Specters of Marx: The State of the Debt, The Work of Mourning & the New International (Routledge Classics)

Jacques

Derrida Specters of Marx The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning and the New International

Translated from the French by Peggy I

[d. h. von e iner materiel/en Grund/age dieses Unwesen], then he [im "Wesen des Menschen '1, n o r i n the pre d icates of G o d , but i n the ity,

should l o o k for it n either in the "es s e n ce of m a n "

material world which each stage of rel i gious d eve l o p m e n t

Feuerbach) . A l l the "s pecters " [die wir Revue passieren liessen] we re rep resentati o n s [Vorstellungen] . These re presentati o n s-leaving aside th e i r real b a s i s [abgesehen von ihrer rea/en Grund/age]

fi n d s i n exi ste n ce (cf. a bove w h i c h h ave fi led befo re us

(wh i c h Sti r n e r i n a ny case l eaves a s i d e)-u n d e rstood as rep re­ sentati o n s i nte rn a l to co n sciou s n e s s , as t h o u ghts in peo p l e ' s

[Gegenstiindlichkeit] [in das Subjekt zuruckgenommen]. el evated fro m s u b stance i nto self-conscio u s n e s s , a re obsess i o n s [der Sparren] or fixed ideas. (P. 1 60-61) head s , tra n sfe rred fro m thei r obj ecta l i ty back i nto t h e s u bj ect

I f one follows the letter of the text. the critique of the

ghost or of spirits would thus be the critique of a subjective

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representation and an abstraction, of what happens in the head , of what comes only out of the head, that is, of what stays there, in the head, even as it has come out of there, out of the head, and survives outside the head. But nothing would be possible, beginning with the critique, without the surviving, without the possible survival of this autonomy and this automatism outside the head. One may say that this is where the spirit of the Marxist critique situates itself, not the spirit that one would oppose to its letter, but the one which supposes the very movement of its letter. Like the ghost, it is neither in the head nor outside the head. Marx knows this, but he proceeds as if he did not want to know it. In The German Ideology, the following chapter will be devoted to this obsession that made Stirner say: "Mensch, es spukt in deinem Kopfe ! " commonly translated as " Man, there are specters in your head! " Marx thinks it is enough to turn the apostrophe back against Saint Max (p. 1 6 0) . Es spukt: difficult to translate, as we have been saying. It is a question of ghost and haunting, to be sure, but what else? The German idiom seems to name the ghostly return but it names it in a verbal form. The latter does not say that there is some revenant , specter, or ghost; i t does not say that there i s some apparition, der Spuk, nor even that it appears, but that "it ghosts , " "it appar­ itions. " It is a matter [II s' agit] , in the neutrality of this altogether impersonal verbal form, of something or someone, neither someone nor something, of a "one" that does not act. It is a matter rather of the passive movement of an apprehension, of an appre­ hensive movement ready to welcome, but where? In the head? What is the head before this apprehension that it cannot even contain? And what if the head, which is neither the subj ect, nor consciousness, nor the ego, nor the brain, were defined first of all by the possibility of such an experience, and by the very thing that it can neither contain, nor delimit, by the indefiniteness of the " es spukt" ? To welcome, we were saying then, but even while apprehending, with anxiety and the desire to exclude the

A P PA R I T I O N O F T H E I N A P P A R E N T

stranger, to invite the stranger without accepting him or her, domestic hospitality that welcomes without welcoming the stranger, but a stranger who is already found within (das Heimliche-Unheimliche) , more intimate with one than one is one­ self, the absolute proximity of a stranger whose power is singular and anonymous (es spukt) , an unnameable and neutral power, that is, undecidable, neither active nor passive, an an-identity that, without doing anything , invisibly occupies places belonging finally neither to us nor to it. Now, all this, this about which we have failed to say anything whatsoever that is logically determinable, this that comes with so much difficulty to language, this that seems not to mean anything, this that puts to rout our meaning­ to-say, making us speak regularly from the place where we want to say nothing, where we know clearly what we do not want to say but do not know what we would like to say, as if this were no longer either of the order of knowledge or will or will-to-say, well, this comes back, this returns, this insists in urgency, and this gives one to think, but this, which is each time irresistible enough, Singular enough to engender as much anguish as do the future and death, this stems less from a "repetition automatism" (of the automatons that have been turning before us for such a long time) than it gives us to think all this, altogether other, every other, from which the repetition compulsion arises : that every other is altogether other. 37 The impersonal ghostly returning of the "es spukt" produces an automatism of repetition, no less than it finds its principle of reason there. In an incredible paragraph of "Das Unheimliche, " Freud moreover recognizes that he should have begun his research (on the Unheimliche, the death drive, the repetition compulsion, the beyond of the plesure principle, and so forth) with what says the " es SpUkt. " 38 He sees there an example with which it would have been necessary to begin the search. He goes so far as to consider it the strongest example of Unheimlichkeit ("Wir hatten eigentlich unsere Untersuchung mit diesem, viel­ leicht starks ten Beispeil von Unheimlichkeit beginnen k6nnen,

217

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"We could , properly speaking, have begun our inquiry with this example of uncanniness, which is perhaps the strongest") . But one may wonder whether what he calls the strongest example lets itself be reduced to an example---merely to the strongest example, in a series of examples. And what if it were the Thing itself, the cause of the very thing one is seeking and that makes one seek? The cause of the knowledge and the search, the motive of history or of the episteme? If it is from there that it drew its exemplary force? On the other hand, one must pay attention to the conjuring mechanism that Freud then puts forward to justify himself for not having thought that he ought to begin from where he could have begun, from where he ought to have begun, nevertheless, him for example (you understand well what I mean: Marx, him too) . Freud explains this to us in the serene tone of epistemological, methodological, rhetorical, in truth psychagogical caution: if he had to begin not where he could have or should have begun, it is because with the thing in question (the strongest example of Unheimlichkeit , the " es spukt, " ghosts, and apparitions) , one scares oneself too much [one makes oneself fear too much: on se fait trop peurJ . One confuses what is heimliche-unheimliche, in a contradict0ry' undecidable fashion, with the terrible or· the frightful (mit dem Grauenhaften) . Now, fear is not good for the serenity of research and the analytic distinction of concepts. One should read also for itself and from this point of view all the rest of the text (we will try to do so elsewhere) , while crossing this reading with that of numerous other texts of Heidegger. 39 We think that the frequent, decisive, and organizing recourse that the latter has to the value of Unheimlichkeit , in Being and Time and elsewhere, remains generally unnoticed or neglected. In both discourses , that of Freud and that of Heidegger, this recourse makes possible fundamental projects or traj ectories. But it does so while destabiliZing permanently, and in a more or less subter­ ranean fashion, the order of conceptual distinctions that are put

