m te rm s ofa distinction between . .
create t he a 1tal 1s,
essary f,or t h e emancipation of Y condi ti th�
e rowards f the past o.f cap uc tur al log ic of capital- that
labor and for the e
ventual ab o1 ns nec. ·t es o in "BeUl g" refer s to the str M u ld s me -
the category labor altogether. B wr• . its own. arx wo
o· cor!l g p. tal has fully corne .1nto
o
ut that wou Id also b
the d 'isso1ut1o · n ofcapital: "Capital . e the conct 1t. 1on of an d b e
hen ca 1 ) real capital, capital as
suc h, or
.
· · · -quite un·tntentio y_r
n aU
·1\10
n for the 5ta te w ( . g Hegel' s vocabulary his t ric al pr ocess m
human labour, expenditure ofenergy .. ai l it us m • g " ref ers t o the
, to a minim um.T · ed uc riJTles c . g r-itself. "Becom m . .
o

to the beneut c. of emancipated labour and . h is Will •ial ' b em -fo sup p ositions of capital
bem g are real-
· ,. (Marx ' is· the cond ti·on re do und es cap s ' h the ] o .
g1 ca 1 pre
· t10n 1i ugh wh ic chronological past that
c1pa o f its ern . p1Y the calendrical or
1
1973: 701). ,
an. afl d t ro . ng is not s1m · ely pos1ts · .
The subsequent part of Marx 's argumen o i ry retrospecttv
t wouI d run ,·zed. sec rn .ita1 bu t t he past that the catego .
capital 's tendency to replace living labor b . as fol!ows. ( . des cap \ d/tool and laborers bemg some-
y science and t t is Prece the connec t.10n between an ·
.
th at 1s, bythe shared results ofman's "und ers . ec h o
n lo gy - Wit h o u t
p 1e, there would never be any workers ava11able
tan dmg of natu fo exam
�asteryover it byvirtue ofhis presence as a social re andh� hoW severed '. r . pen wherever there was cap1-.
.
"
b d -that ita l T h is seve nng would have to hap. . . th1s
Will giv to cap . . ess of
nse to the development of the "social individual" :/
�se,�reatest e t10n - this is
the sense in wh1ch a h1stoncal proc .
would be that of the "free development of inv·1dua 11tJe need 1alist pro duc s in the c urs e of wh ich the log .1cal pre suppos1-
· s. For
th . .15 .indeed a proces
kmd . . · aily by
o
. . e "re. d 1s · pos1te · d log1c
duct1.0n of the necessary labour of society to a m101mu
m" Would '.h en .uo ns o f c ap1·1 aJ are worked out. A past of th1s km . . .
correspond to "the artistic, scientific, etc. development of th . . ory capit al. Whi le this past is still bemg acted out, cap1tahsts
e md1v 1du the categ uage,
o the being of capital. ln Marx's lang
als m · the tlme
.
· set firee, and with the means created ' tor a Il of th m '
e. and workers do not belong t one
x's term [1973: 495]) or,
Capital would then reveal 1tself . as the "moving contradictio n»1t• was:
. they would be called not-capitalist (Mar
. positions of the
1t both presses " to reduce labour t1me to a minimum" and posits labor co uld say, not-worker. These "conditions and presup
11

becoming, of the arising, of capital," writes Marx, "presupp ose precisely

time "as the sole measure and source ofwealth." It would therefor ework
"towards its own dissolution as the form dominating production" (Marx that it is not yet in being but merely in becoming; they therefore dis­
appear as real capital arises, capital which itself, on the basis of its own
1973: 700, 705, 706).
reality, posits the condition for its realization" (Marx 1973: 459; Marx's
Thus would Marx complete the loop of his critique of capital. His
emphasis).
critique, by definition, looks to a future beyond capital. But it doessoby It goes without saying that it is not the actual process of history that
power•
attending closely to the contradictions in capital's own logic. He does the "presupposmg · " ; the log1cal • presuppositions of capital can only
in the capitalist
fully uses the vision of the abstract human embe dded be worked out by someone with a grasp of the logic of capital. In that
critique of capital itself.
practice of abstract labor to generate a radical sens e, a n i nte!lectual comprehension of the structure of
capital is the
h the idea of "human
He recognizes that bourgeois societies in whic 10 �e
precondition of this historical knowle
dge. For history then exempl ifies
prejudice allowed him onl y for us - the tnvestig .
equality" had acquired the fi.xity of popular ma!Jl
. ators-the logical presuppositions of capital
. · ca1 dïli 1 erence.w ould re even though Mar
the sam e idea to critique them. But h1ston . . ' x would argue, capital needs this real history to hap-
ique Pen and even .if the rea dmg
icular form of the cnt ' of this history is only retrospe
sublated and suspended in this part ctive. This is
97 • UN IVERSA
LIS M AND BELONGING

96 • o I p E S H C H A K R A BA R T Y
 the sense of a retrospective reading
1
of the past th
h.1s ,am
r.
ous aphons . m: " Human ana at
tomy conta ,· ns a kMarx .1 nscrib �A a x once desc
n"bed the "commodity-form"a s
li e d. ,n \ .
of the ape." His own g l oss went as follo ey
ws· "The . n . t0 the a na ed.•n e p tu a z lar" structure of capital. And .w1thout
development among the subordinate · i tirnar10 t01ll e'len be_,onebelonging to the cellu "
commod ities.i2 Yet
species can ns of h· Y ethtJl g d b e no g eneralized exchange of
after the higher development is aJready . .. be und s0JJ1 there woul h functioning of capital as money
known· The b ers t d•gh,1 Jllon eY' [ se anda s ne ces sary to t e
thus supplies the key to the ancient" ou rgeo• o 0 0nly sc o elong by any natural connection.
·
enll. 11·esa dity do n ot necessan.1Y b
t e1 sewhere: "Man cornes into exis 3 105 . lie rna de 00Illy
. 1·1 ar pom . (Ma rx 197 : ) ,s e c o . I"
s1m ,, d by cap1ta
d co!JllII l's "own life-process or to the past "posite .
O
tence o nIYw a
point is reac. hed. But once man has eme he a very afl · ther ca pi ta
t that money and commod1ty, as. re1a-
. rged • he be co n C erta. h poss1"b1ity
. rne nizes t e. . . nse to
10 et
pre-cond1t1on of human h1s tory, hkew . s the ,n x r e co g t necessan1y g1vmg
. e its
1s per manen Pernian,nt a
d a e e x sted in history withou
res ult" (Marx 1978: 491). Marx therefor t d Mianrs, coul b v i ' d to capital as such. Relations, whose
e does not Pro uct ilJJA t ciid not look iorwar .
Pr ov1.de u � • e Y
with a teleology of history as with a pers
pectival poi s so llluch ,ap1tal . d es n ot contn"bute to the reproduction of the log1c of
. 'fb
nt fr ducuon ° . . . ex-
read the archives. o
rn Which 10 repr0 e u p t he kmd Of P ast I have called Hlstory 2. Th1s very
In his notes on "revenue and its source ap i t al m a k reads into the .
h1story of money an d
s" in the p o sth , • erogene1ty . Marx
lected and pubh. shed volumes enht . urnousl ample of the het ns that do not contribut e to t h e re-
led Theories of Su Y col. . shows that the relatio .
gave this history a narne: he called it capital' rpl u s '0 rnrnod 1ty .
g1c of capi · tal can .
actually be intunate ly .mtertwmed
Ma� h lo
Value:
s antecedent " duct.1 on ° . f t e
. If" . bo th a precond"1t1on po 5,ted by P ro
.
1tse . Here free 1abor 1s · of capitalist with the relafons 1 that do. Capital ' maintains Marx, has to destroy this
well as "its invariable result" (Marx 1978: 491). Th produc . o . ships as independent forms and subjugate them to
is is the un1v · h nas fust set of relat ton
ersa! a . eed be VIO of the state) : "[Capi- ·
necessary history we ass ociate with capital. It for
ms the backb on nd itself (us.mg, if n , • lence _ that is, the power
usual narratives of transition to the capitalist mode e of t h mmodit y already in existence, but not as 1ts
tal) on.ginally findS
e
lhlete
of p roducti on.
CO

us call this history-a past posited by capital itself as its wn p r o duct , an d lik ew:ise finds money in circulation, but not as an
prec on dition- 0
elernent m 1ts own reproduction.... But both of them must fir st be de­
. •
History 1.
. . al .
Marx opposes to History 1 another kind of past that we stroy ed as m · dependent forms and subordinated to industnal cap1t
will call . •
History 2. Elements of History 2, Marx argues, are also "antece (
Violence the State) is used against interest-bearmg capital by means of
dents" compulsory reduction of interest rates" (Marx 1�78: 468).
to capital-in that capital "encounters them as antecedents," but-and
Marx thus writes into the intimate space of capital an element of deep
here follows the critical distinction I want to highlight- "not as ante­
uncertainty. In the reproduction of its own life-process, capital encoun­
cedents established by itself, not as forms of its own life-proc ess" (Marx
ters relationships that present it with double possibilities. These rela­
19 78: 468). To say that something does not belong to capital's "life­
tions could be central to capital's self-reproduction, and yet it is also
process" is to daim that it does not contribute to the self-reproduction possible for them to be oriented to structures that do not contribute to
of capital. I therefore understand Marx to be saying that antec edents to such reproduction. History 2's are thus not pasts separate from capital;
capital are not only the relationships that constitute History I b�t also th ey are pasts that
inhere in capital and yet interrupt and punctuate the
other relationships that do not !end themselves to the rep roduct10� o f ru n of capital's own logic.
cap1t
al
the logic of capital. Only History 1 is the past eStabl"15h. ed". by History 1, argues Marx, bas to subjugate or destroy the multiple
«

. . . n.
1at10
because History I lends itself to the reproduction of cap1tahst re possibilities that belong to History 2. There is nothing, however, to
. f pasts that
ships. In other words, Marx accepts that the total umverse o guarantee that the subordination of History 2's to the logic of capital
ts .in whic h the
capital encounters is larger than the sum of those elemen could ever be necessarily complete or total. True, Marx wrote about
b ourge ois Society as a "contradictory development" - "relations de­
logical presuppositions of capital are worked out. h _
· bY surprise.T ey nved from earlier forms
Marx's own examples of Hlstory 2 take the reader . ·i can ot
n
will often be found within it only in an entirely
wh1ch cap i al Slu nted form, or
are money and commodity, two elements w1"thout even travestied." But he also at the same time described
99 • U N IV E R
SA LI S M A N D B EL O N I
G NG
98 * DlPESH CHAKRABARTY
 d plural
some of these ''re mnants" of "vanished soci a l li i t ca p ·
1 tal . lt lives in intimate .an. . -
n m
still unconquered," signalling by his metap hor or°rlllations'' ils , .1..;ng s ubsurned . nsh·ps that range from opposition to
o

con ues . omeu'-' ·t al, relatio J

of a "survival" of that which seemed pre- 0r no q t th, P,111.
nca 1·t i c �t t he 8it' ·Js il s• shi. ps to cap1 1
e veloped "d eas
well be the site of an ongoing battle (Marx 1973-. 105-P <1l st o I e reiat1°fl
nc e - . T tha t, I su gge st , Marx's unde rd .
6) T er lidv''r diffe r� . the p oss1b1 ity es not spell out a po
si-
of course, a degree of ambiguity of meaning and · · h e reilJa· s u co ns1 " der. History 2 do .
an e ui fhtS 1 jnv1. te s . to
atives to the narratives
time in this fragment o f a sentence from Marx Does" voc<11ity <1 'Ils,
q
t J-1.1story z . • g hIS ton. es that are altern
· partJy sti[[ li b0Ut o
a.b u raJ11 of wn JJl t e of the nec-
quered" refer to something that is "not yet con q stitut e a dialectical Oth r
uer ed" o s neon e prrogi }-fis tory z,5 do not con . tory 2
that .1s m . pnnc1p . . 1 e "unconquerable"? r orneth·tng· uvcap t a . o t hi nk thus would be to subsume H1s
of J ic of tl" 015tory . T rged Wl.th
ught of as a category. cha
i.
We have to remain alert to - or even make g a r o g 1s b tt er tho .
. . . ood use f ess Y tljstory z . lmng thrusts of
m Marx,s prose. At first sight, Ma ttistorY. 1·fuP u. on Of constantly interruptmg the tota
e
amb1gu1t1es . .
rna ap -certal!J
O
. . . _ . rx nc
pear to �. thene gauve
10
offermg a h1storrc1st readmg. Marx's categories " �
not-cap it al' s ,, e
, , t or n v help of a logical fable
worker, , r
·
1or example, could appear to belong squa
re1Yto the ' ot · " st ory i. il ustrate th.1s poi·nt further with the
t1j
Le t me l o f labor power, the
becommg of capital, • a phase in which capital "is
no t y . Process 0r
o wer. Let us •ma 1 gine the embodiment .
. becommg . " Marx 1973: et in b . a b o r g at 8 A.M . and departmg
merely m ( 459). But notice the arn . eing but about I P_ ng the ria ctory gate eve ry mo rnin
.
biguitY t·n th,.s laborer, enten t-hour day .m the
phrase.· What km · d of a temporal space 1.s signalled
bY "not yet"1 Jf .mg at 5 P.M., having put in his/her usual e1gh
inthe e v en an hour's lunch break). The con-
reads the expressi.on "not yet" as bel onging to the h. . · 0ne cap1·tafist (allowing for
. . . 1stonan's Iexic ice o f the
a h1stonc1sm follows. It refers us back to the idea o f h' st . o n, er
5 v
w- th e wage contr a
ct-guides and defines these h ours. Now,
. i ory as a . ct o fla . one.
.
that is needed for the transition to cap1t. . Watt-
tra of Hist s 1 and 2, one may say
mg room, a penod . pr e ce ding explanation
. _ 1s ahsm atany followm g m y
every mormn . g, practJ.. ces
.
part1cular time and place. This . the period to which the . 1 a bor r carr ies with himself or herself, .
Th·ird Wo rId that th 1s . the past that 1s . mte r-
. ory 1 1s
e
. often cons1gned.
1s . thes e tw kind s of p a sts. H1st
that emb ody o
that the work er at
al. The very fact
M_arx himself warns us against understandings of capital that em­ nal to the structure of being of capit
between his/her capacity
phas1ze t�e �istorical at the expense of the structural or the philosoph
i­ the factory represents a historical separation
_ al, he reminds belong to
cal. The lim1ts to capit us, are "constantly o v ercome but to Iabor and the necessary t ools of production (which now
just as constantly posited" (Marx 1973: 410). It is as though the "not the capitalist) shows that he or she embodies a history that has realized
yet" is what keeps capital going. Marx allows us to read the exp ression this logical precondition of capital. This worker does not therefore repre­
"not yet" deconstructively as referring to a process of deferral internai sent any denial of the universal history of capital. Everything I have said
to the very being (that is, logic) of capital. "Becoming," the question about abstract labor will apply to him or her.
of the past of capital, does not have to be thought of as a process out­ While walking through the factory gate, however, my fictional per­
son also embodies other kinds of pasts. These pasts, grouped together
side of and prior to its "being." If we describe becoming as the past
her in my analysis as History 2, may be under the institutional domi­
posited by the category capital itself, then we make being logically prior �
nation of the logic of capital and exist in proximate relationship to it,
to becoming. Difference-with-capital (Marx's figure of the not-[yet]­
but they also do not belong to the life-process of capital. They enable
capitalist) would then also be a figure of difference- in-capital - that is, the human bearer of labor
an outside that is inside as well. In other words, History 1 and History z power to enact other ways of being in the
world, other than, th ·
considered together precisely destroy the usual topological distinction at 1s, bemg · the bearer of labor power. We cannot
eve r hope to wnte . a complete or full account of these pasts. They are
le
between outside and inside that marks debates about whether th e who partlYembodied · th
Dif­ m e person-cum-laborer ,s bodily . . .
world can be properly said to have fallen under the sway of cap ital. consc1o . us collecfive
habits, m unself-
. practices,. . h1s or her reflexes about what it means
c
1erence, · th•1s account, is not something external to cap1 ta1 • Neit her
m
m .

lOt •
UNIVERS
ALI SM AND BELONGING
100 * D I P f S H C H A K RA BA R T Y
 eing and together with other hurnan be· g s .
to reIate-as a human b . . . m m built into his method-this is the problem of the
• -to obJects m the world. Nothmg in it is a ut - , statu
the g1ven enVll'. onment .
. of capital. o
"use val ue ".m Marx s thoug h ts on value.'• Let me s .of the catego ry
. Ily ali"gned with the Iog1c . explam
mat1ca . . .
10n ofHlstory 2 1s �hat the disciplinary Cons1der, for .mstance, the passage in the Grundriss .
The subjugation/destruct . . e wher e Ma di
process in• the factory is in part meant to accomphsh. In etfect • ca Pliai . eusses, albe1t bne . fiy, the d1tference between m ak'
of
!
in a pia.
no a
rx s-
nd play­
you to be reduce d to sheer liv ing it. Because his commitm ent to the idea Of pro , duct"ive 1abor,"
says to the laborer: I want ing labor-
Marx finds . it necessa ry to theoriz e the piano m
aker s labor i n ter
ar energ y plus consci ou sness-for the eight hours for Which . ms
muscul
y to labor. I want to effect a separation b etween
I of its contnbution to the creatio .
n of value· But what
about the piano
have bought your capacit , labor? For Marx, that w1ll
persona! an� c�llective histories y ou em­ player s belong to the category of "
unproduc
your personality (that is, the_ tive lab or " w h .1ch he took over (and deve
loped) fro m his pr ede
ch_ar�ct�nst1c of sheer consciousness)
body) and your will (which 1s a . in poll
• ·tICa1 economy.1s Let us read closel
y the relevan t passage:
cessors
My machinery and the system of d1sc1plme are there to ensure th at this
happens. When you work with the machinery that represents objecti­ What is productive labour and what is not' a pom · t very much dis-
.
fied labor, I want you to be living labor, a bundle of muscl es and nerves puted back and forth smce Adam Smith made this dist·mction, has
. . to
and consciousness but devoid of any memory except the memory of the emerge from the d1rect10n of the various aspects of cap1·ta1 1tse · If. Pro-
skills the work needs. "Machinery requires," as MaxHorkheimer (1994: ductive labour is only that which produces capital· 1s it not crazy, ask
. . s
22) put it in his famous critique of instrumental reason, "the kind of
e.g... . Mr Seruor, that the piano maker is a productive worker, but
mentality that concentrates on the present and can dispense with mem­ not the piano player, although obviously the piano would be absurd
ory and straying imagination."To the extent that both the distant and without the piano player? But this is exactly the case. The piano
the immediate pasts of the worker- including the work of unionization maker reproduces capital, the pianist only exchanges his labour for
revenue.But doesn't the pianist produce music and satisfy our musi­
and citizenship-prepare him or her to be the figure posited by capital
cal ear, does he not even to a certain extent produce the latter? He
as its own condition and contradiction, those pasts do indeed consti­
does indeed: his labour produces something; but that does not make
tuteHistory 1. But the idea ofHistory 2 suggests that even in the very
it productive labour in the economic sense; no more than the labour
abstract and abstracting space of the factory that capital creates, ways of
of the mad man who produces delusions is productive.(Marx 1973=
being hurnan will be acted out in manners that do not !end themselves
305; Marx's emphasis)
to the reproduction of the logic of capital.
It would be wrong to think ofHistory 2 (orHistory i's) as necessarily This is the closest that Marx ever would corne to showing a Hei­
precapitalist or feudal, or even as something inherently incompatible deggerian intuition about human beings and their relation to tools.He
with capital. If any of these were the case, there would be n o way humans acknowledges that our musical ear is satisfied by the music that the pia­
could be at home-dwell-in the rule of capital: no room for enjoy­ nist produces. He even goes a step further in saying that the pianist's
ment, no play of desires, no seduction of the commodity. 13 Capital, in music actually- and "to a certain extent"-"produces" that ear as well.
that case, would truly be unrelieved and absolute unfreedom. The idea In other words, in the intirnate and mutually productive relationship
ofHistory 2 allows us to make room, in Marx's own analytic of capital, between one's very particular musical ear and particular forms of music
for the politics of human belonging and diversity. It gives us a ground is captured the issue of historical difference, of the ways in which His­
on which to situate our thoughts about multiple ways of being human tory 1 is always already modified byHistory i's. We do not all have the
and their relationship to the global logic of capital. But Marx does not same musical ear. This ear, in addition, often develops unbeknown5l
himself think through this problem while his method, if my argument is to ourselves. This historical but unintended relation between a music
right, allows us to acknowledge it. There is a blind spot, it seems to me, and the ear it has helped "produce"- I do not like the assumed priority

l02 • DI PE S H CHAKRA BAR

TY lO) • U N IVE R SA LI S M AN p B E LO N G I N G
 ..etho
dism, or of Stalinism, or of national"1sm, 1t. w11.
of the music over the ear but let that be-is like the relationship be­ of 1�.( ,, . ) come to the
g world. If any empirica l history of the cap1t.
tween humans and tools that Heidegger calls "the ready to hand": the deve lopin ali5t mode of
n is Histo ry 1 already modified-in num e rous
everyday, preanalytical, unobjectifying relationships we have to too ls, produc tio an d not ne ces-
umentable.ways. -by Histor y i's ' the n a maio .
relationships critical to the process of making a world out of thi s ear th. sar1'Jy doc . h1stoncally r quest'ion abou
t
remam undecidable. Eve n if Th
This relationship would belong to History 2. Heidegger does not mini­ c ap1·iaI wiU . ompson's pred·ic­
to corne true and a place like India sudde nIY an
mize the importance of objectifying relationships (History 1 would be­ u. on were . d unexpect
as ted human bemgs as averse to "laziness" as th
long here)-in his translator's prose, they are called "present at hand" _ edly bo . are supposed to be, e b e are rs of the
but in a properly Heideggerian framework of understanding, both the Protestant eth1c we would still not b e
able to set tle
present-at-hand and the ready-to-hand retain their importance: one on e questio n beyond all doubt. We would never know ,or c sure
. . on had corne abo�t becau_se the . whether
does not gain epistemological primacy over the other.1 6 His tory 2 can n ot this co n diu lime disci pline that Thomp
nted was a genumely umversal, func tional charact . .
sublate itself into History 1. son do cume . . enst1c of
world capttahsm represented a forced g
See what happens in the passage quoted: Marx both acknowledges caPital ' or whe ther .
1obal·1zat1on
and in the same breath casts aside as irrelevant the activity that pro­ f a pa rticular frag ment of European history in which the
o Prote stant
duces music. For his purpose, it is "no more than the labour of the ethic became a value.� victory for the �otestant ethic, however global,
mad man who produces delusions." This equation between music and would surely be no v1ctory for any umversal. The qu estion of whether
a mad man's delusion is baleful, however. It is what hides from view the seemingly general and functional requirements of capital represent
what Marx himself has helped us see: histories that capital anywhere­ ver y specific compromises in Europe between History 1 and History ù,
even in the West-encounters as its antecedents but which do not be­ remains, beyond a point, an undecidable question. The topic of "effi­
long to its life-process. Music could be a part of such histories in spite ciency" and "lazin ess" is a good case in point. We know, for instance,
of its later cornmodification because it is part of the means by which that even after years of Stalinist, nationalist, and free market coercion,
we make our "worlds" out of this earth. The "mad" man, one may say we have not been able to rid the capitalist world of the ever-present
in contrast, is world-poor. He powerfully brings to view the problem theme of laziness. Laziness has remained a charge that has always been
of human belonging. Do not the sad figures of the often mentally ill, levelled at some group or other ever since the beginnings of the particu­
homeless people on the streets of the cities of the United States, un­ lar shape that capital took in Western Europe.17
kempt and lonely people pushing to nowhere shopping trolleys filled No historical form of capital, however global its reach, can ever
with random assortments of broken unusable objects-do not they and be a universal. No global (or even local, for that matter) capital can
their supposed possessions dramatically portray this crisis of ontic be­ ever represent the universal logic of capital, for any historically avail­
longing to which the "mad" person of late capitalism is condemned? able form of capital is always already a provisional compromise made
Marx's equation of the labor of the piano player with that of the pro­ up of History 1 modi.fi.ed by somebody's llistory 2's. The universal, in
duction of a mad man's delusions shows how the question of History 2 that case, can only exist as a placeholder, its place always usurped by
cornes as but a .fleeting glimpse in his analysis of capital. It withdraws a historical particular seeking to present itself as the universal. This
from his thoughts almost as soon as it reveals itself. does not mean that one gives away the universals enshrined in poSt-
If my argument is right, then it is important to acknowledge a cer­ Enlightenment rationalism or humanism. Marx's immanent critique of
tain indeterminacy that we can now read back into many historical­ c apital was enabled precisely by the universal characten· 5t1cs · h e read
and I may say, historicist-explanations of capitalist discipline. Recall, into the category capital itself. Without that reading, there can only be
. · · • 1 ue cannot by defi-
for example, E. P. Thompson's (1974: 66) classic statement in this re­ part1c uIar cnt1ques of capital. But a part1·cu1ar en·t·q .
·• • • ue could not take capital
gard: "Without time-discipline we could not have the insistent energies Illhon be a critique of capital, for such a cnt1q . .
. . . 11s un1ve r-
of the industrial man; and whether this discipline cornes in the form as 1ts obJect. Grasping the category cap1ta1 entai•1s grasping

104 • D I PES H C H A K RA BA R T Y l05 * UNIVERSALISM AND BELONGING

 sal constitution. My reading of Marx does not in any way obviate th t
• ed here, we cannot dismiss the universals.1nhere
pJain me nt 1. s n. g ht, then there nt .
need for engagement with the universal. What I have attem pted to do � JllY arg
u is no "b ey on d of . in this logic. If
cap 1tal" that wo
to produce a reading in which "capital" -the very category itself- be� absolute Other. Capital's Other constant
also be its . 1y comes.mto b uJd
cornes a site where both the universal history of capital and the politic s tly dissolves-in the u nstable space of eing-
and constan . . unremit.ttng tens.
of human belonging are allowed to interrupt each other's narrati ve. that is cre. ated '
as History
. 1 perennially negotiates ou
. r n u meroUSan .
ion
Capital is a philosophical-historical category- historical difference s
r1•erent H1story 2 . It 1 s only sometlffies given to us t d d1f-
o actas seIf-co
cess. nscious
is not ex�ernal to it but is consti�utive of it. Its histories are History 1 agen ts in thi s pro
constitut1vely but unevenly mod1fied by more and less powerful 81S- .
tory 2's. Histories of capital, in that sense, cannot escape the polit ics of NOTES

the diverse ways of being human. An engagement with capit al there fore This essay was first delivered
. . f Ca
as one ofthe two annual lectures
ofthe .
Institu te of th e U mvers1ty o 1:r . Irvine' and wi.11 be p C.nttca) îheory
uorma,
. ubli
.shed m
becomes a double-sided engagement. Possessing in its constit ution the
what different. form m a forthcommg . publication ofthe ms . · a some-
. t·1tute.A shgh
" tl dil!i
necessary îdeas of juridical equality and citizenly rights, capit al brin s version of thIS essay, .
enl!tled
1 ·
The Two . Y erent
Histories of CaPital"• constitu
· · · tes a chap-
into every history some of the universal themes of the European E!­ ter in my book Provmcta 1zmg Europe: Postcolonial Thought and
. Difference
H.zstoncal
lightenment . Yet, on inspection, the universal turns out to be an empt .
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton . . Press, 2.ooo).For th.
Umvers1ty err many helpful critical
. drafts, I am
earher
placeholder whose unstable outlines become barely v isible only whe: co mm ents on grateful to my colleagues on the edi . .
.
mittee of Public Culture, to my three coeditors of the special ISSue · O tonal com-
i a proxy, a particular, usurps its position in a gesture of pretens ion and
12(3} (Homi K. Bhabha, Carol A. Breckenridge, and Sheldon Pollock), and
fPubl,c
. Culture
1 domination. And that, it seems to me,. is the restless and inescapable to my
J politics of historical difference to which global capital consigns us. In of C.
· · ofca1·r
audiences at th e U mvers1ty .
hicago, and Columbia Umvers1ty . .
. at Irvine and at San o- the U.
1,orrua � -� .
.m the United States·' the Austral·1an Nat1onal
.
. .
turn, the struggle to put in the ever empty place of History 1 other his­ . the· Umvers1ty of Wollongong, and the University ofMelbourne 1n Aus-
Univemty,
tories with which we attempt to modify and domesticate that empty, tralia; and the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, in India.Thanks are
universal history posited by the logic of capital brings intimations of also due to Arjun Appadurai, Gautam Bhadra, David Lloyd, Lisa Lowe, George t·1p-
.
. . Ben Madison,
.s1tz, Mark Poster, Sanpy . Seth, and Andrew Wells for encouragement
that universal history into our diverse life practices. and comradely criticism.
The resulting process is what historians usually describe as the "tran­ 1. This proposition is discussed in and taken as the founding premise of Chakra­

sition to capitalism." This transition is also a process of translation of bar tyi989.

diverse life worlds and conceptual horizons about being human into the
categories of Enlightenment thought that inhere in the logic of capi­
tal. For instance, to think Indian history in terms of Marxian categories
is to translate into such categories the existing archives of thought and
practices about human relations in the subcontinent. At the same time,
it is to modify these thoughts and practices with the help of these cate­
both
gories. The politics of translation involved in this process work
al lan­
ways. Translation makes possible the emergence of the univers
ilize
guage of the social sciences. It must also, by the sarne token, destab
2.See also Castoriadls 1984: 260-339, in particular, 282-311.
3. Cf. Meek 1979: 168: "The 'averaging' process, Marx's argwnent implies, takes place
in history before it takes place in the minds of economists."
4. Castoriadis (1984: 328-29) erccts a possible picture of voluntarist revolutionary
politics by adopting this Aristotelian position into his Marxism: "îo propose another
institution of society is a matter of a political project and political aim, which are
certainly subject to discussion and argument, but cannot be 'founded' in any kind
of Nat ure or Reason.... Men are born neither free nor unfree, neither equal nor
unequal. We will them to be (we will ourselves to be) free and equal" (Castoriadis's
emphasis).
5, This is reminiscent of Georg Lukâcs's (1971: 51, 197) contention that "cil$ con­

,
possibility sciousness" was not a category that referred to what actually went on inside the heids
these universais. This translation constitutes the condition of
conflicting of individuaJ, empirical workers. David Harvey (1984: 114) writes: "The duality of
for the globalization of capital across diverse, porous, and
this pro­ worker as 'abject for capital' andas• living creative subject' bas never been adequate�
histories of human belonging. At the same time, it ensures that resolved in Marxist theory." I have criticisms of Harvey's reading of Mm on:�
realiz ation
cess of globalization of capital is not the same as the universai point-one could argue, for instance, that, for Marx, the worker �-ould never a
s I have ex-
of what Marx regarded as its logic. And yet, for the reason
l07 • U N I V E R S A LI S M A N D B HO N G I N G
106 • DIPESH CHAKRABARTY
 thing-like "object for capita l" (see later in this essay)- but Harve y's st aterne
n h al. What would repay exarnination is th
the merit of recognizing a real problem in Marxist histories of "conscioUsn e s .'. as t nal or glob
nafo . showrng e bUStn. ess schoo ·
s . "Ul . how mueh and how inc - 11
6. The opposition of class-in-itself and class-for-itself, Spiva k (1988: 277) c . " mo tiva tion
. •• tly the org . tter ature on
,-,n
la ttfies, wres tle w 1th an unsolvable q ues Wh . an te .
t ntellectu ais 0f
does not de fine a program of "an ideological transformation of conscious ness �t
· alism tion··
on th e
M�� hurn ans to "
ground level." w ork"?
CITED
7. Marx (1990: 505 n.18) discusses how the modern machine, in its early histor . woRKS
ein. 1977. The Myth of the Lazv
corporated into its design the motions of the live, physical, and animate bod
y, tn- •latas , Syed Huss
" .. . -; Nat·ive.. A
8. Foucault (1979: 163) comments on these military analogies in Marx. But w:� Malays, F,/1pmos, and Javanese from the Sixteen rh to th
Stud 0,r the
1 !
• 0lr
Image
ra , · m · th e ,,'deo/ogy o,f · e Twemieth Centu
nes and
for Foucault, disciplinary power creates "the docile body.'' Marx posits th e liv� s Jts Funct1ons 1 Colonial Capîtalism. Lo
n don·· Frank C
in g · · 19 81. translate . ass.
• ,1stotle d by Martm Osw
Nichomachean Ethic s,
body as a source of resistance to discipline. ,.., ald · lndianapolis
9. This is why Harvey's contention (1984: 113) that Marx's "theory shows that fr
Ind.: Liberal Arts Press. ,
o i K. 1994.
Bhabha • Hom of Culture. Lon do n..R
The Location
the standpoint of capital, workers are indeed objects, a mere 'factor' of product;on rn . . .. . outledge.
for the creation of surplus value" seems mistaken to me. The worker is a reified c · · · Castoriad1s, Cor nelius. 1984. Value, Equahty, Justice• a nd po111t ..
cs·· Fro rn Marx to
ate­ Aristotle and from Aristotle to Ourselves. In Crossroads . .
gory, but the reilication includes an irreducible element of life and ( human) co ­ . ln the Labyrint h• trans.
n Kate Soper and Martm H . Ryle. Cambridge, M ass.: MIT Press
sciousness. Dipesh. 1989.
10. I have preferred Taylor's translation of this passage to that of Williarn Wallace. Chakrabarty, .
Rethinking
. .
workin g-class history.. "8
engal 1890-1940
Princeton, N .J. : P nnceton U mvers1ty Press. ·
11. Nothing in this sense is inherently "precapitalist." Precapitalist could only ever 1995. .
Els ter, J on. An Introduction to Karl Marx. Camb ridge: Carnbndge Umv . .
be a designation used from the perspective of capital. erstty
Press. ·
12. Cf. Marx 1990: 90: "For bourgeois society, the commodity-form of the product ichel. 1979.
foucault, M Discipline and Punish: The Birth 01r the prison,
• trans. Alan
of labour, or the value-form of the commodity, is the economic cell-form."
Sheridan. Harmondsworth, U.K.: Penguin.
13. Marxist arguments have often in the past looked on advertising as merely an
Harvey, David. 1984. The Limits of Capital. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
instance of the "irrationality" and "waste" inherent in the capitalist mode of produc­
Hegel, G. W. F. 1�75. Hegel's_ Logic, trans.William Wallace. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
tion. See Williams 1993: 320-26. Heidegger, Martm. 1985. Bemg and T1me, trans. John Macquarrie and Edward Robin-
14. The excelJent discussion of "use value" in Rosdolsky 1977: 73-95 helps us appre­ son. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
ciate how, as a category, "use value" moves in and out of Marx's political-economic ---. 1996. Being and Time, trans. Joan Stambaugh. Albany: State University of
analysis. Spivak puts it even more strongly by saying that, as a category of politi­ New York Press.
cal economy, use value can appear "only after the appearance of the exchange rela­ Horkheimer, Max.1994.Critique ofInstrumental Reason, trans. Matthew J. O'Connell
tion" (1993: 106; Spivak's emphasis). Spivak categorically states, rightly I think, that et al. New York: Continuum.
"Marx left the slippery concept of 'use value' untheorized" (1993: 97). My point is Lukâcs, Georg. 1971. History and Glass Consciousness, trans. Rodney Livingstone.
that Marx's thoughts on use value do not turn toward the question of human be­ London: Merlin Press.
longing or "worlding." For Marx retains a subject-object relationship between man Marx, Karl. 1969. Theories of Surplus Value, vol. 1. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
and nature. Nature never escapes its "thingly" character in Marx's analysis. ---. 1973. Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique ofPolitical Economy, translatcd
15. As Marx defines it in the course of discussing Adam Smith's use of the category by Martin Nicolaus. Harmondsworth, U.K.: Penguin.
"productive labor": "only labour which produces capital is productive labour." Un­ --. 1978. Theories of Surplus Value, vol. 3.Moscow: Progress Publishers.
productive labor is that "which is not exchanged with capital but direct/y with reve­ -. 1990. Capital: A Critique of Po/itical Economy, vol. 1, trans. Ben Fowkes.
nue." He further explains: "An actor, for example, or even a clown, ... is a produc· Harmondsworth, U.K.: Penguin.
tive labourer if he works in the service of a capitalist" (Marx 1969: 156-57; Marx's Meek, Ronald L. 1979. St11dies in the Labour Theory of Value. London: Lawrence and
emphasis). Wishart.
16. Heidegger (1985: division I, chapter 3) explains these terms in the section entitled Postone, Moishe.1993. Time, Labor, and Social Dominion: A Reinterpret ationof Marx's
"The Worldhood of the World." The more recent translation of Being and Time by Social Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Joan Stambaugh (Heidegger 1996: 64, 69) replaces "ready-to-hand" with "handiness" Rosdolsk y, Roman. 1977- The Making of Marx's Capital, trans. Pete Burgess. Loodon:
and "present-at-hand" with the expression "objectively present." Pluto Press.
Rubin, Isaak Il'ich. 1975. Essays on Marx's Theory of Value, trans. Milos Samardtija
17. A classic study on this theme remains that by Syed Hussein Alatas (1977).The
and Fredy Perlman.Montreal: Black Rose Books.
theme of laziness, however, is a permanent theme within any capitaJist structure,

l09 • UNIVERSALISM AND BELONGING

108 * 0 / PES H CHA K RA B A RTY
 Spiv• a.k•G8 yat . n Choafk Cun1 rt! vo rtY· 1983· Can the Subaltem S peak r ln Ma xiJ n _
ed • Ca.ry " r m a d ,L
•

terprt! t 1m /U , el so a
/n N n nd Lawrmœ Gro be ss rg. Urb an a, ""< .-
on

vers,·1y ofIllinois Press. u f\J

d p ra an
The senegalese M ri Tr d
___ 1993. "ümi ts an d open·1 ngs of Marx in Oernda. . "ln Outs,de .
,n the Te A..t. a e D ias o d
Mad rin� Lond Routledge.
on : _,, 1 " u
o
H g
a i
eg e r. d . .
o
Cambridge: Camb i ge Uruvers
Taylor' Oiarles. i9 . a l a
l ,ty Press.
e
t h M k ng f a Vern c u r Cos m po litan ism
7B
p 74 • ,
Thompson, E.. • 19 . Tun e Wof rk - i
l D iscp line an mou d ln t. d usx tr ial r : Ca ....-p,· t ai·1sm. l n Ess •s
in Social . H1s eu. M· w• inn and T. C. S
.t ory. _..,
O fo d C ,__ n don P re a'J
ss Mamadou Diouf
• • e · Tran slated bySteven Rend all
Will ai ,msRaymo 1 n 3 · " Ad
,.... n . � nrt is ing: The Magi. c System. ln The Cul ratu l Stud
Reader. . nd.
ed Simon Duri g Lo d o n : Routledge ies

Mod emity. globalization , and co o ol an

sm p.soc alit ism are conc s
. tS (as m.uw A_,,.est .
m i . ept wbose
ear·n u gs and proJec en
m
very y and .
JOur . tt. c comm . ti SC!
nahs um ca ), ce literature,aswe as
in e n il
o largelyoverla
a

and
. ci·de at the evel ofprocedures
d

m o pera onal m p and co-

l p ivileget i unilatera] odesassùnil
Afri atio
eussions of these concepts tend to r . di
colon i
� n o• f
the civiliz ing mission of an t e modernizat
ion n
alism d h

defined by the West. For some time, th latt ecessan

e r as been sup m
e
mod h pl e ne
by Islamic modernity, which is both t
i

e m and cosmop e
movemen ts have olitan. �
while Isl arnic fund amentalist , And
attacke sometimes in
av ent ma nne r, the d
iol se lo cal and uniq fo ms
ue r of Muslim app
n, pos t colonialsubjects continue to p r opr i a­
ti o u th eir ambivalent an
u rs
b gu s p rojects of cons
i u tructing auto e d am­
ties o while also struggling to no ous m o r subor di nate ident ­
reconcil e n ati
ve temporalities andforms of
i

ith t e temporaJ ity of the w rl d a large.

tuality w t
iri

sp
o

Thereare clear y disappointi

h

l ng out co es pro
th t o m d uced bythe para
a ppo di grn
the t ra clitional char acter of African forms
o the of spirit
t modis ernity of world time (le temps d uality
ses

d e), whether it
b es r es tance o ru»imilation orcondemn u m o
n cele­
t s the alienationinwhich
rat

latte ul s.
r res t e issue that continues to d fy a the
a ­
rate a sing l Th e an lysi s ishow to el bo
1

e expl at ion of both the proces.s

multiplic it y f an o globalization andthe
f

i vi dual temporalitiesan local tionalities that

inser ed into o t ncli ra are
d

t i . an we fullyaccountforthe o
C ve rapping oflocal systems
l

of mercant e, cul ural , and religious value s with th i

e cap talist system ­
il

which is t
-
refe renceWto tt he
es and universa1, at least in its daims and ractices by
e rn co cep ts of h y ri clizan, stc l n al ityp, and osm ­
n b i
n t o po o o i o
po an c �
e es o
lit ism ? By o trast, the r i s the crucial qu ti n raised b y Arjun A p­
p u r o e r th r
s o o something l cal b p od uced wi in a o
ad orai' w kn: H w can p oc�
of ti s o m e bra on o -
g l b za ali o so oli ydl c m itted tothe cel ti f c
osm po li

11 0 • Of PE S H CH K ABARTY
A R
 sm .? fs i t a matt erof appropriating this process by " a nnexing". e
i
ta in Mu
d

W e n r i pr c tces al nd "Mus m orthodoxyn

li

r at
h
er , of x oitin g this process to lend new strength to local id,o
e pl
" � ' · attempt e t d e
d
a

o p an anthr op og a
. ' Th
•. n-
ve
�
o n o l . f ic l , po 11ti
e��
ol
so as to im p os e on the global sce e nt e h o rig inal v ersi no i np l e U ra s ci l h" cal ' econom,. c ,
ge
d o o og c a ana s y 1s o the br o od.• Th
l
ac e 0
i h

2 � ; � h I
t erh o e t trd, most
t ra n slat ion and adapta ti on? an rati
on o sc o ars
has t ce d Mu id u
r rba m· . rece ,
f
e nt
mplexi tyo f t ese situations
is the source ofSt uart Ha h
g e n t f fri ,a • g rati. ons 111 Sen
ra
The co ll 's ba t c an t e
ries
n
,
h
A c u n
d he o
_ o t . of Eu r ope• Asi
whe n confron ted by "thediscourse ofglo balization" and the "flld·e e res sc a,an the Amer al
d g
m e nt
­S t h ir in r tion m . new ge o g l ph1 e , n . i ,
. a d the i n
s
I I ra venti o n o f
i

S of h y p er - globaliza ti on." He explains that in these disc ou e· p

e spe c ific cas-
CO Ur e S ts fa c ati , as w
as new imagesan rep re se n c ir
l
r s
e um
u

cwm o u cit .• .Th. p . il .

n

"everyth ingi s tr a nsfor med; everything is an outcast in the same Wa . plac . m th ol g d tations of e
o
. y is . nv ege t hir
d
n h .
i
' o m n e e o ca l •ant ro o
th egl ob alprocesses. There·1sn t any 1oca1 th at 1sn' t wntten · throughy d ch·st
1 o ical stud 1e sre e ts t
. p 1 og,c
a ny al and
he
ma
fl c

r re r k • e M .u r d p e .
bl

g b t e g oba l. That just doesn t '

seem tome to be t ru e. lt does ' h • • i r se nce 111 t h ew'
ro S uid thts pre senc e be m.te r re t e as orld.
h h h a
u l
d
n p m d1cating co m
ri g ru ; 1 think s a myth." Rev ewingsome of th e ques ti ons that h t s opo litantSm
t y

i its de ir t po ibili e ff . ·. 1 .
n t e it' i ve p p a
s e oa p ro n te
o
a ti s o er e d byglo b
. In a1 1zat ton'
ss
" lity d
be en ra i se rega r ng global zation, Hall cmph ias z es the intensi fica Mu rid l
d
th e
d
oes not see to a nnex t h g al u
i k
oc a e lob t rat her, to t
3 of i b •
mn t lo the loc ." to be born
f h

t oi n oi t ec o m it e adv antage an e by it n e ry e akc

m al t d

d f ve s nse of the w ord. Co •

Th essay e x a m n es and tests two i ssues raised by Ha ll. The first issu se quentl theapp oa c a op e he re i ers n 11
h d d i
s ol i
f

is he e y, e one respec from Hall

capit a l st mod erni ty in theprocess of globali zation, an do his i
analy sis, sin e I ' s
r t
s v
f
t e o
i
n
h
� that .loca
t
d
are
� . o lis "is the only poi n
t

foc u
ili ty of the emer gence of modernities that are n 1
r i
g t th
s o n the po ss
m
t
b
i , of in te a am s e he m oni , umvers
ot ge c alizing thrust of lo ­
enlton

proper yspeaki g, c ap talist but are, at themost, non-Western versio alization."10 Mo t me b

rv
b
n

s m e rs o the M ur id bro he h d orne fro!

l f
n s
r oo c
i
cen tral part of t h W l o f th e
or m o alities ofdeal n g w i th acquisition of w alth.• The second is sue
d i
ho m an d (T e o fs a
e h t

o . re the largest ethn

l

group in Sen e g l .)h

e e W lo
co ncerns wh at Ha ll call s "vernacular modernity," which is, as we in­ a W e it fir ie
s tem r ge , the bro er ood was favor
e
d

o th h ed
bya tw ofold dyn ami c . O n b
n
t e pr i her ,e the ot t alit y o f the possibilities and powers of makin g
et t e a n d , by de stroying the traditional a
u ris­
r

tocra cies , c olon al con

n
tr sa an ction s imple e m nt ed through both the geog raphy of globa lization pp
q e s o pe n e o
t d
ortun iti es fo r Muslim religio
pros elytizing The M i us
i
( rl
a s a in w h ich people are able to trade) and the dis­
p ce . d ls l
d
ur am c brothe r ho od e s t a blis ed
h
t e wo
i
as
tele by offering a new eli i h a largeclien­
an d p o g lobalizati on (the actu l operations to mak
f
cou rses a
r c t ices
a
g o us fo rm , a new memo ry, and new imag
e es
o peasant commu nitie s tha h
r

tha t is, to accum ula te wealth).5 I am concerned here with a b sru t ed and severely disturb
d
en s m ee - d
i
p
d
n
t
t
e
ed
t
the va i us by colonial military cam ai d b b o
e
r o forms and express i ons of incorporation and inscription in to p g ns a n yt e lo dy st ruggles for powe
h

homelan d th foll raidin r

o glo t on on the basis ofa significant loc�ity. Fr�m in the Wolof a ow
the p ce alia i
d
g and a e s ries of epidemic
f t

ro i
ss
b z O s
connected with the Atlanti sl t
e
bas1� of wh1ch ave ra
v st inqu ir e in to the modes on th�
f
this o n t o we h

ie ,w e. n t eother ha nd,the brother­

d

p m u c
hood compromised with th d
n a ve mo e rnityrelies o n, co n fro nt ,
s a d/or comprom ise s wJth global an d
d a op ted ts i e crar
i h h
d l
e co o n i a o r e r
ti l
y
n

and structures of comma

mo ern t y and w th i cosm o pol itanism, the latter considered an instru ­ n d, w it e at th e same lime it eva ed thecolo­
d i
h d
and a moda lity of t h ei ncorpo r at io n of t he lo c al
into the globa l. n ia policy ofassimilation.
l
t
m en
brother ood, Within the colony Mur idi m l b
Th "Joc a ty" in qu esti o re is that of t e Muri , s a ora t ed a for mu a o f developmen
l h

he
i
l t
d
e
n h
based on growing peanu ts (the q i t ent al p
uct of re n c colo ­
e
ry by a
fo nded i n th e nineteen h centu
d
s u n ess
t

a Se g aese rel giou group u i ro

l i
F
ne

nial agriculture in Senega J) that ro h

tur
Am a dou Bamba Mbacké. The litera e was s rongly o etd n local values. I
l t

Se ng es a e ma ra bout n a m ed i n
e

this way, it was able to support fo

si ve tha n th at o n o her
t Senegal� r ms o diss idenc and aut o no ym with
f
e
h h

o n this br o t er o od is mo er x et n re ard to the Frenchimperial mo del- d e! e

6 i
s k Afri ca. One can dis­ g whose po n t o f reference,
t in blac am o
d
mo v e m e n
h
r oo and Islamic
th
bro the "four communes" of Seneg al (Sa i - L i
tingu ie h h s e g od. The , que, and
s
t re ene rat o n so f sc o ars of the Mu rid brot herho nt o u s i l Dakar, Rufis 11
i h l Gorée) contras ted strong l y with M
i c oon a m ern it y. Muri ds
d l od

as c on ce rn e pr marily with the theological asp�s

ti
firs ge n e ra on w i
t
d -
ur
of th g an w . t us i corporate d themselves into t e colo nial a gricultu ral eco n
1. e rences an d o r t h co nrm1t h first
h
. g the
d
e ro u agm h
u n

p t g dI ffi / e fo y
11 2 • MAM D A SEE M URID TR DA E DI SP
113 • THE SEN E G L A ORA
A OU DIO U F
 o my, an d, at the same tim e, they p re s rve d, n i a d i la ed
sp c l la l
Wol of values that had been renego tiat d an dre i
e nn
r
nvest d in th e auth e ,
m . .1str at n .
e
tarian architecture of t h e co 1 om .a1 a d m 1o o f
e
or rHE MA IKN G OF A BROTH ER H oo
mana n ta
i
""- construction of the Muri d community h
Jabor Tod ay Murids, dressed m . t h e . tra d.1 t o . 1b ( b ge ) lll d 1 "e . .
. ir 1 n a u b us s a
e
nd as Passed thr
t
·d w allc s of ur ban e t n . a · h ses eachcor res pondmg o specific modes ofi . . ought hree
i ng th ir tasseled ha s, "c1utte r" t he s1 ce r
ro
n e We . nscnption in sp
t the outs1de wor 1 d, and formu
. l b in
rs 1 n th e pa • wit h . ace,re-
e
worl d, the commerci .al c t rs
e
develop o f in trn e as
a ti o
n a e lati• on5 . l offinanc1 al ace
n us d economic p roducti on. The fust pha se is th UmuJat.oi
d

e n e
t f
e
nancial institution s a d construction sit s an d fac to ie in the A. ss, -
, s an a o th e begi n

ca s, Eur ope, an d As. 1 a .

e
r
�
llle ri .
r 1ormulat ion of the Murid tariqa (way) at theend of h . nn• ing and
w y. rance had J. USt completed t e nmete
The precedent of the four commu ns hel s u un d ta d ha . F
. the conquest ofs
enegamb
. enthcen -
p s ers n w
r
roduct smtable for
1a and� u
e
s to be a p a gricultural e o nd
stake in the debates regarcling mo de rnit a ndcosm p o olit i m t 15 at peanut xp1o.1tati
y an r • on an
ench ind ry's nee d 1or vegetabl oils. Thus the d fi
perce . d . . . or
ys. of
w
ft s
ust
. are too in ' a Fr .
e
bemg that o en 1 v a
c o rp o r a o n t oW t n
ti s
peanut was ad
r s i . the chief produ ct 1or d evelopmg the colonyofSe opt
e
m in 1 r d
.
sa11tyand the abandonment o f one ,s o wn ra t i . . o ns . es
. �
or d to lUn ver
e
d ti
n •. � ��
I
onoculture was even conttnue d t hroughout the fu thr
t .
newcon6gurations . unm . fiuence dbycu st om and el i ion The · .p in st
er
1v o m . . ee decad
g 1 1e postcolomal pen od. After having almost enti es
· p r a g. of the
locus ofthese arabesqu s-fr e com positions ifeve th
r
. . . rel d est royed t
r
e
he
Y
r d1ttonal leadmg clas ses , Fren
e e we e n _ d hegemony ofthe tra
e
ch coloni.alis
e
the cit y, andthe natural acto s of th s oper ation s ar
r
the int ll { . . . m opene
ec ua( up a space for Musli m relig1ous proselytizing. Howe d
t ver, th e .,
r e e
e specia1J y the artis s In his most rec ent o rk rrench con
e

. w ,
In S eh ofA ...ic a M
: . t -
inue d to m1s rust the marabouts, who were
� t suspected f
thia Diawara addresses the question of Af ca n mo d rni in ' th, e an 0 wantmg t
earc
i
e
'.I
wage a h l y war. Noneth . .
ty co eless, desp1te the oppos o
n-
ition and hostilityofthe
r o
e i
text of globalization, adding politicia ns to thea c o t rs jus t m nt ne nial admi
o French c olo nistration to the marabout Amad
If only indirectly, th s essayres ponds to Di d.12 ou Bamba,
awa a r 's v w rega din Afr ­ t th
i
i r g formation of he Murid brotherhood relied he avily
d i on peanut growm
can ways of bein g modern in relation to the b ar
e
rs o f W t rn
s
­ at wh ich it was phe nom enall g,
mo y successful in the first halfof
the twent -
e rs er
e e
nity who are the object of h s book. Dia a
es e
w ra a o p t s th c ti
eth ce ntury. Muri ds became the argest producers of
d
i p p ves i
t l peanuts in the
anc tha w re brilli an
e
ofassimilation/alienation and mimes is/re
e
i t
region, the p eanut -gr owing basi ir
n. By joining in col onial
s s e t e
ly production,
ou Kane s L'a nve re am Th gu . dr s
dramatizedin Cheikh Hamid s ­ al o participated in the distribut o n of
' Mu r ds
tu ë
i
bi
i i manufactured product
as m ma­
am
Kan 's
tization was already perce ptible in C. H . o n
s a e s
fl
c in theru ral areas . They thus carved out, ina
i
ontrad ictory w a
r e e t
n al ese c y, a space
the n w indep nd n S e
e
t
ber of the plannin g commission for g for h e mse ves within the colonial sys tem and
l its economy.
it seems c r ta in that the t m oral ­
e e e t e

state in the earl y 1 96os .U In fact, p i Fro

m the s t art, Muridism attracted peop
le from everylevelofsoc
e iety,
d
e
naJist per io d o f de olo n z a
ties mentioned-namely, the natio t on b u t p ar ticular ly freed slav es and pe ople belonging to castes
i i
an such as
c t th
on of African na tion- at s-an e j ew , cobblers, itinerant min s
the beginni ng of the constructi rels, coopers, and weavers. 5
d
t
r
e
e
le s 1 As it de­
o
s
V Y Mud i b ' t s ) t t e o n y ve l ope , Muridism main aine
h
"librarie " selected (to adop m e s e r
m a d a c onstant tens ion-on the b ink o
t . . re
n d t r f
a t Afric an are w
l
and pra ctic rupt
s
bodi e s ofknowledg - b e t een Muslim universalism and the local vers on of Islam
th ure
phas es or the e i
onl y
o a s
e s s

using to incor porate themselv

es into the g lo ba l p ce.14
o ss w h se i m ge and grarnmar it expressed. Thu s in African, European,
ca a
hear o
r
i
the context has c ha ng e . A f Amer n, nd Asian comme rcial ce nters, the Murids par ticipated in
h
tha
d
This essay contends t t e t
t tha t s
th diife rs fr '
ing a new mem ry a lam s co s m o politan i sm on the w orld stage. R a ther than adopting the
globalization, newactors, bear o
t � I
o
te o
o Western modernity, are
f p ng tog ethe r t h
e
·
ir o w n e o
c no m - chn logy or o perationa l procedu res of the West, Mur ids made a con­
1 sc e
utti
c.. o c
cons tantl y remo de led tr a d.1 t·
1 n
o . These traditions s c iouseff rtto in orpor at e theiruniquetemporalityand rationality into
nario, buttresse d by
d e- w ortd t e by us
s
· di sp a ble mo r i ng th eir own vocabulary, grarnmar, and worldview to
rated .
w1th pro;.ects of an m im
antici a futur e satu ut h unders t a nd
it . Adopt ing Jean Copans's
pate
ll th e worl d and operate wi t h in
. m • Sen e a a g ro ug
th
Murid community
l

nity. This is the case for the • e e n t e n m

e r
t s e at it was re er t
p sp c ive, we th p ci se l y i h i itial p iod hat I s la
its history.

114 • MAMAOOU DIOUF ll 5 • THE SEN EG A RIO TRAOE DIASPORA

LES E M U
 enabled the Murids to incorporate colonial mode
rn1ty by e n the confrontation with the French ove r th e c1v
peanut growing, thereby ensuring the success of the agi
peanu t cr&0 ng in es for who m ..1l
colllmun ted in their valuation . of hteracy .
in Arabic.20 The econom1.
begmnm
· · g o fthe twentieth century. • The peanut playe u l
d a cruc . aP1 atthe co e d r e s
produced by growing and commerc1. .
c
1

defining the colonial governance of the Wolof regio , rol fina n cia l accumulation a 1 12-
n and the h e in a!ld the .mstrument that m ade .1t possible to const1tu . te
the colony ofSenegal: it ensured peaceful relations be o
twe en th ewc 1 ie of . g P eanuts became
1n
. . . ' . ect s. " I n this register, as in that of Islam, Muridism esta
adm1mstrahon and the marabouts, and it sketched O O Oni (
"Murid obJ . . b-
. ·u ut a geog ra h a elf
.
in its umq. ueness .an d prov1ded ttself with the signs of an
mara bout1c v1 ages and dahras-Koranic schools th e d ·ts
1 .
at combi. n e Pt Yof rsh mamtam .1ts distanc .
. . . tural work and whose each. t hat allowed. .1t to e from other idenff 1 1es,
1
mg w1 th agncul center is the v1·1t age an idenu. ty ra ht1es. In .
th1s way, .
1t organ,ze. d au
. d the sanc. dt em p o niqu e cosm opo1.1-
tuary m Touba.17 Furthermore, as Vi ncent Monteil ar si ns, an . . . but not assumla
.m paruc1pat1on . . .
. . gues, th e a f sis .
tm g tion , thu s org a • .
o f the umversa1·1st re1·1g10n of Islam by incorporating "tr . . doP 10n .
tagnism co
n . . . nmng
. " as well as some key adIlion al 1.d t only to str. engthen 1ts pos1t1on but also to establish the rul�
o 1og1es, aspects of the colonial pro . e- ��1 no ue w1th the
.
umversa l.
. Ject, m k esth . og
Mund Islam a specifically "black Islam."ts a e gover ntng dial gradua lly acqurred
.
by the brothe rhood was
rial po wer
Incorporation into colonial modernity was aceom . The mate _
pan1e d b mple opport umues for produc ing a unique trajectory
.
strengthemng of the Mund . community's a en more a
organization that occ Y figur e is Cheikh Amadou Bamba. The Jatter's saga is
on 1y a fter .
confüct s over succession following the death 0f its
urred :h:e dominant
· ,ou dows the brotherhood's future power, and particu­
the text that foresha
c nd
· 1927. 19 To guarantee .1ts d1sc1pline
m . . . er
and cohesion , the group app eco no mi c suc cess.
- , ro- larly its
pnate d the coloma · I admm1strat1
· · · 0n s structures and logic of comm Amadou Bamba, the founder of the Murid brotherhood, was the
which required total submission to an unchallengeable authorit
_a;:• chief victim of anti-Muslim and anti-marabout colonial policies. Be­
· Murid hierarchical system, with the caliph general at its head, alo te� cause of the influence acquired by his message and the strong attraction
the same rules of the talib's (disciple's) absolute submission to his :ara­ he exercised on the peasant masses that joined his movement, he was
bout. The native translation of the logic of command and obedience is considered a marabout who might raise troops for a holy war. He was ar­
neatly surnmed up by a formula attributed to the founder of the brother­ rested by the French colonial authorities and deported to the Mayombé
hood: "The talib must be like a corpse in the hands of the mortician." region of Gabon from 1895 to 1902 and to Mauritania from 1907 to 1912,
A categorical irnperative, prescription (ndigel) is thus inscribed at the before returning to Diourbel, where he lived under surveillance until his
heart of the relation between marabout and talib. The brotherhood's death in 1927. He was buried in Touba, the village he founded and where
modes of administration and governance, combined with the formu­ he lived only from 1887 to 1895. His burial there led to the founding of
las for mobilizing labor, particularly in the dahras, gave it a privileged the Touba sanctuary, "a city on the hill." Concerning the foundation of
the village, Cheikh Abdoulaye Dièye writes:
place in the colonial apparatus. The Brotherhood established itself as
the main
the chief source of peanut production, and its leaders became Tradition reports that one day in 1888, as the Prophet's servant (RA)
Wolof peas­
intermediaries between the colonial administration and the was leaving Darou Salam, he felt himself impelled by a divine force
d. Paradoxi­
ants who it succeeded in incorporating into the brotherhoo that only saints who have attained the final stage of devotion can
ain its ideol�gi�l feel.21 It was then that the signs that were to guide him to the location
call;, this position enabled the community to maint
. . . . • larly assimilat1on .in
autonomy and avo1d coloma1 ass1m11 atton -part'1cu of this secret placewere revealed to him! Hewas led to the light, then
was and 1s . Jess universahst flames appeared over a bush in this desert country inhabited by cac­
terms of Islamic practices. The Mun'd's Is1am es.
ts of the four commun tuses and wild beasts. Cheikh Amadou Bamba (RA) was transported
and scriptural than the Islam of the. inhabitan nt
id disci ples, read mg the holy words is · 1ess importa un der a tree called Mbeep: he trod for the first time the sanctified
For the rural Mur r
e iour
rasts w1t. h resi. dents of th earth on which Touba was to be born.11
than working for the marabout. This cont
11 7 • T HE
SEN EGALESE MURI0 TRADE DIASPORA

l16 "' MAMADOU DIOUF

 The holy character of the place was increased by theœ
- ruc ti growin g peanuts and, in the later p hases of Mur'
o f the Touba masque, which contains the founder's mauso Ie o tand fo r
. urn 8e 11 1d deve\op-
.
m 1931, construction of the mosque was interrup ted for fin ·. gun for acti vitie s relate. d to recycling urban waste and mv .
. . anciat rnent, es tm .
. g 1n the
managena
. .
• 1 reasons, and 1t d Id not b egm agam until 1945_ Th e l and .m� c rnal and cornmerc1al . sectors in the w orld' s b .
��� ers.Thus
llo du ally mvested, not only .
was completed in 1963 and inaugurated by the calip h genera l sque fouba was
gra
. . with the quahty of
the Mun.d
president of the Republic of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Sen gh o
and Ihe
cr ed cit y b ut .also. w1th the attnbutes of a significant place
r At sa re eva] uated
omal liturgy th at empha . sizes resis tance, au
same time, the project of restructuring the village was Iaun e . the
h ed· Ac- by a P ostcol . frton omY, and the
ultural and econom1c capacities of a soc1e ty ee.mg itseIf fr
cording to Cheikh Gueye, this marked creative c 0m
colo nialism and from the bear ers of impen. a1 m
the grip of . odernity
ony w1th the construction of the br
the starting point for the operation that produced the curr
ent ar- 1P perfect h arm . otherhood's ma­
rangement of the great mosque's esplanade and the neighb or through peanut growmg and com merce m
. ho ods terial base . ess Amadou , " . man ufactured
...e�ch one_ has an op�nmg on the mosque.... Serigne Ch kh w1tn Bamba s Wolofization" of
ei products, we · 1s1am. After
and h1s technicaJ team, a1ded by the bayefall, laid out str aigh t str ir ·
uti· ate d m t o th e ways of Qa ddzryya · and Tijaa nyya that
. eets being . were
. Afr
20 to 25 meters w1de leadmg to the mosque, as well as perpe
n . r es ent in West . 1ca, Amadou Bamba develop ed his ' own
mys
.
tical
. . d lC U- P ail ways
lar streets 15 meters w1de that defined the 1slands of constr uc tt. 2l ab an dom ng and ail master s.He went beyond them
on way "by . . .
mental hght, the d1vme sun ' and achieved h.1s pa
Reconstruction began on the great central pentch [esp lanade]·, each to ward the funda ct with
Muhammad (SAW S), the master of masters." 6 The proper1y nahve and
2
concession facing the mosque was required to respect a distan ce of
120 meters from the latter, in order to facilitate the organiz
ation of bla ck charact er of Amadou Bamba's way is strongly affirm ed b Cheikh
large demonstrations and to enlarge the great mosque's esplanade, Abdoulaye Dièye, who writes: "The Cheikh thus inaugurates: new era
which is considered sacred.It was aJso decided to confir m the grant­ in the history of Islam and the black man.In fact, the black peoples of
ing of concessions around the mosque to Cheikh A. Bamba's surviv­ Senegal were accustomed to go to Mauritania in search of spiritual mas­
ters. But Cheikh Bamba (RA) inverted the roles by becoming the first
ing sons.24
black spiritual guide followed on a large scale by people of the white
The inauguration of the mosque did not mark the end of its construc­ race, thus showing that ail men corne from the same soul, and transcend
tion -as a Murid sign and symbol its construction is an ongoing project. themselves only through their reverential fear of their creator .V " During
Thus Touba became the place where the Murid memory and imagi­ the period of upheavals and social crises following the abolition of the
naire were elaborated, the place where their economic, social, architec­ Atlantic slave trade (1815) and slavery (from 1848 on), this fear was ac­
center of companied by a major ethnie and social reorganization. It was probably
tural, and cultural successes were inscribed. Occupying the
community's during this turbulent period that the Wolof ethnie group, which had
this space, the mosque is also at the center of the Murid
the monu ment in early developed an ability to integrate and assimilate members of other
imaginaire and symbolism.It is the point of reference,
. It produced both ethnie groups, reinforced this cosmopolitan tendency.To a certain ex­
which the identity of the brotherhood is concentrated
ofMuridis�'s tent, by its more democratic character Muridism gave greater scope to
texts and images that were organized in the second phase these operations, exploiting the twofold cosmopolitanism of Islam and
of a commumty
development in order to make sense of the journeys the Wolofs.
The absolute sym­
that had become an extensive commercial diaspora. The Murid's unique cosmopolitanism is particularly evident in the
ue, known as Lamp
bols of this production are the minaret of the mosq d )S second phase of the community's development, when the first adven­
Muri d discip le wants to be bun. e
Pal/, and the ceme tery wher e every
tbey t urous Murid merchants established themselves in the colon ial ports of
ize memory,
Places carried along to signify identity and to actual call. In fact, long before large nurnbers ofMurids moved to the cities in
le's life. the 1970s, and contrary to their common image as an exclusively rural
complete the circular trajectory of the Murid discip
mz e new
t for vano us efliorts to colo
This cente r was the start mg pom
. . 1t9 • THE SENEGAL
.
RA
ESE MURIO TRAOE DIASPO

118 • MA MA DO U D 1 0 U F
 brotherhood, some Murid merchants were already involve d in
Pea nut d b rs on the other d iff.er in their interpre .
trading in cities such as Rufisque and Kaolack. In addition 'confro ao Ia ore . . tatto n of the
Mun.d
n ted the world. This desrre, mterpreted as nativ . '
by the cosmopolitanism of the ports of call, par tic ularly in •
th e fo pre sence in e le gi .
· t1111.J
• zes the
nce of the Baol region, the Murid home1an d,
communes, they had already produced forms of identification by Ur preemine . . at th
draw. as a nat1on-state. The sanc tific ation 0f th e . e eXpense
ing on idioms borrowed from the rural repertoire of the broth er h of S enegal . . reg1on of on• gm .
ood rs on Munds incomparable abilities in Iaboran
and combining them w1th . urban trad"mg procedures to m
ake sen se that confe d commerce .1S
precisely as the place from w hich the conq
. . .
urban situations. By re-creatmg m. the c1ty Mun"d religious associa . t.t on
of cons tituted . uest of the wor1d
. s .1s to be a chi eved, at the same t1me as it ensures the salva .
(dahiras), they established the sohd armature of a genuine "ritual c the near future. In this respect, the deveI
tton of Sene al
g
. om
munity." The rule o f the ta l"b'
28 .
I s sub m1ss1on to th e mara
bout an d t as a whole in . . opment of the
r eahzed only by adopt. m g modes of econom.
restrictive character o f t h e re 1
. .
1g10us r ules kept the Murid com he natïon can be . . 1c, soc.ial and
munny .. polit i cal orga m zah on th at are fi r mly roo ted in Muridism 1 .
on the margins o f urban c1v1 . Mun·ds appropri ate
. ·1·1ty. In th e c1ty, . . t 1s supposed
d g 1as s rn a future whose forms are .mscribed m
painting, the religious lithography introduced by the Leb anese, to n to come to pass . the f,oun
der's
31
ar­ prophecy.
rate their own stories, alongsid� and/or against this colonial civilit 29
y. Two major events brought .
to an end these first two h
. P ases, durm . g
They thus constituted another hbrary that does not draw on eith er th . Mushm �ommu mty was essentially rural. The
e which the M und first of
colonial imaginaire or that of natives of the four communes.
these relates to, the_ death m 1968 of the seco nd caliph genera], El Hadj
Glass painting usually recounts the prophetic saga and the battles Falilou M backe. His successor, Abdou Lahat M backé, distanced hirn self
of Islam when the prophet Mohammed was constructing the Muslim from the government and sided with the peasants from whom the Sene­
empire. Murids turned it to another purpose, using it to tell the sag a galese government was demanding, sometimes by violent means, the
of Amadou Bamba and emphasize the travails irnposed on him by the repayment of debts owed to public institutions that financed agricul­
colonial administration. At the same time, these repressive acts pro­ tural activities. The third phase of Murid development began with the
duced his holiness and bis election, the stages of his deportation, and cycle of drought during the 1970s, which, combined with debt and irn­
the sanctification of the journey as the perfect way of realizing oneself. poverished soils, launched a wave of peasant movement to Senegalese
In this way, the Murid merchant created a Murid enclave within the cities. This subsequently inaugurated a second episode of Murid emigra­
city that grounded the transitory character of bis presence there. Mis­ tion out of Senegal to the great global metropolises (second, that is, to
treatment by the colonial administration and the miracles it produced the emigration of Murid merchants to colonial ports). ln this phase, the
became the founding texts of a community that defined itself and dis­ mobility organized by travel for business or labor established itself as an
tinguished itself in a movement that requires a process of congregation expressive element of the imaginaire of travel and of economic succes.s
taking the forms of exclusivity and closure: T his is a black history and as it was constituted in the interpretation of the founder's deportations.
mythology in the making.30 By hanging such pictures in their bouses
dis­
and shops in the markets and commercial streets, Murid merchant s "LIKE THE SAND, WE ARE BLOWN EVERYWHERE":
tha t
played in urban centers the marks of their appurtenance, image s THE GEOGRAPHY OF DISPERSION
And
referred to texts brought back from their travels and from Touba,
nt ed The Murids' movement toward the cities took place in three succes­
by securing this communitarian autonomy in the city, they guara � sive waves.32 T he fi.rst occurred during the period between the two worl<l
p ective
the groups' discipline under the vigilant supervision of their res wars. The second, more extensive in scope, be gan at the end of the Sec­
marabouts and of the caliph general. ond World War and created the first neighborhoods that called them­
e co�­
To a large extent, the desire for an autonomous and distinctiv selves by the names Touba Colobane • and Gouye Mouride." The third
d of th15 ,
munity explains the fact-which w e will return to at the en wave followed the worsening of the drought in the 197os. It went beyond
. travelers
essay-that Murid intellectuals on one hand and commercia1
121 • T
H E SEN EGALES E MUR 1 D TRAD E DI AS PO RA
120 * MA MADO U D 1 0 U F
 Africa, Europe, the Arneri.
the boundaries of Senegal to include ca s• an during the summer; and at Par·1s, at
more recently, Asia and Aus tral ia. d, crowded were
.
mvolved
.
m violent pole. mics
eve ry season.Ja
In Stras-
y
that when a Muri d left '
his • hom el bourg, the .and we re the
We have aJready indicated . an er of attacks. And as a m erchant interv1 obje ct of
.first stop was usually a Senegalese c1ty. He became inv olved i. d. his· a numb "they ,,
ewe d• bY Gérar
d S alem
n e 1th er s out, speak German' to o. 39
· · ··
1t1es. In every case, he k bi·tterly point 'ds, 1mgu1st1c . . This remar k n
commerce or inform aJ econom1c act1v ept bUsy .indic ates the Mun · adapt atio n but also the .. oniy ot
to build up a nest egg to establish himself or t0 be able . the . ist se position they
and tried cqui red m Strasbourg tour t
c or. The. y comp
. .
emblem of success was the to have a
seek h1s fortune outs1de Senegal. The acqui- Strasbourg merchants whose most 1ucrat1ve ete agg res-
Sandaga market, the economic cou nterp s1•vely with . actiVlty
• .
1s sell.ing
sition ofa tin trunk in the. Touba. The extraordinary art of fas tic or plaster storks. to tounst . s, especiallY German
growth of th e P tounsts,
• durin g
the religious sanctuary m Illar- the 5uromer
seaso n. Usmg the1r global connect·ions.gh'the
Mun'd s are able
ket seems to have been strongly stimulated by the activities Of M urid to obta in these
same products in the Chinese ne1
borhoOds of New
migrants. Initially a market in foodstuffs and .
textiles ' Sandaga h
as be York at prices
their Strasbourg competitors cannot match
sale of electr omc. dev1c es coming from A s1. a (H - ·4o
corne a center for the on During the .1980s, these networks grew larger as Mund . s establ'1she
)
Kong), the Middle East (Djedda , and America (New York).'
s g .. . d
co mmumtles m Be1gmm, consolida ted their p os1t1 ..ons .m New y,ork
,
The transformation of the Sandaga market and the inte nsificati.on of and established themselves in Italy , from north to sou th.•1 C
arter de-
.
commercial activities were promoted b y the Senegalese government's scribes the contours· of the Mund community in Tur'm.. "
The world of
· · ·
abandonment in 1986 of the polic y of protecting products m anu,a cc­ Moun'dism !Il · 1mII1Igrat1on 1s vast and extends from the holy
c1ty of
tured in Senegal. By authorizing the emergence of activitie s of rec y din Touba in Senegal to the major cities of Africa' Europe, the Umted
g . . States
and recuperation, this decision led to the rapid development o f two ex- Italy, Spam , France, Germany, . Japan, Canada' and Austral'1a: NewYo '
. rk,
tremely dynamic sectors, the import-export sector and the servi·ce sec- Atlanta, Los AngeIes, Turin, L1vomo, Milan' Rome' pans, • 1iOulon Lyon
tor.36 Murids quickly seized a monopoly on these activities and made Hong Kong, Berlin, London, Yaounde, and Madrid ·"42 v·1ctona .' Ebm .'
. .
them part of their identity in Senegalese urban society. The new situa­ sketches edify!Ilg portraits
. of Murids who frequent th'IS terram, such as
tion favoring informal activities benefited from the graduai suppres­ the five Pail brothers, based in Sandaga. They began as peddlers and
.
sion of quotas and monopolies on certain products, such as rice, in the salesmen m the streets of Dakar and now hold a mon opo 1y on "c o s -
.
s metlc products from the United Kingdom and the United States and
199Os. In fact, the radical reorientation of economic policie from public
time of crisis, shoes from Taiwan"; with Korean partners, they have built a factory in
decision-making to the laws of the market, opened, in a
to inven t new tradit ions and Dakar_ �or pro�ucing hairpieces.43 The Fall brothers' business trips con­
an extraordinary opportunity for Murids
erhoo ds have pre­ nect ottes as d1fferent as New York, Djedda, and Dubai for jewels; New
a new mission. As D. M. Carter suggests, "The broth
rn world in the Y��k, Rome, and Milan, for cosmetics; Djedda for perfumes and tele­
sented themselves as one of the features of a post-mode
rs and in the small v'.sion sets; and Hong Kong for radios and costume jewelry.44 In each
streets of New York, Paris, Rome and Tokyo, as trade
trade persons," thus city they have one correspondent and many salesmen from the Murid
businesses of these and other centers as workers and 37
community who have established privileged relations with local inter­
globalization.
becoming active and inventive participants in economic mediaries.45 The center of the Fall brothers' vast web is their store in
their villages,
From Senegalese cities and sometimes directly from S�daga. According to Victoria Ebin: "Known by the nickname of 'the
Asian cities. They
Murids headed for African, European, American, and Unit�d Nations,' it is one of the rnost cosmopolitan places in the city.
al (Tou ba) and
wove an immense network with two pole s, the spiritu M und merchants, who are ail connected in some way with the Falls,
se poles we�e
the economic (Sandaga). Duri ng the 1970s, these Senegale rg in flock there from ail over the world. They corne to buy new products
-at Stras bou
complemented by network centers set up in France r­ and to deliver others for sale. They listen to news about other people,
European tou .
the east, in contact with Germany and the wealthiest ch es e.xchange informat1.0n, an d' ss the oss1'b'li
d 1scu p 1 ty o f o btam . mg. a VIsa."◄6
Italian bea
ists; at Marseilles in the south, near the French and 123 • THE
SENEGALESE MURID TRADE DIASPORA

122 • MAMAOOU DIOUF

 The efficacy ofthe Murids' commercial networks and th . r
or ram atizing and acti ng out Mur·1d n. t u als .m a s
be attributed to several factors. The first factor relates to t�• stWr )( can ,;alu es by d ystemati.c and
uc t � .
mann er. And by carrymg out th ese da .1 y
and ideology ofthe brotherhood, in particular to the tali b� to t ur eJCclusive . 1 acts ' the d'1aspo
al sub. oduces intense c,ee 1·mgs o f solidan'ty, affect. ric
mission to the marabout, which has become the stro nge st pil
lar of culture pr The ion• cooperatio
al su pport. comm .
unity imposes on 1tse\f n
brotherhood that controls a vast, dynamic network ofdisci I es a
t aJld mutu
a . norms, val ues,'
nd e . .
tat10 n that outhne the indisputable co
nomic activities. The second factor is the establish ment 0 on ne co an d regimen . . . . ntours of the g ro '
up s
ct o in e, T his disc1p 1 me grou nds the organ.1z a11on
between the distribution points in Dakar and the Murid ern� an i ns disci pl
members ofthe community and th
. of fin
anc .
1 a1 rela
t co . . nshlps arnong e es tabrishment of -
rnunities living in the international centers of who lesale ct ni tlO
. a
rnrnerce.47 never broken. Social and ritual inte raction
.
The third factor is participation in cornplex circuits ofbuYing and tr Ust that is _ the_ recours
e to
. ractices ensuring wealth, health, and success- m:u
.
mg that allow Pans or Strasbourg street merchants to sel) rn ch U
se · mYs tical p c mscn.be
an ise es o feco nomi c exchange that conc eal th e corn m . .
bought in New York's Chinese neighborhoods or in Hon g �o ng d r ul umty from its env1-
, and en t, excep t in busine ss relation shi ps.
merch ants in Brussels to sel! copper articles from Morocco to the c' , ronm
1 tYs lt is in this wand
ering life full ofprivat ions that the
Muslims.48 modu-modu (as
es tern- e d ucate d group ofMurid migrants are .
The intensity ofthe connections that give materi al for m t o the the non-W . . mcknamed) is
so
. the world d raws simu
· 1 taneously on family relationship
Mun. d constructed. He. 1s an Itahan, a New .
Yorker, a Mar se 1•u a1. S, a Spani d
ar .
diaspora m . His stopover poi nts are h ote1 roo
ap He 15 constantly m movement.
pur tenance to the same village, the difficulty ofthe talibs' lives in • v1�'1 l - .
m the main cities ofthe world w here merch
ms or
. ag e overcrowded apartments . . an-
dahras, and allegiance to the same marabout. Inside and outsi de Sen - led u�. He is always J_ust stopping off, always in transit, thus
dise is pi
gal, Murids maintain the ritual community as soon as they take up res�1- erasing the notion ofa fixed res1dence. But a center nonethe1ess remams:
. . . .
dence ma new locale. T hey reproduce Touba by renaming the neig hbor- Touba- the place ofspmtual and economic investment and the desired
hoods and cities where they live and work: Touba Sandaga and To uba Iast resting place for eter�ity Touba is the sanctuary to which everyone
51
:
Ouakam in Senegal, but also Touba in Turin. Precisely because ofthe ir must annually make a pilgnmage on the occasion ofthe maga4 a two­
logics of accumulation and their forms of organization, Murids occupy day comrnemoration marking the return ofAmadou Bamba from his
special neighborhoods in the cities where they are present in large num­ exile in Gabon. Attracting more than a million believers in recent years,
bers. Their overriding concern is to preserve their identity and the "rites the magal repeats the community's memory and actualizes its mission,
of social exclusiveness" that are displayed and experienced in ideologi­ rejecting permanent establishment elsewhere as improbable. (And in 50
cal, symbolic, and mythical intensification - that is, the affirmation of doing recalling the importance, noted earlier, of mobility as an expres­
loyalties, the conscription of a local space at the heart of the megalopo­ sive element of the Murid imaginaire.)
lis, the daily celebration of religiously inspired ritual ceremonies such T he modu-modu's mobility is solely geographical. He travels with
collective his objects - his bubu eut from dark, heavy fabric; his tasseled hat; his
as the reading of the xasaiâs (the founder's poems), and the
big plastic sacks with white stripes; his enormous trunks and suitcases.
participation in meals and leisure activities.
49

ned by the And increasingly, arnong young people who wear jeans and sweaters to
The communitarian reflexes thus described are strengthe
ded apart­ work, there is the necklace on which hangs a photo medallion of the
fact that the Murids of the diaspora live, for example, in crow
York. Murids marabout. The photo indicates that after adopting (during the colonial
ments in dangerous neighborhoods of Marseilles and New perio d) the glass painting inspired by Shiite lithography, the Murids
margina!ized
are often cloistered in their neighborhoods, and they are informa­
er of peo ple �ow borrow some of their signs from the new technologies of
or margi nalize themselves because of the incredible �umb e tio n and com munication. They display their memory with these photo
gical encl o�ur
packed into their apartments. Thus the logic of ideolo medallions, as well as with posters depicting marabouts and the Touba
thus delimite:
is accompanied by a territorial enclosure. In a territor y _ masque and decals of extracts from the founder's poems. As much by
in a way that excl u des foreig
Murid diasporic culture is homogeniz ed
125 • THE SENEGALESE MURID TRADE DIASPORA

124 * MA MA OOU D10UF

 their attire as by their mobilization ofTo uba, its sy mbol5
• orld? Murid grammar does not limit
• an d .1 . g eve nts in the w itselfto
and by adding the name of the holy city to that of the place ts saints .,nterpreun alo ne It makes openmg . s for .1tself in the tran
where lh e ra t'1o ns . sna tiona1
reside, Murids escape the Westernized attire of the beare
rs of co) .e
y th eSe op o th em, and negottates
.
their. share, in accord with
. s 1.
ip s int secret
and postcolonial modermty, as well as that ofthe Islamic-A · 0n1a] cu]ture, -.,.,ercial . practice . s But 1'or ali that .1t
rab1c fas · d . does not subve rt the
that accompanies the trajectory of Islam as a moder n gl0 b h •on r�an�• m
u••
sys tem it all�ws itself to be bor t
Mobility support s the Mund
.
econom
•
ic project that .
a1 reh. g·io 52
_ n. world ec o no ic : _ n � by he sy stem, im -
1s reahzect . e w p oin ts of mflect1on on 1t by deman dm g that it deal
relationships. Modu-mod . gn with
commercial u is a sy nony m fo
rm
•n Press1J1 , new operations, · and unprecedented and flexible forms
even if, in ail the c1t1e · · s where they are " 10und, some Mur erchan1 neW a c to r S of
· ), or Jewe· ids are als umula ti on .
salaried workers (as ·m 11unn 1ry makers or tailo o acc
eral Afncan. . .
c1t1es), .
or 1llegal
rs
street vendors or tax 1. drivers ( s in sev-
(a . �m·umph of the modu-modu as representati ve ofthe Murid corn
. no t to m en- place in the second half of the 1980s at the expense of
tion intellectuals, cliscussed later .m th1s . essay, who ar
e mun.1ty took . m . th e 1970s, the Murid intellect
, 1erntona no t cons1d p much more active
"modu-modu ,). ..., . . 1 mo b·1· . cornb .
1 1ty 1s med with a cons .
. er ed another grou '
pro1ess1o . . . uals-
. 1 d erable n d S ene galese na1 s 1vmg
1· m Wester n countrie s, par-
profess1ona1 mo b'J· 1 1ty.sJ None the1ess, seIf-1'd entl. fication
wit students a . there has never .
h th e com- F ra n ce. While been any direct confrontation
munity through commerce 1s . now the central
element in the new M u. cular1Y in ..
. unct t een th e tw o groups, a competltlo n between them is at the heart of
trajectory. An d m · th1s domam . M un.ds are showing an be w _
extraord.mary flicts that affüct the Mund . brotherhood. The stakes are
. .. .
flex,b,hty, not -0nly m the reg1ster . s of commerc1al . practices, te nsi. ons and con .
.
nd superv1s1on of Touba, on one hand, and questions
products, definitions of markets, and modes of financin g but also
choice of the management a
with of how to in terpr et, dramatize, and act out the Murid heritage and the
regard to profit margins. They have thus appropriated the most imp sage , on the other.
or­ founder's mes
tant reflex of contemporary liberal cosmopolitanism, taking advantage
of economic opportunity: sell whatever is in demand at a Jower price,
"WE ARE LIKE SIROS, WHO THINK OF
always respond to demand, and acquire captive markets. Through their
HOME WHEN FLYING HlGH ABOVE THE EARTH"
networks and modes of operation, and by basing themselves solidly on
their ritual comrnunity, with its structures, liturgy, texts, and images, in Both the formation of the ritual community in a group in constant
their own way they impose an order on the chaos of the market. They movement and the emergence of the modu-modu as exclusive identity
are globalizing themselves. have not only required a powerful standardization of practices, rites,
T he objects and liturgies they produce in everyday life �nd t�eir and modes of socialization but have also provided a foundation for sub­
dramatizations and acts of ritual community are not forged w1th a v1ew mission to strong moral obligations.54 As Abner Cohen has observed
to resisting the movement of globalization. These objects and liturgi�s with regard to the Hausa living in the Yoruba homeland, the ritual com­
Therr
are the chief idioms Murids use to compete in the world market. fu munity presents itself as "the institution of stability-in-mobility."ss
· th ·
err a b Tty
1 1 to r e se The logic governing Murid mobility requires the constant presence
recourse to a native grammar probably exp1ams
to appropriate or ass1mil
.
. ate, m . th e course Of their many J·ourney the s, of the Touba sanctuary, along with the places constituting Murid iden­
nd worId tity: the mosque, the cemetery, and its extensions, on one hand, and
language and habits of modermty . as concei. ved bY the West a
1 mes es and
·1s sag the Sandaga and Okass markets, on the other.56 The acts of re-creation
Islam. Is this because the rhythm of the brother h00d•
turn (after the accu- implied by the existence of a sanctuary elicit new traditions and refer­
texts, its (fictive or real) point of departure and re_
ountable bar-
mulation of capital or at the time . of death) are an msurm ences. The construction of Murid identification was not easy to achieve,
. · Western eulture1· Or because of tensions between different groups within the brotherhood
rier to the assimilation of transnahona 1 Is 1amJC Or of an d b etween the brotherhood and other actors in Senegalese political,
propose a way
is it because Touba is always there to s1'ft , se1ect, and

127 * THE S E N EGA LES E M U RI D TRADE Dl AS PO RA

126 * MA MADO U D 1 0 U F
 relig i us , a
o
n
economic li . l n ternal ly, th ein telle c tuals and the tno
d

fe u.
► e the
motor and the signs of the reconstr
u ro
modu fo h for o , d ar
ug t control f the brot herhood es ec i l o di • ]e s reside. The ath . e the trunks and thc i n o Toub a h
f

p al t s outw rd se•p r , b· w erev r

m f y f i e
s gn s o a
' e 1 last ic ha •
o e s o insc ripti n in the world.
d
an
i d
ec that rep es -like g p
a ra · poste s fth de
rod
th r
tor y e
gs 1 ntlfy
uc

emosqu
o
The ima e ofT uba as abso lut e re fer ence point and sanctuary se t J el rooms and apartments-a o
g n hot
ems bout s i hist o
ti nm a-
to ha vea cco mpanie d e uri r a and bound it firmly to . , an am
b� :u1d
th M d d iaspo 1 sophy o wo
f r k and commu mty tha t Murid ry i ar
B aal, ph·Jo .d o , an d a
the Mu rid ho el nd. These n
ma e w procedures, wheth er imaginary or re . . . s c o
n s er t o be
.
a] The final domam, wh1c g meanin o th fir 1 . u ru
quc .
h 1ves
are stron lyco gt e
nnecte with th e gr o wth of Muri d migration. Ther two
d

e (on of the Tou ba .1ty 1I·b rary. It is he work of th sh. ' IS the re-
an u d i� c t • rd ca li ph o c e
t
bl e t
g
ce een the con tr ction
n en a con comitan b t ew s u of the p Abdou Lahat, "who undertook foll f th
oin ��ids �e
i

refe r n mob y as to cr t f o o wi n
n e
e c e a te a fixed sit e , a single and un
ili
ea
d
t , if n ( �), to collect al) the writings of g d xa
R éh ikh Am mple o U -
resid ce. Thi d ub l p i u q e ma e
e o e r o c ess of r efe r e nc to con struction and mig . a ou Ba m ba (f th.
­ to m ake t h em available to the public )
ra orde r . The n . d
s e
t on is m
n

an e i thre d ma n the s e tc a cu lar developm , in or ert s

f RA
e rm
ifest d

i e o i s : ent of k , wor ks he establi . shed a pr ess an o a

the Chei , d b iltth . h a gu d
n
t h e
p hs

a ects, a nd financial invest u nc

ci y, t e cre t on o Murid o b
f
e ands
i
. consequ
h
m ent in Tou m Touba. »saT he mam
t

b tuous library • c
en es o f th h" p-
um
as sym boli d i a
j

ze th con truc n e li c i
s tio of th Touba city brary. were the extra d . diff u s• of th e founde ' .-
·
•ese a evem nts d . e
t r s xas d
n e or i nary on
The fir t
s domain, the cit y's developm en t, h a s been stu ied from o his thoughts, . m the form of pamph le ts and b ... ks s an eas r
1 ac-
e

a c t
g d o o Acco
r
ess
eo ra p io n •
t of view by E ic Ross a n d Che i kh Gueye. In 1 n -
phi cal

. merch ant .m h"1s travels through h wo Id thm pa

g

9 13, ing the Mund

Touba w a vil
tJ
t e e
dxts y
f
age o sligh y more th an 500 inha b itants; by 9 6
l
. se te
as

ts recount the Mur1d saga and express .1ts prin ci le i r ,

p opulati n had g ro 1 7 i .
to 29,634; in 9 8 t w as 138,896; p s' s o
o wn 1 8 i in 2000 it discipl n e. They have become the bac kbo f the rit na) rm os , an 1 ts
is i o u c
sli g htJ than 30 ,0 , making co nd largest "
and they sp eak to he Mund' s everyday e x
e

ore i ad mm 1 ,
n
0 00 t the s e city in Seneg ,
ym nce. eT
t

al � e r e
i
un tyo
after Dak ar. 57 T u b . ape d
o a is expected to ha ve a po pulation of about 500,oo o mobility th continue to bmd the disci l ev xts lt t
p

f o
en m re o
ey

in the co ur fth first d ca o p e g

e
d
e went - fi rstc entury. TheMuri s t n
ro y
s o e e the t sh ared h1story-that of the success o fthe ch ikh f th b th h t a
ds'
'.
y e , o e r o er
ho y city con and its st r o ng attraction, whic ood,
u e s to be dynami c ,
l tin

h an d, collecti ve ly, of the disciples . They o rg ani z th b rrowe ­

began with th firs t ph e eo e r o d a
as o the on o
f
c b
e truct i n of the mosque, persiste
s jects-posters, medallions ofthe marabo u n ct es c o
d ts, a ur a c m p a e
and eve a c l d pi ni d
e era te er the ca li phta e of Abdou Lahat Mbacké (1968-
d d
n un by extracts from Amadou Bamba's poe ms .
198 9) Giv
. en the so r qu et of "the builder," Abdou Lahat en larged t e
b i

h These are three domains and three ways ofdomes i ti

n
mosq , be the
i
f huges u b v sions for new co n struc io , t ca g the fo e r g i n
e
e n
gan cr a ton o and the global by recourse to native idioms thatc antl ek o as­
u
d i i t
d o ns
t

and c all d M corn e an y s e

e
ur ids
l ve i t e ho y city. Wi t h the help o t
to i n h l f sert themselves in the world and to p rofit from i t, u
concret
l h

financial s cce ss , h is al! e yt ro g

u c w a s he ar d,as the in c reasing population figu re
s economic activities, and symbolically by borrow in it an d ech­h
s
od
show In 199 1, the e n g m t
current cal phdh e r
i
. a e
r d t ot h e same cou s eby cr a i g niques of diffusing information. However, this info ati nes is ot n
di i with t o n o
a new, lar ge-sc ale u v s b i
ly
s on 0,000 lots. native bu disdains Islamic and Western t exts with gl bal
rm
t
o pre t e n s ons . ln
i

of 10
The seco d d n c
i
ra tion c o nce rns the cre­
o a g contrast o theSudane e e local
i
co n by Vic o B rnai,
n m tru tio m se vil age studied
l
an t ra e w r
s n d t i h

ation ofMu ,
. Th ba kgrou d to ese a je ct s is the construc­
b
s
j ct
Sufi I slam is succumbi g to the rest r ction s of mo dern, cosm o
id
e c n pol tan
n
r o e th
b

tion of a mem ory i i

armat ure s are the exil e s and travails of Ama­ Islam, whose strength is "among other things, a m t fr l al
h
w ose o ve e om ,
ba as as i m h s m n
dou Bam , we t e r u p di pl ayed in the ci ty of Touba and is ocwi
h
particu.larized Islams to Islam as a wor ld religion, " M
ll

res
ds
t t th
f th ur i
in the symbolism e
mo que and its m n are t . The miracl e s th�t ac­ their texts, their objects,and Touba, the po int of r efe ren e. 59 A ilthes re­
s
o i c
companied the e xile s , e
in particular the exile in Gabon and t h e so1ourn sources allowMurids to establish their un queness d t h irp s
re e nce in
i an e
in Ma yombé , co n tit te �he world. ln an c h o th
Murids dr a w in order � particu.lar, the reading of the xasaïds firm y
ib

s u the l r y on whic h
ar o l rs em
make sense ofth ir p oj ct of ccumul
a a o , the fficult es involved 10 10 the space where cosmopo t
e r e ti n di i li a n and modern m s e o
d th ss. Isla i d p l d- e
their trave thro ugh the wo rld
, an e rom is e s u cce e mira cl es s a e ye th
Th
ir

l d of i g he boo . 60
p p c wr ti n an d t k
128 • MA MADO U D 0
1
U 1 29
F * THE SE N A E DIASPO AR
E G LAESE MURIO TR D
 .
, �

..,
Th Mu ds' fo under's gran dsons, m em ber o f izbu
e d . ln ins pt on as a commun t y in o s1.tt. on 10 rhe H
h.
1 h . cri . .i i the world wa
d e.J th- J ail ° P d gen ealogical rule by ass e rtin the im
s
rt nce
t
s note 10
ri
ac eve h,ft g n d er r tic t a e tcories g
n P
for an e n
d a . ntu l r s u m t e , . a a r J· • the mod as,1 fa tk Y3 c g and commentary, of Am doupBa b o a
uce a comm n1t y cons antly r e alized in ther �m�u
pro.
Y th ro ugh readin a m a's
an d . m h e . t cf.e rence u o n, rule of com muni tar ian lif , and
t d ima ges t ah t onsti ute rro (the rn e y, gh i s organ i
ast r
t e x s an c the memor of ba o 6Z Throu t
Th. u . . ·r, t . . ) ,ne ssage. . g , the Hiz but Tarkya movement pa rt .1 i e s in
zati

Y Mundis
t

1s c m o m mty 1s mam ested in t e acts of ll\ ffjnanCJO an

e

firs td1s. 1. e h .ld the founder ,n ode s O c p ta

cp a d n c 1 r cn. In h se ,the
h and of · · ·rh the native proJect. . ofthe commumty . Av . e -
h 18 break wi . io n con
l

thcMu n.d cosmm . nse mercant e

e ffort 10
l t

movement and Am dou B

t s this
umt p r . . i l comp o nen f
i tween
u s eu s, m 1ts co t d 1 be b '
ical• eu1 t ural, o
e no s a
re h.g1o .
u . . . mic • polit füc t in 1997 an a ma s
99

s e xp ress ion s, a pecuha y nati e a n e depth ofth e c r isis and the l a e n t t e n ons w thin
y

n t I pr je ct within a glob i en d dsons show sth t si

ro nr en . t re fiuses t u .vers rl1.1 e . s v o
a v, .
. i
ex a m p 1
o m a z li message, even if it ado gran therhood.
e , . m t h e tt h en ts- for
the bro
. Murid intellectuals, the search for a mode inte e-
a t to Tou a-stra egies an
m.za t . and fi a cma. c m . bt t d modes o f or Accorcling 10 .
p

1 on n n ss o 1 n ga. der's messag e 1s v 1 0 .cmg

. an urgen t need not o nl rp r
move e n t urr en l g a c ate d wi h pe t c r. un
rn
e ostal and
otherr e ·1 . u . of th e ,o
yto
m sc t y ex pe r iencing phen menal gr wth 1i go s t . the Islamic orthodoxy ofthe Murid message but a ls o ro-
auon
o in Africa.
By c on ras , in o p s t o
o ernphas1ze · o f ·11 th at 1 ·s ac ssible
to p
e n at and philosop h1" cal version
p oi i n to th
atheoIogical and
t t