A P PA R I T I O N O F T H E I N A P PA R E N T

to work. It should disturb both the ethics and the politics that follow implicitly or explicitly from that order. Our hypothesis is that the same is true for Marx ' s spectrology. Is this not our own great problematic constellation of haunting? It has no certain border, but it blinks and sparkles behind the proper names of Marx, Freud, and Heidegger: Heidegger who misjudged Freud who misjudged Marx. This is no doubt not aleatory. Marx has not yet been received. The subtitle of this address could tlms have been : "Marx--das Unheimliche." Marx remains an immigrant chez nollS, a glorious, sacred, accursed but still a clandestine immigrant as he was all his life. He belongs to a time of disjunction, to that "time out of joint" in which is inaugurated, laboriously, painfully, tragically, a new thinking of borders, a new experience of the house, the home, and the economy. Between earth and sky. One should not rush to make of the clandestine immigrant an illegal alien or, what always risks coming down to the same thing, to domesticate him. To neutraliJ ize him through naturalization. To assimilate him so as to stop frightening oneself (making oneself fear) with him. He is not part of the family, but one should not send him back, once again, him too, to the border. However alive, healthy, critical, and still necessary his burst of laughter may remain, and first of all in the face of the capital or paternal ghost, the Hauptgespenst that is the general essence of Man, Marx, das Unheimliche, perhaps should not have chased away so many ghosts too quickly. Not all of them at once or not so simply on the pretext that they did not exist (of course they do not exist, so what?)-or that all this was or ought to remain past ("Let the dead bury their dead, and so forth) . All the more so in that he also knew how to let them go free, emancipate them even, in the movement in which he analyzes the (relative) autonomy of exchange-value, the ideologem, or the fetish. Even if one wanted to, one could not let the dead bury the dead: that has no sense, that is impossible. Only mortals, only the living who

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are not living gods can bury the dead. Only mortals can watch over them, and can watch, period. Ghosts can do so as well, they are everywhere where there is watching ; the dead cannot do so--it is impossible and they must not do so. That the Without-ground of this impossible can nevertheless take place is on the contrary the ruin or the absolute ashes , the threat that must be tho ugh t , and, why not, exorcised yet again. To exorcise not in order to chase away the ghosts , but this time to grant them the right, if it means making them come back alive, as revenants who would no longer be revenants, but as other arrivants to whom a hospitable memory or promise must offer welcome­ without certainty, ever, that they present themselves as such. Not in order to grant them the right in this sense but out of a con­ cern for justice. Present existence or essence has never been the condition, obj ect, or the thing [chose] of justice. One must con­ stantly remember that the impossible ( " to let the dead bury their dead") is, alas, always possible. One must constantly remember that this absolute evil (which is, is it not, absolute life, fully present life, the one that does not know death and does not want to hear about it) can take place. One must constantly remember that it is even on the basis of the terrible possibility of this impossible that justice is desirable: through but also beyond right and law. If Marx, like Freud, like Heidegger, like everybody, did not begin where he ought to have " been able to begin" (beginnen kiinnen) , namely with haunting, before life as such, before death as such, it is doubtless not his fault. The fault, in any case, by defin­ ition, is repeated, we inherit it, we must watch over it. It always comes at a great price-and for humanity precisely What costs humanity very dearly is doubtless to believe that one can have done in history with a general essence of Man, on the pretext that it represents only a Hauptgespenst , arch-ghost, but also, what comes down to the same thing--at bottom-to still believe, no doubt, in this capital ghost. To believe in it as do the credulous or

A P P A R I T I O N O F T H E I N A P PA R E N T

the dogmatic. Between the two beliefs , a s always , the way remains narrow. In order for there to be any sense in asking oneself about the terrible price to pay, in order to watch over the future, every­ thing would have to be begun again. But in memory, this time, of that impure "impure impure history of ghosts. " Can one, in order to question it, address oneself to a ghost? To whom? To him? To it, as Marcellus says once again and so prudently? "Thou art a Scholler; speake to it Horatio Question it. " The question deserves perhaps to be put the other way: Could one address oneself in general if already some ghost did not come back? If he loves justice at least, the " scholar" of the future, the "intellectual" of tomorrow should learn it and from the ghost. He should learn to live by learning not how to make conversa­ tion with the ghost but how to talk with him, with her, how to let them speak or how to give them back speech, even if it is in oneself, in the other, in the other in oneself: they are always there, specters, even if they do not exist, even if they are no longer, even if they are not yet. They give us to rethink the " there" as soon as we open our mouths, even at a colloquium and especially when one speaks there in a foreign language: .

Thou art a scholar; speak to it, Horatio.