Mu i te i ve a ppro ach since the 197 ce

e c u as have att emp d to arr Pose bl to both the Wes tand the East T h'1 s need unph . . e s asthe di-
'
broth h d. st t e yout a moder nizatio . ,
ll l

c e
id

n of e 3ccepta e
0 S
er oo pre s ence andact s on both the nati
r n

th ewspaper Ndigël wrote more t ha n a decade ago, the "d -

onal and the m h
tio al e Th we t h · 1 erna­ tor oft en e
n sc ne . e y re e fus t to put u ridis mon the .] t on of Amadou Bamba's thought by restor ing its spl end
in F ance w ith e i M world map, firs t Senega 1za i or
th r s - r fessio na l and stude nt organizations the Cheikh dr ew it from the Koran and from the Prophet's S
th e nin S ne g l w i h oc i p o , an ah.
o

t the c re at o nofthe
r

e Dahir d Muridism will have access to the world at larg ."63

l'Uni i té d
i a des Étud iants Mour ide �en this is done, e
unn

ve r s e Dak ar (th u sà
a

ur d s n
of Dakar) n 1975 h se e M ni
t de ts' association of the Universi
t y The future ofan African commercial diaspora, always in trans it, wil]
i . T e or ga o
zati ns a med
from it s t ron W l of olo i i to free the brotherhood be played out in this tension between a prese nce manifested in the dis­
o c gan to r rganize t s appa
a vie w o l bg li zing M rdi d eo i ratuses w t play of a native cosmopolitanism and anacceptancein the world. And
in

o a sm ih
s

t g u ri and r i dd g it of its images and ex s within this framework, it must be unders tood that the order and tem­
in

that foc les cco t t

u on m m pl
a a ished by Am adou Bamba. For them, i poralityofthe world are not univocal, and they do not necessarily re ­
ir c

was a q s ti f dr
w ing sup t
ues on o m the new libra ry in Touba an
a po t r fro quire imprisoning the irnmemorial and undis cipl ined emporali ies o
e
th fou e ' wo d t t f
n
r s o rder to i c or po ra t e the Muridtrajectory and the new actors on the modern scene. Therefore, we must conclude th
d k i

its scri ptural i

grammar nt o the d yn amic s of global re-Islarnization. Th at
n r n

sear h for this u c m e thealternative modernities that are emerging in the disparate processes
h ore in di d u
c
iden tit y was e xp re ss ed
m viual ll dan m ch Jess familial re gious ofglo balization are not situ ated in a synthetic perspect vewho se back
­
li

i n th e fo rm o f a egian ce not to amarabou t, bu t i

bone is West�r� modernity and its injunctions As
to the o in t o f e ference, the fo regoing re­
p Toub a . Ite m erged very early arnong univer ­ �arksshow, tt 1s notamatter of trying to demon. st ra te th
sity alu mn w ho e ese modern­i
ve e is calle d the H zbut
r

i s m o m nt i Tarkya (s oldiers o lles bythe synthesis or the hybr dization ofthe autoc
f hthono us and th
thebrothe o od) The e e b h e th e se ves in the h oly city by_
i
. y h a s t a li d m l �lobai_ thatcurrent discourses on globalizat e
h

creating the ir w d m in, t on seek to achieve, usually

v

heir o w n c o m m ercial str uctures, an dthe 1 r i

r s

o n o a in aninept way wit

, hout accountmg
own netw o s o fme mb p b e . c,or t h e creativity involv ed in the
asd on t he "princ pleofp e rson a] com­ slow and shre
i

wd dep Ioyment of the local

k hi

mitmen " (for i in global space and time In

ns ance, by giv ing pa r t of o en 's wealth for t he exclu-
r
the M .
er s
t und case' th ere 1s · ne1t• her a dissol .
t

sive use f th ca lip h gen o e tam eg1t1m acy to. . ution ofthe local in the gl obal
n e
e e ra , wh gua rate d a c r • J • • n or an annex
at1on of the Iatt
o 1

the daara-as th membe o lik e to b e c aile d) ·6 1 Thi . er by the former. Rather the Murid ex
e rs f the move m e nt perience m
vo1ves constru cft n , -
s

Jeg itima cy h be en de lo ed t ch e ne · 1prmci · "pie of g ongm · · a1texts and images that establish
as y d oh a ll g thegenealog1ca , themselves a
t the heart o
successi n th h as g p
ve rn e t b the h ro ' fe c e e u e fthe worId•and b y so doing create
a o e r o o d s li sin th fo o d r 5 s tan sm
. new forms
t

of co m o p o lt·
1 wh os e •c . n
o

130 • MAMADOU D 1 m an11 e 5lattons o longer refer eccssari

IOUF n l y
3 1 • T 11 S
E EN E I
GA LE SE M U RO TRAo " r A P R D IS O A
 a dentity through assimi atio
and obligatorily to the a c qu is i tio� o n 1 l � - ( aris: o
f

" P OM . 197.2d ChnstJanCoulon. kmarabout t._

)

"'°ru......, o e 1981); and 'i<prinu:/Jla

but, rather, to the dis play f uniq e added to g obal tempon. S ené a (P ans
: Pe n , Momar "',r
1t s T

o a b the u 1 Wes g l . Coumba D •

dent1ty

tern trajecto l
rality and not simplyin formed y ry of mod er r
��d . n-. o t10n
15a
e. � & -· n éco no m iq ue m e
• 1 a a -
��� h
·
n o uf1 • 80 d od d mp nt hon ur L
"" 'ft· •� • (PLrr.D. dis,. ..
i th , precise lybecaU e S it preseint Lyon, 19 .
i p m·uversité de
) l
d
alone. The Murid as ora n e w }' Vt
orld

u . ty part1c Le s a f fair es o àDk a ar.".Po rr-, n� H ;

p" . ,.·rn,.,
itself in the modeo f aritual c omm m ,
1 pates ''l'~
9· M -• . C.) O ,.,,,o .l
m undes

m th s plura
l _ '00; M. C. Dr. op, • FonctJons d ac trVItes no. (Nov
. . . i i
r · des dahiras rn ,_ cm .
l$

resentation of the wor l o n t ba s of unique achievemcnts. Its m:f'es t,tr , ,..,1 . 7- 1 d'Etu des A, ir LCa
. m . es 11 (1 o un.... urbai
◄
h
98 2)
is

81-a - ns
e

d lar contribution (�al)" d, Cah dias iersoras d , rt an 1 s el 3' Girard Sa!

to cosmopolita de commerçants: Etu cm, De Dau,
of operation make its v erna u nism .
sén a ,s (k socio - "'--
à pans, es "°ala .is en Fr &---& •Ph• u u
c

f the procedu
h
exhibiting it at th e ear o res of globalizat i b ance • Ph.D. d1S.S ., .
Par Ecole des Hautts Euq dtsedtn
p

t
on, thus p
r co�� -., 8 , . " , rs,.
f m pol tan form
s and of local varia :. . ces Soc es
i al 19 , 1) Salem , De la brous.se �rse au Bo l'l\tich:t ,
moting plura lizauon o a co s o tions scien .de en F rance,•Cah 1ers d u
i of
a mo un . ..., . "Y5·
world time. Such plur lizatio n o cosmopolitan_forms are illustrated y 1�m• com ' c i en,mer l ' Etudes . A1'.,.,,,.,_ 2 i (1,..,••1 )·
" . 81- 3;
f

of product b O Bri Ch.arisma Cornes to Town: Mounde Urbaniution, 9

ctors and
rela ·
the introduction ,a
, tional systems that D Cru,.._1SC ' an d C. Coul on, eds., Charuma a B r 1945_1 •
fr m hes Se neg alese m
ave ,;=
jnO.-... � B r ie n O oth moo,J ,,. Af. 1C11n ."", .m 986
arket becaUSe of the h 1988), 135-5�; A M 1• 1 '
long b e en exc l uded o t colo n�on Pr , . oustapha D.rop,
nd

n al (Oxford: Clare •�assoc�onH t

ess

2 June 1985
h d and exclusiv
e relatio�hip with Fr i . ) . 197 -206, A.
, uri d
pact that es ablis ed a pr v e e France." E nl nF o1 ce" sp 0 M. Diop, Un aperçu de 1,
i il

an ce . ,1am
t l g r
an , Migranu Formation. n o . 82 (!990): n
fore1gn to the in ­
Actors in an internat o n a geography completely te :égro-afri cain en -S ;i A. M. Diop ,
i

l lit M ids are pursu l ass o ciatif is l am ique en lie-de-France,"

m
lectu al an politica e e, ur
i
ng the enterprise of m
"Lemou
ve nt Revw �
en� da M i-
od. 7 (1991): 91-117; Victoria Ebin, "
d e

ions I n ternatioi na es M ourides

T ra d«s on
l

ec on o s t rans of a Scnegalese Brotherhood m the

e rnizat ion througb
practi ces sa n ctio ed by a m ic ucc ess tha is :d, The T
n
it od a us crip fro Agncu ture to ntcr
n
n.,t io
n
n
no o on ut an t e r rade," unp bis he m n , Social Science R se e arch Council, n.d., Ebin, "Com.i ­
t nJy compatible with globalizati o e
l

T
in g al part f th
l

b also
t

process. : Une confrérie sénég alaise à New York," Homm a tt

u l

merçan ts et missi ­
o Mi
nn aires

gra ions. 00 _ 11 3 2 (Ma � 990); Ebin, "A la �erche_de no'":-eaux poisso

yun St ra té­
NOTE gies com me r cia mo en temps de cnse, Po/11 ,qw Africain, 45 (1 2), 86 ;
-
ns
99
t l es

S · Room versus Creating Space:

des

iv 1e JiL.,.,-ra) and g 99
1· "Le tempsd u monde» refers to the d e vel ent process as ex cl us p y so Ebin, " aki n M The Const ruction o f Special ­
, it r efers to a roœs Ca te
opm

es rn c tures fW esi - gories b y ltine rao e

Westerndnven. Asa result, for non-W te t Mourid Trad rs," in MaJ.rng Muslim Spac, rn North America and
ul

·
uro , d B b D. Metca lf (Berkeley:Unh·ersity of Califor a Press, 1996)
crnization. E pe e . ar ara
- me s·,ons o•'GIoba1·1zat1on (,." ,m"- G ce: Senegalesemltaly
ni ; D. M.
Dr Carte r, r t of ra ­
2.
1 uod
Arjun Appadura·,..,, unr·..,,v at La,_.·o-· Cul ura n 1
and the N� Europe
mmi grat n (
l

Minne
t

S ni cs I
a io

see peciall . y . . vers ty of Minnesota Press, 1997 ); and Cheikh Gueye, Lo ganisa
nc polis·· Universüyo f Minn a ress, 1996) ; ll» u rn al ofpthe4
es apo lis : U " ' r
i

. " Ph t H .
Tnternallon de ti tns n o de
Jo -r . ­
( )"�(Ph.D diss., Um�rsM
eso
al Inst l'espace dans
t
a un eville religieuse: Touba
a

3_ Stuart Hall, '

'A Co v n ersati o n w1t S a r t • S
1 999 -· 1 bour g , 1 9 9).
tu te 7, no. 1 (fall a ' emp � 1. . . all 9 "Conve rsation," 15.
) 5 (H lls has s)
0
. ,
, ed · • La r éi� nt n i l ts
io du ca p ta 1 H
4 _ Hall, "Conversation," 15. Jean-Franço15 Ba yart nsc th
e
first process of gl obaliz.ation
mi!

.u In a se , took plac e m Sen tga l n r e

(Paris: Kartha l a, 1994) .
. o m the li me of the French Rc-volution through theni th�fow
de

comm un es ys F r u
c:enrury, inhs bitant n th
te

5. Hall, "Conversation,»
m

15. n-
e ta c o a s of these fo
ur Senegalese cities were granted rench cit
net

6. See Jean Cop ans, "Jean Copan r�� d rs d ela c on fr é ri e l

r e u
che chpour by F F iunsh ip
s Lese et Marx tous?9 Politiqut A icaiM po li cy of assimilation. Their legal
re status as French c ns
nch
fr 11 was c no h ng
frérie des chercheurs: À cha unc so n by the a l p at the Frmch National Assembly on 29 i2e 6 fi TTMd
Sept e mbe 191 , sta
w as sed
h t "th r
i, no. 4 (N o vember �981t m-21. d b P l M arty Etudes sur l'Islam au niga
ri e na iv e s of the
Sé t t communes de plein exm-u:e of Senegal are and remai F
, rench
a

Y au � n
7_ This fus t gener atton 1s ex mpli e citiuns as provided by the law of15 Octo
ber 1915. 11 Consequentl,y t yuphe t
e

. aJ
2 vols. (Paris: Lero�x,_ 191 7). d fSen l: The Political andEconomie 0rgan1- politi rig hts while also he
assertmga d stmct cultur al identity as Musl ms whld n
heir
c

a i i Colon o ttd
8· Donal Cruise O Bnen, The Mo un ord Cleg endon Press 1971)·•O'Brien,S1 nts it a
nd no abi by Fre n ch civil code. See Mamadou Diou f, "The French ial Po c
1
,
de

d Oxf : ar .d of Assimilati n
o and the Civili h y
zation of anIslamr• c Br h erhoo · t" ( i oa Sen e le se Peasa nISocietv (Cambn g .e• Cam· ty ofthe Or iginairt:s of Four Communes l the
A Nineteenth- ) Senegai :
ot

n f a
g ,, Century Globalizati on Project,"in Globa lizatmn and d 11
Clerics: Essays in the 0 rg
. ), . oJ n C
o L e s marabouts de /'arachide (Pans • l.t: l t nrd ry: Dial« ·
a m za

d e rs. re , e a o p a s, ,-. tics of Flows and Oos re ed. Bi r ch re ( foOx 8là k�

r Um v 1ty P ss 19 7 5 , nd Pete Ge
r i e
b i ge . na i:,.v no- u , it e
rg M ye a
: c U
n

an · · Roch an d G Ro ch e t ca u • Mai
nttn a s
Sycomore, 19 80 );J. Co s ,J Co ch bi e .
p � ty ' J ' . . t u ,-, a tes Pu l sh rs, 1 99 9 ), 7 - 1 96
u ega , vo n et pra tiq e du trava
m u e et chang em e nt sociale a Sén l l. J. Docm
iq t
3 3 • THE AES E M U
S ENE G L RID TR ADE APO RA
DI S
132 • D U DI OUF
MA MA O
 12. Manth ia Dia wa ra, ln Search of Africa (Cam bridge: Harvard Univ the meaning of the minaret's nickname · "Ris· ng .
1998).
ersitY Press
, .,o g .,.,,1erp re lation of , . 1 eighty -seven
ve To ub is the mosque s central minaret, kno wn po pu1ar1
eter s •bo , Y as La mp Fall
a
13. Before publishing his book, C. H. Kane presented this tension in his talk Fall, d ouBam bas mostfierc ely devoted m· 'd L
at a col. j)<hibra
afte r Che
Ahma
loquium organized by the review Esprit in October 1961: "A culture of oralit JTI . .
• th e country, 1ts he,ght far in exce ss un · amp Fal l is
ctures m
Y can n t
0n• 0f
the ta llest stru Of the ne eds for eau
be ta ken serious in a world in wh ich ti m e and distance ha ve ceased to be 0 b o ere ca n be no doubt th t its main fu nction is represe ntation
. . st•clos
10 pra
yer, and th
a
. al h
to commumcat1on. T h e oraI'1ty of our euI tures 1·1m1ts · their · range of diff
usi on'. •nd .s1· bJe conc rete manifestation of the Tree of Paradise, and it figures pro min . · is
a v1 ently in
thus their competitivc power; as a result, we are put in a position of in'"n e .onty i ride icon ograp h y: on to b stones, on p amphlets and caIendars,
pap u1 ar Mou
m
.. and on
our rel ationships with th e rest of the world. This also constitutes a seri ous han ·
dica"p s1·des of bu ses." "Tou. ba , A Spmtua 1 Metropolis in the Modern W,orId., Ca
in coming to terms with the world at l arge. Our inner feeling about our cuituresw;n th e / C . nad,an
Jo ur na1 o,JA1' 1' aines 29 ( 1995): 227
Revue ana d renne
.
'rican Studies des Etude s Ai;.ic
not survive our entry into the cycle of technological progress; we wi/1 be obliged
10 h as the same meanmg as RA (see n. 22). Dièye ' Touba.· s•·gnes et symboles,
26. SA" ,.,'S
· .
put our soul in some secure place before donning the mechanic's blu e o veralts.• C
1 7-18,
Kane, "Comme si nous nous étions donnés rendez-vous," Unité Africaine 4 (196H) Touba: Signes et symboles, 30-3 1.
27· Dièye, · moun·des a'Oak ar,• 79�91. Also see Abner
p, "Les affia rre�
1
(emphasis added). e D io Cohen, Custom
28, Se
14. V. Y. Mudimbe, The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and tire Order 0 P oliti cs in Urban Afrtc a: A Study of Hausa Migrants in Yoruba Town
s (Berkeley-·
Knowledge (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988).
if
nia Press, 1969), 141.
a nd
Uru·versity of Califor .
15. See M artin Klein, "The Muslim Revolution in Nineteenth-Ce ntury Senegam bia,• inting (somet1mes caIled .._reverse-glass painting") is painting done di-
29_ Glass pa
in Western African History, ed. Daniel F. McC all, Norman R. Bennett, and Jeffrey rectly on the inside of glass but to be v1ewed from the outside· Murid . .
· glass painting
. .
Butler (New York: Praeger, 1969). life star ies of the founder and h1s most unpo rtant disciples.
d icts
peinture sous verre du Sénégal: Etude anthrop
16. Copans, "Jean Copans répond." /: See M. Stro�bel,_ "� ologique•
17. Copans, "Jean Copans répond." Dahras are rural schools in which childr en live .D, diss., Un,v ers1te de Strasbourg, 1982), and M. Diouf, "Islam: Peintu
(Ph re sous
in the marabout's compound (far from their parents), lea rn the Koran, and cultivate verre et idéologie populaire," in Art pictural zaïrois, ed. B. Jewsiewicki (Quebec: Edi­
the marabout's field. As adults, they are released and settle nearby the marabout or tions du Septentrion, 1992), 29-40.
migrat e -either way, they remain disciples. 31. Vis-à-vis the construction of the Senegalese nation-state, it should be noted that,
1s. V incent M onteil, "Une confrérie musulmane: Les Mourides du Sénégal," Archives on one hand, Murids dismiss the nation-state as a political and cultural unit irrele­
de Sociologie des Religions 14 (1962): 77-101. vant to their economic project, for their success is rooted in the b rotherhood. On the
19. See Christopher Harrison, France and Islam in West
Africa, J860-1960 (Cam­ other hand, Murids believe that their economic success makes them the one grou
Univer sity P ess, 1988). able to revitalize the n ation-state by injecting their ideolo y and practice through�
bridge: C ambridge r
g
lation." Murid-inspired government.
2o. See Diouf, "The French Colonial Policy of Assimi
d upon him" that Muslims use whe n 32. The first part of the heading for this section (with emphasis added) is borrowed
21. RA is a prayer meaning "peace and rewa r

e leadin g Islami c figure s. from an interview conducted by Ebin with a Murid merchant in New York: "Our
r efer ring 10 the pro phet and s om
. .. homeland [in Western Senegal] is built on sand, and like the sand, we arc blown
Dièye , (ParJS: Ed1ttons Deggel ,
22, Cheik h Abdoulaye Touba : Signes et symbo les
everywhere. , .. Nowadays, you can go to the ends of the earth and see a Mouride
1997), 48. wearing a wool cap with a pom -pom selling something to somebody." Ebin, "Making
hood that emphasizes labor rather than
23_ Baye fall is a branch of the Murid brother Room versus Creating Space," 9 3.
prayer. · 8 · Gueye 33, The first two names are names of the villages of Murid dignitaries, and the third
ts," unpublished manuscnpt , n.d•• 6 -
24 Gueye "Les marab outs urbanisan local ity w means simply the" Murids' Baobab ." They ar e found in ail the Senegalese citics
tes the central square
f a ::: whe�
(1;, n. 34) 'ex.plains that p entch "designa
o

wh re mo� Murids live.

u a, the diffe r ent pentch,
ues
coun cils and markets are h e ld. In T t
e
o b
34, As this essay is a discussion of the cnnstruction
e the most imp and experiences of Murid males,
e sacred spaces and ar
ortan

mau solewns have been built, constitut the use of the pronoun he is
deliberate,
structural elements of the town. " . to 35· Ebin, "A la recherche de n
ro nym; Lamp Fa// is
the sobnque1 given ouveaux poissons," 86.
25. Lamp means "light," and Fa/1 is a pat . d to d v te hirn· 36· Ebin, "A la rech e rch
e de nouveaux poissons " 86·' Diop ' "Les affaires mourides
a's first disc1p1es. He prefer re '
e o

Cheikh Ibra Fall ' o ne o f Am ad ou Bamb . à Dakar."

self t o his master's s rvic m re than t praye r an d °
b s er va tion ofis lamic rules 6r orn
' Murid
37, Car ter, States of
He symbol iz se the
Grace, 47.
e e o o

ed by the marabout. 38· Salem, "De

whic h he and his disciples w ere exempt rat h er c on vinc· Dakar à Paris."
al nce f labor and prayer. Ene · Ross 0!fer s a
c o nception o f the equiv e o

t35 • THE SENEGALESE MURID RADE DIASPORA

T
134 • MA MADO U D 1 0 U F
 39 Sa em, "De D ak arà Pa ris,"
. l 37.
40 Salem, "De Dakarà Paris
. ," 42 . Ye "Les marabouts urban san s," 1 -20.
41. On the Murids in New Yo k, see Eb in, M aking Room 61 Gue , . i t
. the . M
r " v er s . ,,.._ concern 1s also found m Pans urid - • ·
62 • .,as . ~ -•atto kno as KJilima
·
9

« .n
42 Cart r, States of Grace, 73.
. us C rc a in g Spa r • dirn ( ain , chosen by God ), whose scholarly comm·tt wn i
ce.• !(ha s t 1 tt not onl y pov,'d d th
43. The quo at on cornes from Ebin, "A la recherche d n u o . fin r e e
t i e o ve a . fa
p re c e for the ei d o
b o kby C h k hA b ulaye D iye but al 50 its od uctto .
e
è

44- Ebin, "A la reche che denouveau x poissons," 88. ux poisso ns," 8 7. d ublicat ion. anc e pr n
d

r 8 8 an p
45. Ebin ("A la recherche de o Fa u d.i ye, Ndigi! l ( s) , o . , sec se
n uveaux po ss
i o ns," 95) g iv e h
s t i Hadj Uo N a P a ri n 21 o n d m cs te 199 , 1.
Pakistani-American fo New York who has beco m a of i 63- E 0
r

e the chief up
m )

1 e� rcxo p
e

product for the Sandaga market. 5 1

s p f 1 r o
e C ctnic
4 6. Ebin, "A a recherche de nouveaux poi ssons ," 8 9.
l
4 . Ebin, "A la recherche de nouveaux poisso , 8 .
7 ns " 7
48. Ebin, "A la recherche de nouv ea ux poisson ," 87.
s
49. Cohen, Custom and Politics in Urba n Africa, 156.
the oId t so
50. Modu-modu refers to arnad u M o
M o usta pha Mba c k , es n of 1
é

fi ounder Amadou Bamba, who becarn e th e first l i p (19 - 1 h

c a h 27 94 ) . M od u. e
mon nicknarne for Marnadou. 5 15 a CO ii) .
51. Ross ("Touba, A Spiritual Metrop olis," 22 7) de cs des i r ·. "Th ecemct
ri bs th s e en.
i

··
e

. .
IS. th e nextmostimpor tant e 1ementoft hec1 ty s spir ual o
' it t pog
r aphy ' andi. sloca t i 1
.m the very heart ofthesanctuary confirms ts
i eleva te ds tatu in Mourid co smol on
t

is the c
rthl ,,.oub
ogy
It 1s · the preva1· ling v1ew
• arnong th e Mourides thatb u al n Y, a Vlr. -·
r e a
i

ually guarantees acces s to the heavenly one. The c m e e et ry i sthe G ate to Parad ·ise
t
physical burial arnounts to passage through the ate. "
G
an in R al S d an," 132 _
52. Bernai, "Is lam, Transnat onal Cul tu re , d Mod ern ur u
i
i

3. See, for example, the account of the life o fA a d u e g

5 o Di n c o
lle ct ed an dan alyze d
m ty

by Ebi n, "Making Room versus Creating Spa ce ," 97.

fro m a i
54. The heading for this section is borrow e d n nterview c o d n uc
te d nd dis­
a
cussed by Ebin, "Making Room ve s s Cr e a t ngS p ac
e , .
r u i
" 9 8
55. Cohen, Cust om and P oliti cs in Urban Africa, 159.
po s," 240
Met r o , "Okass acquired
56. According to Ross ("To uba, A
i tual
S pri
li )

­
acting as a who e sa le p
n ational renmvn asa cente r forcontra bandm rech n a dise- ur
l

a
veyor for markets in Seneg al' s oth e r cities .... Today Okas srem inhs Tou a's ec t oonm ic
b

, ­
heart. Despi te the f ac t thatt h e c ity's thoro g f e sc
o e r g o n t M o s u e i s pub
uh ar e q
nv

lic transit netw ork (minib us es, buggies, and cart s) conv ges on Oka .ssThe m arket
e
er

r ,
occupies several city blocks." On the d e veo l pmen t andma a ngem ent ofthi sma ket
see Diop, "Le s affaires mouride s à Dakar," 91-93. l M
by Ro , "T u ba, ASp itua t
e ropo
·
l' s m au Sé négal, c ited ss o irn
57. Marty, Etudes sur I la
ir

n a
lis," 252. Gueye , " Les marabouts urbani as nts," 1. Gueye est a es the ave rage an u l
t

p c n
e t .
rate of Touba' demographic growtb be tw een 1976 a d n 1995 t obe 13 e r
s
58. D èye, Touba: Signes et symbol ,es 64. .
i
eand Mo erni·ty in i n Rur Su ," i3i- i3
59. Bernai, "Islam, Transnat ional Cultur ,
al dan

· R ra I u d an," 133 )em·

d

a u S
60. Bernai ("Isl am, Transnational Cult ure, n d Moder m ty 1O d or
n on l l vels, he
m v e war a m e
a o
phasizes this i ss ue: " At both the local and th e ti ah. e 1 t . d
p . . . w ard per cei ve
l aroc 1a 1 d e n t1t1es t 0
ri tu ra st Is l move away from loca
c p li with a
am a is more .
sconform
ity unive rsa
l set of b e efs and ractice s "
li p
1 TH M R RAOE
3 7 • E SENEGAL E ES U IO T I OR A
ASP

O U D
136 • MAM A O U D I
O F
 Oftouch and smell (Biaya199 :9
"Crushing the Pis e ski .n, 0fthe sen Ses
tachi " 0 f th
: r�u . .
cJS m b e1 .ishmentby methods that blen dtts . c -
Eroticism in Sen o ofaJJe Cl. 5JTI is the body 'sem 1 f is wor ke such a way
a
tha
egal and the A E o tJ
·bu tes as fl e sh itsel d in t
rt o f 0 9)
, - "�eswith its_attr:fthe �osmetic and the organic.
T. K. B iay u smane Ndia ,eS S
a he distin
cuon
blu!s t . siJTlilar to thisforma1,s . m of the body has begun t
o structur e
Translated Y e Dago .m Seneg
by Ste nve Ren d all
A Jogic aphy of the nu
•cism to the photogr
de
r al.
. 0 ns hi P of e ou pho o ph ers such s
eJ a 11 . t to this point Western t gra
a
ar u]d befai r to sa y tha
w o e pur s ued the art of photogra .
phmg the nud
Il _..,,,er (1986,199l) hav e
contributions, by contras ,
V o...... ric . a most successfully· African
p re Sere r
M. Dimé's scul t Af t
. · West d postcard reproductions drawn from Omme s
r
Senega1ese e ot . syu m bo lism p zoma
W n wo k s rucure t tJJave 1el h• n g 1 Y t·ncJude
. hote s .m Dakar.• In co -
r , u l d'a a t r·r t d b .
. Y a P• cee he streets and in themaJor
c
h 1 n
. .on .m Venice 1 (199 ) d
s1tJ z e r fo
c •
r ics a t t e B
h
d soId 1·� t
3 an th M u fr• . of b<>oks an • bod y ofwork assembled mostly by interna tion al
(1994) (f ig ure 1) An at e us m r 1en. n ta 1 ExPo. e, the exis
ti n g
,
. over urn ed
mor a
e
fo A
m th can r t 10t
N seq uenc c. • eain search of "subJect
•un
.r " matter, ,, has 1arge1yex-
scu lpt ur e; at p t t r r s A o t r a ve l to
o th mo r e con ve x base ewyork artists wh f sensuality and eroticism that deci de the shapeo
t a
r st n a ds a o ft th sources o
n erect pestle , th h
e

':3
wh1c. h.1s d eco rat d ith bi d e d . h th f
w t s f ood e amrn e d he d u
raiment, jewelry, and techniques w1th wh1c
. .
h air. of a woman To W
e o w th at sugg e r n f e n u d e e 10 li The
t he h d a 0 th
. t
es e rn e
yes it m ght s es t ea nd br a 1d. e • 1sma y. deerotic are absent from the work of Ommer, whoin­
t1on
. ofabstractl l t d
i ugg
e s t the rn e d nakedbOdy
y s u p d
n u es, aft h od rn tr them•neteenth-centurypursui ofpremodern exoticism
t

Afr.1 c n a .1mag.ma.1r h c e e rt e n r a d
. 1 stead contmues
e, owe ver S re r Wom ma e of BrancUS1.• Ti o the .
n
beaches• A similar daim m1gh be made about figurativ e
t

erot c sto rytelling p t i d ,by

e a n c not ni ues the t ad t on Se�e aJ's
rac ce r '1 •t on o f
workingother media as
th La wbé well. The work of the painter Yacoub a , for ex-
i
in allegor y f hion e griot s, pr se ti
as , theana o m y e n ng as it does , . .
ample, which is exhibited in Senegal s large, international hotels, serv
e
t f cop la o n .
is frustrated. The g n it 1 for m doe u ti In this cas e ,copulati • s
a s , s pite the t
o
� tounsts an exotic primitivism that bears the 1arru '" ·1·1ar ·mfiuence of Ma-
ci t e
e
n , fa c e away from
x
each other: the pe ile tl p i upw ir ,e em .
o ar tJsse. In a very real sense, the African body-a n d, indeed, the idea o
d
n p es e
nts and e mou th
th ofthevag ­ f
nal mortar face s do war wn d . The coi i what it mean for it t o d
be nak e or sen s u al as b n nored
-
tus implie by " rushing the h e e i
tachi "- that is, the pe d c p­ body of work s. g this
r t
i
n o
f h
t is by
o n et a o e
pen s t h t caus s the clito
be p ushed inward- is im ss ible; i a e ris to Arecent break with th is tr end was made
lle a11 by Ousmane Ndiaye Dago,
po s
ju t a , a gor y, no p i ac
s
i c s t hio nu t who has produced some of themost
could be gr ound w ith a m r o tar and pestl so a noteworthy and deep yerotic pho
e rranged.T he work ex­ tograph y to be shot in Africa. l ­
presses a foiled de sire , s imilar f
While in the West the form
to the wo r k
o Ousman e Sow (P ivin an of the nude
i lf i d mayhave made the tran sition
Saint Martin 1995 ) . Ge nita l sex ts e s thwa t d by em ns of the a ­ from classical figure to eve
r e a ryday commer
�c cial p roduct, the glob al circu ­
rang ement, and the s ulp ture wo lds ugg s tt oa g l s et h ub its traveled bythe nude's
c u e Se ne a e e p h les are simultaneously mo dern facsimi­
censorship of erotic is m in Sen eg al. very close and dis
tant for the avera
On� ofthe Slrengt ge African
Whatis perhaps p ra d . al ab ut he c n . . . hs of Dago s wo .
h
' rk is his sensitiv
a ox1 c o t e sors ·p t of e r ot1 c 1sm mh of lime and spac ity to these conditions
fr · e· He h as not vo
Senegal is tha the bod is ro tic U y v l e d •m an so . t . ont e self cosm p yaged .mto pn. mi
t y e a a u i c c1e 1e s olit an as au tivism to make him
• d A o , -
diti on that it is n . G gu. m voyaged
con ak d
o n e but acc sse on z e , pro perl
t
y p epar ed• The to Algen to the South Pacifie and Mati
. . r . db r e a, each to
mak e h·tmself sse
body 's beauty and e tic h. i d whe n modern. Daga
it is stnppe a the culturall .
l
ro
va e are a e ve not h b 1d t has instead priv
u c
fi . _p roduce a roo ileg ed
d scarifi· adocumen
am le by e xc1s.10 n ,
d
but whe n it is wo rked
or en at
ur e - ted work that
o t �nJ t� � is simultaneo
c lit . s, a nd s , e ac ievement o f usly
cation, elongation o f th n Suph a b o dy modified .in spite his
shy prot Senegalesee
o n or oex c ests, he h rotic culture.
And de-
e
the ·Ï d olfac r ys n e s auh y as ·indee
in i t
accord with African can ns tact! e a n to d produced an
o
v tes ofa ou n erotic corp
e us.1 Com-
po d se b tah u dr ho o a p
r
o·
,
.
1 d p t g h , th c n
3 9 • ER c s s i
e pr Je t o g nal itye e m e s
OT1 1 Ms AND ART rg
 from the creative space that Dago has opened by a mix tu re of th
ree a
painting, sculpture, and photography. The ingeniou s co mbi· na _ r ts:
tio n 0f
these forms magnifies the attachment of Dago's interpretations
. . . of t
Western-class1cal form of the nude to vanous dimensions of Sene he
galese
culture, an attachment that is further reinforced by the docu
mentary
sequencing in which the photographs are arranged. But to under st
. . and
Dago's accomplishment more fully, 1t w1ll be necessary at least par t
. · · 1Yto
retrace the development of erot1c1sm m mod ern Senegal.
*
Since colonization, a We� tern-styl�d ero�icism has increasin gly set
_ th e
ambience of urban public spaces m Afnca (Copp1ert's Wa!lant 199 )
. . . . . 3·
V1s1"b le m th e arts, advert1smg, and le1sure venues of African cities, '"
vvest-
ern erotics have assisted the achievement of modernity in the Afncan
postcolony, where sex, belly, mouth, and violence remain the ingre di-
ents of the episteme of command (Mbembe 1992; Bayart 1989, 199 3).
Given the legitimacy with which eroticism is imbued by the centrality
of leisure to capital, the circulation of Western eroticism has brought
a compelling authority to bear on the practices by which modern Afri­
can urban subjects are crafted from the material of "village" identity
(La Fontaine 1970; Martin 1996). In these urban spaces where Western
Figure 1. Femme sérère
eroticism is most conspicuous, however, it has encountered a field of (Serer Woman) by
objects that have shaped the course of its circulation. The largest of these M. Dimé, reprinted from
include the traditions of African eroticisms, the predecessor cosmopoli­ Thomas McEvilley, Fusion:
tanism of Islamization, and robustly persistent hybrid practices. West African Artists at the
Venice Biennale (New York:
Eroticism in contemporary urban Africa has developed on, at mini­
Museum for African Art, ,993).
mum, two registers: that on which Christianity has encountered Afri­
can cultures and religions, and that on which colonial modernity has
encountered an African, and largely secularized, Islam. Both registers
have in common an erotic philosophy that issues from African reli­
gions. Consider Senegal: On one hand, processes and structures of
global exchange in Senegal have been brokered by the cosmopo!it an­
ism of Islamic urban culture. On the other hand, metropolitan Judeo­
Christian values have been inscribed into Senegalese modernity by
French colonization and the Senghorian postcolonial state, The milieu
of indigenous traditions and practices, however, has prov ided more
than a backdrop for these social metamorphoses. Adherents of Islam
-
and Christianity may comprise 90 and 10 percent of Senegal's po pu la

140 ,. T. K • B I AYA
Sequ en ce 1: Dj a nke yu nekh

Young w m
o e n in p las tic attit due s , nude a n ve .
d iled
 tion, respectively ;yet, despite the massive conv ersions and active p ose­
r
lytizing ofthese revealed religions,Senegalese society r em ains f rve n tly
e
anim ist . For example , a Senegalese would likely tell y ou that S ega
en l
i s a count ry in which the population is 90 percent Muslim, 10 erce
p nt
Chri stian, and 100 percent an mist. Indeed, no undertaking in Seneg al
i
is begun without resort to talismans, spells,and rituals, in addition o a
t
vis it to the church or the marabo t. As w ill e s e n e , u lt le alleg ances
u b m ip i
li.ke these have significant consequences for the forms and meanin g f
so
socia J practices, eroticism included.
Islam has developed in Senegal as a series of mediations betwee n
lo c aJ and cosmop olitan systems. ln consequence, Senegalhas pro d ce u d
a coïn cidence of three form s of Islam that oper ate in comp lem en ar
t y
relation to each other. The first ofsuch relations is that betw ee n or th o­
d o x Isl am and the Islam o f the marabout c orders rooted in S fi m.
i u s
Th e marabo u tic isthe more energetic and less conse rvative of these tw
i o
ra n s and, as th e second form, participates in the mediation betwe en
st
Isla m practices and the loc aJ traditions in which they ar e roote d. T e
nc e 2: Goo -rdji gen yi, lesbian desire
i
Sequ e c
h
en durance of these autochthonous traditio ns points t
er a d
Wome ni nt r u s , wrapped i n transp arent cl o d form
o the t h ir
l ce in amato y p ost re th. of Islam in SenegaJ, a popular Islam, which may be said to domin e
at
the sym bolic field of objects and their cultural operatio n. 3
ch is the case, at least in part, because throughout the process o f
Su
s
I l a miza ti o n, the castes of pre-Islam ic social structure have not bee n
banished but adjusted to reflect the Senegalization of Sufism. 4 As such,
e e
S n gdsal has witnessed the survival of the cast e of the Lawbés, which
e am on opoly o v er erotic speech and performance, a nd th at of the
wi l
e
trav ling musicians, the griots or gewel (as they are called in Wolof) .
ero s
u ancient s oci al structures and hierarchies have equally wi ­
th
Num
s too d colo nization an d the Senghorian project t o build a secular state.s
Ye eroticism, theoreticall yan ar ea slow to evolve because of conserva ­
i t
e e li
t v d r gi ou scontrol, has nevertheless been one in which innovation
an change av e advanced rapidly. The maraboutic elite, re spectful of
h a
domain of t e priva te that it remains reluctant to trespass, has foc use
h d
its ce nsor al authority instead on public forms of speech that exceed its
i
sc
li
estab sh e d pro riptions. For example, Murid marabo uts invokingthe
e
t ac gs of th e pr ophe t Cheikh Ama ou B�ba succee ded in c an el­
h in d �
ing the tele sion series Dallas at the same tune that, as polyganusts
th vi ,
e mitt be th io,
y p er ed trade in the an erotic access ro y that es
some of the social contradicti o n f ene g al captW:
e e cultu re . sh rt skut
so S s A o

145 • EROTI IC S M AND AR T

 with erotic motifs a nd worn as underclot
perfu med a nd decorated . h·t n
. • sa i'd to corne from Diourbel, an admin istrati ve cente g
the beth JO tS • • r a nd
SenegaJ.
holy place fo r Murid Mushm� m . .
c
Before the arriva] of Islam m the _eleventh �n.tury, erottc1sm in Sene­
n soci l and rehg1ous codes. Young
gal was freighted with Afric a a
me
and women, even where initia tion rituals were carried out, receiv n
ed a
sexual educa tion th at began with conversa tions with the ir grandparents
and continued as the
children ma tured and excha nged informati on wi
th
their peers. Families were stewards to an age-old canon that included
erotic games and litera ture, aphrodisiacs, and arts of the body. Withi n
this tradition, ha irstyle, body ornaments, and mutilations transform ed
the unmarked body of the neophyte into a locus of pleasures, appro­
priately prepared for touching, penetration, copulation, and orgasm.
This was a tactile eroticism more connected with the senses of touch
and smell th a n with the sense of sight. Its symbolic register was a space
in which the ephemeral opened to the eternaJ, and the transitory met
with perpetuity. Public erotic performances (storytelling and dance),
for instance, were confined to festivals whose finite and transitor y form
ernphasized the fleeting nature of the erotic. Sirnultaneously, sex organs
were the procreative gateway through which returning ancestors re­
incarnated thernselves in newborn children and achieved perpetuity
through propagation (Biaya 1999).
During the religious ceremonies that punctuate everyday life today
(baptism, communion, marriage, the return from a pilgrinlage to
Mecca), a host will still invite Lawbé griots to perform the <lances and
songs whose bold lyrics narrate the erotic discovery of the body. Should
this entertainment be omitted, the ceremony will be said to be fiat, a
failure. Such performances are supposed to carry a cathartic value; at
mininlurn their robust sexuality contrasts with the everyday repression
imposed by Islam and by the state. While the professional performance
of this entertainment is restricted to low-caste women, female guests to
the ceremony, if with less visible enthusiasm than the Lawbés, typically
join in the illicit dancing, and thus the ephemeral quality of the erotic
is still reflected in the momentary suspension of social convention.
The body practices at the core of Senegal's erotic heritage were in­
fused with fresh material by the arrivai of Islam. With Islam came trade
in perfumes, as well as new styles and habits of clothing; indeed, the idea
of the fully clothed body was itself introduced by Islam. As they swept
146 * T. K • B I A Y A
through Senegalese society, Islarnic practices and objects that were not
explicitly sexual but nonetheless sensu al yielded readily to incorpora­
tion into the traditional repertory of erotic equipment . Incense, for ex­
ample, whose use in lsl amic practices ofhealing (exorcism) derive
s from
verses in the Koran, stimulated creativity in the erotic imagination. Im­
po rted perfumes presented new olfactory facets to the erotic sensorium,
as the amative woman took to wearing scented undergarments (such as
the bethio) and girdles offragrant pearls (the fer), which she would re­
veal only to her lover or husband. Known as thiuraye, these practices
became central to the erotic arts of West Africa.
Perhaps the foremost symbol of erotic mastery to emerge in West
Africa is the Senegalese figure of the drianké, a titillating, plump, and
mature woma n expert at thiur aye. Today in Senegal, a second figure
exports thiuraye over the subregion, and this circulation has fostered
the myth and fantasy of a Senegalese eroticism superior to other local
forms. In this mythology, the Senegalesewoman is identified as a preda­
tory figure, a cunning and sexually insatiable husband-stealer. The sec­
ond figure participating in this circulation is the diskette. Derived from
disco, the diskette is a young Senegalese woman with the slender body
of a fashion mode!, who frequents the nightlife of urban discotheques
and bars. Less expert than the mature, full-figured drianké, the diskette
nonetheless carries a double erotic charge: a body typewith global erotic
purchase, stamped with the thiuraye seal of erotic sophistication and
cra ft. Dancing at Dakar's Jet 7 Club or Afric an Star Club, with her hair
and clothes in the unisex style, she is a copy of the intern ational fashion
models circulated locally by magazines (Ebony, Amina) and television
(MTV, Tv5). The diskette who desires the gaze of an African man (as op­
posed to that of the tourist, a distinct potential target) will include in her
attire a double girelle of shimmering, multicolored pearls (bine bine),
which evoke local forms of erotic play, such as the ventilator dance.6
This is the same type of pearls that is worn hidden under the drianké's
loose-fitting bubu, from where it emanates intoxicating perfurnes. Be­
tween these two figures, the diskette and the drianké, one can see the
basis of Dago's inflections of the nude.
But the drianké and the diskette are not the only new figures that
sociopolitical change has produced in West Africa. Another figure is the
thierno or Koranic master, an intellectual versed in Arabie who pro­
vides instruction in the Koran and, along with the Imam, oversees social
147 * EROTICISM AND ART
 co n du t. Sinc h e
c et end of the 1980 s Da k
, ar and sa·mt LoUIS · , o· ·lles m·
w h1c Su fis a er domina
nt, h aveexp erie nced a resurgenceoffun
h

talis�. In this a tm osp he , m ny darnen-

wea n ng th h dscarf, hree hijaa b, women and girls have taken ag ain t
e ea t which hides thehair. Ostensibly o­
b ol of orth d _
o o x c form1t y , the sign ification of
on a sym
biguous in S gaJ. the head scarf s a
e n e li hIf t he jab appears to signal allegiance i m­
t har di y hi to Isam,
i aco c mp s es rappr ochem ent betw l
and Sen eg alese S fis m.a een more orthod ox Is am
l
u the contrary, t he rift between the t w
ditions is ma�t ain e d hTo u o tra­
t ro gh the symbolic association by
c
heads ar acq whi c
a sec n meaning: public eroticism and its ne h the.
f wr

While T. G r h olm dai o d

es

g a tion
e ms (1 997: 158-59) that in Egypt the repetit
the sy mb sl o fIs lam o
o (hi jab,cha d or, beads, prayer) make ofthe i n o f
an exp ress i n f pra ic ct e
o o a th n c pie ty, such a logic is inoperati ve in e­
ti

gaJ. In f act, w earinug thee h is i th e r wa Se n

ead ne y of rooting wome in
scarf

n a n
the Great Tradi o nor o f ringin the two ls arnic traditions e
ti b l tog the ,
even if the hija b
g
is usuall y ow rn du ring the period of the great Mus
r

Seque n ce 3: D kette
is holyd ay s.7 lim
Ayou n g woman, photographed from behind Since its in t ro d ct i n t
u aJ o o Senegal, the h ab has been incorpora
and naked to he r thighs, wrap� with a transpar en into the logic f Sen ese ij t ed
t o eroti ism. ln ma r a bo utic practices, wear i ng
c

loincloth and co lo r ed pe ar ls, undresses to pose nude. theheadscarf use d eg

to ber a wayof keepingaway suli, thepower ofsedu c­

tion said to e at e fom cert ain light-co lored female faces (Ni
m an col as
1985). Reinte p te d in t his
r re way by African Islam, suli e xpresses the
power of the body's
att ra ctio nan d of sexua J fantasy, both of which e
kind led by the ill icit rnal p we r k n n as bu k hes b diek, ar ­
ca o s u " so
cery of the beau tiful ligh - o w the r
co re fa c . The head scarf , becauseit ha
t lo d e"
d
been prayed over by the mara men and
bo u t, was believed to safeguard
women against car p
m ta ti
n te o ns.
a l

r
However, the hija 's r ece n t etu rn to the pub lic spaceisin part based
b

on a strategic c h ic made by n gale e wome .

o e Se e n ln the space of th
e
secular modern t et , the e o m en, often less formal l yeducated th
s

sa s w an
men, are recastin g d d l
an e p o yi ng the pow e r of suli to reinvent them­
selves as erotic agent . Depe d in g on how itis worn, the headscarfm
s ay
be understood to enhanc e the sed ctive pow er of the face, by which su
n

u li
is not diminishe d but magnified. Co nsider also wha t hashappenedi
n
th e city of Touba. Due to i ts ero ic s g ni ficance, the p racticeof khessa
bi t i ce ri d r l­
i l by
(depigme ntation) w as pro ted in th s ho y pla u
h i

M a � i
� �
es; omen visitors to the ty n o wfrequentl y e v e
a d the proh1b1t1on
ti w ci
i ct h e
b w ear ng the hea d s ar
c f! A t h rd fun ion of t is to e ress a
y i hijab xp

14 9 • EROTICI S M AND ART

 woman's reaction against herdom inated
situat ion in the private sphe .
re
When the hijab is wornathome when visitors are present i sugge
, t stsless
piety than thewife's sexual self-censorship and the embrac
e of her ro le
as an educator. ln such a context, it art culate
i s the four characteris
tics
of the colonial urban woman: submission, good housekeeping
, accep­
ta ce of the husba n 's polygamy or nfideli ty , an
d m therhood
n
d
1996: 345-70). i o (Biaya
Thus, the headscarf concludes with a deeply equi voc al
stroke the
construction of the aes h t
et ics of feminine Af ricaneroticism begun
b y
Islamization and suggests the variety of ways in which women are be
­
gi n ningto reint erpret themselves sociallyand sexually in S ene g al (Bia
y a
1998: 75-101). It is in such a context that one must cons der the rich
i , i f
ambiguous, meaningofthe symbolic ve ling suggested by t
i e ur
h c t a ins
of braids that unfailingly conceal the faces of Dago's su bje cts
.
A final area in which women are reworking their erotic se l s isind ­
ve
i
cated by a phenomenon that Dago ha s deftly signaled in his corpus (
se ­
Sequenc e 4: Dia/ dia/y quence 2). The phenomenon known as goor-djigen differsimportantl
y
A woman undoesher loinclo th to re ve aJ a body nude bu from lesbianism as it is understood inthe West anddese
t e s a future,
rv
for the dia/ dia /y, a type o ffe r or ero tic i r dle ofpear . more detailed analysis than this commentary permits.
g ls
Close friendsr ups among women are very common n Senegal an
i d
frequently develop witrun the organization of informai social clubs.
Meetings of a social circle reserved exclusively for women take place
each weekend, hosted alternately by membersof the group. These meet ­
ings do not nec essarily concern sexuality butmay commonly include
discuss on of the erotic st r ategies called tour. While these discll$ion s
i
focus on conjugal sexuality, the fact of close partnershi ps bctween t he
women themselves hasroots in ancient African relig ons, where the be­
i
havior often reflected abeliefin the idea oftwin souls. When such twins
discover each other, their kinship can be sealed by th e fusio n of bodies
and identit ies. Two such people would walk hand-in-hand, bathe and
massage each other's bodie s , and dress and adorn each other, sharing
clothingand undergarment s. The degreeto which Dago has pushed the
form of goor-djigen toward lesbianism as it is understood in the Wes
t
suggestsa morecosmopolitan interpretati onofthis form offemale part­
nership, as well as a willingness to push, if ever so gently, th ebounds of
s m in
wh at is o c i ll edto ar
a y sanct oi n w d what re a s taboo.

15 1 • E R
O T ICI MS AND ART
Sequence 5: Thiuraye
the prepar ation for an erotic night
To tum now more directly to Dago's work, one co uld divid these se­
The drianké, generallya middle-aged woman, un r sses quences i nt o two groups based on the discre pancy be e u
e de n ro ean
o
t apply perfum es ot her u n drdoth ing and body. and African concepts of the "beautiful female bod yn- tw ee E
two ive p
no i d rge nt
t ons that coul be saidto be locally manifestin the figu es f th
r o e dis­
d
kett
e and the drianké. As uch, the first group would
s mprise que
1, 2, and 3 and would be distinguishablefrom a oco n d g upsecom nces ­
ings equen es 4 and5. The subjects sec ro ris
c in the first gro up ertai y evp
the Eu ropean classi al forms , in which the nu de f m alec bodynl execoke
c e utes
mo me ts characterized byan obvious
ve
al lin n Greco - Ro m a a esth t s, e­
n
c eic r
g c ent rituaJs and processions depic ted in aint g. in sculpture,
an i
frieze. Throu g hout these sequences, t he subject p
d
an 's bo y is th t o
d
t ap f
the li he diskette, an evocation of the models o f fas hion photo
gra hy
and i stre m a Western eroticism. Sequen ces 4 and ,5 howe ve
n
situa mt e ad r ,may
be
along th e axis ofAfrican female beauty: ln t he m , ayoun , m
g fir ,
plu mp bodysugges ting adolescence holdsout the pr omise o the fu tu re
f

"heavy wom an," t h e beautiful African woman whose spe c fo r m_ wi ll cifi

en d n
dep o ocal er otic fash on. Thisfeminine bo d y alre dy proJect
future e the l i a S
r ot ic pro livities and the fantasies asso ci a ed � ith them: It blo ­
s oming and the cro i t s
e t ism itpromises announce the b1rth o the dri� ank é.
c f
Dago's sequences re ly on th e roun d ms and b
e d for a_ra esq ue l_i es
n
ic i r tra d
of th e nu e, but b y a sen es of ma pruu-
typ al of class cal po yaJs
15 3 • E R
OTICI MS AND AR T
f
. d these conventions into a Senegalese erot
Jat1o ns he has i nserte . , ic 1r a.
. re of each sub1ect s dress and post ure has
1ectory . Each featu . . a spec iij
c and erotic practices ha ve remained very much alive-despit• e L • S. Senghor ,s
ss way the lomcloth 1s worn (a tight . . . . efforts
erottc . re.:.1erence·· the carele . . Iy fitte
d to lead h1s compatnots
. . . to c1vihzation by means of decrees re guiatmg.
the expens1ve
ted an uncultured erot1c1sm), the motif urban .festivals wh,ch the arwatam, an erotic dance 0 f the Lawb
one WOUId have sugges
m .
• . . s SCulpt és, always dehghts
-1 ( evokm g the traditional prac tic ed the aud 1ence.
nd applie d to the body es of self
in clay a 6. This erotic dance is performed to music: the woma n bends over, and w11h .
1
, and the girdles of pearls about the hips. These her
i mut.I1at'on)
1 . . . . e1erne nt
s hands on the floor, shakes her buttocks, while her partners-b0Id men .
. . -m1 me copu-
. al an African erot1c1sm that ach1eves 1ts clearest st ateme ntm� .
lation, thus suggest m g co1tus a retro.
�
ence 5). Indee�, consider�d as a group, th 7. The hijab is in fashion particularly during Ramadan and the ,es
thiuray e sequence (sequ _ e col. , t'1va 1s ofthe Kont. e
suggest s that Dago succeeds w1th th1s pro1ect in portrayi (the end of R ama dan) and Tabaski, Abraham's sacrifice· Moreover, 1-1 consututes
lec tion ng the . . a
ary Senegalese woman. still-marg mal reactton on the part of women intellectuals and/or women be1ongm .
g
sexual education of the contempor to castes who are complaining about government policy.
of Senegalese men and w
In the case not only of Dago's art but ornen
body is a place where the spirit of
as sexual actors, the eroticized Islam WORKS CITED

of classical modernity challenge each other,
and the spirit ente r into
competition, and express the inclusion of the Senegalese subject, male
and female, in the contemporary world. Conversely, the ultimate foun.
dation oferoticism seems to have remained under the control ofAfrican
tradition and moral values -a living and active partner to the discourses
oflslamization and the secular state which reflects by its changing shape
the political and social complexity of cultural innovation in Senegal.
NOTES
I thank Robert McCarthy for his assistance in clarifying the issues in this essay and
Achille Mbembe for comments on earlier drafts. I express my gratitude to Jacques
Edjangue and Emmanuel Nwukor for editing the first version of this essay.
1. Photography has b een practiced in Sene gal for more than a century. The great
masters of the art are M. Casset, N. M. Cxasset, M. Guèye, et al. (Thiobane and
Wade1999).
2. Interviews conduct ed with the artist on the occasion of the Inaugural Exposition
of Nudes in Dakar (May 1997), in my office at CODESRIA in Dakar (March1999), and
at the Photography Month exhibit in Dakar (October-November 1999).
3. The history ofSenegale se eroticism that remains to be written wil l necessarily fol­
l ow the three cultural axe s constituted by (a) this popular Islam strongly marked by
local tradition, (b) the maraboutic Islam marked by the Sufi elite, and the (c) univer­
sal Islam that is marked by the Umma, Arab cooperation, and the Senegalese state
(see Diop 1994; Dieng 1998).
4- Senegales e Islam ne ve r rejected traditional practices of sexuali ty. On the contr ary,
beginning in the nineteenth century during the Hegira and the Jih ad of mor al a�d
religious purification, the maraboutic elite endorsed it and set up a framework within
which eroticism might be exercised (Ngaide 1998; Dieng 1998).
5- Recent studies on sexuality and its practices in Senegal (Delaunay 1994: 184; Ly
1999: 46-48) have shown how, under cover of the dominant Islam , traditional sexu al
154 • T. K. BI A Y A
Bayart, J.-F. 1989. L'etat en Afrique: La politique du ventre. Paris: fayard.
---. 1993. The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly. London: Longman.
Bia >',", T. K. 1996. :•t � c �ture ur�aine dans les arts populaires d'Afrique: L'analyse de
.
1 ambiance zairo1se. Canad1an Journal of African Studies 30: 345_70.
---.1998. "Hair Statement in Urban Africa: The Beauty, the Mystic, and the Mad­
man." In The Art of African Fashion, ed. E. van der Plas and M. Willemsen. The
Ha gue, The Netherlands: Prince Claus Fund.
---.1999. "Erotisme et sexualité en Afrique: Pistes et illusions." Paper presented
at the seminar on Transformation of Sexuality in Africa, at CODBSRIA- Robben
Island Workshop on Contemporary Culture, 3- 5 July.
Coppiert's Wallant, E. 1993. Les jeunes et l'avenir de l'Afrique: Un juge d'enfants té­
moigne. Paris: L'harmattan.
Delaunay, V. 1994. L'entrée en vie féconde: Expression démographique des mutations
socio-économiques d 'un milieu rural sénégalais. Paris: CEPED.
Dieng, S. 1998. El-Hadj, la perle de l'Islam: Réalité historique, dimension mystique.
Dakar: L es Nouvelles Editions Africaines.
Diop, M.-C., ed. Sénégal: Les trajectoires d'un état. Dakar : CODESRIA.
Gerholm, T.1997. "The Islamization of Contemporary Egypt." ln African Islam and
Islam in Africa, ed. D. Westerlund and E. E. Rosander. Athens: Ohio Univer­
sity Press.
La Fontaine, J. S.197 0. CityPolitics: A Studyof Leopoldville, 1962-63. Cambridge: Cam­
bridge Unive rsity Press.
Ly, A.1999. "L'oralité paillarde des Lawbés." Bulletin du CODESRIA, no. 3-4: 46-48.
Martin, P 1996. Leisure and Society in Colonial Brazzaville. Cambridge: Cambridge
.
University Pre ss.
Mbembe, A. 1992.. "Provisional Notes on the Postcolony." Africa 62., no. 1: 3-37. Also
publ ished as "The Banality of Power and the Aesthetics of Vulgarity in the Post­
colony," trans. Janet Roitman. Public Culture 4 (1992.): 1-30.
Ngaide, A. 1998. "Le royaume Peul du Fuladu de1867 à 1936: L'esclave, le colon et le
marabout." Thèse de doctorat de 3e cycle en histoire, Faculté des L ettres, Univer•
sité Cheikh Anla Diop, Dakar.
155 • EROTICISM AND ART
 Nicolas • B. 1985. "L'islam au Zaïre." Thèse de 3e cycle en Etudes afrj .
. . . ca1nes' p
des Lettres, Université de Pans. 3CU1té
Ommer, U. 1986. Black Ladies. Paris: Editions du Jaguar.
--. 1997. Noumia. Tournai: Éditions Vents <l'Oues t.
Pivin• J.-L. • and P. L. Saint Martin. 1995. Ousmane Sow: Sculptunes· pans: �d-. The Many Faces of Cosmo-polis:
liions
Revue Noire.
Thiobane, M., and B.D. Wade. 1999. "Une longue histoire: La photogra h"i Border Thin king and Critical Cosmopolitanism
. eestpr'e.
sente au Sénégal depuIS · b"1entô t un s1"ècle et d em1.,, Nouvel Hor izon,pL'
Hebd0 d
� Walter D. Mignolo
Vendredi, no. 193, 29 October.

How shall cosmopolitanism be conceived in relation to globalization,

capitalism, and modernity? The geopolitica\ imaginary nourished by
the term and processes of globalization lays daim to the homogeneity
of the planet from above-economically, politically, and culturally. The
term cosmopolitanism is, instead, used as a counter to globalization, al­
though not necessarily in the sense of globalization from below. Global­
ization from below invokes, rather, the reactions to globalization from
those populations and geohistorical areas of the planet that suifer the
consequences of the global economy. There are, then, local histories that
plan a n d project global designs and others that have to live with them.
Cosmopolitanism is not easily alig ned to either side of globalization,
although the term implies a global project. How shall we understa nd
cosmopolitanism in relation to these alternatives?
Let's assume then that globalization is a set of designs to manage
the world while cosmopolitanism is a set of projects toward planetary
conviviality. The first global desig n of the modern world was Chris­
tianity, a cause and a consequence of the incorporation of the Americas
into the global vision of an orbis christianus. It preceded the civilizing
mission, the intent to civilize the world under the mode! of the mod­
ern European nation-states. The global design of Christianity was part
of the European Renaissance and was constitutive of modernity and
of its darker side, coloniality. The global design of the civilizing mis­
sion was part of the European Enlightenment and of a new configura­
tion of modernity/coloniality. The cosmopolita n project corresponding
to Christianity's global design was mainly articulated by Francisco_de
Vitoria at the University of Salamanca while the civilizing global design
was mainly articu lated by lmmanuel Kant at the University of Konigs­
berg.

156 • T. K. BIAYA
 In other words , cosmopolitan. projects, albeit w ith significant d
if
fierences , have been a t work dunng both moments of mo dern·
��e
first was a religi ous project; the second was secular. Both, h owever
. . f ose
were linked to colomahty and to the. emergence he mod ern /col
o t
on1a1
. '
ther w r ds, 15 t he 1
h"dd en c
,ace of modern·1t
world• Colo niality' in . . •
o o
Yand
•
i. o n ofthe A meri ca
its very condition ofposs1b1hty. The co. lomzat s in the
si.xteenth a nd the seventeenth centu nes, an d o fAfi' nca an d Asia in
th
. ries, co ot1·dated an id e
. ns
nineteenth and the early twent1eth centu . . ea of
c
the West: a geo politica l image t hat exh1 b.1ts hrono 1og1cal moveme 1
Three overlapping macronarra tives emerge from this image. ln the ; ·
narrative, the West origin ates temporally in Greece and moves n on:�
west of the Mediterranea n to the North Atlantic. In the secon d n arra­
tive, the West is defined by the modern world that orig in ated with the
Renaissance and with the expa nsion ofc apitalism through the Atlantic
commercial circuit. In the third narrative, Western moder nity is located
in Northern Europe, where it bears the distinctive trademark ofthe En­
lightenment and the French Revolution. W hile the first narrative em.
phasizes the geogra phical marker West as the key word of its ide ologi­
cal formati on, the second and third link the West more strongly with
modernity. Coloni ality as the constitutive sicle of modernity emerges
from these latter two narratives, which, in consequence, link cosmo­
politanism intrinsically to coloniality. By this I do not mean that it is
improper to conceive and analyze cosmopolitan projects bey ond these
parameters, as Sheldon Pollo_ck does in "Cosmopolitan and Vernacu­
lar in History" (in this volume). I am stating simply that I will look at
cosmopolitan projects within the scope ofthe modern/colonial world­
that is, located chronologically in the 1500s and spatially in the north­
west Mediterranean and the North Atlantic. W hile it is possible to imag­
ine a history that, like Hegel's, begins with the origin of humanity, it is
also possible to tell stories with different beginnings, which is no Jess
arbitrary than to proclaim the beginning with the origin of hu manity
or of Western civilization. The crucial point is not when the beginning
is located but why and from where. That is: What are the geohistorical
and ideological formations that shape the frame of such a macronarra­
tive? Narratives of cosmopolitan orientation could be either manager ial
(what I call global designs-as in Christianity, ninete enth-century im·
·
perialism, or late-twentieth-century neoliberal glob alization) or eman
r x,
cipatory (what I call cosmopolitanism- as in Vitoria, Kant, or Karl Ma
158 * WALTER D. MIGNOLO
)eaving aside the diff'erences in each of these proiect
. s) ' even 1"f they
obli vious to the saying of the peopl e tha t are supp ar e
d to b
e em a -
pated. The need for a critical cosmopolitan1. sm anses nc1
. from the short-
comings of both.
My story begins, then, with the emergence o
f the moder n/co1omal
world and of modernity/coloniality • as we Il as w1th
. the a
ssumpti· on
tha t cosmopolitan narratives have been performed fr
om the perspec
tive o f mo derm·ty.That coloni ality re mainsd·fli.
1 cu1t to understand a th
s e
darker side of modernity is due to the fact that most
. have been told from the Ston. es of moder-
mty
. .
perspective of modermty • 1ts• elf, m. cluding,
ofcourse, those told by 1ts internai critics· In consequence, 1
. . . see a need
to reconce1ve cosmopohtamsm from the perspect·ive of co1om. .
.. ahty ( this
is what I call crztical cosmopolitanism) and within the frame of
. the mod-
ern/colomal world. It shoul.d be conceived historicallY as from
.
t eenth century until today, a nd geographically in the m
the SIX-
.
· t erpI ay b
. . . .
a growmg cap1ta hsm m the Mediterranean and the (North)
etwe en
Atlantic and
a growing colonialism in other areas of the planet.
In this scenario I need to distinguish, on the one hand, cosmopoli­
tanism � m gl obal de ign and, on the other, cosmopolitan
� � projects
�
fr�m cntlca l cosmo pohtarusm. While global designs are driven by the
w1ll to contro l and homogenize (either from the right or from
the left,
as in the Christian an d civilizing mission or in the planetary revolu­
t ion of the proletari at), cosmopolita n projects can be complementary
or dissenting with regard to global designs. This is the tension we find
in Vitoria, Kant, and Marx, for ex:ample. In the sixteenth century, the
Christian mission e mbraced both global designs of conversion and the
justification ofwar, on the one hand, and a dissenting position that rec­
ognized the "rights ofthe people" that were being suppressed and erased
by Christian global designs, on the other. A similar argument could
be made with respect to the global design articulated by the civiliz.ing
mission as a colonial project and the "rights of man and of the citi­
zen" - this argument opens up a critical perspective on global designs,
although global designs were historically contradictory (for example,
the Haitian revolution). The civilizing and Christian missions shared
colonization as their final orientation, while cosmopolitan projects such
as Vitoria's and Kant's were attentive to the dangers and the excesses
of global designs. Today, the modernizing mission that displaced the
Christian and civilizing missions after World War II (having the global
159 • THE MANY FACES OF COSMO·POLIS
 r ket as its fina l destination) is witness to the reviv al of c
ma o rn o
s 1 poJ·
p ojects that are attentive to the dangers and excesse sofglob a d _ g1 n
ta

r es 1 , schola rly centers, and iou · rnals b ear w1tn . es t

R th er than having fomented gIoba lizat1on · rom be low . s 0th fa e
a r. r ' cos lllopO t· Ils m
clid liberalism vanish w th the emergence of e h.t isN iet e r
di a
i h

i .
e

of the modern/c olonial wo - h 1t Mar� ism, n or anit

p oj e cts-since the inception rl d an after its displacement by l ib eral and Mane1st pr Cr t y
r · oi ec t s K e . . .
ided a critical perspective o n o b a
l s i n
gs , as w e
ll as o n fu � Pro lll n. dia chronie . contradtch . on . s in the density h. : epmghln mmd
de
ve

v gl 3 of t e 1magmaryO f
lis t projects that or ginated andjusti fied themselves in local - - ern/co o nial world, we can conc ive thes t m -
ta i s
� 1 t orie ,
� l e three m m nts ac he as dod e-
s .
fined by a part 1cular globa l design. o e
both national and r eligious. The fiourth mm ft th
e

o e t-a
e

The cosmopolitan projects I have identified arose fro Ill Wtth . f the Cold War-can a ew , rm n e1r • e e nd
i be c ah racterize as
d n , 1 ti.
f . ed to p th e .de
o
in a postnational world.
o of co on za o n
modernity, however, and, as such, they have e sca e
. h ir cr" t .o The first of these designs corres n ds
1l

logical frame imposed byglobal des1gnst hemselv . b • and sev

a

es T us, t to the SIXt

h

e e e lnis
th

1 t teen centuries, to pams . h and Portu ese e n

h ar e
po

ed from wha I will

dimensions must be distinguish t er a cat as .· S coon l i a m, and to the
e i u

t h
C nsti ·
· th an m1ss1· 0n. The second corres onds
t

. . .
e

. .
gu

critical cosmopoh amsm, wh1 ch I conce1ve as t e n e c e ssary p to the · g h nth nd in -

e 1 tee
t . tah 1n ez-
=
t eenth ce n turies,
h
. � � to French and English colonia\" , a d
m n to e c.v .1.
p

a n increasingly transnaaonal (and postnat1onal) world. I na su se qu

.
. i s
en h
. n. T e third corresponds to h hli
b

o o1.1t t
mg
. m .1ss10 .
section of this essay, I 1·u ustrate t he d1stmctio . . . n
b etwee n cosm t e second h alf 0 f the tw e n e t h
p an centu ry, to U.S and tr ansnational (global) col n al' m, n
d -
. of modermty . an d critical osmo p 1o. - . o i 15 a th
oiec s from the perspective h to e m t o d
Pr c 1t a n •• • •
.

t er01zmg m1ss10n. Today wewitness atra nsitio to a f, .

' n ou rt mom e
ism from th exteriority of modernity (that is, c o loniality). Bye xt - wh1c . h the .1deolog1es . of developm n n, m
e e ir e t and moder · · h d .
o api alis m ntza 1 io n an c ore
o ity I do not mean something lying un touche d be y n . . i al m
d

c t an d lea dmg nat10nal .

proJects are being displac e d by o
r th e t ran s n at n id e -
modernity, but the outside that s needed by t e inside. Thus,e e r ­i ologyo fthe market- that is, by n liberal sm as e t · ·1· -
h

i e o i m
an e e rg n c 1 V1 1 za
xt

or ty is indeed the borderland seen from the perspe c t i e o thos " . .

t1onal p Ject. In each cas e exam ined - and th s ·15 th m a · m ar
v f

to i
e

i gu emnt
ro

be included," as they have no other option. Cr i t c c os mo p

o a is , of my essay- the question of rights (rights o f th e p ple of
e

i al n m
lit

eo , me n, o t he
f

hind.r
in the last analysis, emerges precisely as the n e d e to disco ve r o e r op­ citizen, or of human beings) e rup s as, stil r ema ns, a c to
and
th

t l i e
tions beyond both benevolent recogn i tion (Tayor 1992 an hum ani­ cosmopolitan projects.
) an

l
d

hil co
tarian pleas for inclusion (Habermas 1998 ). Thus, w e smo politan Given that in the sixteenth and the se ve nte enthce tur ies righ w e
n re
ts

th fr
­ discussed in relation to humans and (C hrist a n) b eve rs, a m the
projects are critical m e itsel , c t ica co mo o i a
s tn i e li t
l

d mo drnity o
l

fro i inse f ri p eighteenth cent u ry onwar d rights were discusse

ism comprises projects locatedin the exte r iori y ing forth from i n te rmh s o bma nand
f

t and iss u
national citizenship, and that sin e Wo r d Wa r Il righ ts ave di ­
d

c l e en sat
the colonial diff"eren e. fa
gl bal d cussed in terms of h umanity, cr tic al cosmopo i anis m
d y ce s
c

n ­ to
a

The d is tinctions I hav e drawn between o esi g s an cosl m o i lt

d

cos ­ least two critical issues: human rights and g o b al iti z e n shiptt o e d e ­
l hi s b
politan projects, and betw een c osmopolitan pro ject s and cir ca c
iti

fined across the colonial differen ce ( see thelast se c tio n of e

d ss .
mopolitanism, presuppose t h e complex geopo t ic al sc n ar o t m
hat

I a h man right san gay)

li e

Critic al cosmopolitanism must negot iate bo l

a th u h obal
exploring in this essay. I exam ne thr hi l d m p leme n t
e e s o t ric a a co ry citizenship without losing t he histori c al dim e nsio n in which e ac l is r e­
n
i

p e o t e
fil

moments, and sketch a fourth, all of d fi

h

wh c e n e t il ro f h conceived today in the colonial horiz on of m o de rni ty . Let's exp ore in

e

i
h

ee ,
modern/colonial wor l d f r om the sixt n th nt ce ryu n t todafy.
u
The fou r more detail (the coexistence of) the three mom e nts (r eigion , na ion
t
l

ar at ive s uccession
l
in rr
ideology) in the constitution ofth e mode r n/c lonial wor i or e dr to
ld n

moment s shall be co ncei v ed not th in a e na o

wi
o

s ­
ar tic a o m o li tan
but, rather, intermsof theirdiach ronie c ntradict ons and geohis torical better understan n i
i

o e pre se n t s ec n io i wh ch cri
d t h l c
po
locations. The ideologic al configurat on o o e mom ent doehs not
n ism be cam et h .
inkabl e
ive
i f fi u d T e R n s­ v ­an
h wh e e ai
s en th e se c nd momen ar r s but is r c on g re .
i o t
the n g t n u s tour is
s an c e did not d is p
a pear with E li h e m n e t ! M se wn , !ll,

16 1 • THE MAN Y M·P O SLI

FAC E S OF COS O

1 60 • W A l TE R O • M IG N O LO
 FR OM ORBIS UNIV ERSALIS AND OCCID ENT A.
L IS M
TO COS MO·POLI S AND E UROCEN TRI MS
In
the imaginary of the modern world o r, if you pref, t h t we
a ( t
oday call glo al
b

i . izatio n (Mi g nolo 199g. 35_52

ma on arra tive of Western ci vilization, everything imaginab :r, 1.
cr mos as n
th e e1ghtee · )· 0rb' 1s, not
co s-
11 th, nth cen tur y), was the fe rred fi
Gr ec . J a 1 w s _ . . pre e,
e S i n ce m yowninter s e ts and persona! inves rnents vit a l fi m the C hr is a n . imagin . . gure of spe ch
' t s an
t
are h be� .a gure
a
t d. ti ary· Th e eme
d

fram d
e
. n to in th i im g ma ry h a rgenc o
in th e em e rgen ce an d conso1 " Idatio of the rnod / r, c
n
s ppen e m tan emw th e f
. d i tha t of the A tl ant· 1c
wo r ld d u ern c oJ a U y ci l i rc comm -
e
e a pa c a
a
s cen a c u th t , at
tur . . . r t1u f r sta ge
i l
ri ng th y, 1 do not look for ant of h isto r ical capital'i sm/c er
eceden OoiaJ . o1om•a1· 1sm a
ixteent
as so e m i t ra l co n ig ur atio n o f mode
h

cos mo- p o s among the Greeks. Ipos . t a d1ffe . a t t

l

1 r ent beg nning: th 1 o g t t h a r. was w1.t h h e rnitv/c ,, olonial1'ty . 1 even s -

s .f ug
w

e eni ge
lh i
gence of eA ant co m m rcial circ uit in t t t em er n ce o th Atlantic comme e
Jin.k d ht t l ic e the sixteen
thc entu er at th t p rc1•a1 e. u-cu i
i

ar h tis or ica mome

e s f

s
t e pan i h Crown w h capitali ry amn a a r
e t l n t o f the Christ an
tic l

S st entreprene t ht for lob l d ig

d u

it world, that
t

wi h Ch is a m . . urs fro g a es ns in he mod th

. e s, rn Ge ar /c olonialworld was
t
an . e rn
1 produce ­;
ix

w1 d oa am
i
t in 1ss 10n ' A merm 1an ' · s, and With ix , as im
e 1te &n a ag n ary, in whic e con t nue live n
t
l es at r
re ti d
h i

A · n•
t r

s av . I argue that n a ew sense ofmte . .

rnat10nal and intercultur t whi th h i o
d . c er eis ne ed to reflect o n past co smopolita
a d n
l a o n to
w

ca .
h
s emerg
t
Jati o poli a n projects and on
e .at that time, an d 1t pe d toconsolidate the dal re futu .
i

. h e I o c ca c smo o th e
t n ism
f riti l
Euro .
n

pe an Chnst1an1. ty and to . mscn'be the co ,' e The i asp ifi lo l

c
10nt. al difference th a of
r e

r es ec ca histo ryto w hich Christ ian global

came the h s t oric b s on d th design re­
al foundation of modernity/coloniality. The fin:i\ e s at is q uit e com p ex. I rn a r ize here
l su m a
t y f Ch over slam mo t ofw few of its aspect s,
i
or o i ty :
i

are re at e d to t h e in t
p
ris in 1492, the conversion s
an
I
l
i confiicts of Christianity
hich
to Ch is ian ty of Arnerm· d ing the s on h of th du r ­
t a er He rn an Co rt és's vict o ry " c e six n ce
r it overthe Aztec "ernp tans ec
e
a
a

ft
rn
d lf
t e e th n ur y . First, the religious
Mo c th c ero • conclu d w ith t he P warth
om a , the ar ir vai of Franciscan rni ssio n
uz r eace of Westph al ia ( 1648) created the cond at
t

the Azt r
a ies to dialogu e Wi
d

th and the n l ok itio ns

e e

ec wi s emen, the arr vai of Vasco da Gama at e e o o for r ation soc

t

i India in 149s a al i that would tran scen

d

t , e avoid p re vio u d an
e t ry of he Je s u i ts in o h o
s o r r rs. Se cond, the aw of ature provided
d
e

na arou nd 15 th
ty

, the l an attrac ­
n
t Ch massi ve contingent tive alternati
Afric an l t ed i n o
of ve to
8 0 n

s a i n the w
i f
Go
h
Amer c as- these are theland a thatrep icat i th which to imagine a socie
ves
ra tives m rks of macron ­ th
d

e regu a rit es of a ur ty
e sg
a l e . Th ir d, ince
l i

w ose be g innin g s e not in Greece but s

i
t this aw of natur
d

in t he sixteenth centu applied to h un i

h

li l e
r
and in h v ( l
n
a
e

ing o plane ar colon al diff ry e e se or t e as t to the o ar system), the regulatio

t em s l
t

i of soci ety by its p inci l es

ak
r n
r

f e s. Let us cal! th s th p
i e co
cro n arrat ve of th m r be conceived as universal, or at leas
uld
m a
e enc
rn
t y
c o n ia l world f rom the perspecti
i
ode / o planetary Fo u t
h be l h n ve of
, the at h o ar d
a
co o n i y t at as s p p ss by a . p t w unive r secularism or a secul
th
sal

u cs es f a
ial
univ ersalism w as
l h
ee n r e d from ar
r

m d d e o
m n
i t ri o laido p e by co m i g in e rpretat ons within
rni y t Chris ­
t

o e t tianity and conti

e

. ngco c
n
eg t
p en
the three religions of the boo
i
t sb e twe
In the s te en
ui fli

Chris tianity, Judai m , an d Is l - ail k:

ix h

ce n tury, th e emerg ing hegemonic imaginary

n n en

of of which worked to renderdub ­

i
t

mo e u
b il t aro u nd t h e fi gu r es of o rbis and, more spec fical , ous the univer o f h hr
d
t e C
ty am
y tian
s
. The l w of nature
o bis un i rs as l
rni

h an a could nDw
is

ve a s c ris i u . i l y h Ga
w
alit

r be declared un v e rs al p nge .
s od

i t s The idea of orbis universalis received su ­ rec s ey w e n hri an od could

i

p i C st i G no lo
l

Thus, a "natural "-b r

por fr Re a n anc c tog aphy. The six eenth a s e idea of co smopo l an sm and universal histo
t i

time inom the hi or ssy e a r r cent ury was the fir t

d

s s arne together i o st o k .
of huma k nd tha a world c
t
t i i ry
t n i t map was drawn on
the which Within th i s local h t
co n e o is or y, Iam
n n e r e

eres e d a part cular aspect of t h

ti f
a
o the bas is f Africa, Asi ,A m er a, and Europe could be connecte idea of c osmo -poli : it i t in e
n n t s ic
d th a
n

o emp iric al
t
n e
i

rmation. The div rsityoflocal cosm s r o to e i d of nat ion- state. Onc e God
phies i
l i

n c m l x iv in fo e ogra­ becarne questionable, the

n
e at
s

o p c za o pope and th e emp eror b ec a m e q��tion able

tin uyu An h e ) i i t i ns (of C hi na, India, Islam, Europe, Tawan­
l

, u c as well , and orbis chr us

a were un ed s a n lo st ti s p wo er t ounify comm un1 t1 es . ln the
s

and ub sumed by a world map drawn

sti

y ifi sixteenth century, th e h an e s a e eme r ged asinstitutional re­

a i
o c urc
d
e
h
r s
t
b r f Christian
net ca w asgth phfir r
o a

Europe. The map, rather than the Inter­

h

p acements for the po p th

t tt
, st s ep o g inary of th e an p ro r . A s t h e chu r ch co n ti nu ed to
l

e t i o o i al w r dl e m
d

f h e m a e m d rn/c lo o
e e

be u e stion ed by anincreasin gly secular wor l dand as the st ate becam e

t

q
e n

162 • W AL T • G
E R D M I N O LO 16 3 • T H
E MANY FACE S OF COSMO•P OLIS
 sovereign, the category of the infidel (gentiles, Jews, p agans)
. to the or b'1s c . t
prised the population. extenor hnstianus (BôŒ hat col'll,
ne r 11 4
1957: 289-335) was reconverted into that of the foreigner (Kr
·ist eva 71
9 of the king. and serfs .
of God, t hey were assigned a .
meh e above Afric ans
. . cham of bemg, wh1ch. meant that,
127-68; Held 1995: 48-99). If Chnst1ans were thos e who in ha · 991 : 1 in the theoretica11Y, they were
not to
b•ted th
. .
interior of a transnationa 1 or b.1s chnstianus, . . ns wer e
c1t1ze inhab' ian e be ens1 ave d
. Severa! cities in sixt eent h-century Europe (Sa! amanca
the new, emergent space of the nat 1. on-state; m consequence lt 8 of
t
[Spam)
h Coimbra (Portug ail , Rome [Italy], Paris (France]• Lovam
naissance idea of man was also reconverted and given ce nter st'ag e Ile. . and Ingolstadt [Germanyl) were busy
. a (the Nethe
r-
.
. . 1 on o f citizen
. c . er (Gordon 1 e, th,"",.
an d 1ore1gn lands), and D1hnga .
.1cal mves w1.th th.1s legal
transcending the d 1v1s . . . .
t1gat1on and were concerned with t
. . 995). and theolog he VaIl adolid
Michel-Rolph TrouilJot has recently underhned this p oint . debates. The. "Ind1an . doubt,,, as 1t. developed•
ltl an· ar. was defin ed around two
gurnent that explains the silence surrounding the Haitian r evo lUho issues: the nght of Amermd
. to the possessio
. 1ans n of their land, and the
. .
Philosophers who dunng the Renaissance asked themselves "W right of Spaniards to declare war against Indians· As 15· well known, the
hat �-
man?", Trouillot (1995: 75) writes, "could not escap e the fact th at c is debates drew the attention of Vitoria and led him to a series of Ieg al-
· · · alo.
mzat1on was gomg on as they spok e. Men (E uropeans) were con theological inquiries, motivated by an interest in the behavior ofS an­
. · quer.
. d ommatrng,
ing, killrng, . and s1 avmg . oth er b emgs th ought to be e iards in the New World. These inquiries circulated in Europe fir�t in
al y
human, if only by some." The farnous debates of Valladolid, be: ! manuscript form and later as the book entitled Relectio de Indis (Vitoria
Juan Ginés de Septilveda and Bartolomé de Las Casas about the de ;n ((1539) 1967). ln published form, the inquiries were organized into three
of hurnanity of the Amerindian, bears witness to this convergen!: major issues: (1) whet her Amerindians were true "owners" of their lands
events (Ramos et al. 1984). However, the eighteenth century obscured and other properties and in control of their own social organization;
(2) whether instead the emperor and the pope were "owners" and had
the religious cosmpolitanism based on the rights of the people and sup­
the right to control both Amerindians and other non-Christian people
planted it with a national cosmopolitanism based on the rights of man (infidels); and (3) what the "legal entitlements" were that justified (from
and of the citizen. a Spanish point of view) Spanish domination of Amerindians .
The sixteenth-century debates, which took place in Valladolid and In today's terrninology, Vitoria's inquiry was principally concerned
were followed up in the University of Salarnanca, are of extreme rele­ with the idea of "the inclusion of the other." The political aspects of
vance in world history, and yet they were forgotten during the eigh­ society and international relations were examined with the assump­
teenth century. However, they are becoming relevant today to dis­ tion that there is a "natural right" that every hurnan and rational being
cussions of group and individual rights, as well as of migration and (under Greek/Christian pararneters) has .1 Vitoria extended the prin­
multiculturalism (Pérez Luno 1992). The debates fostered the inquiries ciple of natural right to the "rights of the people" to adjudicate new
ofphilosopher-theologians in the Salamanca school, who examined the questions of international relations raised by developments in the New
ethical and legal circumstances of Spaniards in the Indias Occidentales, World. Theology in Vitoria (as opposed to philosophy in Kant) was
the ultimate ground on which to examine ail kinds of hurnan rela­
or the New World. They remain crucial t o world history not merely be­
tions among individuals and among nations (pueblos, people). But the
cause they focused on the human nature of Amerindians and the right
inquiries included also a profound ethical concern: to be a Christian
of Spaniards to declare war, enslave Amerindians, and take possession
meant to be self-conscious and to act consciously on behalf of the corn­
of their land and bodies, but their repercussions travel further.
s• mon good. Of course, Christian ethical concerns were to Vitoria no Jess
The debates broke out severa1 decades after the triumph of Chn honest or earnest than philosophical concerns were to philosophers of
tianity over the Moors and the Jews, which was followed by the e xp�­ the Enlightenment, and the law of nature is of course no better war­
sion of both groups from the Iberian Peninsula. The debates ere indi ranty with which to build arguments on beh alf of the common g�od
v: 0�
rectly but powerfully related to the initiation o f massive contingents than are natural rights.There was not in Vitoria a fullydeveloped notion
slaves brought from Africa. Since Amerindians were considere d vassals
165 • THE MANY FACES OF COSMO· POLIS

164 * W Al TER D. MI G NO l 0
 asthere would be in the e ghteenth
o fth esIa te , ce ntury b
SSary given h.1stoncal . . . ons. Wh. • Ut ne· h
i

one nece cond1t1 1le Vitor , 1l er..

i
h netaryscopeopen tosixteenth-century Renaissan as ho . ·
1io
t epI a r.
. . ce i. nte 0 Il' ••• wo a
d s an inter sta te sy stem regulated b y the colo
Enli g h tenment op erate d w1th a dif f er en l ! •
the t se of co niality o power
nce f
rl
a.i n th e "l ndi a ndoubt," the "rights of . The
E u o ean peaceand the constructi. on ofthe Eu ope of rns- n'ctul t rea o s the p eo p e," an is
t

r P l he C h
. na.tron a ,�in..i. . d e a of o r bis wer eer ase din the eighteenth century d t r tian
r

cep 1•1011 of th estate, however, d1d begm . to emerge i s ·- , , is another m

n y11- o . the ss e
and one of i u s wit h whi ch I deal bel w att e r
i

c oupled w1th . the . . r ia, a•i A. o .

it r em ain d chu ch: Vitoria removed the ern e h CQ �· t nt
Re l ve a to my ar gu ment, however, was a cha
r
oug1i
e

e as "owners" of he worldand of ail imag nge that Vitoria int

po p inable cornrn �_ror d ed n
uc
i o
t the u p c
r in iple est a li hed byGai
ro­
un 1ties � ed b s us, the Roman jurist
t
. . ,on-state as e c1v1
n reh th . ·1 and spi . n.tu
h e co ceived the g
lis
r ( w ho
i
al
r
w
s n a
t r
u o
la
el
a] Ord e )t
a
rofS • �
ho mines (human bei
t

o mo-politan ideology ofpossess. ion enjoy ngs). Vito

na u
o . re pl ced homi e s by g es
a t

The c s e d by the
po Pe .
(p p e)- perhaps an almostimpe
rcept
eo l ri a
pe w rep an ct'"' h g b n
n
. i b le
e nt
d by V. 1ton.a, s prop osa1 m c a n e , ut ho he ofeno rmo u s si gnificance. Vitori
a
ro r a s iavo r of internatio d ety
,. ·�- a was facing a sit a­
l a ce

in hi
rions bas e d o n the "rights of the people" (community, nation) naJ e . w c t e ge n e s in que sti on had been previo
t

r t o is i i y usly unknown
Ch
u
i

-De �
n

d an
w 1. c h requue
h
. d th e .
d 1scuss1o .
n an reguJation r hc
e and o v bi o u sly we re n t o clearly homines. Ccr
to
tain y th
gen ,

of theol was a diffe re n c e twe re

de
l
tes
r t
1 1
t

jurispru d n e, were e nassi. gn e to t e . ogy be e n t h e Ame rind ians on the

re 1·g on-s one hand and e
d f a nd
e
th d h a ei n st Moo rs , Je , t
hin h
e c

pope an d emperor 0 loth

ws o r C es e on t he o he r. But this was precisely
t t
. the di ­
t
f re
ea

e th wo becom e e historica foun f

ld

When in t he third part of Relectio de n ce th l dation of colonial diff ­

"l gaJ Indis, V i
toria exarn Thus, it was no on er
e a t u

e i ned . r th e qu est on o thinking

e n t itl em nts" that justined waragainstt e b i g s (h min ) f of men orhum
es

h Indian
n
ge
an
e c
s, he Proe en bu o
l
o inkingofd i f fer en people
i

ee e
e

o n u n a se es t fth with
rie s of "fundamental rights" dtb in a new stru ­
for people- t re o f o c
na u p wer and r ghts: the r g htt o possess the righ
i t
ti on
e
huma c mmun es-
t cia t e

n o th e violation of which s th igh

th , t to disposse ,
iti was jus ification of ed o v e rn o se out ss
t to g o
i

Vi tori a had a vis i on of a "natural society" grou f. think he

sdi e ht e Chris tian realm. Vitor a began o
t
t e r
nded in commun war e in t ern ti al de
. a o n o r r (the cosmo-polis) from t e perspect
i

o
ti n , c onv ca of th N W rld
i vial it y, and in ternati onal co llaboration. Vito i h i ve
r t

ew
o ev ent s an d from the need to accommodate
r ia's utopia , in tha
sm -opo lis, a plane tary societ y or a world was i terna ti al
e
co
community of religi n o n o r e r , what he call e d " t h e barbarians, that is, the Am
t
­
d

s tat es f un de d o n the principle of natu on in di s .O

n the o han d, " e r­
o

ar l right (instead ofon the ne V toria h a d o bis christian

Ja w zo an wh ich he w ld us as the final ho ­
o n ur ) and subj ec o t
f
ri
he regulat on of the religion- n on o u jus ify e r g s of barbar iansand
i r

t ha a t e i state. The fa th pagans; o

th ct the oth he h d a p ct m of h t
t t

t n
e "I di a ndou bt was prompted at , n
t i
" the same time as the em s e r u Ch t an -European "nations" alread
i

e r­ establish d in th ixt ris

er
nc f y
a

ge e o the Atlan ti c commercial ci r c uit-a crucial e nth-centu y im

step in the form e s gina (Castile, France,
a­ Interaction b tw n h Italy .
e
e tw
i f e
ap t alism )
r

o
a
t on
a ft e r C ristian ityobtain ed victoryover o leve ls was nevermade explicit by Vitori
c ry

i e e t
the Moorsan he treat d th as s in
h
a;
e

e J e ws - jus t i e s c o n eiving this mome d m q

fi n t as the historical his thinkin g on international rights an
h l

foundation international co m
t e
d
e e ua

ofmo e rn ty/ a m u c t o , al o gh it wasobvi

d c
i

c o oni
i
lit y, or,ifyou prefer , as the histo barbarians or n a i n t h ous at the l me tha
l rical foundati n i
o pa an s w re t
u

o t e mo rn/co l n i l wor d syst id ed uneq al o the French

f h
o
d

Enlig e em to whi h Kant and the

European Mo re explic i i gVit ie c n s e r t or ltalians .
h e e o a, ho w ve r, as
u
n w t he balance between the righ
o a

t
n con r u ed to tran f
l
t nm
c t

t ib t s orm and expand. I have the im­ o f commerce t s

, p e reg in a o , nd s ttl en o the
r e
i ti
pre ss on t hat if one i r em t one hand and th
s V tor a of his religious principles, repla rights Castilians h e
n
eo o gy ve to pre
n
ced
a
and con
ed e

ve rt Amerindians on the other.

h i
w
r
t
l t pp

ith philosophy, and t he

i
ch

conce rn Tere nce i Th i s was the domain in whi h th

a
to deal di/
a
with n i n-s tate became instrumental as
e r e go
h lm a n y w i th
it
i
i
s g forward classifi cation of people by nation , a rep acement for th p ror nd lth
al re at
u
t ra e rn
h
c
a m a e ,
o, n s e e p o p i n in te at io n o n
t

lco s r a d continent s, w a one would obt and in which a Ch i ti n e

l
l i s
h t ain ndeed would be Kant r a c os li an sm
as
w a v a ncd d as a o r rect
h at m u c e i . s mo po t i o n
fa e h o a di renc e?
fth f o
ff I n my view it is not. These are two dilfer·
e

f the C a stil ai n c rown's glo a l esi ns.

t c i
n o e s arn
t c s im a - a b d g
a g in r f the d rn/colonial
y the i mg inar
e

y o m oe
e

1 66

• W A l TE R D. M I G N O 0 16 7 • THE MANY FACE SOF C O

l SM ·
OPOLI S
 COSMO·POLIS, EUROCENTRISM, AND

THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND OF THE CiTIZEr,i

e 1700s. The structu ral aspe cts are th
rights of the peop le" loti on in th e connech. ons made
In the sixteenth century, "the . had bee po
. betwe en the law of na
mt ture (c
consc, ousne ss- the planetar n forlll a t that osm os) an d I he 1. deal soc1. ety
lated within a planetary
. .
ccident
Yco ns cj0
Usn�
u. (polis). One o- f• the consequences of the structura1 aspect was to derive
the orbis christianus 1 w th the O as the fra me of of from the law of nature as a m0de1 ,or
. ius cosmopol1t1cum
the eighteenth century, the "ngh ts o f man and o f the citiz . . ref erenee. 1n o n. For
-
1ghteenth-century . , social orga -
mtellectuals in France• Engla
en" nizati e
.
. was the b egmning. nd and
mulated instead within the planetary consciousness 0f a Was for· 2 And such a
. c os Germany, theirs beg·mnm . g (that.'1s, the
analogous to the law of nature, w1th Europe- the Eu rop e of .P o1:'Il mo . . and the concem for the "indus·ion o f the other")
. n of V1tona
ob!J. vw
nations . the makmg . was
specifically-as the frame of reference. T here was a ch an e , g round ed m of the .unperial difference- sh·ft·
1 mg the lben. an
. . g but w·t h .
the system, or, better yet, w1t. h'm t h e 1mag mary of t he m odern/ 1 1 in Penin sula to the past and casting 1t. as the South of Europe (Cassano
c0 onia) 1996-' Dainotto 2000). By the same token • the colonial d1nerenc "cr
world system. e was re-
Cosmo-polis recently has been linked to the hidden ag articuJated whe� French an� German philosophy recast the Americas
enda
of (its nature and 1ts people) m the light of the "new" ideas of the En­
modernity and traced back to the seventeenth c entur . n
Y i W estern lighten1'.1ent instead of the "old" i�eas �f the Renaissance (Gerbi [19551
Europe, north of the Iberian Peninsula (Toulmin 199 0) · ln the p
. . . ost- 19s2; M1gnolo 2000: 49-90). The1r beg1nning is still reproduced today
national h1stoncal context of the 1990s, the same issue w as re for as far as the eighteenth century is accepted as the "origin" of moder­
. . . 1 m u lated
m terms of nation al d"1vers1ty and cosmopo 1tani · sm(Cheah andRO
b. b ins nity. From this perspective, the emergence of the Atlantic commercial
1998) and by refashioning Kant's cosmopolitan ideas (McCarth circuit that cre ated the conditions for capitalist expansion and French
. b . y t999),
In the same vem, ut two deca des ear11er, · cosmopohtanism was a rev olution remains relegated to a premodern world. The imperial dif­
ttached
to the idea of the National State and located in Germa ny (Meinecke ference was drawn in the eighteenth century even as a cosmopolitan
1970). What is missing from all of these approaches to cos mopolitan­ society was being thought out. It was simultaneous to (and part of the
ism, however, is the link with the sixteenth century. This is not simpl same move as) the rearticulation of the colonial difference with respect
a historiographical daim, but a substantial one with significance fo: to the Americas and to the emergence of Orientalism to locale Asia and
Africa in the imaginaryofthe modern/colonial world. This "beginning"
the present. Multiculturalism today bas its roots in the sixteenth cen­
( that is, the South of Europe as the location of the imperial difference
tury, in the inception of the modern/colonial world, in the struggles of
and the North as the heart of Europe) is still the beginning for contem­
jurist/theologians like Vitoria or missionaries like Las Casas, which were
porary thinkers such as Habermas and Charles Taylor, among others.
at the time similar to the struggles ofpostliberal thinkers such as Jürgen The "other" beginning instead, that of the modern/colonial world, is
Habermas. If Kant needs today to be amended to include multicul tural­ more complex and planetary. It connects the commercial circuits before
ism in his cosmopolitan view as Thomas McCarthy (1999) suggests, we European hegemony (Abu-Lughod 1989) with the emergent Mediter­
must return to the roots of the idea -that is, to the sixteenth century ranean capitalism of the period (Braudel 1979; Arrighi 1994) and with
and the expulsion of the Moors and the Jews from the Iberian Peni nsula, the displacement of capitalist expansion from the Mediterranean to the
to the "Indian doubt" and the beginnings of the massive contingent of Atlantic (Dusse! 1998: 3-31; Mignolo 2000: 3-48).
African slaves in the Americas. Why is this historical moment of the making of the imperial differ­
There are two historical and two structural issues that I would like ence and the rearticulation of the colonial differences with the Americas
to retain from the previous section in order to understand c osmopoli· and the emergence of Orientalism relevant to my discussion on cos­
tan thinking in the eighteenth century and its obliv ion of sixte enlh· mopolitanism? Not, of course, because of national pride or historical
31 accuracy, but because of the impediment that the linear macronarra-
century legacies. The two historical issues are the Thirty Yea rs' War th
. h Rev o·
concluded w1th the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the Frenc
t69 • THE MAN Y FACES OF COSMO·POLIS