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EXO R D I U M

2

3

4

N ot very fa r because " a ppren d re a vivre" means both to teach how to l ive a n d to learn how to l ive. (Tr.) The expres s i o n here i s " s ' expliquer avec la m ort": l itera l ly, to explain oneself with death . But the idiomatic French sense here i s close to the G e r m a n exp ression: Quseinandersetzen, to have it out with someone, to argue with someone, to come to grips with a problem, and so fo rth . We wi l l translate the expres sion in various ways when it recurs, s i g n a l l i n g it i n brackets when neces sary. (Tr.) The d i stinction bei n g made here is between justice and droit. The French term droit means both a legal system and a ri ght, but it is often correctly tra n s lated as s i m ply l aw. H e n ce a certai n possible confu s i o n . Derrida will return several t i m e s below t o the d i sti nction he i ns i sts u p o n here between justice and droit; see note 4 below. (Tr.) O n a d i stinction betwee n j u stice a n d law [droit] , on the stra n ge d i ssym metry that affects the difference and the co- i m plication between these two co ncepts , on certai n con seq uences that fol low from this (notably as concerns a certain " u ndeco n stuctibil ity" of "justice"-but it cou l d be called by other n a m es) , permit m e to refer to my " Force of Law: 'The Mystica l Fou n d ation of Authority' , " in Deconstruction and

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the Possibility ofjustice, ed s . D . Co rnel l , M . Rosenfeld, D.G. Carlson, t ra n s . M. Q u a i nta n ce ( N ew York: Routledge, 1 9 92) . The Fre nch text wi l l a ppea r i n 1 994. Derrida writes " I ' a-ven i r, " wh ich s paces out the o rd i n a ry word for the futu re, a venir, i nto the co mponents of the i nfi n itive: to come. Wher­ ever this i ns i stence recurs, we wi l l tra n s l ate "futu re-to-come," but i n g e n e ral o n e s h o u l d remember that even i n t h e ord i n a ry tra n s l ation as s i m ply "future," avenir has the sense of a com i n g, an advent. (Tr.)

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I N J U N CT I O N S OF M A RX

1

A comm o n term for ghost or s pecte r, the revenant i s l itera l ly that

2

3

which com es b ack. We leave it in French th roughout. (Tr.) The term hantise, tra n s l ated here as " h a u nt i n g, " a l s o has the com mon s e n s e of an obsession, a co nsta nt fea r, a fixed idea, or a n aggi ng memory. We w i l l conti n u e to tra n s l ate it s i m ply with the gerund " h a u nti n g" s o as to maintain a clearer l i n k with the ghostly in gen e ral . (Tr.) P a u l Va l e ry, " La Cri se de I 'esprit," i n Oeuvres (Pari s: G a l l i m ard , B i b l iotheq ue de la PleTade, 1 957) , voLl , p. 993. Ought one to have reca l l ed h e re that i n the West, near the end of the E u ropean pen i n s u la, De n mark a l m ost became, preci sely a l o n g with England, the last State of the res i sta nce to a certa i n E u ro pe, that of M a a stricht? No, this corol l a ry o n the royal head wou l d be oriented i nstead towa rd other pl aces. Fi rst of a l l the places of a rticu l ation b etween these p ro pos i­ tions a n d those of The Other Heading ( B l oo m i rigton , I nd . : I ndiana U n ivers ity Press, 1 9 92) which a l so analyzed a treatment of the capital (th e ch ief a n d the head) , i n particu l a r by Va l e ry, so as to rei ntrod uce the question of Europe as the question of spirit which is to s ay that of the s pecte r. And we wi l l not fa i l to i n sist a s wel l , acco rd i n gly [c'est Ie premier chefJ , o n a certa i n figu re of the head, if one can put it that way, der Kopt a n d das Haupt, on the way it returns, regu l a rly, to i m pose itself in m a ny pl aces of M arx' s corpus, and among those th at are most h o s pitable to the ghost. I n a more general and more i m p l icit m a n n er, the present essay pursues earlier path s: a round the work of mourn i n g that would be coexten s ive with a l l work in ge n e ra l ( i n partic u l a r i n Glas [Linco l n , N e b ra s ka: U n iversity o f N e b ra s ka Press, 1 98 6)) , on the pro b lematic border between i ncorporation and i ntro­ jecti o n , on the effective but l i m ited perti n ence of th i s conceptual oppositi o n , as wel l as the one that separates fai l u re from s uccess in -

N OT E S

the work of mou r n i n g, the pathol ogy and the normal ity of mourning (on these points, cf. " Fors , " Preface to The Wolfman's Magic Word, by N . Abraham and M . Torok [ M i n neapol is: U n iversity of M i n n esota Press, 1 986], esp. p p . xxi ff., " S h i bboleth , " in Midrash and Literature, eds. G eoffrey H a rt m a n and Sanford Budick [ N ew Haven, Ct. : Yal e U n ivers ity P ress , 1 986) , Cinders [Li nco l n , N ebraska: U n ivers ity of N e b raska P ress, 1 9 91 ) , Of Spirit: Heidegger and the Questio n [Ch i cago: U n ivers ity of Chicago Press, 1 989), Memoires, for Paul de Man [ N ew York: Col u m b i a U n ive rsity Pres s, 1 989)) , on the s u rvivi n g of a s u rvival that i s red ucible neither to l iving nor dyi ng (" Livi n g O n , " i n Deconstru ctio n a n d Criticism , eds. Geoffrey H a rtman e t a l . [ N ew York: Seabury Press, 1 979) ) , on the eco nomy of debt and gift (Given Time [Ch i cago: U n ivers ity of Ch i cago Press, 1 9 92)) . As for the logic of spec­ tral ity, i n separa b le from the idea of the idea (of the idealization of ideal ity as effect of itera b i l ity) , i n separable from the very motif ( l et u s not say the " i dea") of d econ struction, it i s at work, most ofte n exp l i c itly, in all the essays p u b l i s hed ove r the l ast twe nty yea rs , espe­ ci a l ly in Of Spirit. " Revenant" was also there the fi rst no u n (" I wi l l s peak of the revenant ") 4 Va le ry, p. 1 025. 5 Va l e ry, p. 1 029. 6 Also it concerns us, it i s ou r co ncern : "[il) nous rega rde." (Tr.) 7 P a u l Va lery, Leltre sur la societe des esprits, op. cit., p. 1 1 39 . 8 La Nouvelle Revue Franfaise 8o, 1 August 1 959 9 I n L'Amitie ( Pari s : G a l l i m a rd , 1 971 ) , pp. 1 09-1 7; " M a rx's Three Voi ces, " tra n s . To m Kee n a n , New Political Science 1 5 (Summer 1 986) . Page n u m bers in the text refer to th i s trans lation, wh ich has been somewhat m o d ified here in acco rd ance with the emphasis on certai n terms. (Tr.) 1 0 There a re th ree i d i omatic exp ressions here fa va, fa marche, par les temps qui co urent that a l l s peak of movement: go ing, wal king, ru n n i ng. (Tr.) Hamlet, trans. Yves Bonn efoy ( Paris: G a l l i mard , Fo lio, 1 9 92) . 1 2 Hamlet, trans. Jean M a laplate ( Paris: Co rti, 1 99 1 ) . 1 3 H a mlet , trans. J u les Derocq u i gny ( Paris: Les Bel les Lettres, 1 98 9 ) . 1 4 Hamlet, trans. An d re G ide ( Paris: G a l l i m ard , Bibliotheque de l a P l e'iade, 1 95 9 ) . 1 5 I m u st here refe r t o a more systematic approach t o these q uestions of law and the o b l i q u e (especi a l l y with rega rd to Kant) , nota b ly in my Du droit a la philosophie ( Paris: G a l i lee, 1 990) , p. 80 and passim, and i n Passions (Paris: G a l i l ee, 1 993) , PP . 33ff. .