168 • WALTER D. MIGNOLO

 ttve constructed from the pe s pectiv e o modernity (
f

orn th
r

10 the tod a y) presents to th e mac na ra t o ld e Cr�

fr

frorn
r tives

t ""' l
of th he r<rs,,..
rt. u1
i lity (t
d hat is,fro
ro

ttve of coloma · 1·11y ( t h e ma k.mg an re a 1 ation · ve of c o o n a m the colo

P erspe cti
c

. e colo . r<c. fr . th m nia. 1 dtffe. re n ce) a

impe r ial d1fferences). B earin g th1s c o c ptual and hist . 11•al a iu u o • n d not
on lycn ti.ca lly .b t m w1 modern it y itself(that.is,f
e

. l o ncaJ f ro m ·
r d sy ste ral'll - rs"""uve w1 hout co 1 omal
n

mind (that is, the modern/ o c oni a wo m ), t h e , 'Il t . d. 1ffere n ce aun ve i rsa]
re are
l
l pe r- s). D usse ! b se rv t
t' c on tr ib a t l e asi iii 0 es hat
ways to enter crit ica lly in to Kan ss n u t on t th question
ig al

i o co Kant 's answe r t o e posed by

underpinn Po � the 1·•11e o f
ism and, simultaneous y, hisrac al ing and sr n o � ?" . h. •s essay "
Eur �ll l i .
i

l 1s Enl g t e n m e nt IS now more han two cent . Wh t

alys s of
his writin tric i. h h h t uneso 1 d. • Enhg
One would beto sta rt with an an gs on h ment 1S xod f . . h te a n -
d o n p ISto fr b� . t e e us o umamty by its own eft rt (
0 rom th e
erpetual p •t ,"h e wrote • .
i

cosmopoJitan point o view a n eace (K 1 m u n L azmess and w st

t [ guilty t . ate o f
... &178511OIJli
r ma
9 ). The other would be to st�an co ardice ar e
y

f1795) 1963; McCarth y1 9 9 e t h r -'3

ter p
art of hum
sons why the gre a
f y

996_ anity remams

h po , whichhe began in . .t " . ea
PI sura Y in
tures on ant ro lo gy 1772 and pub ish
his . stat e of 1 m m a n y . For Kant, 1mmaturit y or adol bl.
escen , as this-
-·
t

ese lectu es, ) ed.1 u ess

. •
0111

Kant's E u ro a nd co . . ce a
(Van De Pitte 1996). ln t h r centrism 11 1kt pablestate, lazm ward1ce as existen cul
. . . an .
1d e als (Ez
enterscJ
797 oda , w . . tial etho s. . t h e u m u d i .
into confhct w1t h 1s . e 1997: T wo ask hun: an Afr1can m Africa n
s o mpo y Se
uld

h co 03_40; or as a s 1 . g
ht

1 es . in the e1g . htee

n

Ser ave m
d nth century·•
berhan 199 7:1 41- 1 D usse (
1 5: 65 - , 1998: 129-62).The first� carty ­ Uni e t t at an Jndian •n "1 e co th e
99
6 ; · , . x1 o r
76

� . . an mest.1ZO: should a
m n c ail of these subJ .
of Kant will ta.ke us to Haberm and Taylor. The second read� La tm A e ccts be co 1
ns •d e cdr
as

co reside in astate ofguilt

ret m
u
.
1at1ons b
us

etwe
to thes ix
n
teen
rop
Eu e, A" ca, an
th
cen
in
.
tu ry
, toLasCasas and V itori a
.
enca, and from
, IO 1'il rt-
C
i: n fa ,
ct K a nt ' j d g ment
reg a r
im
y maturit ? (Dusse !
y

ding the Arner ican or

1995: 68 )
e d Am ere 0 0 l s u Amer nd
p
the lan et by skin th t db
y his view i i anw as
to Kan t's rac class f com p em e n� of the African an
i c at o o color and con
i

d the Hindu,
i f

_ for
n

tin l d t o him the

all sh are a n mc p 1 for moral maturity, owin 10 th
ial

<livides. : y
a

omm
ac ty

id as by bringin an d e ir c o n­
tud ty to
nature. Afr can philo ni
g into the p ict epti e p ro
g

Let m e explo re t es e soph

h

e ure th 7: u7- ) provides er Emm anuel Ez

x imi

e
poli an s m with Eurocentrism. Enr e con. (199 9 several examples in
i

nections of cosrno ique Dusse th 1Am e icans

w hich Kant st es
i

h loso t at
h ident in M
exico and one o f the !, an raceof e r cannot beeduca
tedsince h eylackany
that the
Argentinian p e rr
es foun t m ti
p of lib dc rs o( ce th y ar devoid of affect o vatin
n in L at in for and passion, and they
i

th e ph i o p y era o America, linked m

oderni , e e hardly peak an
ti

n s
l

so h c ss each other Kan

d the notion o ty with do o t a re . t introduces th e nthe race
of the Negr ! oes
Euro c ent r m
is
and p ropo se f "transmodernity" as a w are c mple te ly oppo site ,
wiy h o of the Arnericans: the Neg
pos tliberaJ and postmodern cr itiques aff ct an d p o roes e ar
o ut o f e o m o
odcr. f
assion
asseso full
f

th im p tha t if modernity incl f e , very lively but vain;as such,

udes a rational co b they can be cd ed ,
nity. Duss e argu es ncept y as servants or sla u tca
l t ves. Kant continues
u o n hil , in tune wi the natu ­
l

also houJd be pointed of

emancipa on, i s out that , at the s a metime, ­ is and oso ph e
discourses of his li me th ral
ti t it dt t p i ,by no ting th i a b
th hott e st zones are at nh it tsan of
veloped a irr a t o n myt h, ajust ifi cation for genocidaJ violence . , in general, idle and
i Whilt
aJ

n e l zy-qual t ies ath a

p m i t re on l
" os t o dernists cri t c e modern reason as a reason of terro by g y
a

co rec a ernment and force (Gerbi [195 5) 19 2 4 4 1

i iz t ble

r t � 8 : 1 - 8 .
ov

" e criticize moder l 2 of Anthropolog )

(1995: 6 6 ) writes , w n reason because of the irratio­ n pr
a t

i ,devo ted
t conceaJs " The to "Class ficati on " Kant's argu
y from a Pra gm atic Pom of V
h that i pronoun we here precisely si ua tes
ew
n a J rnyt
t
. t , m ent ((179 7) 19 96)
1M lt begins with a corn s e to r ce .
i the colonial difference, in consideration of the ha ct of in full fo
i

enunc t on n the irreducible diff e c ra er the per , m ves

a
i i r
e n ceof so n
to the character of the sexes and o
e riority of the modern/colonial world. Much like the slave then to the chara
xt
ne
cte o nation s ,
f

th ext e who and concl des

r

u wit speculat d
ion on t h e char acte rs of ra c es an s ec1
h

of the master and of the slave white the master p .es

un rstand s the o The fact that
e gic

d l the "person" is Kan '

on y u n d e r the master's log i c, Dus sel's argument reveal e ts beginning and ref erence poi n t iS
l s an t s s th funits already indica ive
d

t of the presuppositions mp
d rn ity and makes visib e the pos lied in theun e neu ­
o f o m e s ibility and the nee to s i iv rsal
l d traJ irnagin ry that for him c nsti
ptak utes the person. Kant
from the perspective . r l t obviousl ywas
i ty Thus, there is a n ee
o

of colon ali
a

not thinkin g about he A

d fo to usse t merind ans, c , o t h in us
i i ans r e
there is for African p h il so p ers- . eg., E ze 19 9 7 )to rea o
th e A fr H d as
o h d Kan fr m : 171 • THE MANY FAC S
E OF COSMO·P LI OS
1 0] • W ALTER D. M I O
GNOL
 parad1gma . 1ic . ex am p les of hi
r aro und wh
s char a ct erizat on. "Per o n " w�. fi
. ch all d .
1 1ff ere n c
i

e s
m
ay
s
be c
a c
ornn,
"" or l<a
nt
...
anemp1 ysignifie . he h' h x s a d
0dated shows; he s cruel , as the form er auto a-
i - d fé sho w ,. and he das . l a y in
,,
on 1s t u m u po n w ·1 n · · th at 1s partly s p s
1c se e
and c1ass 1' fie d·Also ' "pers natio s taste anongm non - uropean" ([ 1 7 9 7 19 6 : 2 31 -32 )
E
But et
l us p e for a w hile ve [( Ils hi
· • I 9
go 1993 : 50-7 5). a us o r The enllreph 'I I osop h ' 1cal deb ates of he siJct th
are u b l 'l t (Gre r f • · e • ant's ntury th con -
e trictly t ee n
. ce
. ac t ero natio ns, sth mc 1t mor s I tributions ofLas Casas and V ito ri , a e
discourse on the char re ates r e here aban d n d • tn th ' e narn
lies ss ibilitie s and th to of the negata. ve features of na tio nal ha
a
o e e
smo- polis im p e po •
cosmopal·1tanism· Co h d e capa c ra cter The
s · t ur o
f
Span -
. a th e unity of t . . m ax e
. •es ofpeople (popul
us) t o live to ge t .e r , n h iard w1th Moonsh bloodsets the char ct rof the
bt.11t1 n
.
tion e peopl a e n at·io n . in. rac ·a1 r
1 te ms;
n io A na , for Kant ... e .
this tame not . m rel ation
. to A fr ica, As or e A
.lS organized around the conc ept of at . . ia • ·
n
m e cas ut , b to E ro p
. , IS no th u e
. . niurn. t itself- the South of Europe. ln this reg rd 'b t
(like the ground on wh1ch 11 1s loc athted) ha po th ss ess 1 0� patrimo It a • Kant cont ra u e dto dra wa.n
e at on g
n one o er t a n i itselfc the imperial difference b e tween the mod ern/No h (Enga I d n
. a""'"
1s ,,..,. ·1ety ofm en wh om o
h ti
n an corn . h
rt ' Franc e ,
i
f
. m ce, l . e a r e, ea n .on has its own r . .
Germany) and the tradittonal/Sout ( Sp n • Portug , l a J y) Russ1a l
· n
ma ndOr dis pase o . S i.k . t e c
ft
a oots, a
a h d di a
t . s,
a
thern ti o n as a gr a , de
. es its
ni
existenc e ast
o Turks, Greeks, and Armen1a . ns b o
el g to t ir
n v isi n of n ti on
incorporate it into ano o
a al
h adicts the conce character. While still within Euro e, th e e n i ns do
toft a not belon g to the
t
s c p
moral person,turn s'.nto a thin� a ndt u o n r s
, p
h at o

h e core, as Kant paved the way for He g l' tr p te di v isi n o f Europ :

c p (
e o p le Vo lk ) has no r g " Ka e s ithearti o e
original contract, w1thout wh 1 a i ht
(
sou h, and the northeas
the core (England, Fr ance,an d Germ a y),
n
t t
n t
11795] 1963: para. no. 344).
dp
ple ha
(Hegel [1822] 1956: 102). Thus, acc o r di n g to Kan t' geo politi al d i str i b ­
ve rights. s
A nation has roots, a n d a state has la ws, a n e o Bu t c u
a
i d a suc tion ofnation al ch aracters that a n ticipates H gel's geop liti cal distrib u­
io v es , ces sf u l e o
ofcourse, the char a cter o e
f a c n a nld h t r a n cosm su
y ch depen
ion of Europe, Kant's cosmopolitan is m pre ppo se s that it could onl y
ew
o v
er m u d on the cho­ � t i
politanism and a perpetual peac u be thought out from one partc i u l a r g opol t c l l
i : th t of h
st t e
th e y con tit ute tog ar e i a d oca t o n a t e
acters of (people s in ) nat ions a nd n the a
o eth
s
e .
r heart ofEurope, of the most civil i z n ati o ns . n I eed, we o we much o
by im plic tion ed
n
Thus, E gland and F ra nce (two G m of the enun n fo g that it plagued t
andm s e r an y , a ­ Kant 's cosmopolitanism, althou gh wem tus o t r t the
ci v i liz d tions on earth"
([1 7 d
e
It i n t diffic
ciating agency) are "the o t
e na inceptionof national ide ology with racial preju gm e n o
l
1 t. s ult
au se of their diff 9 7 d
jus tic ,e equality,
t a ey ons feud b ­
1996: 226). The fac t h t th
f
c t a nt y e c r to agree with bothVitoria and Kant on their i e as
e o
h d i
s parago ns of civili ­ .ffi y e
t s thei a t o ac rr th se id as
ent characters does o di in n mi r sta n ng za righ ts, and planetary peace. B u t it remai n s di
c
ult
e
the firs t national chara t rs and n lig ht nment pr u ­
tion. Thus, the French and the Englis h ar e c e
further without clearing up the Ren a iss an c e E e ej
"Th Ch cters of the Nati h ood O e f the tas
t on
Kant describes in t he section e n itle d e ara dices that surrounded concepts of ra c e and man . n o ks
s ."
ct h i h d this make sense s cl ar i n u th e e n mbran es
c a er i Sp An s n ce of critical cosmopolit anis m is p rec i s ely e g p cu c
The third nati na h r a o l s t e an
s . ,
ph b i al b t impe ial S p n th e emi
Kan t' s order of thi ngs is not a u : ai, ofthe past. The other is to p int o towar the fu ture.
l a et c r pir e d f "ail t
ce , the a nd emerging imp r
e ial For instance,when Kant thinks in term so na ons of the earth"
in decay, follows Englan d an d Fran n
ew
th th
i
l e! e v ­
nu
ir

a Spaniar ds is thatthe y es a t e p an t
nt
ati ((1795) 1963: u1; para. no. 62) he assum e e e
n ons. The fir st feature that K nt ob
s er
ves in the d fo W ur
f r s t rn
E p e
"evolve d from the mixtu re o u p
bloo d with Arabian (Moo s
ri h) ally will be organiz edby the terms hehas en vis ion e e e o
ct
E ro ea n o ch a e With
b us f hi the Sp an ard "displays i and will b e d efined by his descrip tion f nation al ra rs . this
blood." An d (or pe r haps) e a i n his d beto upd
c e o t s On woul
t l ity even th e peasan ­ scenario in m ind, our opt i ons today a re several. e
at e
public and pri
v e beh v io
at
cer in
o
s e mn ; t ex for th multcul­
a r a a o
fh ow n digni tytoward his master, o w Kant, as McCarthy does (1999: 191- 9 2)and t account e i
presses a cons o us n ho m d hich
esso
ci is t
tural i sm of the postnational world in which we live an w
was ess
J
" ( [ 79 J 96 31) Kant f urth e r adds: " s a rt o
he is lawfullyo ed ent K nt 1 7 9 : 2 . T e other would be to t fr m
i a 1 t ( abermas 199 ).
tJ from forei gner s ; th t he
h foreseeable to Kan H 8 An
l d in the sucte
Spaniard' s b adb si s
th
at
he d
sn o e n ar a lism was hand e en
d e i o e Vito ri a and to Jearn how multicutura l th
does not travel in ord er g a qu aint e d w ith othe r natio ns ; that he is fo th first timewi
e th a
t o i et c o
century, ma . Chnst.1an( prenat1 o n al
. ) or
w
h ld
fa ce
d r
t h
n e f orm ; he is pr u . l we r V ri . . ant e s . -ix
c et i
e hind in th e sc e n ce .s He resists any r d of
o
. o o- o ·1 s per ap s . Ho ve • i o a
ur es
ot havingb
n e
pla ta r h n zon - a
n to work; he e t y g b p 1
is o t s u
f a roma nt ci u it a t
q ali y of sp
ir ,
h b
S O•POLIS
17 3 • THE MANY FA EC S OF C O M
1 72 A
llfigh
* W LTER D. MIG N O L O
 teenth century and Kant in the eighteenth century bel o ng to the sa m e
"world"-the modern/colonial world. They are div ided by the imper ial
differenc e of the eigh teenth-century European imagin a ry. It is ne ce s-
sary, then, to reestablish the commonality between both c osmopolita n
projects th at was obscured by the converg ence o f in dustrial capita lism
cosmopolitanism, and the civilizi ng mission.
' rat e of wh1ch the first , chapter was
Today, in a postnational moment o f the same mode rn/colonia l
world, the problems of righ ts, justice, equality, and so on are thought
out by way of i nclusion, as Vitoria and the S alamanca school did in the
sixteenth cen tu ry. But inclusion doesn't seem to be the s olution t o co s­
mopolitanism any longer, insofar as it presupposes that the agency that
establishes the inclusion is it self beyond inclusi on: "he" b eing a lready
within the frame from which it is possible to think "inclusio n."J Today,
silenced and marginaJized voices are bringing themselv es into the con­
versation of cosmopolitan proj ects, r ath er than waiting to b e included.
Inclusion is aJways a reformative proj ect. Bringing themselves into the
conversation is a t ransform ative project that takes the form of border
thinking or border epistemology-that is, the alte r native to separat­
ism is border thinking, the recognition and t ransfo r m ation of the h ege­
monic imagin ary from the per spectives ofpeople in subaJtern positions.
Border thinking then becomes a "tool" of the p roject of critical cosmo­
politanism.
HUMAN RIGHTS: THE CHANGING FACE OF
THE MODERN/COLONIAL WORLD IMAGINARY
Vitoria and Kant anchored cosmopolitan projects and conceptual­
izations of rights that responded to specific needs: for Vitoria, the inclu­
sion of the Amerindians; for Kant, the redefinitions of person and citi­
zen in the consolidation of the Europe of nations and the emergence of
new forms of colonialism. The "United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights" ([1948] 1997) that followed World War II also respond ed to the
changing faces of the coloniality of power in the modern/colonial world
(Koshy 1999: 1-32). During the Cold War, human rights were connected
to the defense of the Western world against the danger of communism,
as if communism was not an outcome of the Western world. At the con­
clusion of the Cold War, human rights became linked to world trade
and to the diversity of capitalism (Raghavan 1990; Koshy 1999: 20- 3o).
174 * WALTER D. MIGNOLO
Neither Vit·oria nor Kan t had· to· deal with a wor!d 1Il
.
wh'teh the state
l d ·
mg ro1 e m a confhct mg discu
to ok a ea ssion ove r human
nghts (Tol­
ley 1987).
The conclusion of World War II reconfigured the sce
. nan. o of a nar-
iv
.
writ ten by the sa1arna
nca school,
and the seco nd by Kant s conception of a unive rsal
. . historY from a cos-
mopolitan pomt of v1ew -: of perpetual peace and cosmopolitan
rights.
This chapter of W ester n h1story could be rea d today as a pro1ego
me non
to a mode! for planetary liberal democracy. It ended, however, with the
post war realization th at such drearns we re no longer viable (Friedman
1962). Decolonization in Africa a nd Asia brought to the foreground an
experience that Kant could not h ave foreseen when British and French
colonization were not yet fully in pl ace. The nation-state alone and
Europe were on Kant's horizon, and! less so colonization. Curiously
enough, the scenario that p resented itself after World War II brought
us back to Vitori a and the Salarnanca school. Not curiously enough, the
Cold War and the intensification of the conflict between the two previ­
ous phases of the mode rn/colonial world system left the exteriority of
the system in the shade, as an expectant Third World contemplated the
struggl e between the First and the Second. Coloniality remained hid­
den behind the struggle of rnodernity. The horrors of National Social­
isrn that contributed to the t ransfo rmation of the "rights of man and
of the citizen" into "human rights" we re horrors whose traces stretch
back to the sixteenth century (the expulsion ofJews from Spain) and to
the eighteenth century (the imaginary of national characters). During
the Cold War, human rights as a st rategy to control comrnunisrn was
similar to the control of pagans, infidels, and barbarians by the mode!
of international relations devised by the Salamanca school, o r of for­
eigners by the mode! of relations u rged by Kant. Thus, while for Vitoria
and the Salamanca school the master discourse was theology, and for
Kant and the Enlightenment it was philosophy, after World War Il the
master discourse was political economy (Hayek [1944] 1994; Friedman
1962; Brzezinski 1970; Cooper 1973).
The "United Nations Declaration of Hum an Rights" (119481 1997),
which followed by a few years the constitution of the United �ations,
announced, paradoxically, the closure of the nation-state and interna­
tional laws as conceived since Kant. A couple of decades later, depen­
dency theory in Latin America voiced the concern that intern ational
175 • THE MANY FACES OF COSMO·POLIS
 ' l'l)
� Ç,
p Y'

•
'W-,,,.> cy­
'v-�
re 1a t.1 o n s were indeed relations. of depende .
ncy. Theo ti c ians wh o up
. s .
por te d tra nsnational corporationsd1d not ag re e w1t h tha v w n Thediffic ulties I am t ying
to convey here
k they Puia closure to Kant's trust n the nat o ren an t ie ·1 on e ent words by A d
r
b ullahi A. An-Na h va e been c t in diff ­
e, i i dtrans' as d e r
dstro en d en c y into interdependency(that . 1s,w1th . the
1973 Trila era•l rCornme. d
o for human right s. He points ou 'i
m, a lawyer and Muslim
voc at
m ep issionbetweenthe United States, Europe, and a an) •T h t t that th e un v e liy f h a
is under,nined by b o i r sa t o u m an rights e
J p . eyend ed th Weste rn an on-
d n W es t ren cu lt al l ivism.
so reignt y ofthe nation-stateand revam�ed the l an g a g f d t he u r re at
ve u e o eveol . Similar to the daims of som
ng underdeve opednations as an alternat1ve co � u i p e efües in no -W n ci
l _ t o m n . sm Th th eir own cultural norms sho n t e r o eti es that
oic mmunists (andno longer paga ns, rnfid ls, or
us
, as uld pr e va ov e ines e stio
e _ �o r e1�n ers)r epres nt d rights st andards, Western t i l r t rna n l huan m
the danger10 the s ys tem, paraJlel to decolomza e e eli es arec laiming a ne clu ri a
t1o n m Asia a d Afri cribe the essential
concept and norm at v e c n x s iv e 1
0 p
re­
dictatorial regimcs were ascending in Lati n n c a s ent of h ghtum n righ
Americ a (Brazi, l Ur ugu , for all societies to implement. Both i o t
Chile, and Argentina). Human rights comm a • types ofr a vis n t ao nly takts
issio ns, no dou t, p aye b
a var ety of conceptual and el ti m o
fun damental rolein abating the rocities i l d i practical forms, t a so pla an insi e­
at of dicta t orial gm : o us role in inhibiting even the possibi bu l i y i
same time that human rights served as es, at th e lities of imagin g s plem d ­
an inst ument to pr t e . tary or altern ati ve co ce n up e n
eral democrac y against communism Durin r re om o li n pt io ns a n im p l em e nta ti on strate ie (
. g the Cold W ra, he w b Na'i m 1994: 8)
d g s. An­
was divided in o three geopolitica lareas, t or!d
t andhuma n right re cau
in 1he middle of the transformation of li be al s we g ht This dilemma calls foraradical reconce tuali f
r i n to ne olibe ra! de .
m aradigm as the next step towar p zation o the human rig
c tic projects. ln this batt e within the new o hts
ra l al d d co smopoli tan valu es ( th cs) an
impe ri bor e rs of t he ;egul o s
at i n (politics). An dthis will be the top c o y xt and asd
e i
modern world, the problem wasno longer t he h f
ra c i al S u o t , a s in Kan 's i m n e lt
time, but the commun st t section.
i Eas t . Deco loni zed count ir wer es ivi g fo
a natio n-state, at the sam time es tr
that the ideol og ues o f the new wo
n r
e
order nolonger believed in them. Zbig r l
d
ni e w Brzez ­ BORDER T HI
moting interdependence-apparentl inski foin 1970 was pro
NKI NG:
yagood gr uond r cosm pol ­ A NEXT STEP TOWA
ism -while despising the nation-state. He b eli ve , or l
o it n
i
a R D A C OSMO·P LI
O TAN OROER
e d at east sa d t, h ta 1 have shown threestages ofco s mopoli an projec
"on the formalplane, politics asa global pro ss p h t ts of the mode rn
ce o efrath s e m u c a s t h ey colonial world systemor, if
you prefe r, o m o de rn ity/ o loniality. l
/
re
{nation-stat seJ d id in the pas t, but the i n ne r a l i tyo t at p rocess is i ­ first, cosmopolitanism faced f
of d aling
c n the
creasingly shaped by for ces n the diffic ulties e with pa a
g n ,s in fi ­
whose in fl u e nce o r s co pe trans nd t o al dels, and barbarians. lt was a relig
lines" (1970: 8). ce n a i n io us an drac a
l c nfigura i l
i f o t on . n th e
second, cosmopolitanism faced thedifficu
lnterdependence redraws the lines of lties o communi ti wit o
the m i pe rial diff e nrece no states and the dangers of theforei ers hat, t i es
i
h ut
between the First and the Sec w gn t a that po nt int me, w e
ond Worl sd) and th o c loni al d ff re( nce the foreigners at the edge of the Europe f re
eh i e o n ati o ns.l n th e t
hird
stage,
(nowbetween the First and he Third Worl s) communists replaced pagans and infi els ,
decolonization throu h nati
t d eit erAfri by the proce s so
m f d barbarians an
d o i
f re g ne ,
the difficultiesofcosmopolitan soc ety re e ess d. To d th rs as
)
g on- buildi n g (As i a n d
a ca o r ilitary
dictatorship (Latin America). But, from ki i we r ass eh a y e sce­
Vitoria to Brz ezins , throug h nario Kant was observing ha chan g e "dang e "
s ed a g a n i pe witht rs pre­
Kant, the modern/c olonial wor ld e pt on growi g an d
sented by recen t African immig nd La Am
tr ansfor m ro a i
k n i ng ration to tn er cans
itself, whiles multaneously m tain
i ingthe co n i sp a
al i
to the UnitedStates. Reli g ou s exclu
E u
i al xcl i ideo i ­
ain
lo ce as d re va ive,t i sion,n at o n e u o n logi s ,
rather than as constitutive, ofmod
ernity. Altern tive s hum n ig hts cal exclusion, and ethnie exclusio n have s e e e lem ts i o mo
af t o a r v r al en
first, the identification o f frontiers and xt ri ority ; econ dn , cth ra al :
n
have been removed from the
questi on ,a n d on eo the consequ e c es as
n
e e e ci
re s
b e ne t oeli ci tsusp icious sp n o ses (China's p si tion on h an ri g h hs
t ) component
i
in the making of th e frontier as c lo on al diffe re nce (\i
o re gi
i
to s us p cious p rop osais ( nk ed
al sm in the seco nd ); and
um
a b u
W es tern m ig ti es on h i u a
m n r igh ts ) . to li on in the firs i stance and to n a tio n i
t n
l7 6 • WALTER D. MIGN LO O 1 77 • THE MANY FACES OF C OSMO-POLIS
 third, the ideologi�al c�mp�nent in th� rem�ing of the im_p erial differ.
ence during the thrrd h1stoncal stage ( hberahsm versus socialism w· h·
.. . it •n
the modern/colonial world). Ethm.c1ty became a crucial trademar k after
the end of the Cold War, although 1ts roots had already been established
· rance of the market), racial and religious con8.
in connection with re1.1g1on and nationa. 1·1sm. Wh"l
.
1 e th ere is a tem p
orat
successio n that links the three stages and proJects them onto the eurrent
post-Cold War globalization, they are each constitutive of the mod.
ern/colonial world and cohabit today, as Kosovo dearly bears wit ness to.
Furthermore, the three stages that I am reconstituting historically but
that are the "ground" of the present, are successive and complementar y
moments in the struggle for the survival and hegemony of the North
Atlantic or, if you wish, the reconstituted face of the Western world
I suspect that it is possible now to talle more specifically about. a
fourth stage, perhaps a postmodern/postcolonial moment, of the mod­
ern/colonial world, which I have been announcing in the previous para­
graph and in which current discussions on cosmopolitanism are taking
place-a stage that Immanuel Wallerstein (1999) described as the "end
of the world as we know it." It also may be possible now to have a "cos­
mopolitan manifesto" to deal with the "world risk society" (Beck 1999).6
The erasure of the imperial difference that sustained the Cold War and
the current process of its relocation in China brings us back to a situa­
tion doser to the one faced by Vitoria: irnagining conviviality across
religious and racial <livides. Global coloniality is drawing a new sce­
nario. Capitalism is no longer concentrating in the Mediterranean (as in
Vitoria's time) or in the Europe of nations and the North Atlantic (as in
Kant's time) when liberalism went together with Christian Protestant­
ism and skin color began to replace blood and religion in the recon­
figuration of the colonial difference. At that tirne, capital, labor control,
and whiteness became the new paradigm under which the colonial dif­
ference was redefi.ned. In the second half of the twentieth century but
more so after the end of the Cold War, capitalism is crossing the former
colonial difference with the Orient and relocating it as irnperial differ­
ence with China- thereby entering territories in which Christianity, lib­
eralism, and whiteness are alien categories. Perhaps Samuel Hunting­
ton (1996) had a similar scenario in mind when he proposed that in
the future, wars would be motivated by the clash of civilizations rather
than by economic reasons. Which means that when capitalism crosses
the colonial difference, it brings civilizations into conflicts of a differ-
178 * WALTER D. MIG NOLO
any event, relevant to my argument is the ,ac
ent order. In , t that while
pands, and the rage for accumulation dai"ly esc
Capitalism ex . apes further
mstance,
beyon d control (for the wea�ening of nation-states
or the ir-
rational. exube. . . . 1cts emerge
ents to the poss1b1hty of cosmopolitan societie
as new imped1m s.
situation we are facing in the fourth stage ·15that
The ne w cosmopoli-.
cracy) can no longer be articulated from one
tanism (and dei:no _ point of
view, wit hin a smgle log1c, a mono-logic (if benevolent) discou
rse from
the p olitical right_ or left. Vitoria, Kant, the ideologues of interdepen­
den ce, the champions of development, and the neoliberal managers be­
lieving, or saying, that technology will lift pover ty left little room for
those on the other side of the colonial difference. And, obviously, man­
aged cosmopolitanism could (and more likely will) remain as a benevo­
lent form of control. In the New World order, how can critical and dia­
logic cosmopolitanisrn be thought out without falling into the traps of
cultural relativisrn (and the reproduction of the colonial difference) as
pointed out by An-Na'im? I have been suggesting, and now will move to
justify, that cultural relativisrn should be dissolved into colonial differ­
ence and that the colonial difference should be identified as the location
for the critical and dialogic cosmopolitanism that confronts manage­
rial global designs of ideologues and executives of the network society.
Instead of cosmopolitanism rnanaged from above (that is, global de­
signs), I am proposing cosmopolitanism, critical and dialogic, emerging
from the various spatial and historical locations of the colonial differ­
ence (Mignolo 2000). In this vein, I interpret the daim made by An­
Na'irn.
Replacing cultural differences with the colonial d.ifference helps
change the terms, and not only the content, of the conversation: Cul­
ture is the term that in the eighteenth century and in the Western secu­
lar world replaced religion in a new discourse of colonial expansion
(Dirks 1992). The notion of cultural relativism transformed coloniality
of power into a semantic problem. If we accept that actions, abjects,
beliefs, and so on are culture-relative, we hide the coloniality of power
from which different cultures came into being in the first place. The
proble m, then, is not to accommodate cosmopolitanism to cultural rela­
tivism, but to dissolve cultural relativisrn and to focus on the coloniality
of power and the colonial difference produced, reproduced, and main­
tained by global designs. Critical cosroopolitanism and new democratic
179 * THE MANY FACES OF COSMO·POLIS
 . the coloniality of power and the co1
pro1ects 1·mply negotiating on·1al
contr olled by global capitalism (Re drado they neoliberal or .
neo-Marx. ist. The perspective &
u� nce in a world
d"''ere . . �� om t he colon1al . dif
.
R 1g hts of man or huma n nghts, of course, would have . . to be neg o ference (illus trated m the d1lernma formulated by
An-Na,.un and fur-
. (Wollstonecraft [1792] 1997; Be1Jm ti.
ated across gende r !mes .
.
g De clarat1.
00 ther dev elope d w1t· h. th e example of the Zapatistas) mstea
• d open s the
c�lomahty of power that structur .
sibility of 1magmm . g border thinking as the
[ 199511997), but also across the e d an P os
• neces s cond11..
ary ton
still structures the .modern/col omal world around the raci aUy grou d 1, a fu ture
€or · · 1 and dia1og1c cosmopolitanism• S
cntlca
uch a cntica]
.. and
. nde • • •
colonial difference. Human nghts can no . longer be accep ted as ha . d dialogic cosmopoht .
amsm 1tself leads toward "diversal"t ,
. 1 Y, . mstea
.
. . v1nga umve d of
iowar d a new
.. . . rsahty grounded (again) "on the pot
content that Vitoria, .Kant, and the United Nations d1scovere d and Pos. ent·al
I ofdemo-
cratic poht1c izat1on as the true European legacy from •
sessed. Such expressions, as wel l. as d emocracy an d cosmopol"it an1.srn • anc1ent Greece
. ' onward" (Zize k 1998; 1009). A new universalism recasting
shall be conceived as connectors m the struggle to overcome colon1a .
1ity the demo-
of power from the perspective of the colonial difference , rathe r tha n as cratic potential of the European legacy is not necessari!y a solution
full-fledged words with specific Western content. By conn ector s Ido not to the vicious circle between (neo)liberal globalizatio n and«regress1ve .
forms offundament alist hatred" (Ziiek 1998: 1009). It is hard to imagine
mean empty signifiers that preserve the terms as the property of Euro -
that the entire planet would endorse the democratic potential of "the
pean Enlightenment while they promote benevolent inclusi on of the .
European legacy from ancient Greece onward " The entire planet could,
Other or making room for the multicultural.
in fact, endorse a democratic, just, and cosmopolitan project as far as
The Zapatistas have used the word democracy, although it has differ­
democracy and justice are detached from their "fundamental" European
ent meaning for them than it has for the Mexican government. Democ­
heritage, from Greece onward, and they are taken as connectors around
racy for the Zapatistas is not conceptualized in terms of European
which critical cosmopolitanism would be articulated. Epistemic diver­
political philosophy but in terrns of Maya social organization based sality shall be the ground for political and ethical cosmopolitan projects .
on reciprocity, communal (instead of individual) values, the value of In other words, diversity as a universal project (that is, diversality) shall
wisdom rather than epistemology, and so forth. The Mexican govern­ be the aim instead of longing for a new abstract universal and rehears­
ment doesn't possess the correct interpretation of democracy, under ing a new universality grounded in the "true" Greek or Enlightenment
which the Other will be included. But, for that matter, neither do the legacy. Diversality as the horizon ofcritical and dialogic cosmopolitan­
Zapatistas have the right interpretation. However, the Zapatistas have ism presupposes border thin.king or border epistemology grounded on
no choice but to use the word that political hegemony imposed, al­ the critique of ail possible fundarnentalism (Western and non-Western,
though using the word doesn't mean bending to its mono-logic inter­ national and religious, neoliberal and neosocialist) and on the faith in
pretation. Once democracy is singled out by the Zapatistas, it becomes accumulation at any cost that sustains capitalist organizations of the
a connector through which liberal concepts of democracy and indige­ economy (Mignolo 2000). Since diversality (or d.iversity as a universal
nous concepts ofreciprocity and community social organization for the project) emerges from the experience of coloniality of power and the
common good must corne to terms. Border thinking is what I am nam­ colonial difference, it cannot be reduced to a new form of cultural rela­
tivism but should be thought out as new forms of projecting and imag­
ing the political and ethical move from the Zapatistas' perspective, by
ining, ethically and politically, from subaltern perspectives. As Manuel
displacing the concept of democracy. Border thinking is not a possi­
Castells (1997: 109) puts it, the Zapatistas, Arnerican militia, and Aum
bility, at this point, from the perspective of the Mexican government,
Shinrikyo are ail social movements that act politically against global­
although it is a need from subaltern positions. In this line of argument,
d ization and against the state. My preference for the Zapatistas and not
a new abstract universal (such as Vitoria's, or Kant's, which replace
t's for the other two is an ethical rather than a political choice. Diversality
Vitoria's, or the ideologies of transnationalism, which replaced Kan as a uni versai project, then, shall be simultaneously ethica�, political,
. _
abstract universal) is no longer either possible or desirable. and philo sophical. It cannot be identified, either, with oppositional Vl0-
be
The abstract universal is what hegemonic perspective s provide,
181 • TH E MA N y FAC ES O F CO S MO • PO LIS
180 * WALTER D . M IGNOL O
 d the E rop Union and the United S ates.
ln u e an An d of
bey on .1 t be Io cated .m the h egemomc . glo cour
t
. . bal des·
natio n-state. If ail h u man b en
ce
an a nal as hadb eenrccognized
e
by detimtion, c
h 1I no f critical reflect1ons . .m th1s . essay. As Joh•gnsth�. i . gs re r.at
i

r e at t N • . b
and Kan t and the ,
ti n th n let itbe B
o
ha ve been t e a gh t o lorations on the .. law (mste toria ed a
o

. n Raiv1s Vi Uni e utth en «na

i exp ad of the r· h " . tuY-
ral rights or the " I aw o f na ur
s
t e
I .. di r di .1 in s • • • " ca n hr a dlybethe onl pnn . .
wo u d wo e rsal t as a u mversal pro1ect shall be 1denttfi . ed w •g t) o . • d h . . y c1p 1 es upo n
y · f Wh ic hratlonahtyan t e. rat1onal y
" 1 o so c e s
ty hall b edef,end
f

" lib ral o le " (Ra wls 1999: 90, see also 89- 8 it h " the
i
t
peop1es,
i
ed To "let
e y
n 2 1't be" rnea nsto take seno u s hum anrat o nalit y" as anoth erc. o
l
ho n es t nO • e p p 1" · 8ut also
i
e rn people or p . . nne
)

the honest n o -West e o l e of c l r tor that w11l contnbu t e to erase t e colo nia l it f ower .m . c. -
n h
'th "in p th a gr ame
, d esn't have m h1. ho iz on.
o o
. . " yo p dm
w Kan R • the very concep t u ah zat1 o no f natur a l rig t " d th "Iawo f
. . t

follo i i glandt dial � �

M h
o
gic c os mopoht . natur " as
t ca ams m as a regulat ive principle rnodels for human cosm o - p ohs . A thi s p i t in history e .. ale
t s a n
Cr a cn 11c an
d i ldi us 1 y ("convlVla . . Ily" sa1'd 1ton
v· · de. . . . ,
o
dialogic cos mo po lttanism lea rng todive si y as a u iversa l
d o n
man y e n ge n r o
e
a;"friend) ., . . d
s o dg ivers ity as a um. ersaI and cosm . fr � f fl �
opo1.1tan projectin whsa1d
v
Y nly be dev1sed and enact ed o m t co l n,. al diff erenc e
r t
Katn )t ward
he n

·
rns ea d o f "b . . .
emg part1C1pate d.." i· c h in w ohichth
e th e . co smo
o

every o n e par
tici
a es
t
t S uc 1h ave also ass um e d a fra mew or
h
k

i le shall rep l . a re g uJati lita

a c and d1spl ac the a�stract umversaJ cosmopo ve designs with h u man right s implicat ns were a lso linked o t� d n
i re
pr i nc p � � � t
d l (Chr_1 t n, hbea _ [j. fer ent stages ofthe modern/col n ia l wo d sy tem: the Spanis hem irif
­
o
r l, soc1ahst, neohberal) that had
an i ea s 1 he ped (an rl s e
t s h l ) to hold tog ether the mode
a
l d
o

rn/colonia l wo and Portuguese co nialism (Vi oria); B itish empire and Fre�
continue to e
e

U.thS irnr
lo
rld syste t
an es ve pthe managerial role o f the North Atlan m and Germa n colon i m s ( Kan hal1 t), and m (human ri ch
pr e r i al .
d
tic. And here p re ghts .
hent oth localhi to ies and glob
ialis

Ali three cosmo p olit an desi g n be see on )

w e r al des ns corneinto the picture. Wh is ss n no
ly as a chr
onolog
t
ig
­
was thought out and projece il e cal order but also as the sync hronieco exist n of an end ing conce i
s
oli t d from particula ce
cosm o p t s e rn
ani m
r loca
ur
hi i (th t be ame the loca ar ticul ated first thro u gh hr is
i
l his ory of the l C d th t l ity as a planetary ideology, seco
an
s r a c t modern world sy te an as d
i i to d s m) around the nat io n -state aw roun ds fr o the seco
e se and enact g lobal designs, other local histories nd phase
t o es n

p s t o ne
o d
vi g f
in colonialism, andthird as the need to regula te the planet ry conflict beo­
e
th la ! h d to deal with those
global desi gns that were, a
e p ne a at the sa th
me tween democr a cy o al sm d uri g e Cold War . I conclud ed
i
tim , abs t
n

e ac t univ ersals (Christian, liberal, or socialist). For that r ­ and s ci b y

r
ea arguing for diversal ty as a un v ersa pro jec t and for border thinking
l
on , c
s m p lita nism todayhas to become border thinking i as
s , criticalan
i
anecessary e stem ol c iti cal c m opolitanism shall
ci , fr m the erspectiv e of those local histor es that d upalo n whi c h r s
o o o
dia o e
d by global capitali b
l p i o
g p had to deal articul ated in a p o na tio ve
o

n wor or
gy

i
go rne
ld
der
alo w ith lobal des gns Diversa al] s m
o
n lity should be the relentless prac
s t
g i . tice and new forms of co o n al ty.
f g iti al and dial l i i
cr c ogic al cosmopolitani rather
s m than a bluep rint Finally, m y a r gume t in e d e d o b fr a su balt er n perspect
fu re an d ideal society p roj
o
of a t n t e om ve
u ected froma single pointofview(that
n
(whi ch imp l ies not in f e r o rity b aw
t of t e areness o as ubalt ern position n a
i
h i ut
a s trac t u nive rsa l) that will return
f

currentgeopolitical d s ribu o n of i ern ic i

us (again! ) t othe G re e ara gm
b

k p di i t ti e r) . ln a se n se, it is an
r
w

p th p same tim e it is an ar ­
st
an to ur o ean
e
ac es a r gument for g o baliza
o
a
d E leg i ( Zze k 19 9 8
i
). ti on f o m below; ,
t
p l e gu
ment for the geo l c all y d ve rsal - i , o th t conce ves di ­
s e a v re
po i t i i t i
*
h a

t n
sity as a ( co sm o po tan) uni v rs a l pro je ct. If y u can imagineWest rn
i
l e
I u ted at the beg
es inning, tha cosmopo lit
l r of tellite circles inter e ­
s civi lizat io n as a ge cir e w t h a s e r es
o
, sa
gg cl i
t a nism is linked to human ec
i

ing the lar ge r o e but d c o n e c d fro eac h

a
and ind irec
s t
tly, to democracy. I suggest div ersality will
rg s , ed further that these e ­ ,
i ht
n n te e r be
is
th

m
ss ion s would be taken as conn x the p roje ct th at c n c s h diver e us ba l e rna te llites approp ria
o

p prlit ectors forcritical and dialog ic cosmo­ o n et t e s s t i

n g
l b l d s i n Di
e
an conversat
. ve rs ality can be imag n e
t
ions, rather than as blu a d t
r an s fo r n
g s ern a g
eprints or master pla t m We t g d
n

ns
i
im o be
o s
as a n ew medi e valis m , plur cent r c w the ruins of a ­
o e
bu ilt
i
ed worldw
ide.Thus critical i
, and dialogical cosmopolitanism ­ a i
rld

pos
n

mands a different de d ivi l iz ith the debr is ofWes

o o n

conce p tualizat i ci e nt, n o n - s e cultures an c a ti o n sw t e rn

on of hum an rights and democracy; We t rn
c v a i n. lit i th t l c c ts from the centcr f
and, ofcourse, of c it iz ens e i i li z t o c o sm o o an ms a o n n n e
h ,a n o n a t A y o
t io th b e longs t o t e i e o l
o
ip p
h d ogyof th
18 3 • TH E MAN y FAC E S OF COS MO· PO L
18 2 • W Al TE R O • M I G N O l O IS
 di s
n
, and leaves theou ter la b es
p c c on e d fro
the large circle outward . cte
cl< Ulrich. 1998. Què ts la globalizacion? F /acias dt/ b 1
lilc rn
a
m a v e 10 . •
tfra ala
fitanis fr o m o v1
Rgo
d be a cosmopo e
each other, woul s
globalizaci6n , tran s . Be rna rdo M o
• ilrid Be • . mo r u
H be r ,rias 1 au
R s s and Bo • ' ep
Kant's cosmopolitanism t
in the past and li
aw l ' hum a r· lllas5 cosrn ren oa nd Maria osa B os Aires
imp cations of an h 0 rras. uen ·
-· 1999 World �isk Society Cambri dge,U.
po t m t , d li e e �œ

.
l an
s oday a k . s
' co .
d ' d· M.ch .
h
Be ijing Declarat1on. (1995] 19 9 .7 ln The Hu an R hts Rta
i .i . n t d is urse, . K.: P o üty Press.
ig
n one s o y s "r " ig
m
o 1fo p h a .1t i ht.
a ccor d mg t wh1ch o l ph h g i h R
" ls hay. New York: Roudedge. n: e e ne .
r a de, Fernand. 1979. Afterthoughrs on Mat er ial Civiliz o n a d Ca . ,.is Balt
y
at i n pua
T ES
O a nd th a n k fu( 1o he p.. ,
Nr i
their insightful crit cal observations, 1 am. i ebted
nd
t c . B u l i
m. ,-
more Md.: Johns Hopkins Un versity Press.
· rhe ,.,.ec h rrom.
h bh

g: Am er ica's Ro te
Fo
7 . Between 1wo A ,s nt c E .
.
edito rial comm1tte e;to anonymo us rev1 r ;s a n ""'ol le ,
l e we d to Homi B a a Bnez nski, Zbigniew. 1 9 0
Cu ture r
---•rcuo-· ridge, and Sheldon Pollock.
1 have alsoreceived helpfu l cr t' • , Ca A. i . . 111 ra
i i ca 1 conun New York: Viking.
o,ssano, Franco. 1996. li pensiero meridiano. Bari: Sagtti ar i la rza.
B e n •
ft P u l Eiss Tim Watson, and Pramod M,shra. "1 l$

e , Ernst. (1932]1951: The Philoscphy oftheEnlighr enme t,era ns

,
om a K an ' s« at al la • . t
n t
• Vi t o i ' notion « a rig h "
t is n o t q e
ui i e
k t n u r
1 r as of a n tural l Cassirr
. P.C. A. Koelln
indir tl y obscured t he question of "the other" that t recen tl y be ame JO w, Whi an dJ. P. Pettegrove. Pnnceton,N.J.: Pr inceton Unive s y P
Cast ells, Ma nuel. 1997. The Powerofldentit . N e w York: B ackwell
c ch
ec r ge n liabt r- r i t ess .
y
m ' ( 998) concern. r
ol
as
_ Cosmop t Think i and F eel
1 .
i ics;
l
rs m he
i ng
repeatinga well-known story (Cassirer 193 d dis 1 . i
( 2 j 1 9 15 ) an Cheah , Pheng an� Bru� Robb �s, eds.' 1998.
Beyond the Natton. Minneapolis: University o Min eso
2. a re n ,
wi h a readin g t hattakes the perspective of"Man o f Colors," r ather tha �c i g it Pr ng

Cooper, Richa rd, ed. 1973. Towards a Rem,vatedI n er natio al Syste :m AReport of t e
t - f n ta .
t
t : e per ess
i of the "White M n a 's Burden" (Gordon 1995). n

Trilateral Integrat o rs Task Force t othe Trilat aer/ Com m iss on . New Yor k: Trilateral
s p ec t ve i
h
3. Du sse! (1998: 411-20) has confronted Habermas, Taylor, and Raw lsd frod m th
p tive ofthe philosophy ofliberation. Dussel' s argumen t i s gro un e in the .-
Oth " ln Ntpan tla:
Commission.
s ec rindi
e� r ei,:'.
of the sixt eenth-century eb a te so nth e huma n ns an d th eir Dainotto, Roberto. 2000."A South with a Vie : ur E pe
Views from South 1, no. 2: 375-90.
vance ity o f Am e a o d ts er.
d w an l
Dirks, Nicholas. 1992. "Introd uction: Colonialism a n dCulture." ln Colo ai lis m a dn
el evan c e to current deba es on multiculturalism, recogniti on , an d peop
t " le righ ts•
n
r( Vitoria and now Rawls call it).
Cultur e, ed Nicholas B.Dirks. Ann Arbor: U n v ers ty of Mi gan Pr
as i d h hi

.4 ln1973, David Rockefell the -n C EOof C h

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anh i i dc ess . ­
e rank
Dusse(, Enrique. 1995. "Eurocentrism and Mod e rni t y ( I tn ro uctio nto the F
furtlec tures)."lnPostmodernism in Latin Am ica, d . B ver
l te ral Commission. President Jimmy Carter s na tional security ad ervis Zb ni ew
er
e
a ' ig J Oviedo, an
Brzezinski wasits main ideologue. e ). ley, . d

d laex
M Arona. Durham , N.C.: Duke Univ ersity Press.
--. 1998. ltica de la liberaci6n en la edad de la glo abl ion.
n y e
5 An-Na 'irn's observation at this point could be applied to Vit ori , Kant,and the . ÎUlciO clus
. a
"United Nat ons Dedaration of Human Rights." -
i e Mexico City: Univ e rsida d Aut 6noma Nacional de Miéx .
co
6. "Cosmopolitan desires" can no longeremanate from th e sam eep i s t mdi c oc l a n f R