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16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29

30 31

32 33

That is, respectively, "to rej oi n , " "to retu rn t o o rder," "to put right aga i n , " "to put back in place . " (Tr.) O n t h e m a n n e r i n wh ich these val ues are i n turn gathered u p i n those of the title, cf. my "Title (to be s pecified) , " i n Sub-Stance 31 , 1 981 . E m m a n uel Levinas, Totalite et infini (The H ague: M a rti n u s N ij h off, 1 961 ) , p . 62. " Di ke, aus dem Sein als Anwesen gedacht, ist der fiigendfugende Fug. Ad i k i a , die Un- Fuge, ist der Un-Fug, " M a rtin H eidegger, " Der S p ruch d es Anaxi mander," i n Holzwege (Fra n kfurt am M a i n : Klosterm ann, 1 950) , p . 329; " Dike, thought o n the basis of Being as presenci ng, is the o rderi n g a n d enjoi n i n g Order. Adikia, d i sj u ncti o n , i s D i s o rder, " "The Anaxi m a nder Fragment," i n Early Greek Thinking: The Dawn of Western Philosophy, trans. David Farre l l Krell a n d Fra n k A. Ca puzzi (New York: H a rper & Row, 1 975) , p. 43. Holzwege, pp. 3 26-27; Early Greek Thinking, p. 4l . Holzwege, p. 323; Early Greek Thinking, p. 37. Holzwege, p. 330; Early Greek Thinking, p . 44. I bi d . " E r s a gt es u n d sagt es nicht," Holzwege, p. 328; Early Greek Thinking, P · 42. Holzwege, p. 327; Early Greek Thinking, p . 4l . Cf. Given Time, p. 2, n. 2 and ff. , a n d pp. 1 59-60, n. 28, and Sauf Ie nom (Paris: G a l i lee, 1 992) , pp. 83 and 1 1 2. Holzwege, p. 329; Early Greek Thinking, p . 43. The term used here is prevenance, which ord i n a ri ly has the s e n se of thou ghtfu l ness, consid eratio n , kind ness, but is here bei n g taken also i n its etymological sense of "com i n g before." (Tr.) Th i s is perhaps a reference s pecifica l l y to the " p rogra mmes d ' agn!ga­ tio n , " that is, to the l i st of works d rawn up a n n ua l ly by the French u n iversity esta b l i sh ment fo r the com petitive exa m i n ation that q ua l i­ fies the succes s fu l candidates fo r adva n ced teach i n g positi o n s i n each d i scipl i ne. (Tr.) Th i s point is develo ped i n Passions, op. cit. For a n ovel ela bo rati o n , i n a "deconstructive" style, of the co n cept of hegemony, I refer to Ern esto Lacla u a n d Cha nta l M o uffe, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Toward a Radical Democratic Politics (London: Verso, 1 985) . Karl M a rx and Frederick Engels, The German Ideology, in Collected Works ( N ew Yo rk: I nternational P u b l i shers , 1 976) , pp. 230-3 1 . The German Ideology, p. 230.

NOTES

A Contribution t o the Critique of Political Economy, chapter 2 , part 2 b ("The C i rcul ation of M on ey") (New Yo rk: I nternation a l P u b l i shers, 1 970) . 35 Critique, p. 1 09 . 36 Critique, p. 1 32 . 37 ' Critique, p. 1 42. Th i s is a s e m a ntic chain that we h ave exa m i n ed i n Glas (in Hegel) a n d i n DfSpirit: Heidegger and the Question. 38 Critique, p. 1 1 9 and 1 40. 39 Critique, p. 1 34· 40 The id io matic expression here i s " (se) fa it peur, " fri ghtens (itself) . Literal ly, however, i t says: t o m a ke (itself) fright. Later, t h e text w i l l exploit this l i teral ity w h e n it describes a structu re of t h e s e l f as fear o r fright, as that wh ich makes itself i nto fear. (Tr.) 34