R
esign tiom Eze, Emmanuel Chukwudi. 1997."The Color of Reas on: T he l dea o ' ace'in Kant s'
Anthropology.ln Postcolonia l Africa nP i osophy: A Crit ca i l ea er ,e . . . Eu.
of global designs,unless "cosmopolitanism" is conceived as ane w global fro h l d d E C

the left a d converted into a "co smopolitan manifesto" (Bec k 1999: - 8). Among
1 1 th Cambridge,Mas s .: Black well.
a
9 9 L filosofia nt i tr cu ltu ra l. Me xi o
n a l
the man y is sues cosmopolitan (postnatio nal ) pro jects will hav e to de w i is wha 1 Fornet-Betancourt, a ûl . 1
c Ci : U iversi da d
is often called "in ercultural critique and " cultu a r l d iffern e ces" (Beck 199 8: 99-11 6 ; Pontilicia de México.
R
4.
ty n

an
t "
Rose Friedm a n). 1 2 Cap ta s m d ree­
96 i li
Fornet- Beta ncourt 1994). The main prob em here isto chan ge eth t erms of the con­ Friedman, Milton (with theassistance of .
dom. Ch cago: Universityof Chicago Press.
l as
versation from cu at F
n
na e re n .
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ltural to col o l
i l d iff cenA wor d ris socie h l oni i li
ty co
d
e n a li yof
p ower mbedded t it a n
no d the reprod u c t o of coloniak l diff ren ces i a p ne tary
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o n Phi osop
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t o
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i
e C i qe o u cro trism an e Pra c cc .f Afri·
n d t

ilo o p h y In Postcolonial Africa ical R eader, d

e
n
Pilosophy
h : A Cr it
s . E.
c an P h C.
Eze. Cambri g d e , M .
ass : Black w e ll
.

l 8
7 • E M ANY
T H FAC ES SMO ·POLI S
OF C O
186 D , M
• W A L TE R I G N OL 0
 Dialogue: Conversation with a City
Zhang Dal i's
Wu Hung

A public controv�rsy surfaced in Beijing's newspapers in early 1998_

,
At its center was an ,mage that had become familiar 10 the c't 1 y s many
urban resid ents: a spray-pain ted profile of a large bald head, sometimes
two mcters tall. The graffiti head seemed to have been duplicating itsclf,
and its appearances gradually spread from the inner city to beyond the
Third Ring Road. Alone or in groups, the head was found within the
confines of small neighborhoods and along major avenues. Who was
the man behind these images? What did he want to say or do? Should
he be punished when identified? What kind of penalty should he re­
ceive? Was the image a sort of public art and therefore legitimate? What
is public art anyway? lb a city of 10 million that had not been exposed
to the graffiti art of the West, these questions were new. None of them
had straightforward answers.
Neither did Zhang Dali who created these images. Shortly after the
debate started, he came forward as the anonymous painter; by March
1998, he began to give interviews to reporters and art critics. li turned
out that, far from a "punk" or "gang member" as some loc al people
had guessed, he was a profession al artist trained in Beijing's prestigious
Central Academy of Art and Design. Moreover, hewas not a typical Chi­
nese professional artist because he had emigrated to Italy in 1989 and
first forged the image of the bald head in Balogna, where he had hved
for six years. He continued to paint the same head after returning to
China in 1995, and by 1998 he had sprayed more than 2,000 such images
lhroughout Beijing. lt also turned out that he had developed a theory to
rationalize his seemingly mindless act. ln published interviews, Zhang
explained that the image was a self-portrait through which he hoped
to engage the city in a "dialogue" with himself: "This image is a con­
densation of my own likeness as an individual. lt stands in my place to

�
..
 t . 1 wantt kno ythn i b
corn muni•cate wit h this ci y o . w e
ver
g a ou t 1hiscii�
.
. forma . o n,
ti st r I c all th·
11 S state ofbeing, its tran 1trs ct ue. IS pr0•
Jeq
,,
a i tt
there are man y wa ys , ro an rt s o c o mm .
in sev eral interviews and re por ts, combin
s ru

/ogue. Of course . u n1· O · ed wi

t w ri ter ' own SO
ca1ew1'l1·1L. . ·q u esorart analyses) or t o .mter re t Zh ang' s prto. cia
h he

e i
c1•iy. I usethis met od b cause , for one t 1ng, t a ll w o s m �
cn11
h
i ct as a se l
. r mote cch
h

a h . e 10 . art h e
.1 m h�r p r d "1 la of the "interna. 1•1ona l graffi ti t at a dbe
work 31 every cor_n�r ofth s �•t y a s en en h.n ed . in We o
tt p

.
devi� ation be
t i

1s a d1 s u t rb P ce Illy rnuseumsb the ea rly 19 80s. Rather, he

ster
Instructive as 11 1s, ther e m en images e r pr d n
e

. . v 1 g . t se v o uced her ,
m the im tween the>
s

y o ne four hundred ph t graph m de

n

and t uncer a m y m , M selected vailab e e

1-51 •5 sure voic o ages the oo
s a a o m
by Zhang fr�:,:ment an intense nego a o betw
r

� ,.
hs ofh" lllselv l t
ve
p
he

ph e
d

s
e

d of Zha o
t t

Looking thr ough hundr e . ng a is g

raffi
ei , ti ti n e ne a public-minde
. .
t gr

1. dy chan
·h art15t
. and a rap gin g city ov r a p d
traits fromdiffer ent place sand cir c m st an c s e , oneg a ins le l fi
s

J>or er o o y rs
e a , from 199
o

. .
d

c
f

st's c ntest e re la o nship with sshkn� 1 9 S nce su h nego t ia tion has 5

to 99 · al s o be c m
u
i

o e a cen tral iss ue in co -

ve

of Beijing than of the a r ti ledgt

e

t e hinese a ,
. . ' h g.
o ti

c
i

1 temporary C rt th s photo essay a

w

ty 1 . b ad phenomenon
d

true that these ph otos show Be1 pn gs c an

i

g citysca ·
dd

pe-vanis1.: lis a ro n
case.
m

i · a brace d h" 'llll ro u a s e ci c

old lanes, dilapidat ed d em o 11. t1·on s tes , s c u
ress es

ao - th p fi
s thet igh. g gh
ld e

. .
m

and protec te d trad1 t1 o nal . mon u m ent s . But a i e of Zh an ,

gsp r!Ses,.
r
ll

indicates, what these pho ograps e an t re cord is no

o
h m ta .
t h ticap O
p Jtq
ob ect o fsociological obs erva' on o r a tes e e cia
tion 'bc
j · b" · ta� an
uity
ti

· in· t
s 1 rv ntion whic d
Jogue" · m · ate d b an a
r s t s c
e t1 e v , h in this ia ·
r

it y
e

t larg
y
m a e
tl

ln
1t1

is hi s e l f-image for e d on t e c o m un h fact ' th

u e

.
s
e qCastues.
ab ut the con
-
evoke 1 s n o ts om u c
c

tion thes e photographs o tent or .

h

ur
...1: a I ogue, b ut w he t he r he ar ·s to commun·1ca p
Pose o f w t ti 's de ·r te
t

. .
e

wi
.
the c1ty can actua lly be reaze d- whe er he c1ty is willing or rea th
s1

h
th t

be engaged in a forced inte r c a iton. Thus, w ile ea ch photographdy

fo d ial gu e, the is �
�
h

variablyani m ated by a ye a rn in g r response by Be

ijin 1,
re sidents r anges from indi effr en c eo t su sp ci , fear, misunders tandi;
o

s
ion

, th a tist is for
and rej e ction. Sear c h g for a ol ut o n ced to chan g,
in r ge the
i

th int th t h has
meaning o e to re rea t, howeve ­
ro t o a
e

f his p jec , to p
e r un
t

consciously, to th e posi t i o o an obs e rver o racc o m ce, ett e

n f pli l ing th ci ty
speak t o itself.
roject therefore is
What interest sm e most abo u t Zhang's p , , o t its
n
i e s ale and durability b
consi te y or i i p ss v c , ut the
theoretical s nc t s m re
i o f a s ignifier a nd t e un ·
paradox betwe e n t h e pre medi h
t tae ns s
d i tenc

each ofthe g
e

i on : although
premeditated pe r mut tion of sg n ca
ifi ti

a a ni ng and effect as the loc uso

p i n it f
raffi ti

portraits is adelibe a e re e t t o , s me r t
i

th is g enerally beyond the a rtis '

an intende di
al o gue w ith e
c t s con­
d y
it

imp ss ibilit o p recondition a dia lo e

trol. On y be use ofsu ch o u , d
l ca yt �
g

th di l gue tself c c ess ful or not-

to predict its r lt, n e i - g
es u c a a o
su

of pat alit an dtem p uided by this in e SI

a ain

genuine sens e y o . G re,

s r a y
t

i
lit

purp o s e in co m p il s p ss y i n o t to prov e an illu51� � 1 .i

i t o a
ng hi h to id

1 at1on
xp 1. · of e
c
e s

t h es tated a ge n
d as of t h arti t wh
s ic a b n det laieu
e

( h h ve e 1
e

9 1 • Z HA N G ' S LO

-
190 • WU HUNG O A LI D /A G U E
 FIGURE 1: BEGJNNJNG FROM BOlOGNA
,,_......--
Zhang was one of a considerable number of Chin ese art .
. . 1sts W
Chma after the student demonstrat1ons in 1989 ended m . _61 ho left
This sudden dislocation and the difficulty of fitting into a 0dshed ·
0 ''f'
. hen Cul
. ofT1ananmen. Square' with the re tu
exasperated the trauma
. s u1t th r'1
grat1on was expenenced as self-exile. In an inter view Wit h �t erni.
rne
tember 1999, Zhang described his . first job in Italy of male"m g 1n Sep.
e xoti
. . "r
enta1 pamtmgs ror a commercial ga Ilery as nothing bu I a b c"Orj.
ase lllea
for survival. He finally gave it up, but then he found himseIf sur ns
roUnde
by a cultural void and deeply depressed. A turning pom · 1W · d
ashlS
covery of graffiti-not in museums but in Bologna's back all e dis.
'.8'. S ud.
denly, there was a possibility for him to divorce the past and
Join the
present. He began to spray his self-image of a bald head on the
waJI
of Bologna, and it was immediate . ly responded to by other graffit 8
. was uplifting, and i. The
sense of spontaneous commumcatlon he tit led h·
graffiti Dialogue. But was there a real dialogue? In a way, he was re1tv- . 18
ing the prehistory of graffiti - before it was admitted into the art his-
tory canon -and his origin in another time/place enabled hirn to make
this fantastic return. His graffiti were a veiled fantasy also beca use he
sti ll considered himself an artist, even though he had aban doned his
academic training and the painting studio. Therefore, his self-image on
the street both exhibited his new self and masked his old self, and his
"dialogue" with other street painters was equally about communication
and miscommunicatîon. This photo records when one ofhis two graffiti
heads was superimposed overnight by other graffiti: first a Communist
hammer and sickle sign and then the insignia of a right-wing party.
e: his
Later he learned that this "graffiti war" was triggered by a mistak
white he contin uedto
"skinhead" was taken as a neo-Nazi symbol. Thus
provoke�
be excited by making images in public, the interactions they
nces. Graffiti
were rarely substantiated by real exchanges of !ived experie l
, but, in fact,
had created an i llusion of a shared language and culture
t tellingly, when
they concealed linguistic and cultural différences. Mos
ti 10 e�ress
Zhang traveled to Slovenia in 1993 and made street graffi
. signs and signa·
.
his antiwar sentiment, on walls already adorned w1th s
. Ch"mesethatwa
tures incomprehensible to him, he sprayed a slogan m
Iikewise incomprehensible to the local graffiti artists.

192 * WU HU N G

�
 FIGURE 2: REENT
ERING
,, �
V--

Zhang is also one of .a considerable number. of Chinese art·•sts "'h

ed to Chma durmg . o
hffe ended their self-eXIle and return
. rec
��
x, and each ca s . s.
The reasons for their homecommg are comple . e va rie8,
but, in many instances, an enormous attraction was to libera te
. " ' one se 1r
from the ambiguous status of bemg an overseas Chmese"·' the rewou
a painful and often unrewar ld
be no more need to go through. din g cul.
· . These art1sts can be both"avant-gard e" and "Ch1'
tural convcrs10n
. . nese"
only in Chma. Bes1des, as the 1989 tragedy had gradually subs ide d.n
. . ' . I to
people's subconsc1ous, Deng x·iaop mg s new econom1c po li cy beg
. .
· mono 1·1t h mto a huge contra an to
transform Chma from a soc1·a11st dicrion
that was full of oppor tunities. In the 1990s, Beijing was an oversize d con­
struction site embellished with a cacophony of commercial ads. Dust
mud, and torn papers were everywhere, and gleaming high-rises soa
re�
above the remnants of demolished houses. Foreign investors, do mest
ic
businessmen, and 3.5 million illegal immigrants from the countrysi d
e
poured into this city, and the bewildering transformations pro mis ed
hope to visionaries and gold diggers.
Zhang contributed to this chaos with his sprayed profiles. Following
his Italian experience, he started with Beijing's "underground" and first
painted in shadowy alleyways and under freeway bridges. He continued
to call these images Dialogue and looked for interaction; but the graffiti
met only with silence. In an interview, I asked hirn whether the 2,000
heads he had been spraying in Beijing since 1995 had ever provoked any
responding graffiti. His answer carne quick and .firm: "No."
This photograph shows a traditional Beijing house's outer wall,
which had been used as a local billboard before Zhang sprayed his graf­
fiti head on it. To the left of the head is the character for "vehicle" inside
a used tire-the sign of a bicycle repair stand. To the right is a printed
sheet prornising instant cure for ail sorts of venereal diseases. The shop
sign and the advertisernent lie side by side with Zhang's head but have
nothing to do with it . In fact, even though the head seerns to thrust for­
ward in an aggressive manner, it does not generate any interact ion or
dialogue, neither with the words/images next to it nor with the man
napping underneath it. A more appropriate title for the photograph m ay
be No Dialogue. Back in Beijing, Zhang could now speak in his native
longue, but the Beijingers had to learn the language of graffiti art.
194 • WU H UNG

L
 --W-""
V
�
ISIBLE ARTIST
FIGURE J: THE INV

Without concrete images responding to his graffiti, Zhan t

his attention beyond the ,· mages to capt ure peop1e•s r eaci· g u rne<1
. . i o ns: it
on thei fa r ces, or fro m the1r casua[ re Was
Perhaps in their eyes, . marks th
he could find their responses to h1s work. He began to han at
g aroUn<1
the places where he had. sprayed the graffiti head, secret)
. Y Watch·1
the passersby and catchmg therr every word. He had becorne .ng
an •n-
visible man made double-an anonymous painter comb·
. • med With
voyeur/eavesdropper. To avo1d bemg caught, he only painted in a
rilla fashion, roaming on his bicycle through Beijing's deep n �;Uer.
ig
ishing a head here and there in a few seconds when no one w as ' fin-
. . . arou n<1
His sustamed anonym1ty durmg the day allowed him to corn pete 1 th e
.
significance of h.1s graffih as d'ialogue. Later he told the art critic L en
gLin.
that by talking about a sprayed head on a wall as if it had been d
someone else he could detect unguarded "the cultural backgrou�::by
. . nd
state of mm d" of h'1s conversation partner. A taxi· d river told h'1m th
at
the head was a Mafia symbol like those in Hong Kong kun g fu m ov1e . .s
A neighbor worried that the head was an official mark for houses slated
to be demolished and whose current occupants would soon be kicked
out. As Zhang said to Leng, "I have been collecting such reactions­
reactions that turn my work from a monologue into a dialo gue."2
A dialogue it may have been. But it was only a one-sided dialog ue, as
it merely consisted of a reaction, not an interaction. From 1995 to 1997,
Zhang's interest Jay in what people thought and said about his work, but
not in developing an ongoing conversation with an audience. We can
thus understand why the graffiti artist soon took up the camera after he
returned to China: photography helped him capture people's instanta­
neous reactions and make such reactions eternal. This photograph, one
of the earliest such snapshots Zhang took in Beijing, never fails to c hill
me with a feeling of inability to communicate. On a bare wall of a back
alley there is aga in the lonely graffiti head. Still leaning forward, it seems
to be following two local boys to appeal for their attentio n. Igno ring th e
head, one of the boys turns around to stare into the camera Jen s wilh
a cool, dispassionate gaze. The artist's second self beyond the picture
frame is acknowledged but not sympathized with.

196 • WU H UNG

l
 f!f�
�-

#
>-
FIGURE 4: DIALOG U E TH R O G D IA
UH M E 4
A full year after Zhang spraye h s first
. d i graffiti e
. h ad
prmted response finally appear ed in a po .
pu Iar in 8 e . .
r na ga z 1. e. "". 1J1n
art1c
. 1e sta ts w1. h a vivid but b itter accou
r t
nt o th n n 1.1 I
g, � ��
actions
. (or wh a t they belie v ed to be peop f et
a
•
th
996 • t, l , .1

l es u
, co rn Wo
d rnon eacti or,• r .
Zhang's images: "On Beijing' s streets you can r ,
.
ina v ert entty co 0ns) o
a bizarre image,or a row o f them. More than llJe t
ameter tau . . iCf

;,'1
1 0sii
m. profileout lmed . in black spray pa i nt. Enco 8
unter n g . a hugefacc
r
i it 0rt
you wouldn't take t serious y, or you think t hefi t
i l 'd 1• wa s o n ( u s t·•�
scr ibble. But th s i s far from the t r uth ' becaus h Ya na ghtyL•d
i . e w en "' •,
you
the same day or a few days later the same go o t ag •
' m onstro s,. y b I u aui
t 0 d
you in another location, and you repeat this d st b ly .
i ur .t n gex e · gr ... � ..
and over. This ghost-like face se e ms omnipre sent d p h n
ri e ce o � ,r
an to bec as .111g
round, and you feel powerl ess to avoi it." l y ou
a d
With such intuitive negativity and a subseq u ,,
ent a « n ays.is to .
l
t1' fy .1t, th1. s art1c . 1e . mtrodu ced a group of repo ts b ca m th un chall n e d pu blic o pinionin 199 6 and 1997 But sinc
r with a sh red tt .J -
, a a itullS e e e e g . e
and tact1c . Z h ang s . ima ges were character ized as p de is on official verdict, Zhan g continued h is project,
hilistine lln. .a .
t
. was n o t
ye an
of Wi estern gra " ffi 1. " h lt ti ns o h s op in i o n
t art t at, m . turn, epitom zed
the "de ca de t . co n inue d to re ce ve res ponses from a constructed "pu ­
i b
i t i im a
n aes g e s
. " ofthe West. Anoth er commo n strategyo hese wr in s
th et1cs and his di
t
f t it
. " g \Vas to c" in the m e a
n li
c.i te " pu bl1c " opm1on. . " that nd. 1cu led the ugly, mo strous head." Still The ti d w as c. han g in g, how ever In early 1998, several of Beijing 's
f e .
these writings are interesting for subtl ydistancing th e mse s rom "c l al" n w pa pers an
e s
t
d magazines featur ed a deba e centered o
n
l ve t u t ur
h
offic ia l position. Speaking for "a general public,"their au ors rare y, ; Zhan g's gr ffit i.4 An incre asing nurnbe r of autho r s took a sympathet ic
th l if a
h
atall, evoked th e government's authority to condem e g affi m e impor tan t, throu gh t his deba e Zhang's art
u t w a t was
h
n
t r t , an
i d t d . B or t
s an
pro v id d fo for di c ssions about larger issu s-cultural diversity
they quoted from people of divergen t professions, backgrounds, and e a c u s s u e
and cialm bili t y, ur ban violence and racial tolerance, public art an
age groups to give their reports a sense of authenticity. The ten inte ­r s o o d
d p fo m c an , ar tis t ci fre edom and artist s ' responsibiliti es, c ty planning
i
viewees cite d in the arti cle, for example, n i cluded (in t e or iginalo re er r e
h r)
an de n
vir t l lici that were gradual ly entering the mediaas
a middle-aged university profe sso r, a local rest aur a e , a p�rby ,a
t ur o n
men a po es-
B jin gw beco ming a glob l metropol s Finall y, the art st abandoned
i

farmer-tu rned-construct ion worker, a college freshman,a Americ an e as

n
a i i
his
n ymity and j i e d this discussion:. Zhang gave his first interview
m rof elocalresi•
on o
th a n
art student, anarchitect, an " old Beijingguy," a m e
e
b
in M rc h 19 9 8 di e ctl a ddresshis audience thro ugh the newspaper.
ne e '
de ntial commi t teea , nd a policeman "who happe d to b at the spot. a to r y u
Thi for f
c uni cati n between experimental artists and the p ­
li ce m and s m o om m o b
The harshest opinion, com i ng predictably from the po
an
the
n d
lic ins ir d Len g Lin to st age a special "exhibition " As figure 4 shows,
e r be fou p e
committee me ber, demanded that "the
m troub emak anud .
l Le ng pr in t d Zha n g's gr affi t i (an d works of three other experimental
ainti e s and he i
s tat ions , b t e
once. others voiced uncer t ar tis ) i a the material throu ghout
arrested at " The p
ne w s ap er format and distributed
us reac h thisCOO
· ts n
suppor ted the graff iti. The two authors could t h i
his words, "to use the p opular media of
none the c y. The purpo e s wa , in
s
, ow
t ar
. at ft I ude t
m th
clusion: "We can say th er e fore that the publi
cs basic · th� ne w s p a e as a fo m of artistic expression and exchan ge , a for at
,� d re ec · r r
repugn ance
n i p
c
su h graff iti in the capita l is: incomp rehens ion, u brm t and s i t i cl o se conta ct at a ny time an d in any plac e. 5"
d gs ar oc e y n to

m
. di c o
ew e me a, th1s n
tio n." S ince n o
a lt rn
e a t ive vi sw ere o ffere d th z HA
199
• N G O A li 'S 0/AL OG
U
E
1 89 * WU H U N G
 �

FIGURE 5: PICTURING DIALOGUE (l)­

OESTRUCTI ON /co NST RUCTio N

Although Zhang eventually did get reacfto

n s to h'1
and through the media, these were verbal res 5 an 0
· ' · · P o nses 11 the.,
·
municat1on. '
H1s 111s1stence on d1splay ing thous . · Ilot vlS· "'1tit
an ds 0f u
. .
in public over several years was extra ord inary,. i his &ra a1
.
' images into a spon
n t he end, l1. hCoiii.
fli
stilJ fatled to engage other ta n e ous . ho1y'Ve�
. .
Parti y because of the c1ty s trresponsiveness O n th' �1511a/ · r"'L
. ,s le ve1 o . 0ta°" 1 '··
Zhang the art1st (not Zhang the social critic) had f lllter
to explor a ?�
sibilities to realize the theme of his pro·J ect-dia e Othecti0n,
. . · 1 ogue T rllo$
subtle but crucial change m the meaning of thi•s t h · he tesu1t w .
. . .. . . e m e• l.1 1
mgly preoccup1ed w1th an ongomg "visua] dialogu ,, . · he Was i ller.,_
e interna1
(rather than expectmg an mteraction with the city th loth ....
at cou)d n ecji·,,,
ten·a1·1ze ) . ln add'1tlon,
· p h otography gradually took tve r
over to bec llll.
means to represent such visual dialogue ' often dram . orne
atie confr00 h�
of architectural images with his sprayed self-images. tati ons
A major visual drama in Beijing during the 1 990S
Was nev!J.
ending destruction and construction. Although large-sca1e de features are forcefully demonstrated in this 1998 photograph. ln the
. . molitio
1s a regular feature of any metropolis, the enormity and d . n foreground of the picture, still standing amid scattered garbage, are
.. . .. . urati oo of
th e d emo11tlon m Be1Jmg was unusual. Following China's "e broken walls, remnants of a demolished traditional house on which
conom�
mirade," investment poured into the country from Hong Kong, Tai wan, zhang has sprayed a row of his by now famous heads. 1\vo huge mod­
and the West. T housands of old houses were destroyed to make roomfor em buildings rise behind this wasteland. Still surrounded by scaffold­
glimmering hotels, shopping malis, and business center s. Everywh eri ing, one of them already advertises itself as the future "Prime Tower"
and offers the telephone number of its sales department. This and many
were cranes and scaffolding, the roaring sound of bulldozers, broken
a other photographs made by Zhang during this period serve a double
walls, and mountainlike wste. To some residents, demolition meant
purpose. On the one hand, they record site-specific environmental art
forced relocation; to others, it promised a larger apartment, albeitina
projects that have been carried out by the artist. On the other hand,
remote suburban area. In theory, demolition and relocation werecoo­ these projects were designed largely to be photographed, resulting in
ditions for the capital's modernization. In actuality, these conditioru two-dimensional images as independent works of art. Consequently,
ident�
brought about a growing alienation between the city and its res the role of Zhang's graffiti head has also changed: no longer a stimulus
they no longer belonged to one another. . for an expected interaction on the street, it now serves as a pictorial sign
, demoli;
A major subject of Chinese experimental art in the 1990s that points to and heightens an urban visual drama.
1998 and I999·
tion and relocation also dominated Zhang's work in
ever. f'irst, bt
He differed from other artists in two major ways, how
e5tr ed,
was the only graffiti artist in Beijing who filled in half-d oy :s1Ptt,
abandone
houses with his sprayed images, thus "recIa1mm . . g" an uct10. n ,�ith
destr
however temporarily. Second, he always contrasted . Bath
en the two
construction, thus forming a visual dialogue betwe 201 • Z H A N G O A LI ' S O / A LO G U E

200 • WU HU NG

l
 f/!' """
FI GU R E PICTURING D IALOG UE ( )-
�
6
:

0EMOllTI O N /PRESE R VATION 2

A seco nd kin d of a hi c ldial gu

te tura o e in Zhan , holdswere reloca ed. Th
pla ce betwe d m orclis h d o ld h o u t
en e e es nd p gs Photograph s� just disappeared; th ey
men ts; the,r . sha r l co tra t. g im g s es a eir
n s m
.
a n eci 111 ..."ICI
�
a streets and anes va
attitude s towa rd tpra yditio . I hi phot ag llude t
re � �
t 0 ra 1·ca l( d i'f!iO"n . l n i
s ed
o raph, o of, w from theci y'smap. h
d
n n t s u
plane is fi lied a lm os t e ire l r e x arn Ie.tYh er t
e P e p 1 • e nt From this giant obli ­
hou se, on whic h Zhan nhas t y with th er m ai· m
s p rayed h b aJ d hn g
•
d Wa l O fa d st qur , t
l

wi th a h t e e n e ro eratio n em e rged modern

am m er an dc hise l . The r ough p ni g oa ah dhO U wed it Y '1!
g

o e n nt w a . 0 Beijing, while tr aditio n

t o a fre s h wo und, th o h w hi h o al
c one sees in th de "
u
r u
•s a atog u t Beijing s being "p e­
n
mir. a ge- like im . a e: t he go g ld n e a i r
e r o o o one of t h f, is t c e a gIon 0 ,,. served" asa prized colel ­
f f
of the Fo r bidd ng C ti y e our onr 0 Us c
e . c er ... , tion of architectural frag­
In a succi ct but u q it lit i w ay n pa llj Ji ons
n e e r a h
1 ments: a few o ld gardens,
cess of destru ction . , t is picture r at a f, O1
an d pres e r va t ion t ha B ijn e es two houses, te mples, theaters,
throughout the m d rn pe i d t e i g has b d Pro.
o e r o , e pecial y o een nd un and mainly the isolate
durm· g the M"mg ( 68 16 ) s l ver eth p as t c ea e ng d
1 3 - 44 an t e Qing d e rectangle ofthe Forbidden
(1644_1911) d n d. · B Uij1
d h

dit1on. al Be ..JJn. g .t d f y ast,es • ra City. These fragments are

i c ons i s e o an m er ofnes e
b
t ·
. y, the Inner C.t y, th Imper ia )uCi
Cit d th t dFo subb c •·e1·iesc- the Ou praised as masterpie ces o
i ,
ty a
n e r i d n ·•t y. ter
ofma gmfic . nt ot w er e tes p� f
e ga nc ua_te d the A Stri Chinese architecture an
broken spaces m _ o hythm t north- o s uth axis 10 link thesc es d
ar c c o n m um . Un are protected by law; the
t 1 t u til theearly twent· et h ce .
..
, Bei . jin g was .
, m the e yes o t e no ed a 1 o attent on th y rece ve contras ts alarmin gly t the brutality thathas been
o
f h e i

for i s suprem arch h it raect l l

i
tur

t rc ura ish si torian Lian . Such brutality was most

y

Sicheng, incom ar re imposed on "other" traditional structur es

a le t u
i e ct p c
i on and har�
p b
t e
mony.7 acutelyfeltduring the recent demolitioncampaign when numerous pri ­
Now th s city ha vate houses had been reducedto rubble. As Zhang'sphotograph shows,
s been t oroughly de st ro yed, a n its destructio
h
i
can be simply s
ummar ze b re ere nce o t hree h s or cal
i d f d n a house could be turned inside out without hesitation; any attempt at
t i t i mom en t s. intimacy is silen ced b y an or ganize vi olence o rced moliti n
The Im peria] Cit y first v anis h d in the fir t half of f fo de o and
y
e s d
et n we tieth ce n ­
tur y when major m od th relocation.
e rnavenues were const ruct e running east-wes ,
bur ying the old nor th- o h Imp ria1
d t Zhang s decision to gouge out h s graffiti irnage-to tear the wall
' i
ut e Way unde rn eath. T he walls of
the Innerand O t Citi s op for a second time-can thus be understood as a response to this
en

ue r es were then destroyed in the 1950s and 196os o rganized violence. The method was to amplify thisviolence through
through a Herculea biliz d
n e o r m o e by th e ts at e ; al s o gone were most an art project. As he sa d in an interview: "Many things are happening
ff t

ofth tower ga tesand a ll the h ay i

e arc w s and brick la ndm arks acro� the
in this city: demolition, construct i on, car accidents, sex, c runkenness,
l
cit y' traditional st e ts Fi lly th
s r e . na , e recent c onstruction fervor u�ed
a large number of t diti r i and violence infiltrates everyhole.... I choose these wal ls. They arethe
ra onal cour yard ho s es . O n e o f B e·iJ··ings
t ' maior screen onto which the showof the city is projected.... 0nly one and
architectural p r o jec t from 1997to 19 99, u t e up; a half hours. The sound of hammer and chisels. Bricks fall, stirring up
s for ex a mple, w as o op �
thirty - mete -wid I I sec ti ono
r e avenue across t e most dens e y pop ated clouds of dust."8 Such simulated violenceis givena visual expression in
h
u
downtown Bei ng p
. No u s e st a
i
t st cs n rm us how many h use o · this photograph: ab e es o n eo f th e ation s ed
ta
d i i fo
rok n w
ji bli h
a c all fram '
rchite tural ewe s . n mos dmir
j l
2 30
• z H AN G DA LI ' S O / A L O G U E
202 * WU HU N G
 '
.;.

FIGURE 7: PICTURING DIALOGUE (3)-CEN TE

R /e o R
[RO
.
.
The images m th"1s photograph resemble those i n the l
· ast
1api"dated wa Il beanng Zhang 's graffiti· ·1s again 1·ux taposed . 0ne: ad1.·
WJth a
style building in the background. But to every Ch1·nese ar Pala
tist, the ce.
sage delivered here is specific and transpare nt because "th e . Il\e s.
b
the distance, rather than an ancient structure ' is immed1ate U•lding 1·11
lY recog i •
able as the National Art Gallery, the headquarters of0 ffic.1al n
. art •·n Ch 2
It 1s the place where every state-sponsored Nationa I Art E · ina
xh 1b ition
held, and it also houses the aJl-powerful Association of Ch·
inese A.r is
through . whose vast network t he government controls the a tist8
. . rt wor1d. l' '
building .
defines the center m the official map of Ch·mese a he
. . . rt· p0r th
sarne reason, 1t 1s also. a heav1ly contested
. space·, 1·ts authonty e
h: been
challenged by a growmg unoffic1al art during the past twenty
y ars.
The two most important events in the short hist ory 0f th· . 1s u n
offici•
art took place at the National Art Gallery. The first ' the StM�. at
. �on
m 1979, marked the emergence of this unofficial art after the Cul
. tura1
Revoluhon. Members of the group staged their show on the street o s
ut sition and identity because thi
side the National Art Gallery, but as soon as a large crowd gathe e d, er, h e also problematizes his po i to
r how ev the walls, not to be exp an de d n
the police interfered and canceled the exhibition· The second event, t he to be destroyed with
ima e is meant alking alone inside a destroyed
much larger China/Avant-garde exhibition, took place exactly ten ears Zhang said to me: "W
a n;w territory. sound seems to corne
aking under my feet. The
later. This time, unofficial artists occupied the National Art Galler;and house I hear tiles bre re is no desire
t of this vanishing scene." The
turned it into a solemn site that resembled a tomb: long black carpets, from inside of me. 1 am par from a future­
, he prefers to view himself
extending from the street to the exhibition hall, bore the emblem of the to cross this wasteland; instead
m aking: "With the development of
show-a "No U-turn" traffic sign signaling "There is no turningback." past perspective as a memory in the
pear on their own. But
The show itself was a rebellion against the established order in Chi­ Beijing, my graffiti images will eventually disap
n an artist and
nese art. Three months lat er, many organizers and artists in this exhi­ they will leave a trace of memory-a d ialogue betwee
in Tiananmen this city." 9
bition participated in the prodemocracy demonstrations
4 June 1989.
Square, which ended in the bloody massacre on
This history explains Zhang's 1999 phot ogra ph: the struggle con­
position "outside" th e
tinues, as here is another artist who takes a
this outside position in
National Art Gallery's "center." But what is him·
has always identifie�
Zhang's case ? In retrospect, we realize that he y, �e
nal center of gravit
self with an outlying region circling a conv. entio
ent monumen
t • or an oflic1al
it a commercial high-rise, a protect ed a.nc1 . . defines a sp ace aro und
. .
institution. It 1s clear that th1s se If-pos1t10nmg d
artiSt opp o se
which he has formed his self-identit y as an individual s,
. . . f· uined w all
. sel -image on r
to any kind of hegemony. By mscnbmg h1s 20S •
Z H A N G DA LI
' S D /A L O G IJ E
204 * WU HU NG
 attitudes
CODA·.• C OSMOP
,
aces, inten_tions and
OLITAN � m asses contestingsp
ISM OF co
b th m the museurn an d
G RAF ci tYi it en Graffit art exists o
i
F l RT
��nnot p escape.
fl

Graffiti 0fiwe .de" means

are universaJ: th . . " ms"d
. 1 e" o r" outs,
A
ch part of 1t 1S
y
e is we ci t .,.....
World that has
fa1"J ed to .mve re t ·t n oc u u re in the n .
lt tfia l . 10 dect.de whi . . 01n• gm • relatio · n to
n 's a ce t o r 51reet, ms with one's own pos1t1O a
o n loca cus om 0fi the
w
tre es, or wa ls J
f 1 n me to ter figur in t e
es
l . Thd o w r·r orn d re ,·selY to co of Keit h Hari ng's pop
h t
' tn� on roc kn , prec ang a poster h
at we c a ll "g r fiti ar t" . Do we h
f
global: it is . an art1st . a! w
graffti vandalism? Do we share
i
1s no t u ,vers b
ic cuJtur
, a] p lit· 1 a s ·w at Ja ge .
r
ing a sto p to
tendin . gb o 1c a , and e n ci,, rn wh1le . demand
eyond t he local • . . a ·l u
he says, "Graffi t1 1s ... a
.. . beautifuJ
very
· Ma nya irtcl s d b k con o m,c pract· ce
t JjVÏfl8 r00 , feeling when
trace the spread of 1 e x. lo5
this a t from t h ef; an o o sh a e f it st Ban< l
's Anti-Graffiti Net wor k or simi-
r e a - fi un v been wri en ara l i port Philade phia .
� rope, Australia, and As a Lo ki
u g boro f tt t o- ,,111 Do we sup t . ate d area ? Can we deuu
s
c. _
� u g hs o ew t
ffi ito des1gn
st Phase 2 (
i . o n c k, h
e h N Yo rk ,rin1e · finestree gra e
1 M. L. Marro w) w ! a t Man t , iects to con ffi
tl · fr om "b ad"? . Cl ear-cut an-
a s ro a tt an graffiti n: Jar pro, separ atin g "goo d" gra
helped forg : "This thi n ghas k a . ffi · sanart b y
e a�ed the vast etwor
l
f-servmgand depart from theideal
Harlem to Japan W re his art ha gra ua ns tend tobe se
:ll��
n d tbeseque stio
. hen h
as som hm t . g l e hwa yaroun the world frorn sWers 10 · •s m· but the si t at r
u i on th at fo ces these ques tions upon
eve ry ethnie g roup n the tir e e se a d . d t.
of cosmopo ,ta� '
i e w Id? an im pac t e at
able to talle English Ail y e n or .. l ik th o n .15 cosrnopohtan. . . . . l graffiu. art
ou
go tt do . is. . Yo u do n't ev n e ha ve to e ing m 1995, this mternahona
a ge t a s ray an d b us W1th Zha ng's hom ecom
thin g." i o . p
c • A maJo · r reason
an p ai n tsome- a ft er ·1ts c1ormation. ·
BeiJ· in g fifteen years
Here Phase 2 was sp ak /in allY reached . . ent . Chi
did . na , s
e in a bo ut h ne two .kin . . . b d arrivai, of course, 1s that only
at th1s mom
graffiti artists an ear y 8 g ·t
e r in fonts e a e 1 1
h g of m ernat o ld to lerate,how-
t
l 1 e I d . al ace as a cosmopolitan city that cou
explosionoffilms ' video 9
s and b
os P no m
e n o
k , ail of wh ch as
n th a t w co t t�e ital begin to surf
, up e w1h iti signal Beijing'semerging
break dancmg .
,
o o s p romote d r p music ::�r unwillingly,thisart for m. Zhang's graff
and sp ra c an i
, wr itin a
r simply through their existence but by re newin g
mov emen t was mt
y
· e tw. ed with an th g a r ound h
t e wo rld · Th,·s grassroots - cosmopolitanism not
. r m e ti art in a particular setting. ln fact, as the
1 art
_ o r n o
ki d f glob lization of graf- a the internai conflicts of graffi
: , wh ch had l ss to do i h internalizes these conflicts in
a wit
n
.
h I
�
chang m g
� ":"t_ th e geographi aJ spread of this ar
c city's only known graffiti artist, Zhang
t
ma ena lit y an d s ci al s t to bypass
were
t� o tatus. Graffit i imag himself. His s treet graffiti were motivated by a genuine desire
t_ran
scr1 ed from
� w alls
to c v as
an es an d es t h the city Bu
dated mner- c1ty neighb r h ds into gli dislocat d e fro m dilap i­ the established art system and to develop a dialogue wi . t
in
o o o tt r g g lleri es and museums. now bis photographs of bis gra fiti are sold in a foreign-owned com­
f
Graffi t i-ins pired work d
e a
s, n o w featur e in major t s
ar e ib i o
xh ti n and lavish mercial gallery in Beijing; one of these pictures even appeared on the
catalo gs , were ap preciat d as a di in
e s t ct art style-as tyle at a ude cover of Newsweek. The plot of this success story is not unfamiliar but
to the surface ima ges of g ffi i b ne a d their i th ll d ,
ra t ut g te o r g na bearers, con­ the logic isnew: havingfailed to engage Beij ing ina directconversation,
texts, and messa ges . For thisre s th e wo ks h e i l
a o n, es r av ne ve rb een able to Z� an� an is a ze a new
replace their lowly p rot ot es ( hich d h art rthe less corne t o sym bo li
h ve ne ve image of
v
ha e cont inued ot associ ted sc .
yp w be a t
with local commLinitie san do tla ws) , an d v th1 1 y
u they h a e o n nu d to trave l
c t i e
from one neighborhood to ano ther ross rb an n onal ­
d a it NOTES
ac u an bo dun
1- LengLin,
aries
. Sh i wo [It s'me] (Beijin :gZhonggu oWenlian Chub she, 2 ) 000, 168 {my
translation). an
With this two-tier g Jobaliza tio n at wo k , a i i a rt pre s ents wi th
ff
r t .
a unique case to reflec t on the cosm o o litansgmr of co n t por ausr y me­
i i Leng, Shi wo, 171 .
a em �-- � angFudong
p and Jiang Zhi, "Kan! Beijingjletou detuya" ­
tropolis Itbecomes de ar th t s h op
li
o t an mis -exe mp ed here Look
( ! Graffiti on Be i
. a uc cosm lifi Jingsstreets], Jiedcio (Streets 6 (1996
): 42 (my trans l at ion)
by the coexistence and in t ti f i f
re 4• ] .
o graf iti cultu s in a sh ar ed
us
era c o no v ar These articles include the followin g: Yu Zhong, "Pi ng'an Dadao yourcn tu ya'"
urban space -is far from a harm o n i s a e o b ein g pr oduced bya [Someone's graffiti on Ping'an Av enue), Beijing Qi nicin Bao (Beijin g youth
ou s t t f 1 ng daily),
it is fun da l ty forced 4
desire for alJ-indusivenes s . Ra e r, menta re al
th l
i 1 e g e
y a , an n , " n ao a oi eto t u
February 9 9 8 1 ; H g Ch B b dujia fangd j u yaren " [Ex cl us.ive
• WU HU NG
206
207 • z ...
n AN G DALl'S D IALOGU E
 "' -..,Sirs
r,1->
.N"

interview with the street graffiti artist), Shenghu o S/1 iba o [Life tirn
16; Zhao Guoming, "Weihe qiangshang hua reruciang" [Why drawesJ ' 18 Match 1
t'j
""
ttr•r.t on993,
1J
. [B . ..
erpng yout h dar·1 yJ , 18 March 1 a Po
wall?), Beijing Qingnran Bao
998' 2•. l th e e-scriptions: Shanghai and Hong Kong
' ' · i Opolitan D
"Jietou reruciang : sh,bush1 y,s· hu" [S treet portraits: Are they art?] Sh ang chen g osl'Tl
[Life times), 21 March 1998, 8 ; /i.ang .,, "/ .. B .. ' c
. Si ,
o, e ng h� h
,a UJiao erpng rentouxian g.. O
I Focus on b00 b b as
jingstreet portraits), Lantian Zhoumo (Bluesky weeken d]. no 1
. 471, 2 Be;. Aekbar A
Bo Maxiu, "Qiangshang de biaoji" [Marks on wal ls), Yi ny ue Shengh: March 1933,1;
. . .
Jife/, 16 April 1998, BI; Dao Z1, "Shengta, y1shu de wenhua Juoji" (C O Baa
l•"1•Us1·ca �
u 1
outdoor art), Zhonghua Tushu Bao (China readers]. 6 M ay 1998 1 1 turaJ logic 0r
' 4,
5. Leng, Shi wo, 69-70. CaUing the "newspaper" Yibiao Ren cai (Talen
nized this project in July 1999. The paper featured four experimentaJ ts] ' L.eng Otga.
artists,,ncJ
Zhang, Wang Jin, Zhu Fadong, and Wu Xiaojun. uding
6 . Sorne of these works are discussed in Wu Hung, Transience.· Ch,'n . Cl'ties. More than Japanese, I feel l'm from Tokyo, where I was
ese ExPeri [ Jike ail b1g •
ahty.
..
-YohJI Yamam oto, .
m
•
Wun Wender s's 19s9
seum of Art, 1"'•n-
rai Art at the End of the Twentieth Century (Chicago: Smart Mu O h as no nation
108-26. 9 99,
) born-- · · TokY es and Clothes
filin Noteb
ook on Citi
7.
See Lin Zhu, Jianzhushi Liang Sicheng [Liang Sicheng the architect]
(T'1anJi..n·· 1<e·
xue Jishu Chubanshe, 1996), 110.
most moving, and revealing, texts of the Argentinian
8. Cited in Mathieu Borysevicz, "Zhang Dali's Conversation with Beij One of the to A Universal History
ing," in ZI . Luis Borges is his. short 1954 preface
Dali: Demolition an� Dial�q ue (Beijing: Courtyard Gallery, 1999),
13. This exce�:� wnter Jorge .
publish ed
.
m
.
1935. Dunng the two
article was first pubhshed m ART AstaPacific 22 (1999): 52-58. ,fJ ,r,
a !Y
m , a collection of stones first
01 1 n
9. Hang, "Banbao dujia fangdao jietou tuyaren," 16. the original publication and the 1954 preface, Borges
decades between
10. Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff, Spraycan Art (London: Thames and lf as a cosm opolitan writer who belonged not just
Hudson, had established himse
1987), 91. world. However, it is possible to see Borges's
11. Chalfant and Prigoff, Spraycan Art, 72.
10 Argentina but to the
cultural achievement that it unques­
cosmopolitanism both as the great
tionably is and as a respon se to a quasi-c olonial situation that inevitably
Jeaves its traces, howeve r indirect ly. In Borges, we find these traces in
the excessive and exhaustive erudition that he is famous for and that
he calls the baroque: "I would define as baroque the style that deliber­
ately exhausts (or tries to exhaust) its own possibilities, and that bor­
ders on self-caricature."' That there is some relation between style and
situation, between the baroque and the colonial, becomes clear when
we learn a little later in the same preface that Borges's baroque origi­
nated as "the sport of a shy sort of man who could not bring himself to
write short staries, and so amused himself by changing and distorting
(sometimes without aesthetic justification) the staries of other men." In
a colonial or quasi-colonial situation, even our "own" staries have to
begin as "stories of other men." No wonder that it was some time before
Borges could turn from "these ambiguous exercises" to "the arduous
co mpo sition of a straightforward short story- 'Man on Pink Corner'."
Besides being a mask for shyness, there is another, less attractive, side
to Borges's eruditio it can related to a tendency toward displays of
n: be

208 * WU HU NG
 .)J"

knowkdg, o, knowingne,s th,t come, fi-om th, °{"