CO NJ U R I N G-MARXI S M

2

2

Th i s fragmentary outl i n e of H o lderi i n ' s (1800) i s q u oted b y H eidegger i n Hoiderlin und das Wesen der Dichtung, i n Gesamtausgabe vo l . I V ( Fran kfurt a m M a i n : Kl osterm a n n , 1 981 ) , p. 35; " H olderl i n a n d t h e Essence of Poetry, " trans. D o u g l a s Scott, i n Existence a n d Be iflg, ed. We rner Brock (Ch icago: H e n ry Regnery Com pa ny, 1 949) . Benj a m i n does so i n a text that interests us here for m a n y reasons, i n pa rticular for what i t says, a t its begi n n i ng, a bout the a utomato n . We wi l l refer more than once to the figu re of the a utomato n , nota b l y when we get a rou n d to what Capital has to say a bout a certai n table: figu re of m a rket val ue, at once an a uto nomous a n d a utomaton specter, the i rred uci ble origin of capital izations if n ot of capital . Benj a m i n begi ns by evoking the story "of an a uto maton con structed in s u ch a way that it cou l d play a wi n n i n g ga me of chess, a n swe ri n g each move of a n o p ponent w i t h a cou ntermove . " This auto maton also s i t s on a "ta b le" that a system of m i rrors made a ppea r tra n s parent. Then he looks for a p h i l osophical "cou nterpart" (Gegensti.ick) to this "device" (Apparatur) . I t i s "the p u p pet ca l l ed ' h i storical m ateri a l i s m ' ": " I t can ea s i ly be a m atch for a nyone i f it enlists the services of theology, which tod a y, as we k now, i s wizened and h a s to keep out of s ight." The fol lowi n g pa ragraph n a mes messia n i s m o r, more p recisely, mes s i a n i c without messianism, a "weak mess i a n i c power" (eine schwache mess;anische Kraft, Benj a m i n u n d erscores) . Let us q u ote th i s passage fo r wh a t i s con sonant there, despite m any d i fferences a n d keep ing relative proportions i n m i nd , with wh at we a re try i n g to say here a bout a

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certain mes s i a n ic d estitution, i n a spectra l logic of i n heritan ce and generations, but a l ogic t u rned toward the future no less than the past, in a heterogeneous and d isjoi nted time. Wh at Benj a m i n ca l l s Anspruch (cla i m , appeal, i nterpe l l ation, a d d ress) is not fa r from what we a re suggesti n g with the word injunction: "Th e past carries with it a secret i ndex [heimlichen Index) by which it i s referred to red em ption [Erlosung). There is a s ecret agreement between past gen e rations and th e present one. O u r com i n g was expected o n earth. Li ke every generation that preceded u s , we have been endowed with a weak messia n ic power, a power to which the past has a claim [Anspruch). That cl a i m can not be settled cheaply. H i storica l materi a l i sts are aware of that [Der historische Materialist weisz darum)" ( " U ber den Begriff der Geschicht, " in lIIuminationen [Fra n kfurt am M a i n : S u h rkamp, 1 955), pp. 1 83-84; "Theses on the Phi losophy of H istory, " i n Illuminations [ N ew York: Schocke n , 1 96 91, pp. 253-54; tra n s . modified) . We s h o u ld quote a n d reread here a l l these pages-which a re dense, enigmatic, b u rn i n g-u p to the final a l l u s ion to the "chip" (shard, s p l i nter: Splitter) that the messi a n i c i n scri bes in the body of the at-present Uetztzeit) and up to the "strait gate" for the passage of the M es s iah, namely, every "second." For "th i s does n ot i m ply, however, that fo r the J ews the futu re tu rned i nto homogeneous, e m pty time" (p. 264) . 3 N ew York: The Free Press, 1 992. La fin de I'histoire et Ie Dernier Homme, the French tra n slation by DA Can a l (Paris: F l a m m a rion) , was p u b l i s hed the same year. 4 I .e., the one who or that which a rrives, or s i mply the arriving. Derrida m a kes exte n s ive use of the word in a nothet tecent text, Aporias (tra ns. Tho m a s Dutoit [Sta nford : Sta nford U n ivers ity Press, 1 993]) . We h ave left it u ntra n s l ated throughout. (Tr.) 5 I b i d . , p. 203. 6 I b i d . , p. 1 3 9 ; the q u otation m a rks a round "empi rica l " disa ppear when it is a question of "empi rica l evi d e nce of challenges to democracy," p 2 88 . 7 There i s an a l l u s ion here to the fact that not only was Fukuya ma's boo k tra n s lated i nto French (and dou btl ess i nto other l a n guages as wel l > the same yea r the origi n a l a ppeared (1 992) , but it was a l so given a lot of " p l ay" by the French media, i nclud i n g television "reviews . " (Tr.) 8 I n a work th at i s remarka b l e i n m a ny respects, and which I beca me awa re of, u n fo rtun ately, o n ly after havi n g written th i s text, Etienne B a l i b a r reca l l s that the form u l a " d i a l ectical m ateri a l i s m " was not .

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9 10

l itera l l y used either by M arx o r E n gels (La Philosophie de Marx [Pari s : L a Decouverte, 1 9 931, p. 4) . Among a l l the priceless contri buti o n s of a book that also i nterprets and d i s places i n a ve ry dense fas h i o n a wh ole history of M a rxi s m (and n ota bly of French M a rxi s m of the l a st decades) , I wi l l pick u p schematically those that are most pert i n ent to me here: (1 ) The n ecess ity of ta k i n g i nto account the motif of M a rx ' s " i n j u n ction" (the word retu rns frequ ently, for exa m ple, p p . 1 9, 2 0 , 24, and so forth ) ; (2) the theme o f the "spel l bo u n d " world as world of market-values (pp. 59 ff.) a ro u n d the " n on-sen suous sensuous" (wh ich we w i l l ta l k a bout l ater) ; (3) the catego ry of i m m i n ence­ whether mes s i a n i c or not, in any case an utopic-(pp. 38, 3 9 , 69, 1 1 8) , but es peci a l ly that o f "transiti o n , " a category "gl i m psed b y M a rx" a s "a pol itical figure of ' n o n-conte m poraneity' t o itself o f h i storical t i m e, yet which rem a i n s i n scri bed by h i m i n the provisiol1al" (p. 1 04) . (O n "trans ition" and n o n-contempo raneity, cf. above, pp. 24-25) . Of course, it is n ot i n a last- m i n ute n ote that o n e can i n itiate a d iscus s i o n or s p e l l o u t o n e ' s agreement. To begin t o d o so, I wo uld have t o adj u st what I a m atte m pting to say here, beh i n d these wo rds, about the philosophy o r the ontology of M a rx (that wh i ch re mai n s d eco nstruct­ i ble in his phi losop h e m s) to what Bal ibar adva nces in La PhiloscfJhie de Marx: "there i s not a n d there never wi l l be a Marxist phi losop h Y " ( P .3) , which should not p revent o n e from "seeki n g the philosophies of M a rx" ( p. 7) . S i nce what I am ca l l i ng here M a rx's philosophy or onto­ logy d oes not bel o n g exactly to the space or the level of uttera nces ana lyzed by B a l i b a r, the protocol s of a d i scussion, wherever they may lead, wou ld req u i re a long and d eta i led elaboration. But I hope that s uch protocol s a re readable, at least i n the i m p l icit state, i n an essay that i s as schematic a n d prel i m i n ary as this one. Q uoted by M ichel S u rya, " La p u i s sance, les riches et l a cha rite," i n Ligl1es 1 8 , 1 9 93, pp. 2 1 a n d 29. Alexa ndre Kojeve, Il1troductiol1 Ii la lecture de Hegel: Lefol1s sur "La Phel1omel1ologie de l'Esprit" (Paris: G a l l imard , 1 947) , pp. 436-37.