'
<olon1. al's . norific or a universalist term, con-
recogm.zed. This. 1s. perhaps what the Spanish di .
a0it1e� 1y to l g ht of s1. rnp 1y as an ho . 'J.'C'
. dm . the Argentm1an . . wnter, . rec t or Lu1s Bun "' be th o u .
. hty to transcend narrow loyalties and ethnocentric
1te w1t . hout quit not h a n ab1
e understan . . Ue( Ù!tu. . er "
nance. Bunuel - . s Borges m
rnent10n . i
some cutting re"' k d . ng lis Prove. 110ung eit a 5yrnpathet·1 c disposition to "the other. The ideal ofcos-
ar s 1n h' ·ud i ces or
ography My Last S,gh: . "Just becaus
e someone write...s pre) . quote a rnuch-discussed essay ofUlfHannerz's, as "an
s
we11 doe s• 'autobi. tan1sm, to. .
-.J
. . no l i
Jll r� • , a w11lmgness to engage with . the Other . . . an intellectual
you have to hke h1m . . . h e struck me as very pr . n t llle n O
. uon . ,,
. etent1o us a a or1en t a t1. stan ce ofopenness toward divergent cultural expenences 4
absorbed. There's somethmg too academic (or as . nd se[f. d s th e C
. . g he says, we s ay . an 3e dJJli. ble on e, but it is sustainable only in metropolita n cen-
s,enta ctitedra) about everythm something exh · b· . in. SPani sh JllaY be an a ra
. • lh onisti c. L1k. , nt and travel are undertaken with ease and where the
many blmd people, he's an eloquent speaker, alb
. eit th e ' e t e r s wh e re rn_overne ures is a matter of free
.
cho1ce, negou .
ated on
Nobel Pnze tends to crop up excess1v . ely subJe ct Of w 1t h oth er cult
each tim e th e n c o un t er . . .
. . h t a dd he t k
al s to repo e 5 But what about a situation where these cond t1ons are
ers.»2 (Th.1s 1s a tendency, we m1g , to which many . tt- b l e te rrn s. .
1
,,
(avora tuati on where "divergent cultural expenenc es are
pirants to the prize are also prone.) Buiiuel's cru Chinese as- ·1a bl e -a s1
·
el wa of s not avai
. s1mply
. . parentheses but forced on us, as they are under colonialism? What
Borges 1s to remark m Y
"as we say in Sp . bb•·ng
nu not free Jy chosen ,, ould we cultivate then, and would thlS .
constitute
.
an 1s h '� a We ness sh
that shoulders Borges back onto the margins; as if
the metropoli forrn ° f"open . ance or a compradorist,, one? Could cosmopolitanism
and the colom. al were clearly d1. v1ded .
by a common langu tan a cosrn opoh. tan st . . .
Borges ,s aloofness or arr .
ofdetachment (as when he writes . For ail
age of"cultural imperialism ? Is there a chapter m1ssmg. m
b e One versi on . .
. . in his essay a History of Infamy, a chapter on colomal1Sm as m-
"The ruge
• - ntme W nter an d Trad" ltlon,, : "I beIieve our traditi Bo rges,s A Univers l
on ·s
Western culture.. ..our patrimony is the universe· we sho ld • a11 of farny?
·
. ' u essay a1I These questi·ons need to be asked,. but to answer them by equatmg
.
themes, and we cannot lurut ourselves to purely Argentine · . . . . . .
subJ ec1s in . ,osmopol'ta 1 nism with cultural impenalism 1s ultLIDately as s1mphst1c as
order to be Argentine") a certain shrillness is discernable-at . y terms. Ifwe take the pos1t1on
. .
I have
least 10 a 1t. 1S to see it in purely celebrator
European like Bunuel- in his advocacy ofa cosmopolitan stan . . .
ce.3 been pursuing- that to understand cosmopolitan'.s.m and 1ts vale�c�,
* we will have to take account ofthe historical conditions under wh1ch 1t
arises-then we will need to turn from Borges's time to our own and to
I begin with this encounter between Borges and Buiiuel because it illus­ consider the question ofglobalism. Globalism is the historical condition
tra tes some of the ambiguities of the cosmopolitan. ln Borges's case, of our time, but it also raises new questions and threatens to make old
cosmopolitanism was, first, a modernist argument against the tyranny ones redundant.Thus, the information technologies often associated
of "tradition" as narrow parochialisms and ethnocentrism: this was the with globalism promise to make parochialism, and hence the urgency of
critical aspect of his cultural universalism ("our patrimony is the uni­ its critique, a thing ofthe past. At the same time, these technologies have
verse") - in much the same way that the universalism of"structure" was been accompanied by such radical mutations in economic and politi­
to Claude Lévi-Strauss a critical safeguard against ethnocentric bias.
4
cal space (variously theorized as "post-Fordism," "disorganized capital­
The problem begins when this universalism is identified with Western ism," "the risk society," and «the network society") that "imperialism"
culture ("I believe our tradition is all of Western culture"). This ide n­ in the classical sense as the clear-cut exploitation of one nation-state
tification did not happen by chance. In the modern era, whic h corr e­ by another is becoming almost unrecognizable.6 How can we describe
ter n nati ons, cos mopolitanism under these changed conditions?
sponded to the economic and political dominance of Wes
and ln
cosmopolitanism by and large meant being versed in Western way '. s stead of appro aching such a question theoretically, I look again
es unc n ci ous, at th e cosmopolitan through the history oftwo Asian cities, Shanghai
the vision of "one world" culture was only a sometim o s

cul tur e. an d H o ng Kong, and the urban cultures they developed. Cities have his­
sometimes unconscionable, euphemism for "First W orld"
at it can - to ri cal ly been the privileged, if not necessarily exclusive, sites for the
Th·1s reI at1ons
· h 1p · of cosmopoli tamsm · to power suggests th
211 • C
O S MO p O L 1T A N 0
210 • ACKBAR ABBAS E • S C R I PT l O N S
 �
�
emergence ofthe fo m oflif course, not em-
e tha t we c ll a thec escription is"of
�
r
h a1. and Ho Ko ng , .m p art.1 cu lar , s o
me forrn
osrno poJit
ofth an. ln Sh . S IS t ha t what
concerns d
. n gets 1ts . li g h t, th at . l S to sa it
y s
JI
iPSI . uo

.,
a this descnp
�
ng

ec osn, "· « "'d

m
· deed emerge under colon ialc o ditio s
m opo 1.1ta01sm . m a y be develo pm . gt d
n n , nd
a 5 0
rne other r.
°Politann' g•
0 1d s
te J!
i a l
so
prob)eJ11S
=·
•
A
osophical
problems. These
are, of course, not em-

1
o N verth l d pifÎ'al the phil into theworkings of
y
a .
e e ess, the d r . ofc Os solved, rather, by look ing
pu!P°se, froJll .they are
m

Sha ng h a1. an d Hon g Kong I g. e h s . se work-

1 v ere is n ot intend dt e cript
i 5• ake us recogmze tho
e o be ast . 00 of al robleJ11 a wayas to m
ward empmca . . J account o fwha t kin d f m o pol't . ra1 htr. .
pjrl' P andthatin such our pu rposes,
o cos For
1 an C it y g understand them."
under colonial rule or what crucial h a g a h r. ollfJangu ag ;te of an urge to mis
e c b ac o
e

es each i un
d _
desp " . 1s space. Asp h·1tosoph . 1cal issues
c n s "I anguage
munist. Chma . tod ay reasse t .ltse lf
r as a glo b al powe
e oin g as 111_e s
. lfl8 ·· Jlllg,,t
ll1 .. orrespond to • so urb an issues
attention . to a certain . e1 us1 . qu a J.1 fb
r rg
Rather I dir
e

C
OIJl
what
. C
ved by Jooking into
the workmgs of lan
guag e , · ."
ve o h iti d ce. Lik
s

y o c es . ' e q J ha cr tique ofspa e

an ht beclarifi ed throug
i

themost fam·1· 1 1ar .ima ges o fthe e s c1t .. d

es1 .
to he fa et
that are reSO op<>Jitanisrn roig a n t r
o no t nec sse s
t

1 . erst an
t

d " urge t o m1sun d " . 1 wo kin g

best To put this another w a y cosm o olit Y c 'b Jjkecosm uces an d
t

a ak es n e lhe 111 space pro

s

:
n d

. p a ni sm mu s t Jan guage, . d th rough d e-sc.

npt1 . o n.
res1 ste
wher , n specific sit es and situ a ti n -
o s even if he se I e p ac e S0 e. that needs to be
l

i pirical account,
ne1t er a theore ic · al noran em
e

s
t

urge
an d morebe gtnn mg to resemblet hose "n n pl , the n, · lS · h to the
t

. . - lows n ory
o ces" th tp F at fol r e
la o sp al his
111

ace hare Wb m oo an in
t

. Marc Augé h s argu d cha ct ri e n lll o re the co s p li t ti a ti

polog1st a the co a e t pt ion of
e e c a n hr o- -s cri
t

but a de
a

n t on n .
r

a non- p 1ace , "one 1.s ne1t . her h . mpo r ryc y and g

nor h 1 h
ra
c ez soz a i

s »1 Lik hte · ·
ze
c l a ut r e
. t of Saoghai H Ko g
gé s non-place mu t be und e c u n,
Au ' s rs n ot li teral ly b y
ez es
ut e
tood

non- place s . far from bemg . non ex .s1 te nt. R the , i • as para o
ult f
d

a r t s a res x· •
1 i o e · a Kong have alwa ys had a spe ial rel tion to each
an.d overco�p1ex1. ty, �f a 1· m1t . h .m be h n ha1. and H o g
c a

av e nex c ee d ed Beyond acexcainess s of the world. The

n

1 � t through their relationship to the re t

S a g.
point, ther e1 s a blurrmg and cr ambli
n o
f si . l •r other, if only .t . t.
gns an d an ove
r well known. Both c1 1es were esse n Jally
. al facts about the m are
g

. and t e m pora l gnd

s patial . s, allo fw hic . h apping f
urba nsigns and i · o histone .
s

m ma
lism in the aftermath of the Opium Wars:
ak e

difficult to read The overcom plex space o f n-

pl es m ean s, mo ges create d b Y West ern colonia
n o c n
a ra tive treaty port and Hong Kong
as aBnh · · s h co1ony
otherthings , that . even theanomalous d t il
mayn olon r be
g Shanghai as a luc
e a the two
a

recogn . with Chin . For etter or for worse,

ableas such because it coexi�ts w ith a w rma h d ails iz and staging post for tr ade b
a

s o fo the rsuc et is
g e

Th cities seemed to have bee n l i k n ed at birth, wh ch makes it possible

i

means the anornalous is in dan e rof tur ning no nde s cri p , i

n m u . ch the
g sometirn es to re a d wh at is tacit in the history of one city in the his­
same wa y that the more com ple x the c i t y to da , h m o b co mes
re
t

y t e e a to r y of the other. Each developed a form of cosmopo itanism unde

it r
l

cit ywithoutqualities The cosmo an as ur ph

e n o m en o is inevi­
p n s
coloniali m. From the outset, Shanghai generated a set ofimages abou
olit b

.
an t

tably inscribed in such non- places a n para doxes ra i sing h e ques ion
, t
t itse lf that con tributed to its mysti que but that we sometimes think o
d

wewill have to address at some la te r po in to fho w it u f

might s rvive
t
her .e as mere y ou t landish or bizarre. Neverth eless, it is these oft en conflict­
To gr apple with the anomal l
o us /n o n esc rip n ature o over omp ex g and co ntra dictory images t h at we wi l l need to interrogate.lt may b e
f

c
t

l
d

in
spaces , I d.raw on what Ludwig Wittge nste in ca lle d "desc ription" a n d t a
h t every ci tygives itselfaway in the self-imagesthat it produces; some­
h wh e tt n
appropriate it for t he analy s is of citi es.8On theo e n an , n W ge ­ w at
i h l ik e dream images that lead u t
d

and s o an o ther history, or l k

i e c inema
do awa w ithall i t
stein writes tha "we y
must exp an a t on , d sc r p on w ere, as G illes
t i h Deleuze has argu ed, it is the fümic a a un r
l i

alone mus take its place," descri ti o nc n b u n e r s ood a s a k d o im ge th t de lies

e

t p e in f the film narrativ e andnot the other way 9

d

a t around .
ith kni ing oge�
de-scri pt ion. This means tha i is concerne d n o w tt e
t t
t . We can begin with Sh an ghai, which was historical ly the senior
t

explanations that make smooth co nn ec tio s betwe e n disparate sen��, 1 n

n ' '.Y· C _ o sid er the pol itical anomalyo f extraterritorialit y. In Shanghai
,
rather, it welcomes friction - that is, dis jun ctur - e a n the mob e, fugi· w1. thin e sp a c e of a hun d red years,
il

the extraterritorialpresence of for-

d

th
1ttgenstem . wn ·t : ""' t walk: so n rs
tlve,
. fragmentary detail w· vv e w an
es ig e - ritish A
to we
. B • mencan, an French • and• after 1895' Japanese (to
na
e

th h d W ttgen· n 1 d
Back to the rough groun d! " On e ot er an , rn e o s o
i

need friction. o e e e
h

e t i t t o
t a n
o Y th m bv us) - u rn d th ci y in o th S h ghai f
212 • ACKBAR ABBAS 1
2 3 • cos
MOPOLIT A N DE•SC R IPTI N
OS
 legend, into what J. G. Ballard called "this elect opolitan as cultural imperialism, toward
ne and 1 r . .ues" of the cosm
exciting than any other in the world."lo The e�· U 1d city pi cal cfl11q cultural h1. story.
AIStence 0f
the dittlliore o1 c e d reacli�g of d local appropriation are not neces-
concessions, each with its own set of extraterr·t . •ptf10re olll1Jl
1 onal law ere0 . gn d ornmat·on 1 an
s , rneant th t ,11 for ei . ample, it should not be forgotten . that
internal control of the city always had to be neg o · 3
. underwor operatmg . t 1ate f
d 0 te n at 5tlJJ• ail ex.d us1 ve. For ex. . was always based on Chma,s
tnad ld as unofficial arbiters H • With th ·iy fllut Y u rnopolitan c1ty
. than a polycentric o
. wever th1·s e sari h s strength as a cos
1 ess an anarch.1c c1ty ' decentered cny . ' crea te .n g ai ' . su ch, there was always an underlying ten-
c o n tr olled bd 5h.... a s a natLon. As could only be
many ditferent hands. For example, the French Se
1t1ernen t wea]ateSS e n natton . a1 culture on the one hand, which
. . . . .
volt electnc sys tem, wh1le the International Settle Use d a 11o.Y tw e . and Shanghai cosmopohtamsm
rne nt Us ed s1-00 be d as anucoloru· al resistance,
But far from being lawless , the space of Shanghai was 220 ,onstructe was always a subtly nonviable city, where splen-
subJ. ect tO vo lts.1 h e r. Sh anghai
negotiations, and every initiative was obser ved fr cons tan t h e o t icle by s icle. lt was precisely the city's char-
011 t
. . om rnultiPJe e d s qualor eJO. sted s
t1ves. It was the existence of such a negotiated spac
ethat hel ed h ·
P rspec dor a.. n its capacity to be ail at once a space of nego-
.
ha1. m the 1920s and 1930s develop its own special bra p S ang. rn ultt. va1 ence-
3 c te f1 5 tl' appropriation - that generated .yet another
. nd of co sm .
.uauo • n, dorm.nau. on ' and
urban culture: what we m1ght 0P0hta ail: the grotesque. This grotesque
call a cosmopolitanism
of extrater
n the rnost telling of
ality. ritorj. ·unage• perhaps · a scene m
m ·
· Ballard's senuauto b"10-
c1·ty is captured best
The most vis ible signature of extraterritoriality was · nature of the documenting the last days of old
tn th e ct. ty's b . . n o e1, Empire 0�r the Sun, .
space, with its proliferation of different styles of arch· UJlt graphical. v ne is set
.
outs1de the Cathay Theater, at the tune the
1t ecture b t ShanghaJ- T h e sce
elegant and kitschy. There were Tudor-s tyle villas ' Span . • Y urn s . world. For its showing of The Hunchback of Notre
. ish-style town largest ci nema in the
houses, Russ1an-style churches , and German-style mansio t recruited two hundred real-life hunchbacks
the internationalism of the buildings on the Bund and of
ns,a1 ongwn. h• Dame, the managemen lOr the
of Shanghai to ,: 1or� an "h o�our guard" c
. , course, th e from the back streets
Shanghamese lanehouses or 11. Long housing complexes, these show! A grand �ignol quahty was never far be­
last glitterati attending the
built by foreign architects with their preconceptions of wha t ism of Shanghai.
vern: hind the cosmopolitan
t about
Jar housing should look like. It was ail a question of style imp
orted This grotes que element hints at something quite significan
from elsewhere - a shallow kind of cosmopolitanism, a drea m image of be extended even to the cos­
Shanghai's cos mopolitanism, which could
Europe more glamorous even than Europe itself at the time; thewhole mopolitanism of other cities. It suggests that the cosmopol itan "atti­
testifying, it seems, to the domination of the foreign, especially ifwe re­ tude" in this case consists not in the toleration of difference but in the
member the decrepitude of the Chinese section of the city. But, at least necessary cultivation of indifference: the hunchbacks were hired not in
in part, this was a deceptive testimony because within this setting some­ the spirit of equal opportunity employment but to create a gross sen­
thing contrary was also happening. It cou.Id be argued, as Leo Ou-fan sation. Furthermore, to some extent the colonial experience had shat­
Lee has done in "Shanghai Modern," that the foreign presence produced tered the innocence of difference. The end result of having to negotiate
not only new kinds of public and social spaces (such as cinemas, depart­ a multivalent space that makes so many contrary demands on the indi­
ment stores, coffeehouses, dance halls, parks, and racecourses), but also vidual was the cultivation of indifference and insensitivity to others.
Even scandai and outrage cou.Id be openly accepted. Indeed, in its time
spaces that could be appropriated by the Chinese themselves and used
old Shanghai had the reputation of being the most "open,., city in the
to construct a Chinese version of modern cosmopolitan culture. From
r_st� worl<l. lt was the one place in China that was free from the control of a
this point of view, cosmopolitanism in Shanghai could be unde
opn�uon debilitated and bureaucratie state apparat giving it an air of freedom
not as the cultural domination by the foreign but as the appr us,
atio al tbat drew in both
political reformers and intellectuals, both prostitutes
by the local of "elements of fore1gn . cu 1 ture to enn•ch a new n. . n and adventurers. Th
. ls 15 n er· e other side of this freedom and openness, however,
culture." 11 Lee's persuasive account, rich in fascinating detai , i t . was a certain iso .
· n - a linkage
fi m to o fac,1e · 1at1o to the world that went together w1th a
esting, too, for its attempt to steer the argument a way ro
215 • CO
SMOPOLITAN OE·SCRIPTIONS
214 • ACKBAR ABBAS
 �
•
delinkage from the rest of China. There was r have been a city nat. ion Iike
always sorn
et h. o ng K on g could neve l status
ile about Shanghai cosmopolitanism. After
1949, Chine tgv eryfrag. s ·B . l fore accepted its c o. loma
se 11ao. on ali Jlla h benation. t there . . os1. -
born in Shanghai, quickly made Shangha i'
s urba n cultu ornrnunisni nly YP WaId th e 1·nternational, fully explmtmg 1ts p
. apore, 0
ifl__.
to . le on
a memory. re no rn
ore t ha 5111g .iofl• an d turned a o
,s p.icturesque phraseology, as a prmp
.
n a r
as P portcityo . r, in M
It took Mao Zedong's genius to see, agai
nst the gra· a K ong was less a site than a para-site. If
in f ll as n a. Hon g . ..
Marxism, that even rural spaces, at least (1 o fChi
. . in the histori ° . or th0 do� b a ckside. O ° g Kong h ad a certain bemgn-loo
.
.
kmg
. aspect to 1t, 1t
.
China, had a crucia c a1 Slt the n
l role to play 111 modern
and national uati_o n of slJl 1n B y and a hvmg demonstration
the insight that a llowed Mao to displ life h ,o1oniali 1.t Was a mutant political entit
. ace cities in gen au se s from econo m1c success could
.
. o f mod.ermty-and
as the .sole excl usive site eral firom·tî � Was
h e1r r 01 w3S be c re1ative autonomy that corne
Shanghai in pa
r t·icularfr e ofboW
th e Shanghai was multiple and polyvalent,
its daim to be Chm . ,
a s preemment c1ty .
d o n d ep endency. While
. . . .
. After 1949 ' the
c1•ty cou) tn
0
be base . gle and paradox
ical.
longer en1 oy the pnVIlege of bem
g a law unto itself: d no on g r< o n g was sin did not develop the kmd of cosmo-
·
it was cIear H . ne, Hong Kong
tu
nation that n ow held sway over the city. !y the for a 1o n g
During these yea in the 192Os and 1930s, a c os-
did tacit penance for its past Bab ylonian way rs' Shangh
a1 . cu ltur e that Shanghai exhibited .
. . s. It remained pol i tan . that emerged from the ano malous space of extratern-
moponI a111
industna l production, but only to help financ a œn �r� 5m
e the moder niz eant that for most of its history, Hong Kong,
the rest of the country; however, 1t . was forced
to discard its c of
at·10n
tona . nI Y· Depend. ency mcaught in the do uble .bind o f divided loyalties.
poli tan cul turl life that Maoist puritanism rega
a
rded as bourge
o smo­ Jturallyspeakmg, was . •
and Chma; ambivalent
•
decadent. And as China moved into the pha ois and eJtuwas poli. tic . aIlyambivalent about bo th Bntam
. . . .
se of national rebu Enghsh or Chmese, 1t should master, and con-
under communism, the conditions for the emergen ildin
ce of a different kin: abou t w hat 1anguage, . .
1 Y about C apital · The o ne mo ment when
rt began to nval the
of cosmopolitan space moved elsewhere-to the Britis fide nt on
h crown colo ny 193Os was dunng the 1980s and
of Hong Kong. cultural vibrancy of Shanghai in the
of Kong
19905, after the Joint Declaration announcing the return Hong
* 10 China in 1997: that is, at precisely the moment when Hong Kong felt
The s tory is often told that it was an act of emigration, the flight most vulnerable and dependent. This was the period when more and
of more people discovered, invented, and rallied behind what they called
twenty-one Shanghai industrialist families to Hong Kong with their
"Hong Kong culture." This Hong Kong culture was a hothouse plant
capital and business expertise, that formed the basis of Hong Kong's that appeared at the moment when something was disappearing: a case
industrial development from the 195Os onward. In chronological terms, of l ove at last sight, a culture of disappearance. ln contrast to Shang­
the rise of Hong Kong indeed succeeded the fall of Shanghai. The in­ hai in the 193Os, nationalism was a negative stimulus: one major anxiety
jection of capital and human res ources to the co lony that followed was was that the internationalism of the port city would be submerged and
certainly one factor in its growth as an international city, but it was not smothered by its reinscription into the nation. But the arudety was tem­
the only or even necessarily the mo st important factor. What was equally pe�ed by a tacit hope that Hong Kong
might indeed be a special case.
decisive, paradoxical as this may sound, was Hong Kong's depende nt �his _wa s what redirected . attention back to the city's local peculiari-
position and the way it made a career of dependency.12 In Sh a nghai ev en ties, m an attempt t .
o remvent 1t one last time even as it disappeared.
.
at its m o st corrupt, there was always some vestigial interest in issues � This sense of dis appea
f
rance as the expenence . . .
, 11 of hvmg through the best
nationalism as a means of Iiberation and independence. For examp
le an d the worst 0f
. f1mes was the seminal theme of the New Hong Kong
Gan� Ctnema · lffil
is well known that even no torious triad societies like the Green m m ak ers like Wong Kar-wai ' Stanley Kwan
ns -an "',sui. H r · • Ann Hw' ' and
when not engaged in nefarious activity, had nationalist concer a k managed to convey
in their films a cosmo politan sensibility,
In Hon� it was partly
both Sun Yatsen and Chiang Kaishek drew on them for help. bY fiocu .mg on local .
that the lo � issues and settmgs, but in such a way
ttle interes
Kong, by contrast, there was no possibility of-and hence J'1 cal was dislocated:
through the construction of innovative
217 •
COSMop
216 * AC Ka AR A a BA s
OLITAN DE·SCRIPT
IONS
 st between the
film images and narratives and, hatever
tens1. ons might exi
above ail, throug ....,, rni:z: w es . But such tensi. ons .do
the d.1sappean. ng c1. t y as a ma1or
. protagon.1st .in
h the . tr
a blY ,wni snauona1 or global.
their filmln 13 oducr10n of derstall
d
d the tr a n
ese tensi ons produ . ,
ced a sk ewmg
cosmopolitanism was stimulated then
not so m uch by s. Hong Ko g oJI the nau. on, an m ple , th
for ex d in the c1ty s cul
tural
a
valence-wh1ch was the case m
. . 193Os Shanghai- a space of n ,1·rt'
ln fiong I(ong, al space that could be rea ong
appearance, one effect of wh1.ch was as by a sp lllultj. - �is t, i c
d polit . ture and new cinema. The return of H
the transformati ace f .
on of the o d. i s. .,.. u1 ural an c h1 te c . the sens
the transloca 1 as a resu 1 t of h1sto
. nca. 1 eXJg l ocal 1 of c t u h as its ar m ake the former disa
ppear m e
. encies , s c n e d to
. nto forf11 China threate
S
. d established for itself might be m erge d
* !(ong to sn ationa1 status 1t.h a ghai, because o f the dia: uer-
th 31thetran . t he n at10na1 • In Shan . ,s
To recapitulate : in Shanghai in the 1
92Os and 193 o s su b me rg ed Ulto. n tion , it is not a question of the c1ty .
and c1ty to the a
mopohta . ni. sm of extraterritoriality an . we found a
l ati o n of th e ra nce ' a re app ea rance . 'ding with
comc1
' d tn Hong K t:ro Cos. ent re f 1. ts re appea
onward, a cosmopolitanism of dependen o ng m the 198o ance bu� o es of closure, into the global econom
y.
. .
cy, w1t h 1ts th .
. ernatic of s di sappe ar . p uon , aft er decad
appearm . g c1ty.
. a's reinsc.,n" complexly situated as Hong "'ong s
But what of today and tom thed·1S- ,, v
Ci.:n
,

. red orrow? TwO eve r ap p earance i• s as

But Shanghai s
uv-•
199os can be cons1de nts i n unages. For
. a space of tensions and skewed
e
symptoms that the cul
. tural spac e th th e d . sa p pea rance 10
.
c1ties s eem destined to cohabit is once ag . ese two culture o f i ob sessed with a mania
am changm . T
g h e 1 s . n ce th e ear Iy 1990s Shanghai has b een . .
not only the retur n of Hong Kong to Ch. ·
ma as an SAR (Sp ec1.
990s saw exarnple, . cli
i
an n d evelopment, but acco
mpanym . g 1t like a shadow
al Admin. d u rba , .
.
istrat . Region) but also the economic and
ive for buil ng
. eu 1tura1 reappe aranc f . tha t at fir st •ght
s1 seems rather puzzling: the state s mterest
Shangha1 afte.r more than four decades in the po1· eo is somethIll� ematic of tensions between
. . 1 cold To con_ .
itica uon pro.JeCts. It is within the probl
.
if a new kmd of cosmopolitanism is emerging toda . . s1der 1·11 Pres erva • the transnational that comp an.sons between
y m Sh an gha1 and the city' the nation, and .
Hong K ong, we w1·u first have to consider the changing . pearance" m Hong Kong can be
hi5toncal space "reappearance" m · Shanghai and "disap . _
of these two cities. msm can be posed.
made and the question of cosrnopolita
Now that Hong Kong is part of China again, there is a lot of
. specu- Let's take the Shanghai case. Before the early 199Os, there was very
lati· on a�out whether_ Shanghai. w1ll replace it as the countr y's main little interest among the Shanghainese in the buildings they lived and
economic and financial center once the Chinese yuan beco mes full worked in. If a large part of old Shanghai was preserved, it was by
convertible. The mayor of Shanghai, Xu Kuangdi, in a Hong Kon; default, because the city had too few resources to embark on maj or
newspap er interview, addr essed the issue of Shanghai and Hong Kong as programs of urban restructuring. As late as the early 199O s, visitors to
follows : "You don't have to worry about Shanghai replacing Hong Kong; Shangh ai often remarked how little Shanghai had changed visually from
or that be cause of Hong Kong, Shanghai is not going to become a finan­ its pre-1949 days, except to note that a large part of the glitter had gone.
cial centre. They play different roles.... I n the future, their rel ationship However, after Deng Xiaoping's 1992 visit, and within the space of a few
will be like two good forwards on a football team.They will pass the ball years, the Pudong area of Shanghai across the Huangpu River
from the
But they Bund bas developed into
to each other and both will do their best to score more g oals . _ "A a mirû-M anhatta n, followi ng Deng's agenda
interview, for 1t· · new look each year, a transformation in three years.u Today,
are on the same team-China's national team." ln the same even Hong Kong ..
than Shanghai. lt
he conceded that Hong Kong "is more international . Shang hai.. In a few
V1S1tor s, blasé about new buildings, are amazed by
l in k China
wilb
is a financial centre for Southeast Asia. Not only does it a thousand sky
short years, Shanghai saw the construction of over
coun· .
. also serves as a trad'mg marke t c 1or Southea st Asian scrapers, a subway hne, .
a h1ghway overpass ringing the
the world, 1t c1·tY, another
a a link betwe en the main - 1a nd and the b '
. . ndge and tunnel across the Huangpu
tries. Shang hai prima rily serve s s th e urban1z to Pudong, and
14 ation of pudong itse
rest of the world." eyes like th . If, now comin g into being before our
d for· e speeded-up lillage
imag e of Shan ghai and Hon g Kon g as two goo together . .
· of time-lapse film. lnterestingly enough,
Xu's homely terne ntit with th1s frenzy
onal team
.
1
.
s reassunng because
as a Public sta of building and development- subsidized
by
ward s on the nati 219
• COSMop OLI
TAN DE·SCRI
PTIONS
218 • ACKBAR ABBAS
 . nough to p re -
the sale of)an d 1eases
and JO
· ·mt ve nture ca . o n n e v er prove d strong e ·
·m terest m pital- . resef
V'ati ade m the market
· preservation, so
mething not spec fi the cit . terest I-11 p rnent dec1s . 1. ons from being m
umstance
Deng. So far, around i c ally r y has sho1y a evelop . ervent1·onist state, and this circ
1.isted buildings , w1t
250 bu1"Id·mgs
h av e b e en regis. ecorn lllen d lla so J1 d),Il0osed d d no nin t By co trast, the
"1 - fa so-call. e }-long KOng becarne an SAR.
n
. h an other 200
o
tered ed b� veJlt ha!'vo
ein� consid �s ;�nicip:i nce and, at the same
mark able enough for us to k :
as , Wh , i . ac : : er e h 1s i s eeonofll,llged Uttle si vides 1s .m . opting to develop .
L�t me offer the following t, is hap ha S nghai• pro e rately g1v . the he to
. mg
hypothe _ Pre ser pening; re. baS' hat ha the c1·ty , as if d elib . .
::1ot1vated by something vation i n ty11.St t se•, -,e at Je ast part of vat ion are
.
mc om pat 1ble. Th 1s
quite differe�:S- o �
fr m th e u su a[ . hanghaj ;... pre 1oprnent and preser
cultural heritage "which' g·
iven th .
e c1ty's co 1on a . P• e ti tiJlle• 11. 011 that deve a noma y to
l prompt the question : P.re -
f an
b"iguous. It is motiv' ated more l as bo the 11 us wit h enou
0 g h O
in Shanghai. ,s .rmpending
byantici pat_ions ofi P t , can ont y ae ut ts " 0n rneant to play
the old than simply by nosta . a n ew Shan
gha· t r
b �- presell t roIe i. 5 preser vat1
lgia for the pa t a
vation is something more com p s In o ther w or d I o ival ·selY wh tion? or tance of prese rva-
Iex than just a. q s, prese
r. Cl s
uan fo r m a
ob .
v1o us , the econornic imp . .
membered: in Shanghai• the past ue stion ofth .l w"t • h th e tmm. ty w1th a legendary
a liows the present e Past re To begll .
u na t e d · Invoking a con
to pursue th dere st
hence "memory" itself is select and e futU . not b e un uous that past may
have been - enhan ces
fissured • somefrrn
es indistin re• tion ,an r h o W a m big . .
able from amnesia. This paradox of Illat te , and hence eqmps 1t
. the past as the futu gu· h'
re•s future is • Past-no .
t1 ve ess , g •ves it historical cachet
i . c r-
throws a part1cula r light on Shangha1. , s urban attrac n
trade on more 1avo
. . developme also the c.1ty ,5 .
e1g n .
1n vest m e nt and the tounst .
nt, which lik for for e,
preservat10n,
.
tak e s on a special qual"t .
1 Y· Shangha1. today ' e to comp e te as t .
1s a kind of sym bol ic capital. At the sam tun
.
e
.
is not jus1 a T he p
c1ty on the make with the new and brash
everywhere - as m1g able te r�5· ft accompanies the rev italization and gentrification of
. ht be said o en .
more ap tly of Shenzhen, for example · It i·s aI P rese rvauon . to urban renewal. But pres-
. . so som ethi n g more subtle c yin . g ar eas- o f the city and contnbutes ..
and h1stoncally elusive : the city as rem ake, a shot- de a
Shanghai 1tself: namely, the way
by-shot rework"mg • n h as a thir d feature peculiar to . . .
. with the latest technology, a diffierent cas of er v at1o s erent m
a class1c, t, and a new a uct·ience. econ om ic role of preservation maps onto the tension mh
" · the
Not Back to the · Future " but "Forward to the Past" . omy:' Since late 1978, this economy has
· The mm or story China's "socialist market econ
of preservation m Shanghai. g1ves .
list state ; that is, it has allowed
an important gloss- 10 · b oth senses of created a p rivate sector within a socia
e sector has con­
the word-to the major story of urban development. the global into the national. Moreover, the n ew privat
In rapidly developing cities, urban preservation as a rule is either sistently outpe rformed the state in the marketplace, raising questions
.
1gnored or merely paid lip service. Tak e the case of Hong Kong, in of to what degree the state is in touch with the new market conditions.
many ways a role model for Shanghai and other Chinese cities. Yet Hong Mao had succeeded in curtailing capitalism by establishing the social­
Kong offers a comparatively straightforward example of the rel ation­ ist sta t e, just as Europe had ameliorated capitalism's effects through the
ship between development and pre servation. Though it is true that
there welfare-democratic state. But that was a bygone capitalism. The new
are some preserved buildings in this former British colony -the best �apitalism, global capital, is freshly able to act, constantly outpacing the
Ca ton interventions of the nation-state and making it look heavy-footed.15
known being the dock tower of the demolished Hong Kong- n
Centre Corn· In this context, the state's interest i n preservation, via municipal
Railway Station, now a part of the Hong Kong Cultural _
t; and Flag5tatf pohcy, makes a Iot o f sense.
plex; the old Supreme Court building; Western Marke competence of the st . .
Not only 1s preservation well within the
now a tea museum­ ate; 1t 1s also a way by which the state can enter
Ho use, formerly British military headquarters and n for the gI obal market
no systematic pla through promotmg the city's past- that is, through
on the whole, preservation happens ad hoc, with in Hong the henta . ge m . dustry· lt 15 .
ghai 's. An interest .
. an 1mplic1t . assertion of the state's involvement
municipal preservation comparable to Shan• in an d contn. b
e m preservation,
· is only a re·
°
ution t th e future development of Shanghai- a
way of
Kon g and its history, moreover, and henc th at Hong
mediafmg the
need of the state f,or legit1ma
orig in tied to 1997 and an ailXl• ety private sect c • • cy and the demand of the
cent phenom eno n with
° owever'
s
. and ver J-I or ior profitabT 1 ity. By a strange twist, the state's interes
e to an end w1th the h t in
Kon g as we kne w it might corn 2 21 •
cos MOPOLI
TAN
DE·SCRIPTIONS
220 * ACKBAR ABBAS
 <-

preservation is an assertion that it is

.
Hence, the entrrel . .
still a player in
the .....gs or the marble on the
il;,...
floor. Even the toilets r
y different relation to preservatio • newg lobal &a on the r a dirti r the streets
.
around 1t, the cleaner �
Shanghai: in the one, ad hoc and n •n rn g the bras5 cle an· The e
linked to anxiet Hong iç0ng e jJl k ept metl· cA ul o u s1Y .
ie a nd y you reahze that the museum do_es not thmk �
disappearance; m · th e othe r, state-p Ianned s abo are ·_ nd su ddenl
and related ut the c1· ty•s
...
e uJll at al!, but as part of a vrrtual global
. . " .
appearance as a so1- d1sant c1ty of eu I
ture."
to the c
ity's re the mus b eltlg par t of a loc al space - .
f a s not JUSt where artworks are
. of itsel etw�rk. The Shanghai Museum lS
* n
,uJtur al w in Shanghai ·' it is also where Shangha i shows itself off in 4
5h0
n . .
bein g with its image clea n e d up and m hopes that the world 1s
The working together of development a u J ll,
suggests that a new problematic is emergi
nd preservati
on i· n Sh jts muse
ng. S omethm . ang h ing .
. .
be happenmg 1f prese r vation produces not g pecu Jiar a1. Joo k ,
lism . 1·s not witho
ut its own aporias and anomalies. For
. . a sens rn11st But "g lob a .
the tensions m Shangha. i s new social
., . space can
v1rtuahty of a present that has erased the " . . e of h"ISlor y but th p le , so rn ethi ng of
d1stmction bet e am
new-or where local history is another . wee n old eJC • e adrnitted
ly minor but symptomahc example: the etiquette .
. gamb·1 t m th e game of
and be fieJtin on newly affluent entrepre neurial class, these
capital. Perhaps virtual cities can only look
like what Shan .glo bal 0f mobi
. le PhOoes For the
s of the cultur of glob-
. much functional tools as symbol
e
gha i to day
1ook s like, w1th old and new compressed togeth .
er m an ap
o ca1!Plie
ph ones are as that, al ong w1 'th r re1gn
1o
. . .
VlSlto r s, can patromze
.
The listed buildings on the Bund and the chaos now. t •
1s a lso this class
of skyscrapers in a)j sm. 1 ing in Shanghai.
p · nd elegant restauran.ts that are reappear
do not so much confront as complement each
other on e1th . u d ong the expens1v e a 1S the Contm
.
ental Room at the Gar-
er sive of these
the Huangpu River; in a sense, both old and new .
51 ·ct e of One of the most expen
are s1m ply ste ps m s of elegance require guests swi.tch off their
to
the remake of Shanghai as a City of Cultu re in the ne . den Hotel, whose standard
w gIobaI space. ln for fellow diners. What se ems an
. .
such a space, hentage issues can be fused and confuse .. mobile phones out of consideration
. . d w1t· h poht1c al unobjectionable policy from one point of view has produced many a
and econom1c mterests. And precisely because of this, urb
. .
tlon m the global era cannot be seen in isolation from other urban
an pre serva- contretemps. For these new entrepreneurs, di.ning at the Garden Hotel
and and usiog mobile phones go together. There is no conception that these
social phenomena. Links begin to emerge between what at first sight
electronic devices can be in certain social situations sources of irritation
seern to be unrelated social spaces - between, for example, the munici­
for oneself or others. What we find here is an example of transnation­
pal preservational projects such as the old buildings around Yu Yuen alism without a corresponding transnational subject. These new kinds
Garden, in the old "Chinese city," now turned into a kind of vernacu­ of social embarrassment may not be insignificant in that they are symp­
lar mail, and the city's much more publicized developmental projects toms of how the speeded-up nature of social and cultural life inevitably
of cultural modernization, such as the new Shanghai Museum and the results in the production of multiple, sometimes confücting, paradigms
Grand Theater, both in an already modernized Renmin Square. We can confusing for the person who needs to negotiate them.
see hints of a similar logic of globalism operative in each. Of course, it is true that social life since the modern era has always
de­
Take the new Shanghai Museum, which was opened in 1996. It is been marked by change and confusion. Cosmopolitanism has been seen
vesse!. �he � an ability to acquit oneself, to behave well, under difficult cultural
signed to resemble a giant ting, an antique Chinese bronze
. . . . , of modermty, situations by Jugg
obVIous V1Sual message here 1s th at m th e c1·ty s p ursuit .
· 1mg · w1'th multiple · perspectives-even · when these per-
. . . 1s . · also something else. Con- pectives were forced upon us
or adopted in ind.ifference. The question
Chmese tradition r
not 1orgotten . B ut there 1s e 5.
xhibition halls, w is: Are the kinds of
si der the experience of entering the museum. In the e changes taking place in Asian cities and elsewhere
. ous f,or expertly d1s . p1 ayed·· today forcmg · upon us sit .
uations in which we cannot behave well, be-
find the rare artworks that the museum 1s fam tches cause these ch
. . But what also ca anges are threatening to des troy the space of cities as we
the ancient bronzes, the Sung and Yuan pamtmgs. o.....,mon k�ow lhem a
n is how ostenta tiously clean th e mus eum is not a c v1ew' the ap
nd creating cities we do not know? From this point of
the attentio polish·
o be soroe w ' orkers parently slight example of the use of mobile phones in "in-
experience in Shanghai. There a lways seem t 223 • c
os MOPOLI
TAN DE-SCRIPTIO NS
i
222 • ACKBAR ABBAS
 appropriate" s ituations wn as glocal-
nate use in the present
now takes on greater
weig ht. îh a lso be rela
ted to the posture now kno
case is neither an exa eir c a n loba l" and the "local." 17
Jack of consideration for mple of b o inct·tscri.nii. p.rbitr po
age
t ea u wo rd blending the "g
.
or·i s hne s man
others , nor even a tr
ansgressio n sn • 11 a rt d by Jap anese businessmen to descnbe the need
aries of social etiquette. It is
, rather, a genui ne co o f the b or a it,atJO ' was first s u e . s, a kmd
cond.ition . of "m1cro . market-
the boundaries are, maki ng nfusio n ab ound. rl4. e 1erfl1
1•• 1 ba l out1ook to local
both "transgression o ag ed now in the corporate slogan "think
" and "beh _ut Wh ere
O
equally problematic
. av1 ng 10 a"dapt cal' au. o n, enc apsulat to
.
s0C1et y, howe ver: a hy-
Wei[• GJo ,, . down appro ach
callY• is a top-
!Z
.tJl g.
* b , a c t lo nizing the hybrid and local. We can
gl0 allY 1·t conc 1ude5 by homoge on
,
b rid te rfl1 emporary value placed by cultur al and social critics
If the speed of change is creatin n t . . .
g spaces we do n e co t1on. Sympathet1c
strategy m1g•
ht be to slow things dow ot understan ,
d the read th precis . e1y as a protest against homogemza ·
n - to preserve s hybrl'di · ty · po11t1ca ·
· 11everage agamst
concept of civility and respect ome almos n one h a pos1•t'on is it seems to be 1osmg
for otherness .m th te s uc I
e m1• d st of ch rased tho g u h on, w hich can be s een as a kind ofmicroman-
was what the older cosmopol
itanism s had stnve . d fo ao s.'M... a c h es 1ike glocal izati
me, such a conservative strategy r But , l.t se rn1111s app ro
f h bridity. Benetton, McDo
I '
na d s, an d W a1t n·1sney ail seem
ha s I'ttl
I e space fo r maneu · e s to m e nt o Y
.
ver.O ne of ag e
most mte resting things we can lear n fi n d th1s.
rom t he example of th e 10 understa set of strategies for dealing with
vat1.0n m.
Shanghai. today is how it • too, . . ,,. .
ur ban p re ser- . ge may consist of a powerful
Ar bitra .
. 1s mmsed w ith the s pi.n. t of l b. , but the forms that arbitrage has taken
ahsm. "Preservation" and "heritage" ftr a ns national space
do not act as brakes a . g o �� �
.
o .
for concern as for celebrat1on. 1t 1s possib
. .
le to
opment; .m some strange way• they furt ga inst de vel- a s much cause , .
he r a deveIopmental sofar g 1 ve
agenda. The . ves to death, as Pau1v·rr1·1·10 s wor k on urban1sm and
problem of cosmopolitanism today still
remam . s how we are m1cromanage oursel
to negottate warns. Virilio shows how these technologies-
the transnational space that global capital
produces.
• tec hnologies of speed
ation -promise or threaten to change in
In the corp orate sphere, strategies are alrea transport, circulation, inform
dy in place ,.,or negottat- of space and the city by intro­
·
mg such a space. The key strategy is quite clear an unprecedented way our experience
ly summarized bYIhe (namely , the global/ virtual) that indeed breaks
no f10n o f arb.1trage. In 1ts
· restn·cted economic sense, arbitrage ducing a new dimension
refers 10 clown the limitations of space and tune but that also has the potential,
the way profits are obtained by capitalizing, through the use
of elec­ if we are not careful, to produce a global accident as catastrophic in its
tronic technologies, on price differentials in markets situated in dif­
own way as Chernobyl:
ferent time zones and parts of the world. That is: arbitrage maximizes
profits by setting up operations in a world of speed and virtuality, and Beyond the old cosmopolis modelled on ancient Rome, the world-city
thereby breaking down the traditional boundaries of time and space. will surge forth, an omnipolis whose major clinical symptom is the
The term also refers in a more general sense to the business practices of stock exchange system, today computerized and globalized, gener­
transnational corporations, including, for example, the export of jobs ating as it does, at more or less constant intervals, a virtual financial
bubble which is nothing less than the early-warning signal of the dire
to countries with the lowest labor costs and fewest labor laws, or spread­
emergence of a new kind of accident, an accident no longer local
ing the manufacturing process over different parts of the world so that
and prec1se· 1y 1ocated in space and tune as before, but a general global
it becomes difficult to assign to manufactured goods a nationa l prov�­ .
conStl· accident which could well have radio-activity as its emblem.18
nance. These "business practices," it has been well pointed out,
ut even any Is the om n·ipor1s the
tute a nove! kind of politics: "Without a revolution, witho ommous end of cities as we know them • of space
hed •m· the nor­ and time as we k
change in Iaws or constitutions, an attack has been !aune . now them, and of the cosmopolitan?
1 e me ofm od ern
·a11•fir � ht s specter invoked by Viri!io of an unprecedented kind of global
mal course of business', as it were, upon the maten . · · (10 n through a
poz·1t1czza acc1dent that . . ns m the global system could produce is not
1mp1osio
n ational societies.... We are thus dealing w1th apocal tic
16 YP prophecy but a provocation to thought. It makes us see that
depoliticization ofstates."
2 25 •
COSM OPOLITAN DE·S
CRIPTIONS
224 * AC K BAR ABBAS
 gl o bali sm has .
qu1etly upp e d th e . .
p oIi.tanism a an te, ma1ci· n an d di slocations that gl obal
-
. m atter of great . g a re d efi � . th d isequilibr i a .
1sm can n o lo h1 stor ical ur ni '
t10n o . u n e
llude to t e xp -
11eg
g
b.1 trage in this sense does n ot a
o u a he lo1t a
n ger b e simp I ge ncy Cl e f co81lJ t i eS for
a · ar!y a g /U
Y matter of b eh c s. tr ated · s to the large histori cal l es-
e
op en ness to ot av·mg Wei' l o SllJ.0P01itano.
herness· 0ther bas cre em fferences but refer
r

ness l ost its 1. o r al di his i s where the

s eriences ofthe ci ty. T
col onial exp erie Or ev · 1 J!l t p
nnoce nc e en all
brace o f ethn o
nce. Ev en Iess att r
a c iv a s a re Of an . n 0f sin be d awn fro nt our exp
uo n t
.
ese c.1t1es one
.
cent nc v isi . . t e is the
al te rnativ . su1 t ba t c n r

and Ho Kon , to r etu r o th

b of t
a n
sons t . u·ons ofShan ghai . ofthe cosmop oh. tan today. In
g g
trem e beca u se it e . . on, an an ticosm0 po1.1 ta · e o f a rutaI he a rethinkmg
x1 sts 10 the n ew and nism mad ellJ. de-scrw ut to
c an co ntr1-b
e
and sp eed. Infor . char d . tu f e erritoriali ty so that a kind
mat1 on d oes not o d ge si a 10 n of i f,llJ.ore ex. J a s t ti!Jle., . g the anomalies ofextrat
ouat·I n
n a tes it . Can there nly ispe I bi· n o r e g m Ho ng Kong , the develop-
rnar10n sbang ha , es out of the grotesque ; and
n
be a cosmop o . t gotr but l
h ani fi y al s o d · m
woul d it be lik e .? m or the glO b 1ss . c der condi ions of dep endency-
of grac eu1ture o fdisapp earance un
s o
al age a d eiru.
e t
.
n a ra e. As for B org es, a more
We m igh t look tOr r an an . ' What rn e nt of xarn pl es ofcultural arbit g
swer m the a . a l re ady e . e of the arbi-
today, par ticula r1 y an
ana ly s i.s O fth eir li
nalys1s of th
e nature .. tbese we re 1ationship exist s between hifi and the figur
k a of e gu s re Air as Bor ges di d
ge to the tra ambi ,.,, embrace "universal val
u
ues" i n Bueno
nsnati on a Clh s
so than to the n o s es
. nat1on· al· As th e . . . .
fa hi n I rn
m Wim Wenders ,s designer Yio y trageur- ,o ed to some extent m th e 1mp enahst g e. Where Borges
s o
hji ore am
1989 film Niotebook a app . .
.
big cities More th an on Citie
s and Cloth «I a1
arn rnot o s 'd w as to be t r reme arb1trag eur was m t he othe g
r es h e
to be a sup
am

. Jap an e se , I feel I'm from k es, l ik e a 11 we d hi m self . .