3 WEARS AN D TEA R S T h e text cites Fra m;:oi s-Victor H ugo' s tra n slati on: " Le Poete: I I y a longtemps q u e je ne vou s ai vu . Comment Va Ie monde? Le Peil1tre: I I s ' u se, Monsieu r, � m e s u re q u ' i l croit e n age." (Tr.) 2 Al l a n B loom, quoted by M ichel S u rya (op. cit., p. 30) who p o i nts out that Bloom was Fu kuya m a ' s " m a ster and laudator."

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Two recent exa m ples, snatched out of the stream of " i nformation," at t h e m o ment of rerea d i n g this pages. They a re two more or less calcu l ated " faux-pa s " whose pos s i b i l ity wou l d have been u nth i n kable without the cu rrent med i u m and rhyth m s of the p ress. (1 ) Two cabi net m i n i sters attem pt to infl uence a govern mental pol icy that is being form u lated (under the d i rection of one of their col leagues) by explain­ i ng them selves to the pres s (essentia l l y the television press) o n the subject of a l etter said to be " private" (secret, " perso n a l , " or u nofficial) which t h ey wrote to the head of the gove rnment and which they regret has been d ivu lged aga i nst thei r wi l l . Des pite h i m self, and without tryi n g to h id e his d i scontent, the head of the govern ment n everth eless fol l ows them, fol l owed by the government, fol l owed by the Parl i a ment. (2) Wh i l e " i m provising" what looks l i ke a b l under d u r i n g a morn i n g rad i o i nterview, a nother m i n i ster of the same gov­ ernment provokes in a neigh bori ng cou ntry a sharp reaction by its central b a n k a n d a whole pol itico-d i p l o m atic proces s. O n e should a l s o a n a lyze the rol e pl ayed by the s peed a n d power of the media in the power of a certai n-i ndividual a n d i n ternational-spec u l ator who, every d ay, attacks or shores u p t h i s or that national currency. H i s telephone ca l l s a n d h i s l ittle rem a rks weigh heavily i n a l l the legi s l ative bodies of the world on what is ca l l ed the political decision of governments. 4 To which one wou l d have to add the eco n o m i c dependency of the U . N . , whether one i s tal k i n g a bout its m ajor i n te rventio n s (po l itical, socio-ed u cational, cultura l , o r m i l ita ry) o r s i m ply its a d m i n i strative m a n agement. N ow, one m u st a l so acknowledge that the U . N . is going th rough a serious fi n ancial cri s i s . The l a rgest States do not a l l pay their d u es. Sol utio n : a ca m paign to attract the s u p po rt of p rivate capita l , con stitution of "cou n c i l s " (associ ati o n s of the biggest l eaders i n i n d u stry, co m m e rce, a n d fi n a n ce) meant to su pport, on certai n conditio n s , either s poken o r u n s poken, a pol itics o f t h e U . N . that ca n go (ofte n , here or there, here rather tha n there, prec i sely) in the d i rectio n of the i n terests of the market. One m u st underscore and reflect o n the fact that the principles that a re today guiding i nte r­ n ation a l i n stituti o n s often agree with s u ch i nterests. Why, how, and w ith i n what l i m its do they d o so? What d o these l i m its signify? Th i s i s t h e o n ly q uestio n w e c a n p o s e h e re fo r the moment. S On these poi nts, cf. Etien ne B a l i bar, Cinq etudes du materialisme historique (Paris: M as pero, 1 974) , n ota bly the cha pter on " La recti­ fication d u Man ifeste communiste" and the pages on "The 'end of

3

N OT E S

politics'," "The n ew d efi n iti o n of the State," and "A n ew pol itica l practice," pp. 83 ff. 6 By s pecifyi ng "women's and c h i l d re n ' s rights ," the text i s not d i sti nguish i n g them from h u m a n rights, but rather rem a rking on the pos sible exclu s i o n i n d i cated by the French exp ression: " Ies d ro i ts de I ' h o m me, " the rights of man. (Tr.) 7 The phrase "en ve i l lant (sur) ses a n c�tres" puts i n play fi rst of a l l the sense of kee p i n g watch over the bod ies of the dead u ntil they are b u ried, as i s the cu sto m in Fra nce a n d elsewhere. (Tr.) 8 On this d i fference between j u stice a n d l aw [droit) , perm it me to refer once again to " Fo rce of Law" (op. cit., a bove p. 1 77, n . 4) . The neces­ s ity of th i s d i sti nction does not enta i l the least d i s q u a l ificati on of the j u ridical, its s pecificity, and the new approaches it cal l s fo r today. Such a di stinction a p pea rs on the contrary to be i n d i s pensab l e a n d p ri o r t o a n y ree l a boration. I n partic u l a r, i n a l l t h e places where one m ay remark wh at is cal led tod ay, m o re or less ca l m ly, " j u ridical voi d s , " as i f i t we re a m atter o f fi l l i n g i n t h e b l a n ks without re-doi ng th ings from top to bottom . There i s noth i n g s u rpris i n g i n the fact th at it i s m ost often a q u estion of the property and proper nature of life Iia propril�te de l a vie), of its i n heritance, and of its generation. (th e scie ntific, j u ridica l , economic, a n d pol itical problems o f t h e so-ca l l ed h u m a n genome, gen e thera py, orga n tra n s p l a nts, s u rrogate m others, frozen embryos , and so forth) . To believe that it is merely a matter of fi l l i n g in a "j u ridical void," there where the poi nt is to th i n k the law, the l aw of the law, right, and j u stice, to bel ieve that it i s e n o ugh to produce n ew " a rticles of the legal code" to " regu late the p roblem , " wou l d be tantamount to turn i n g over the th i n king o f eth ics to a n eth ics co m m ittee. 9 B ut what does "to rad i ca lize" mea n ? It i s not, by a long s hot, the best wo rd. It does i n d icate a movement of goi n g fu rther, of course, a nd of not stoppi ng. But that is the l i m it of its perti nence. The poi n t wou l d b e t o d o more o r less than " radical ize," o r rather someth i n g other, for the stakes a re precisely those of the root and its pres u med u n ity. The point wou l d be not to progress sti l l fu rther i n to the depths of rad ical­ ity, of the fu n d amenta l , or the origi n a ry (cause, pri nciple, arkhe) , wh i l e ta k i n g another step i n t h e s a m e di rectio n . O n e would try i n stead t o g o there where the schema of the fu n d amenta l , o f t h e origi nary, o r o f t h e rad ical, i n i t s ontological u n ity and i n t h e form i n wh ich it conti n ues to govern th e M a rxist critique, cal l s for q u estions, proced ures of fo r­ m a l ization, ge nealogical i nterpretati ons that are not or not sufficiently

23 1

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NOTES

put t o work i n what d o m i n ates the d i sco u rses that ca l l themselves M a rxist. N ot sufficiently i n the them atics a n d in the consequence. For the q u estioning u n fo l d i n g of these formal izatio n s and of these genealogies affects a l m ost the whole d i scou rse, and in away that is not j u st "theoretica l , " a s o n e s ays . The stake that is servi n g as our guid i n g th read here, n a mely, the concept o r the schema of the ghost, was hera lded l o n g ago, a n d in its own n a m e , across the pro blem. at ics of the work of m o u r n i ng, ideal ization, s i m u l acru m, mimesis, itera b i l ity, the double i n j u nction, the " d o u b l e b i n d , " and undecida b i l ity as condition of responsible decision, a n d s o fo rth. T h i s i s perhaps the pl ace to u n d e rscore the fact that rel ations between M a rxism and decon structio n h ave cal l ed fo rth , s i nce the begi n n i n g of the 1 970S, approaches that a re vari o u s in all respects, often opposed or irred ucible the one to the other, but n u merous. Too n u m ero u s for me to b e able to d o them j u stice here and recognize my d ebt to the m . Bes i d es those works w h i ch took this as their proper s u bject (such as that of M i chael Rya n , Marxism and Deconstruction: A Critical Articulation [Balti m o re: J o h n s H o p k i n s U n ivers ity Press, 1 982], or Marx est mort, by J e a n · M a rie Benoist [Paris: G a l l i m a rd , 1 970] , the first part of which, despite its title, s a l utes M a rx, a i m s to be del i b· erately "decon structive , " and less negative than the death certificate wo u l d lead one to th i n k; the title of th i s present work may be read as a reply to that of J . - M . Benoist, howeve r m u ch time it may h ave taken or left to time, to the cont rete m ps-that is to the revenant) , one wo u l d h ave to recal l a g reat n u m ber of essays that it i s i m possible to l i st here (those i n parti cu l a r by J . J . Gowl, 'T. Kee n a n , T. Lewis, C. M a l a b o u , B . M a rtin, A. Parker, G. S pivak, M. Sprin ker, A. Wa rm i n s k i , S . Weber) . I t i s n o t clear whether t h e "foule cri mes" that happened " i n my d ayes of N atu re" were h i s o r n ot. And th i s i s , perhaps, the secret of these " secrets of my Prison- H o u se" which it is "forbid" to the King to reveal. Perform atives en abyme. The o ath s, the ca l l s to swear, the inju nction s , a n d t h e conj u rations that t h e n proliferate-as i n a l l of the plays o f S h akes peare, w h o was a great th i n ker a n d great poet o f t h e oath­ s u ppose a secret, to be s u re, some i m possible testi mo ny, one which ca n n ot and es peci a l ly m u st n ot be exposed i n a confes sion, sti l l less in a proof, a pi ece of evidence, or a con stative utterance of the type S is P. But t h i s secret a l s o keeps the secret of some a b s o l ute contra­ d iction b etween two experiences of the secret: I tel l you that I cannot te l l yo u , I swear it, that is my fi rst cri m e a n d my first confession, a .

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confession without confession. They do n ot excl ude a n y oth e r o f the k i n d , bel i eve me.