. . e and mfin"1ty, w1th lan guage, and with
,
no natio nality. , Large .
'T'
s o
nation - states lik . ,o yo· T, h
the gam.es w1t h urn
e the prev .
1ous Sov.iet · · · okyo has chose to play: . .
been breaking up, b ut . . e c1ty.
Uni on have ofthe laby n · ··
nthm
th1 s is not b ecau se tbe sp ace o's
state is coming 10 . som e ki nd
of tra n · bi· r wo k ed as eu 1tural strateg y can counter V mh
• t0 bemg on! a t sna11onal Whether ar t a g e re r
. . .
. ' Y ran snation al or b
gI o al space where . en quest10n . B t 1 1 c op isrn's
w arnings remams an op
u t s osm olitan
nati on-sta tes are stil l locate d· And c1.ti. es are dire
. the 1oca1es or . tamsm h as alway s b een a way of
b e ing in the
o f this transnatw
na1 space, wh 1ch .
ex ist s n ot in s
no da1 P0mts best chance. Cosmopoli. . .
. orne a bstra ct d. w rld 1s, a d thmg far is as con-
world, however. confusmg th .
o n no so
sion but m the very speClïic sit • es and probl em areas of unen- e

. .
the c1ty. It exi. 5is, b
. as glo ahsm. Cultural arbitrage rnay be a way o f cre a t i n g a g lobal
for example, m the problemat1c . . fusmg
detail s ofheritage and preser vat' ·
present- day Shanghai,· m • the n on-places that Au é has pomt
ion m culture worthy ofthe n am e .
. ed to,
. g or in
new kmds of so cial embarrassm ent that are t
he result ofquickly shifting NOTES
cultural paradigms Wheth_e� a cosmopolitanism for the
global age will J wish to thank Mario Gandelsonas, Benjamin Lee, Jeremy Tambling, and the editors
. of Public Culture for their helpful comments during various stages of completion of
emer g e deP ends on our ab1hty to grasp a spa ce, that ofthe global c
ity this essay.
that is _ a1ways concrete even in its elus iveness· And th.1s .mvo 1 ves not so
· . . 1 . quotations are from the preface in Jorge Luis Borges, Collected Fictions, trans.
Ali
much �ag�nmg • transnati o nal state as reimag i ning th e cit y. Andrew Hurley (New York: Viking, 1998), 4-5.
�
I � a similar vem, the co sm opolit an today will i nclud e not only the 2. Luis Buiiuel, My Last Sigh, trans. Abigail Israel (New York: Vintage, 1984), 221.
. 3- Borges, Labyrinths, ed. Donald A. Yates and James E. Irby (New York: New Di­
pnVIleged transnational, at home in different places and cultures' as an
. . rections, 1964), 1s4.
01ympian arb1ter of value. Such a figure, it could be argu ed, ha s too 4, See, forexample, the final chapters of Claude Lévi-Strauss, Tristes Tropiques, trans.
to
many imperialistic associations. The cosmopolitan today will have John and Doreen Weightman (New York: Athen
eum, 1974).
privilege d men and wom en plac ed or 5· Ulf Hannerz, "Cosmopolitans and Locals
include at least some of the less in World Culture," in Globfll Culture,
are trying to ed. Mike Featherstone (Lon
displaced in the transnational space of the city and who 6· ee, fo r example,
don: Sage, 1990), 239.
con radict i ns: the cosm o p olitan i David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernit)I (Oxford: Black­
make sense of its spatial and temporal t o
we ' 1989); Scott Lash
eur/a r bitr a g euse. and John Urry, The End of Organized Capitalism (Cambridge:
not as a universalist arbiter of value, but as an
arbit rag Pol.ity Press l9 8 ) .
use f t ech­ ' 7 ; Ulne h Beck, (London: Sage, 1992); and Manuel Cas-
not mean the te11s, The R'ise 01,,
o Risk Society
This is arbitrage with a ditference. It does y y the Network Society (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996).
to eve r d a
global w orld but refe rs
nologies to maximize profits in a 227 • C
OSMOPOLITA
N 0E·SCRIPTIONS
226 * AC K BAR ABBAS
 .7 Marc Augé, A
Unive it Sense for the Othe r, trans. A
my /acobs
rs y Pr es , 9
s 1 9 8), 106.
8. Ali quo ta io s are fro p m gra 0 f d(Sranford , �
t n Calj .f S
ara phs 1 7 and
sophica/ In vest g o n, trans. 10 o . " la
9
G. E. M. An
scornbe (OxL fo U rd·W.1Bg w ·11 ns , nfo td
1 t n
i a ti s

See Gill
u asil. B&e i
I
es Dele ze, C ncma, 2 l
46-

,
47
.

to rs
jam (M· n po1· vo s., trans. Hugh Ba ac Weil '1Ph to •
k con tribu p tive Li e
t tu e
an
Tomli ns n a ' i ofthe De a rtme nt o f om ara
9

m ea s U m o n d r b 97◄), •s Ch a r a r d
.

,: · ers1· ty of Minne r p C ur
i

' sotaPress, 1986

10 J G B lla r
. . . a d, Em p re -89). aa as i
r Ab o f h Center fo t e
h tu of
dy
is ti
lob al
an
a o n d C
ult es
v

n ( o abbc ACkba ct . r
b

O o n r 1-l r. t e S G
.11 Leo u-uc..u. l Lee, "Shang e Su L don : G ra ft n COdif or
of
B oos I 9 , 7 . l ud e Hong
h
. s me
t
ha1· M o dern: Refl e . ng. H' is recent publication
i

t he 1930s " P bl i ections on k Urb ' 1 rsity of Ho gn Ko

, an 8s)
C · e
and t he Po t cs of D sa p pea rance (1997) and "Dialectic of
u c Culture 11 (1999): 10 uhure v
12. r have 4.
in · China Vn1
at the. culture
i en a gre ate r length
i

wr tt
li

on Hong Kong in �� ic Cu lt ure, spnn 1999 ) .

.
depend ency lsew t
i
and the p • 10 n" (Pu bl
e here. See, for exan arad ox. c ce p
· · o,rD · iple, Ackb ar Abb a , Hong Ko , a 0e
ng . Clul lll n
t g

1 , app s ea ra n ce (M'mneapo1·1s:U111v · ers1ty t ureea . ing of

Po/1t1cs
., of M n .
s

13. See,Abb , "T h i nes ota Pr -� ·un Appadurai s Sa m u el N. Ha rper Distinguished ServiceProfesser of
as e rotic sof sa poi m nt " i Wo ng Kar- �ss 1 7 a '"' t
th i
E p n t , ) .
Lalanne . • D i e n
99 At'} hAs . n L an_gua _ges an
Da ivd Martmez, AckbarAbbas, and J1mm . • .
nthropo ogy a nd So�t
l t a _ d c·1v1·1·.�zat1ons at the Uni-
•
1997), 39- 8 1. y Ng ai (Paris·wa, Ed' , .o lean-Mar A
ed
• li s e Deep Democr a :
· ns Dis�. c ver y of Chic ag o
si t . Hi r cen pubhcations mclude cy
4. Xu
t
•
1 Kuan , interv ew by Matthew Ott , r
g (H i in u in Mil ler
Re 1 and se c
Poo Cho9 l y 8, ban Governmen tality an th Ho izon of Politics " u ,,
Morning Po st o g Kong ), h a , y P ng' S0 . e Gl b
di

r P u b li c C u t re
w ve
(
d

ss U t
ue vo i i ess
l
n s o d e r s Pr
ss C e ve ti n 111h Clu .n winter 200
2); the ed ite u e
m
tion ( D uk Un y
15. On e s e ues, sec Ulr h Beck, BWha
o aliz a
l

th b 1 t
a ion-Sta e Identity, Violence
20 00).
i ic o ?n (CamJ r id99g : Poli S
ty r
es.s d
); an "The Grou n ds o f th N t
e : , an d
a
t 1s Globalizati
e
P , 20 10
16. Beck, Wha 1s Glo aliza t on?, 3-4, 103
d
in
an
"
m
ry
lis
Territo
Na tio na J
t
ti n lism in the Post-Gold Wa
(Beck's emphasis)
e a
rn o a r Era
Goldm ann, U. Ha nerz,and C. W
n
17. Se Roland
t

. dite d by K. .
Robertson, Global (2000), e es tin
b i
e ul i zation (London: Sage, 19 92 ) , ' ­ n
Robertson "Gl 73-74, oe emlso
, o ca tio sn: an
i e- p n
o 7 1 3 ( ir Seili a
T m S ace a d HomVe ne ty - et
liza

ge i eroge ne , n r ng s
Lo Lash, and Rol H
Global Mo dernities, e Sky, ike Featherstone, Scott ity • i r and African -American Stu es
d. M Ro nd obert so Homi K. B hab ah isP ofesso of E li h di
don: Sage, 19 a 8 n (Lo ­ c
irili , , 2 e-44. R n nive rsi ty. His pu a n s u
ul , at Harvard U o incl de The Location ofCu ur
95) ti

8 Pa tr s
5 bli

1. s d o
e
. i e e ( n o (1994) and the edited volume N a ti
lt
V o n : rs , 1 Na t io n (1990).
Op
J 9 9) s o a
d
n
. V n n r ra
p ash
is)
Bia ya a research As sociate a t the C o unc for the Developroent
il ) o f
Social Science Research in Africa (CO n akar, e ne galur ­
T. K.

D E S I A i , c
D S
R

ren lylives in AddisAbba, Ethiopia. He s the auth o of

r
­
cteurs et med ia
t

i A
re o o a
s dans la s luti n et l prevent io ndes ) cf flits en Afrique de l'Oues t
t(ia1n999)
and the coeditor (with G. Bibe u
on

o
a L' Afrique revisitee, a special
issue of Ant ropologie et Societes ( 998 )
h 1 .

teaches at the Un ive

Ca rol A. Breckenridge
r s tyo Chicago in the depart­
i f

ment of South Asian languages and civ ili za i n s

to . She is foundi ng the
editor o
f l Culture S h erece tly e d n
ited (with Can aced
Pub ic .
e su Vogle r
) a
sp cial is t e of u bl Culture enti ed "The Limitsof Embodim ent: Dis­
ic
a i P tl
i r i s . e is c n d
d " ntl at wor
urr e e " um a
boiltyer C. ci m S h y k o a project call M b i
M n"

228 * A CK 8 A RA B8 AS
 ·- · •-ui::rn y in Belg t.�• Wh
exn1b1ted m. France, Ita
ly, and Spain an ium . s o Was e d�.
d ean . �• Work has b
(with text and poem b a I so b e vi ewed 1t1
Odes Nues (1998) . ee
. sm
1ive . S enegal wh s y Amadou his b00n
ere he is weU-kn ow L ·
n for h"is grap . arntn.e Sail) li�
1.

researeh on women's iss hi e deSig e

ues. n and. h
is
Mamadou Diouf teaehes
history at the Uni
Ar bor. H.1s publ"1cat1. ons . 1 versity of M.1c . h .1ga
me ude the edited v
·indienn
· e ed d
e'bat: Colomal1 · · sme, olumes L'hI.Sfor. n' "• nn
nation alis me et socî rographr ·
(1999) and (w1th . e t'es postco/o e
Momar Coumba Diop
A,'1' ·
,..tque: · ' ·, ) Les figures du p li " nia/e
Des pouvoirs hentes aux pouvoirs élus (199 o t1q11eens
9).
Wu Hung is Harrie H. Vander
steppen Distinguished
sor in the dep artments of Art History Service Profes­
and East Asian Lang
Civilizations at the University of Chic . uages and
ago His reeent publications
clude "Photographing Deformity: Liu Zhen in­
g and His Photo Series 'My
Countrymen'" (Public Culture, faU 2002); "A Chine
se Dream byWang
Jin" (Public Cultur e, winter 2000); Exhibiting Experi mental Art
in China
(2ooo); Transience: Chinese Experimental Art at the End of the Twenti­
eth Century (1999); and Double Screen: Medium and Representation in
Chinese Painting (1996).

Walter D. Mignolo is William H. Wannamaker Professor of Romance

Studies and Professor of Literature and Cultural Anthropology at Duke
University. He is the author of Local Histories/Global Designs: Coloni­
ality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking (2000) and
The Darker
Colonization (1995).
Side of the Renaissance: Literacy, Territoriality, and
Indic
essor of Sanskrit and
Sheldon Pollock is George V. Bobrinskoy Prof ary C�l­
He is the editor of Liter
Studies at the University of Chicago. University
His tory : Rec ons truc tion s from South Asia (Berkeley:
tures in
of California Press, 2002). 231 • CO
NT R I B UT O
RS

230 • CONTRIBUTORS
 in d e "
Benda, Julien,42-43, 52 n.46
anet, 169
11gtiod,J Bernal, Victoria,129,136 n.60
Abu-� • ans-• Christianit y and, 162, 167;
ndi
J\tnen 171"• personho
od of, 162, Bhakhti (religious movement),35
J(a nt on, sl ry, 164-65,
ave Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 40-41, 52
174 ' 184 n.3;
164-67, n.44,74
168 50 n.27 Biaya, T. K., 146, 151
Benedict,28 ,
J\Jlders,on, 177, 179, 181, 184 Black market,60-62, 67-68
. Abdullahi,
J\Jl-Na im, Body image: African versus Euro­
0,5 132 n.2 pean concepts of beauty, 142-44,
, n, 111 -12,
urai',A�riu
J\ppad 148, 150,152-53; erotic clothing and
4-27
;\rbitrage,22 Be1J...1ng recon- adornmen t, 145-47,149,150,154;
e,urban : and
;\rchitectur 3; and Hong nudity,138-40,153
4, 200 -20
struction, 19 and Bombay: anti-Muslim violence in, 76-
on, 220 -22;
Kong preser vati
pm ent, 219-20; in 79, 80 n.1; cash commerce in, 58-62;
Shanghai develo
136 n.51 civic activism in, 79-80; Hindutva
Touba, 118,128,
(Hi du fundarnenta lism) in, 56,72-
;\ristotle, 84-85,89
n

art i Beijing, 204; 78; homelessness in, 63-66,75-76;

Art: avante-garde n

reconstr uction life insurance in, 59-60; asMum­

de molition and
tllemes in, 200- 203; glass pain
120, 125, 135 n.29; graffi ti in
189-200,201_-:-7, 207 n.4, 208
museums,60,204,222-23; nudity,
138-40,153. See also Photography
Assimilation: andMurid community,
u6-17,119, 120, 124-29,136 n.60;
national identity and,25-26, 49 n.20; Brzezinski, Zbigniew, 175, 176,184 n.4
of �anskrit idioms in southern Asia,
31
Atlantic commercial circuit (sixteenth
century),162, 166, 169
Augé,Marc,212,226
BabriMasjid (India), 73-74, 7 7
Bakhtin, Mikhail, 31, 33, s
o n.29
Ballard, J. G., 214, 215
Beck, Ulrich, 47, 53 n.57
, 178 , 184 n.6
Beijing: avant-garde art
in, 204-7;
graffiti in, 189-200, 20
1-7, 207 n-4,
208 n.5; National Art
Gallery, 204;
reconstruction of,
194,200
ting, bai, 56, 73; poverty in, 55, 64-65;
Beijin g, racketeering in, 58-59, 67-68; real
n.5; estate speculation in, 63, 67-68, 75;
street vendors in, 70-72,77; textile
industry in,68-69; trade unionism
in, 69; transportation, public in,55
Borges, Jorge Luis, 209-11,227
Buiiuel,Luis, 210
Capitalism: abstract labor,86-87,91;
Atlantic commercial circuit (six­
teenth century), 162, 166, 169; citizen­
ship and, 106; coloniality and,178-79;
commodity and, 84-87, 98-101, 1o8
n.13; and factory worker discipline,
88-93,101-2, 104-5, 107 n.5, 1o8 n.8;
history of capital, 82-84, 97-101, 1o6-
7, 108 nn.u, 12; human rights and,
174-75; and the idea of the "West.»
158, 162-63; industrialiiation, 91-
93; vernacular nationalism, 44-45;
 Capitalism (continued)
worker-capitalist relations, 90-9 1, 95,
ide a o f the "W ,,
e st ' 15 mo bility; Ebin, Victo ri a, 123
8, 162-6 ti o n and Beijing
108 n.9. See also Cosmopolitanism;
on, 170-71; mult
ieu1 tural.i s
3; Kant
alii3tion
; Mi gra Eco nom ies: arbitrage, 224-27;
3;
also Globalizatio m'168.
See Modern
ity reconstruction and, 194, 200-20
n·' M0 der . 0, 184 n.6

l
Economies; Globalization; Labor n1t m , 179 -8 67-6 8, 70-
Com merce: Atla relativi cash comm erce , 58-6 2,
nti c . cultural 37-39, 42;
s
Carter, D. M., 122, 123 . . corn m erc1 Y opolitanis m,
cuit (SIJCte enth century) ' al cir cultur e: co sm
smopolitan ­ 72, 75-77, 84-87, 98-101; migration,
Castells, Manuel, 181 162 , 166 vi s m and co ­
169; banking in B cultural r
el ati 54-55; Murid bro therhood and com
Castes: Lawbé grio ts, 1.38, 145, 146, 154 ombay, 59- 0·
6 'cash -8 0, 18 4 n.6; ettiquette, 223- n.56; risk and,
co mm erce, 58-62 isrn, 179 m erce, 122-27, 136
hum an
n.5; Murid brotherhood and, 115-16 ' 67-68 ,70 7 g Kong, 217-19;
75-77, 84-87, 98-101· - 2
. ' 27; in H on a d, 15, 60- 61
5-6; l anguages
l Castoriadis, Cornelius, 85, 86, 107 n .4 . ' hum an ng h ts rights and, cation, 116, 134 n.17, 146, 154
n
and, 167; and mte d vel p Edu
Censorship, 138, 145 . . rdepend ence, ? ; Ji terary cult
ure ,
Elias, Norbert, 19, 48 n.5
ment
�27
i 1
o
6 5
e
179; hfe msurance in B 2 n.31,
ombay, 59- 4, 29-39, 49 n.15, 50
Chatterjee, Partha, 46, 53 nn.54, 55
60; Murid bro therho of, 17-18 , 2 re, Erot icism: body po sture, 154; Chris­
od and'113 , 39, 41; Sanskri t cu ltu
Chin a: Hong Kong, relati ons with,
119-20, 122 -27, 133 nn 51 nn-34• 38 , ­ ti anity, 140; dance, 146,
147, 155 n.6;
.8, 9; s treet 27 -32 , 50 nn.24, 26; in Shang
217-18, 221; hu.man rights in, 176;
ven dors , 70-72 , 77; trans 23-2 4, diskette, 147, 148; drianké, 147, 153;
national 4- 15, 22 1-22; societ al culture
Shanghai, relations with, 215-16 corpo ration s, 176, 224; ve h ai, 21 erot ic clothing and adornment ,
45, 52 n.52
Christi anity: Amerindians an d, 162, rnacular (Ky ml icka), 44- 139, 142-44, 145-47,149, 150; Is lam
,
tran sformatio n, 34, 51 n.34
167; Church authorit y, 163-64, 167; 140-41, 146- 47, 149- 51, 154 n.4, 155
Com mo dîty, 84-87, 98-101, 108 Ndi aye, 139_40, 142_52,
cit izen ship and the nation-state, n.13 Dago , Ous mane n.7; partners hips between women
Com muni sm, 174, 176
167; eroticism an d, 140-41; expul­ 151-54 (goor-djigen), 144, 151; perfumes, 146,
Co mmunity: Aris totle on, 84; of Muri
sion of Jews an d Moors, 164-6 5, 166, d Dance, 146, 147, 155 n.6 152; photography, 139-40, 151-54;
brotherhoo d, 114-15, 116; Murid ritual
168; globalization and, 157, 158-59; Deleuze, Gilles , 213 thiuraye, 147, 152, 154
com munity, 124, 126, 127, 130-32; y, 180; cos­
Democracy: and colonialit
hu.man rights and, 159, 161, 167; Islam an Etti quette: cos mopolitanism and, 223-
Zapatis ta reciprocity, 180-81 mopolit anism and, 182-83; hum and
and, 162; modern ity an d, 157, 158-59; ition 24; and mobile phones , 223-24;
Copans , Je an, 115, 132 n.6, 134 n.17 rights and, 176; Zapatistas' defin space, 223- 24, 226
multiculturalism and, 173-74; orbis Cosmo -polis, 167-69, 172 social
of, 180-81
universalis christianu.s, 162-64, 167, Co smopolitan is m: borders and, 177-82, 219 Euro pe: cosmo-polis i n, 167-69, 172;
Deng Xiaoping, 194, cu­
168 co smopolitanis m vers us verna
184 n.6; citiz ens hip, 8, 164, 182- Dependency theory (Latin America), Enlig hten ment in,
Citizenship: capital and, 106; co smo ­ 83; co mpare d to vernacularism in laris m in, 39-40;
176-77 166; Eur ocent rism, 170;
politanism and, 8, 161, 182-83; Kant 83, 106, 158,
history, 20-22, 39-40; critical cos­ Derrida, Jacques, 18 nghai's
o n, 174; and migration, 54-55; Murid art European influence on Sha
m opo litanism, 159-62; cultural Dialogue (Zhang Dali's urban 175; and
archi tecture, 214; Kant on,
brotherhood and French citizens hip, relati vis m, 179-80; culture, 37-39, proje ct), 189-96, 198-200, 204-7, 207 n.38; Latin in,
113, 133 n.u; Muslims in Bo mbay, 57, lang uages, 35-39, 51
42; democracy, 182-83; diversity n-4, 208 n.5 33, 42, 49 nn.12,
23-25, 28-29, 32-
74-75, 76-79, 80 n .1; in the n ation­ and di vers ali ty, 168, 183-84, 211; Diaspora: Murid communi ty in, 123-25, 19-20;
s tate, 161-64, 167; pover t y an d, 57, 74,
15; literary communication,
ettiquette, 223-24, 226; Eurocen­ 128, 131-32 sance in, 157, 158, 160- 61;
Renais
76-78 trism and, 170; ge nder and, 7-9, 151; Diawara, Manthia, 114 32-33
vernaculari zation in,
Class, 26, 53 n.55, 117 globalism, 211-12, 224-27; in his tory, Dièye, Cheikh Abdoulaye, 117, 119
Clothing: ero ti c an d adornment, 139, Exile, 128-29, 192 , 194
Dirné, M., 138,141 n.1 164-65,

j
142-44, 145-47, 149, 150; hijab, 149-
50, 155 n.7; Islam and, 146-47; of
Murid bro therhood, 114, 125-26
1-6, 10-11, 21-22, 39-40; and human Expuls ion, of Jews and Moors,
rights, 5, 162-66, 174, 177, 182-83, Discipline : of factory workers, 88-
urid 166, 168
184 nn.3, 5; inclusion and, 174, 184 93, 101-5, 107 n.5,108 n.8; i n M Eze, Emmanuel, 170-71
0, 124, 125, 145
community, 116-19, 12

j
n.2; interdepe ndence, 176, 179; Islam,
mopoli­
Cold War, 161, 174, 175, 176, 178, 183 115, 129; Latin and, 23-25, 28-29, 42, Divers ity and divers ality: cos Factories, 88-93, 101-2, 104-5, 107
n.5,
183 -8 4, 211; cul tur al
Colonialit y: borders of, 177-81; capital­ 49 nn.12, 15; literary culture, devel­ tanism, 1 68, n.8
alism,40- 108
ism and, 178-79; cosmopolitanism opme nt of, 17-20, 26-28, 39-40, 51 divers ity, 82; fundament Fem ini sm, 7-9
56 ,72- 78, 111, 181;
an d, 158-61, 180; cultural relativi sm , nn.34, 38, 39, 41; of Murid bro ther­ 41, 51 n.43, 52 n.44, Fi l m industry, 58, 60, 217-18,
219
179-80, 184 n.6; dem ocracy and, 180; hood, 119-23, 131-32; Sans krit and, universalis m,181-84 Fordis , 54, 69, 211
0-71, 184 n.3
Dusse!, Enrique, 169, 17
m
hum an rights and, 174-75; and the 23-24, 26-32, 50 n.24. See a/so Glob-

234 • INDEX 235 • INDEX

 Fouc ault Mi c hel 89 08 ,
, , , n .8 co mmun ity, 11 ; ma in ery, 90- 9
His o ry: c 6 ch
eS MuJTI-
1
France: fo
u r comm ne in e egal, t apital,32_
1
b y be CO J1l .
u s S n - 108 nn.
84 , 9 7 10 . aorn a
0
2, 10 n 7; mot ivat on i o f, 105,
1 o8
113 u, 12; comrn
- 1 7 1 8
15, 120, 1 3 . 11 HID . u
8
1 ,
3 n ; Fre n ch ev o ul t on,
d ,
od1· ' 0 6 , , 1 - r
. . defin !l g 7lisa7 7. ); , 0 - tva , n. 1 7 ; pr o ductiv e tabo , 103 1o8 n.15 ;
49 11.10 i

R . t Yas a tn . -
158, 168 69; Mu id broth i ce dent of capita , e 4 41 d 51
aJTl
r oo all•ill7d3•u fUJld t l1l , ,
e
- er l 8 4_8 7 , 9 -1 1 b(!• r sn n 1 ;
cosm o poht . ani. 8 bo , t an at io al corpora tio ns 76 224
lan
h d sm in _ 8 0 ; e
n
and F nch i ize nship 6 7
, 2- ;7 rn
re ct , 113 ,
133 n .11 1 6 10 1 1 111.44 , r e r-ca p t alist re at ons, 89 -91, 9 ,
M rid com un ity in 3, 1,3 ; 2 2, 39- 40; h1s toriography - , 2 1- _ 3, 5 2 , 3
3
, 3 - 3
9 , 51 w ok i l i 5
4 5 7 -
5
and, 5
•

, 12 , 22 11 3
1

u li. tera y c ltu '.i gu g 0 .9

1 08
-
•

_ ; ran J i a e ra ure nd, 17- 1 , 4 ,48

0 8 3
Funda m , 8 Hindu tva ( r u re, d ev elopm '3 4; 1 .4 ,
1
2 , 3
e du hood 11 , 1
ntal
m is ne I o r t a i
a, 36 - 39; class and,
funda 1 1;
Hi n 18, 24, 29 n I 73 ; te d bro ther , 4 3 3 Lan guages: As 6 5
-39, 49 n.15, 1 - d Muri
e
ntalism)
, 4 0- 1, 1 n 51 nn.3 ' 7 ,
m

4 fun5 .43, 39, 41 ; mo e y 4 _1; an al chara ter , n .5 ; n ity,35- 3

6; culture an d
2 ; n c 5 co
am 5 ­ 0 6 na
t
n.4 4, 5 6 , 72- 8 Islam ic as antecedent '3 ' 6 0. 0 a io u mm 2
; o 11.11, 13 ,
n
, 39; culture and, 15,25- 7 ;
d

7 en t al f o f ïzati n and 3 3 - 30-32 , 35 -

n
i sm, 11 d capi tal, 84-87, 8- e cu ar 3 4
9 1 01; and 3; vr l o ­
1
co ect ive m e Mur id 170-7 na .
Europe, 35-39, 51 n 38; fun d a mental
ll mory, 120, 12
8_29; 5 51
n-34
.
ori gins of people an J 44-4 • 41 56,
06 ,
ism 40- 41 ; geograph y, 35 3- , 51 39;
7 n
Gellner Ernes t, 3 4 3 5 40
, , 44, 0 n .33 52 . 6 d nguages
a , - Jndi 16, 31
, , - , 1 ­ t
, 201- ,
5 , n4 37, 5 1 n n.34, 39; secu a, br s t i nity an d , 1 62; cos mo i in Be j g as , 1 - 2 00 7
Gender, 7- 9 35 a graffi i in 8 9
, 1 1, 0 l ris m, 46_47 ;
a
JsJaro: C 07 0-4,
8
5 1 8 urban preservatio i 5- 6, 1 9; er o c
is m
, n.5; history, 30-32 , 35-
Gi de André, 4
ti
, n and, 22 22, p0li ansi m, 11 1 2 2 20
2 0_ 2 ; ,
Globaliza ti Africa v e rnacu arization proce
l 24 t
140 41, 146- , 149 5 1,
- 154, 1 54 n .3, 37 ;
Lati
n, 1 , 23 -
8 25, 28 - 29, 32-34, 42
ss in,
47
o : - _4
and, 113 1 4, 13 3
n
4 5 7 - in,111 ; hija b, . ,
49 nn 12 15; na t o nal ide tit
y a d,
Homelessness, 63 - 66, 75-76 talism
i n
n 11 13 4 n 13 m
n n
. , . , 138-40 Chr st an 5; funda n
e
4, i B ay 25, 27-33, 35-39, 51 n.41, 73; origins of
; i i i ty Hong Kong: archi tec n ; Mus l s n o m b
and 157 58 9; 149-50, 1 5 .7 ,
im
ture, 219; co
, Europe n e
5
, 1 - ­ lo­ , ,
5 a R n ais n i alism, 213, 21 ; ulture, n. 1 ; o people and, 35 - 37; Sanskri , 10, 11 1 8
t
sance and 157 ; four 217, 1 75 76 78 , 80 rtho d
o ,cy
, , 15 , 60 61 c 57, 74- , -
2 9;
8 7
- re la tions with - n . , ve r u
comm China, 21 7 -18, in, 145; Sufism, 29, 1 , 1 49; i 23 24, 27 -32, 50 n 24 16; nac ·
45
1 1 th e o rn
unes nd
,113- 15, 0 13 n. 221;
a 2 , 3 11 ; urban preservatio 8 ; uni ­ o 29 . La ;
, -4 ve r la rza tion f, - tin
glocali tio 22 5 La in 1 n i n, 2 0 (K o ranic m ast r) 1
e
also
2 2- 2
i 39 See
; tr a sfor ma ­
za n,
4 7

t i e rature; Sanskrit
tion o f lt al y n
H o rkh eime r, Max, 102 salism in, u 5-1 , 136 n . 6
6 0. See a lso Lt
cu u r s s ems , 2 5, 2 -2
8
t 9; H ousing: Beijing reconstruction, 19 , t e d Latin: cir ula tion oftexts, 32-33;dis·
map s , 1 4 Murid bro h rho o c
6-63; mo er n -
d
2 and, 157 - 200 20 3; homelessness, 63-66 sernination of, 23-2 5 , 2 8 -29, 42,49
5 8, Mur id b i h h ,7 -
,4 , 4 3-4 4 u
ty
1 6- 6
2 3
ro o d and , 5 , 3 ,
; t er o 7 6; Muri d diaspora co mmunities, tal 2
l y a on
122 23 00. 12, 15; elites and vern aculariz ti
1 - , 13 -3 , 13 n. 60
0 1 6
123; neighb orh ood activism (m Jameso n, Fredric, 62 33-34, 42; terary c ltur
u e , 18 scrip
;
1 Glocalizatio , 225
n
committees),79-80; poverty and,
ohulla
Jews' expulsion from Iberia , 164-65, of 28
,
li
t

ii
Graffiti Dial gue (Zhang ali ,
: o 's urba n 55, 64 -65; public spac e a s , 64-6 , 0 Lawbé griots (musicians), 138, 1 4 ,5 146
art pr ject), D 1 , 16
1 9- 6 ,1 5 7 ; 66 8
o 8 9 8 - 3, spe cu l ation in Bombay, 63, 66-6
7, 2 0 n 8 n 5; gl ba20
9
20 4- 154 n.5
. 0 . l re o 7 ,
7 4 ,2 na u aders p, u6, 124 1 45, 147-48
o f, Hurnan righ s : ofAmerindians, 162, Kane, Cheikh Harnidou , 11 4, 34 0.13
11
20 6 d th
t t Le hi
e me i , 6 -20 0, 207 n. ,
d
; an 16 1
214
a 19 4 4- 6 6, 1 4, 184 n.3; capitalism an Kant, lmman uel: on Ame rindi an s, 17 1; Lee, Leo Q ufan,
d,
7
20 8 n .5
1'1 Gramsc i Ant
174- 75 ; in Chin a , 176; Christian citizenship,1 74; on colon l y, 1 0-
ia i
Leng Lin,1 96, 199
, o io 2 ,2 , 4 2 ity t 7
1 3 3 -44,50 10
trauss, Claude, 2
v
, an d , 159, 161, 166-67; coloniality 71; on cosmopoli t a n sm,
8
,
68
Lé i-S
1 5 1 ; don
n
n 32,52 n. i
6
. 4
Gue y Ch ikh 118 2 ,
and, 174- 75 ; commerce and, 167; globalization, 15 7 , 1 58-59; o rno e r­ Li ang Si cheng, 10 1

e , e , , 1 8 134 n. n , 176
24 comm un sm, 1 74, 17 5, 176; cosmo
i · nity and coloniali t y, 16 6, 170, 176 on ralism, 5, 7, 81, 161
; Libe ,
co mmu ni cation , 19
po li tan is m and, 5, 162-66, 174, national chara cte r, 17 0-73 o per ­ e ture: literary
Haberm as, Jür 1 77, ; n Lit 2 ra devel­
, 1 6
0, 168, 1 9, 1 0 , literary culture,
_ , 43n .6;
6

7 18 2 - 83 , 184 nn.3, 5; democracy, sonhood, 174, 18 n.3; on s es and 9 31 . ,

173, 18 4n . ge3 39, 49 n 15
n
1 , 4 t at
opm nt of, 17-18, 14, 19-
4f
n 17 6 ; ge er, 180; homine.s(human human rights , 175 e
Hall, Stu art , 112, u3
nd
and
, 132 n.3 9, 41; litera ryculure
J
b e ing s) v ersus gentes (peop le), 167
-45, 5
, 4 4 n.5 2 51 n n .)4,38, 3
Hann rz , Ulf, 211 - c a, 3
I e
6 8; Unite d Nation s D e K ym k Will
li 2 er m , 1
claration of politic

l
Haring, Keith, 2 0 7 al pow (Gra sci ) 3 '4 -4 :
relig ous mo ve ments and, 5

1
Human Rights, 175-76, 0 bo (Mar x) , 83 88,
Heg el G W F., 1 8, 1 4 n .5 Lab o r: abstract ta r - i
, . 9 8
. 4- 95 , 17 3 un
H tin gton , Sa m u el,17 - 91 bi ol og cal me a h rs r , 1- 9
t p o fo 9 2,
.
Heidegg r, Mar tin
, 0 3 -4, 0 8n.16 8 7 9 ; i 1, 10:i, 1o8 n 7
e
n ; , Ma chlnery,90-9
a 10 3,
l
1 93, 94-9 , 102
i

Hijab, 4 50 15 n.
1 6 , 1
0
.9 cap t
, , 6, -
8

1 9
- 7 . ry w disci ­ M aharash tra 5 73 74
Hindu tv (Hi du5 fundam Iberia, 32, 50 n 31; Moos r 'e u n 108 n . 1 5 an fact c r
rk
rn)
xp lsio o o , 1
d

' n e ntalis , ; . , 117,

a from, 164-65, 166,168 pline, 88-9 3, 1 01- , 10 -5 , 10 7 n 5, e on
Mao Z d 2 g 21 6 u
40 - 41, 5 1 n.4 ,3 52 n . , 56 7 - 27 1 4
44 n a n : rd a s, 1 6-6
, 8 dentity, ti o al assimi lat ion, 2 - 6 , a
I 5 2 108 n .8;l bo r mobili za on in Mu i M p 3
ti
IND
EX
23 6 •
E
23 7 • IN DX
 ,1 45, 1 63- 64
6
Secul i , 4 , 7 3- 7 4
Se ar a sm r
l: Chri in , 1 0 4 -41; e o it­
i
t an
s
Markets 70- 72 , 77 , u2 - 2 , 6 n. -1 ,
7 1 9
, 7 13 neg i
cu t u ul iVStiol l, 113 8 1
ty
5 6 , , -
8
- .
Marx, Karl:on b t l bo 88 1; lt i l , 11-3 cim in, 1 83 , 1 46 4 ,149 5 4, 1 54 nn 3,
a s r a c t a r, 83 - , 9 rali m 2 l68 1 7 3_ , c t
s
77.
Mu .n
J 7 180, 1 8 .... �-nul lt _,1 17 1- • 1 4) zo 6 s
fo mm
in, u 3 ,
on Aristo t le , 84 , 85 8 bo is 4 " p r " 00"' w , co un - 5, uo
, 9; on u rgeo L jvi rr
, ; 1
o o
sO
Mum bai . See Bomba
es
e (�- . ti n and recon- 5 n.
ur
o8 n. y
4
soc ety , 99-1
, 12 ; fa c - Mu plta se ,. ltY' d em t 3 n .u; h jab,1 9- 50, 15 5 7; as
i

i o r i d brot h er ho d: Am . ", s ar , 2 00 -
, 88-n ,93
li

o
· z1t ng Dau
0
o
0
t ory w r ke r d pho tograP
1
isci pl i
4

o adou B , 3 5 n.31,1 54;

o
ne 0 -2 ,
.. amb •
13

nat ion -stat ti 11 ,n121in 1

e , 4
1 1 wn gs , 1 0, 1.011 i ; D.i a lo
n

10 - 5, 1 7 . n 8;
. o h is ti n 2 12 9, 130, 136 n, as e , 19
a
6 , t ul v , 3-1 7, 11 9 ;
60; as. gu
4
8
lo gu e
a ti o
s tr u c.•1
4
n 5, 1 0 • di a pe anu c 11
n t or y o s i pr o .e ct) ,
0
a io n and, 114- 1 ,
2
cap tal 81- 84
0
f m l t
119, 12 , 03 , Su
, 7, - & oall' u m in, 14 5,149. Se ealso Murid
i
, 97-10 1, 08 n 7 ba n fi
n .11, 12; 12 5 - 0 1 , (Zhall r � 1 J 8- 0 ;
on ilibe lis 27,13 6 n.60; baye fa , 1 4
ude lfl,
, 15
3
4
3
1 s
1t8, 134 07; the o b oth r hood
s
ra 1 9 40
l
3
6
, 1 o n po ll
ism, 81; o n pro d
m 1; stco on i ­
l b r 03 al
n.2 ; c e meta ie s , 11
r 8, 127, 13 n. 89_94, ,. eD
go 3
, -
, r e
-4 ,
ve - ; 4 25, 13 e N
ty,138 , 1 39, )1 4 4, 1 5 1, 154 n n 5
ti
uc a o , 1 4 .5 clo h n , 11 1 us rnan
diay
6 o 0 $eXU
a
n 1; r 1 9 ,
li

on us val e , 3 8 n 4, 12 5-26; co 0 g Da , i 6 2
2 7
a
. mme a - Sha (Vir h
t i g
54; ofZh ,35
l

10 , 10
04

rc e va s aiva
n
14 and, 113, 11 9- 2
i
- 2 1 51 - arizatio n,
0 , ve rnac ul
e
22
u
Mbac ké, Abdou Lah 1 8 7, 133 nn 8, o

1
. 9; lites and Shangh i: arc h
at, 121 , 2 , 129 ure , 2 1 4 ; as ci
1
co s m op olitan ism of, c s: e d m a f
Mbac ké, Am d o Bamba 9-23, 31- po[iti i ndu fun e n­ ty
a
tva (H
i t
11 ­
ect

a u , 11 2
, 11 1 32 ; in d u cul ure, 221 - c lim at eof
di as po ra community, 123 - B ;
t
5 , 3 3- 3 4; 52 n-4 , 6, 22 indiff er
117-20, , 118, 3 51n- 43,
4
25 129, 13 - 1, 25
1 1 - 0 -41 , 5 c in, ; sm a n d,
3 4 e l
, 0 145 32; discipline in, 116-19, 120 talisll1), 2 1 - 6 c o o nia
1
5
9 ; La tin
e
li

McCar t h Tho as
1
168 , 0 , ,124, , d 3 6 -3 n
, 73 1 guag e s an , 2 -1 eved l o pm ent o , 2 19-20 ;
y, 2 7z-78; lan
m
17 145; glass painting, 120, 125, 135 5 y c ure
1
29; lit e ar 4 ; f
Media 1 5 , 8 2 , 20 n.
, 4 19 - 0 0 7 4 0 .
8n n. 29; 5- z6, 28- u
r
in,
culture, z lt ti o
13
n ll 6-1 7 ; prese rva n
, 2 i te al s (Hizbut Tarkya), 128,
ti ali
Mem o r y : e ti 5 ectu
aro - n a n 2 1
na d, 1 46 ; glass a t- l p awer (G
sc
i , 42
sm
ro ca
r
and palitica
o
p in 1 30-3 1, 1 37 n.62 lite racy, 116-17, o f, 22 0 - a ns wi Ch a,
)

; 24; rel ti o th in
ing an , u , 1 5, 135 n ; M 129 ; - 32, 0
ur e an ,
d
2 .29 m ar k e ts of, 1 22-27, 136n.56 mod 43; 5afl5kr cu 5
brothe hood nd , 8 20
o id
; ­ il ltur d 27 215-1 , 2 1
0,
6 8

a - 3 !111 24, l6 .
8
- mo u, 125, 126, 127, 128- Shiv a Se n -
a, 5 -57, 73, 75 7 6 , 7 9 , 80n 1
u
r 11 , 12
6

nn 51, 60; pra and d 2 9 , 136 n.50 ,

. yer , 3
136
; - 7 , 17
1 4 n.25 Muri d schools (dahras), 116, 134 n. 1 ; , 4 - , 0 5 8 ,
9 Sl , 119, 1 62 , 16 4- 6 5,168
Mexi co, 1
- Poverty 6 65 7 7
peanut cultivation, 113-17, 119 To 7 Smiry , A
ave
1 am, , o8 .n 1 5
Mi gno o , Walt8 r 168 16 9, 79
h
t d
80
; u b a 3 1
5_ 0
6 119, 17 ,
1 0 1
l e , , spiritual focus, 117- 9 , 122-25,12 Race, 7, 115-1 , 7 8 Sp ces: arbi rag d ati
as
3

e an t ran sn o nal
Migration and 8,
1
59 7 68
Racketeering, 58- , 6 _
ility:
b i iz 1
c t enship 134 .25, 6 . 1 ;
a t
o , 11 2- , s a ; ( ri h me ­
and, 5 4-5 5 ;m Dialo o (Zhan
' n 13 n 5 Wol fs 13 u 6, v an p ces, 2 2 4-2 7 Baol Mu d o
S gh
ali

gD Ra s htriya Swayarnse ak 1\ R S S , l as ed p
11 9 ) sa cr s ce, , 128;
gu e d)
urban ar t pr j ec ) and, 8 9; 1 2 .1
s

41, 510.43
a
1 9 -9 e u s 6 0, 20 , 2 2 2
an

Mus m , e , 8 , u7, 134 n .2 ,136 n 5. 1 ;

i
multiculturalism 2 6 6 8, 17 74 2-
o t s
3- 4 3 182 184 n. u
, , , Rawls, John , , 3
cemet ar
e ro tici s in pub lic space , 140 , 14 6,
5

1
b h ,
18 0, 18 n. ;3 o f M e ood , m
atio n, 6 3 , 6 -68
d th
4 ri r , Real est at e spec ul 5,
N ag ara j, D. R., 46, 53 n. 4
d i
u o 7 7 14 t e tt an soc a l sp ce, 223 -
r i a
t
1 1 2 8, 3 1-32, n 3 urban 5 9; e e
- 1 135 . 2; re loca ­ Na irn, Tom , 45,52 n.53 220 4 22 6 ;qu graffi i asdial e
for 2 , t in urban
2
tio n, ran Religion-states, 1 5-67
2 ; ve ar m
3
ul
-
o
rn a c
6
20 a­ Nat i on-states: aut hor i ty o , 163,167- 2
gu

tion, 34, 5 n.
t s
f ncein Bo sp ce,1 9- 9 6, 2 01 , 04-7; hijab we ar -
Riots : a n ti-Muslim viole m­ a
1 34 6 ; citize nship in, 16 3-64, 167; de­ in in p8 bli , 49-50,

J:
Mobile p h n es , 8
ri Ma c 1 n.7; Hin­
223- bay, 76-79, 80 0.1; Bab u
sjid
dg
1
4 pe n de ncy theory ( La tin America , tv a ( Hi du fun d am
Moderni ty:in Africa 2 114 en alism) and
55

)
o
13 n
, , 4n. , , destruction,56-57, 73- 4; T ian anm e n
t
1 76 - 77; interd e pendency of, 176 7 u
bli c p , 2 - 7 8 ; ho elessness
138 4 Chr i ti ni , 15 5

l1
d13
Square, 192, 194, 204 pu ce m
- 0; s a tyan 7, 1 8- 179; na onal character in, 170-7 3; s a
7 in
59; co sm o-pol Bom ay, 63- 66, 7 0, 75- 7 6, 78 ; local
b
is and, 1 7 6 , gion- states , 165-67; Senegal as, 3 n .
ti

n
li
6 - 172; re ss , r c , 128, . , 1 6 n 51 , 6
cosmopo litanis m (cr itica l c9 ­ Ro E 134 25 5 tw0rk, :u3;
ace vers u s global ne
i
li sp
o 11 , 121, 135 .n 31,145; sovereign ty o ,
tanism ), 159-6 Euroc en r m po d
o sm f 12 , 8 1 .
3 4n 25; Muri
Sandaga market, 122- 2 , 3 124 as u q es , 11 8 , 127 u , d
an ,
4

1 7 0; glo balizat 2
; t is 1 7 6; T rila te ral Commission (1973), , mmm
uniti in citi es , u - o 24; M
i o and, 57- 8
, 176, 184 n.4; Uni ted Nations Decl a ra­ angh Pariva m an z a ­ co urid
63; M id in llecto als 1 8 5 1 26- S (F a il yof O g i r
r es
m k e t s 22 -7, 136 .56;m eums

.J
te ,u 0 ,1 n us ,
1, 3 -31 , tio n o Human Righ t ,s 175 -76, 180 , tions), 41 56
,
2

60, 20 4, :uz-23 negot iat

ar
f
ur u
13 7 .62; o rbis un i r a lis hr t s pa
ce
n ve s c is ianu,s 184 n.5 anskrit: culture, 27-32, 50 nn.24, 2 ; ; ed
S
16 - 64 , 67 , 68 ; rur al areas and 2 in Sh anghai, 214-15; pub c pa ce as
6

1 1 , 16 ; New Hong Ko g C ne ma,2 1 -1 , 219 dissemination of, 23- 32, s o n.24 li s

2
traditi an d 11 4 , 11 9 n i 7 8 ;
7 -74, 0 n.i: regio nal
cr e space, 2
d
on , , 1 n .13 e e politics and, 27-29, 30-32; Rash­ s a

'j
3 4 . S c oe , a u e, 2 4, 4 9 n. 8
also Vernac ul rizati on N l ! Cl d 1 6 4, �8-40 . 51
ization, 33-3<
i
triya Swayamsevak Sangh (Rss ), vern
acular od
Mone y, 84 87, 9 -
a
rur
l
t as a m ern ity. 216:
- 0 - 41,51 n. 43 ; script of, , 28 5 . . 3 4; a e n
n 27 ;
r 0
d
Mosq u s, 11 8, 2 , 8, 1
8 1 1
Or b is univer lisas ch istian ,us1 62 6 4, n
a
, - 2, 5 0 3
e 1 7 u 34 0. 25 ve rna a o S s cu ure,
16 7, 1 6 8 cul r i tza io n of, 2.8-31 f an kr it lt l4 27

,j
238 • INDEX
2 39 • INDEX

,.j
 art, 200-203; Dialogue (Zhang Dali's
Spaces (continued) 34,42; literary cu er), 139 urban art project),189-96,204-
nn.24,26; Touba as holy city,n7-19, lture, d ev a ( paint
of, 17-24,28-39,
4
e1op
9 n.15• 51 n 111ent yacoub o,Yo hji,226 7; expatriotism of, 189-90, 192-94;
122-25, 128,136 nn.51, 56 .
39,41; mult1cultu n yarnarnot graffiti as dialogue in urban space,
ralism and .34'38'
Spain, 32, 50 n.31, 164-65,166, 168 173-74,180,184 n.3 • 2,168, 1
; na tionalis as,180-8 his 189-96,201,204-7; photography,
Spivak,Gayatri (strategic essentialism), 44-45; reg1.onal ver ma zapatist : critical responses to
nacularizat nd haPg oali n- 4,208 n.5; 196-204,207
82,90, 108 nn.6,14 ion 207
33-34,38-39, 51 n.34; Z, 198-200, Zizek, Slavoj,181
Stoicism,25-26,50 n.21 28-31
Sanskrit an�
, g rafitti, and reconstruction in his
Street vendors,70-72,77 delllol on
iti
Violence: Muslims in Bo
m bay and, ,
Sufism,129,145,149 74, 76-78,80 n.1; riots, 57
56-57, 72, _
75, 76, 192, 194,204; war, 74
158,163,
Taylor,Charles,95,160,169,170,184 168-69,175,178-79
n.3 Virilio,Paul,225-26
Technology,90-91,96, 102, 108 n.7, 179 Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP), 41
T hird World, 175 Vitoria,Francisco de: on Am
erindians,
Thompson,E. P.,90,104-5 165,174,184 n.3; on cosmopolita
nism,
Touba sanctuary, u7-19, 122-25, 128, 136 157,158; on globalization,157,158-
nn.51, 56 59; modernity and coloniality,176;
Toulmin, Stephen,168 multiculturalism,168, 173; on natural
Tradition: assimilation and, n4, 116- rights,165-66,184 n.1; religious and
17,119,120, 124,125-27; modernity racial conviviality,178,182; states and
and,114,119, 131-32, 134 n.13; Touba human rights,175
sanctuary as spiritual focus, 117-19,
122-25,128,134 n.25,136 n.51 Wallerstein, lmmanuel,178
Transnational corporations, 176,224 Wittgenstein,Ludwig,212
Transportation,public,55,63 Wolls tonecraft,Mary,180
Trilateral Commission (1973),176,184 Wolofs, 113,116, 119
n.4 Women: African ver sus European con­
Trouillot,Michel-Rolph, 164 cepts of beauty, 142-44, 148, 150,
152-54; dance,146,147, 155 n.6; dis­
United Nations Declaration of Human kette, 147,148; drianké, 147, 153; erotic
Rights, 175-76, 180,184 n.5 clothing and adornment,139,142-44,
Universalism: and Christianity,162- 145-47,149,150; feminism,7-9; hijab,
64,167,168; cultural universalism of 149-50,155 n.7; partnerships between
Borges, 210; divers ity and diversality, (goor-djigen), 144,151; perfumes, 146,
7-8,82,181-84; feminism and,7-9; 152; sexual education in Senegal,154;

Hindutva (Hindu fundamentalism) thiuraye, 147,152,154

and,40-41, 56; in Islam,115-16, 136
n.60; vernacular nationalism and,
42-45
Vernacularization: in Asia, 16, 31, 35-37;
cosmopolitanism and, 20-22,39-40,
43-47,53 n.55; in Europe, 16; in India,
40-41; Latin and,23-25,28-29,33-
240 • INDEX
Workers: discipline of,88-93,101-2,
104-5, 107 n.5,108 n.8; labor and,
89-91; machinery and,90-91,102,
108 n.7; motivation of,105,108 n.17;
worke r-capitalist relations,90-91,95,
108 n.9
Xu Kuangdi,218
241 • INDEX

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