4 I N TH E

N A M E OF T H E R EVOLUT I O N

S i gm u n d Fre u d , " E i ne Schwierigkeit d e r Psychoanalyse," Gesamrnelte Werke, Bd. X I I , p. 8; Sta ndard Ed itio n , Vol . XV I I , p. 1 41 . 2 We wi l l a p proach t h i s scene below (pp. 1 47 ff.) , arou nd a certai n tab le, rega rd i ng fet i s h ization as spectra l izati o n of excha n ge-va l ue. I t i s the very open i n g, the first scene, if not the p rimal scene, of Capital. 3 A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1 859) , t r a n s . S . W. Ryaza n s kaya , ed. M a u ri ce D o b b ( N ew York: I nternat i o n a l P u b l i s hers, 1 970) , p. 1 07. 4 On the expression " fa i re peur, " cf. a bove, p. 1 80, n . 40. (Tr.) 5 Perverse logic, a bys sal perve rsity of a l l " revisionisms" that m a r k the e n d of th i s centu ry and wi l l doubtless conti n u e i nto the next. Of cou rse, there m u st be no l et-up in the o p position to the worst revi­ s i o n i s m s and n egation i s m s , those whose figure and i nterests a re n ow fa i rly wel l determi ned, even if their m a n i festations co nti n u al l y p ro­ l i ferate a n d get ren ewed . The task wi l l therefore always be u � ent, always someth ing to be reaffi rmed. But here and there one sees adva nce s i g n s of a sym metrica l pervers ity that i s no less th reate n i ng. Armed with a good con scie nce that i s i m perturbable beca use often envelo ped i n ignorance or obscurantis m , sheltered from any effective right to re ponse i n the mass med i a ( I a m t h i n k i n g of a certai n rece nt a rticle by M i ch i ko Kakuta n i , "When H i story a n d Mem ory Are Ca s u a l ­ t i e s : H o loca u st Den i a l , " N e w York Times, 30 Apri l 1 993) , t h e r e a re those who are not content to profit from the ghosts that haunt o u r most painfu l memory. They also authorize themselves there by, i n the s a m e e l a n , t o manipulate with i m p u n ity, without any scru pl e , the very word " revi sionism." They are p re p a red to use it to accuse anyone who poses critical, m ethodologica l , e p i ste mological , phi losoph ical q u esti ons about h i story, a bo ut the way it is thought, writte n, o r esta­ b l i shed, a bout the status of truth , and so forth . Whoever cal l s fo r vigi l a n ce i n the read i n g of h i story, whoever com plicates a l ittl e the schemas accred ited by the doxa, or demands a reconsid erati o n of the con cepts, proced u res, and p roductio n s of h i sto rical truth or the pres u p positi o n s of h i storiography, a n d so forth, risks bei n g acc u s ed today, th rough a m a l gamation, contagion , or confusion, of "rev i s i o n ­ i s m " or a t least o f p l ayi n g i nto s o m e " revi sion i sm . " Th is accu sation i s

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now at the d i s posal of the fi rst comer who u n d erstands noth i n g of t h i s c ritical necessity, who wi shes to be p rotected fro m it, and wants first of a l l h i s or her culture o r lack of culture, h i s or her ce rtai nties or bel iefs to be left u ntouched . A very d i sturb i n g h i storical s ituation wh ich risks i m po s i n g an a priori censors h i p on h i stori cal research or o n h i storical reflection whe rever they touch on sensitive a reas of our p resent exi stence. I t i s u rgent to poi nt out that entire wi n gs of h i story, that o f this centu ry i n particu l a r, i n E u rope and outside of E u rope, will still h ave to be i nterrogated a n d brought to l i ght, rad ical q uesti ons wi l l h ave to be as ked and reform u l ated without there bei n g a nyth ing at al l " revi s i o n i st" about th at. Let u s even say: o n the contrary. 6 The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, i n Karl M arx, Frederick Enge l s, Collected Works, vol . 1 1 ( N ew York: I nternati onal P u b l i shers, 1 979) , pp. 1 03-04; emphasis added. 7 We a re obviously th i n ki n g here of the work of M ichel H e n ry (Marx in two vo l u m e s [Paris: G a l l i mard, 1 976]) who classifies the Eighteenth Brum aire, as we l l as The Manifesto of the Communist Party and a few oth e r wo rks, among the " pol itica l " or " h i sto rico- pol itica l " texts. They a re, a ccord i n g to H e n ry, less p h i losophica l , if i n d eed they a re p h i lo­ soph ical, beca u s e they "do not bear their pri nciple of i ntel l i g i b i l ity with i n themse lves" ( I , p. 1 0) . (What does it mean, strictly s peaking, for a text to bear a principle of intelligibility within itself? [ Patrice Lora ux devotes to this strategy of M ichel Henry several very l ucid pages of his book (Les Sous-Main de Marx [Pari s : H achette, 1 986], pp. 34-36) in the foreword titled "The Theory ofTexts" ; in particu l a r, he reca l l s the trad­ itio n of th i s strategy] ; has there ever been an exa m ple of it? This is not the pl ace to d i scuss it-even though the stra nge and confident belief i n s u ch an i m manence of i ntel l i g i b i l ity i s not foreign to the concept of l i fe that s u p ports th i s whole book.) This "historico-political" d i m en s ion (eith er weakly p h i losoph ical or non-phi losoph ical) would be m a n ifest, a ccord i n g to Hen ry, i n the "case n otably of the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, written fo r an American n ews paper" ( I , p. 1 1 ) . N ow, th i s l atter wo rk does not seem to be at a l l bou nded by the closure of "pol itica l " or " h i storico- politica l " texts, ass u m i n g that o n e can accept such a problematic d i sti ncti o n , in partic u l a r i n the case of a work l i ke that of M a rx. N ota bly one finds aga i n h i s s pectral pa ra d oxology, the one that matters to us here, in the most " p h i lo­ soph ical" and s i g n ificant texts in H e n ry's own view, for exa m ple, as we wi l l soon see, in The German Ideology. By wei g h i n g and th i n ki n g this s p e ctrology, we a re not d i rectly oppos i n g the p h i loso phy of life o r of

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the "radical s u bjectivity from which any objectivity is exc l u d e d " ( I , p. 326) , nor its i nterp retatio n by Henry (with whom we s h a re at l east some concerns, but d o u btless from a wholly different poi nt o f vi ew, a bout the way M a rx has been read until now) . But we a re t ryi ng to accept the n ecess ity of com p l i cati ng it i n a n a bys s a l fa s h i o n , there where the s u p plement of an i ntern a l -external fol d fo rbi d s s i m ply opposi ng the living to the non-livi ng. Whoever s u bscribes, as we wou l d be tem pted to do, to the final wo rd s of the very last co n cl u s ion of H e n ry's Marx ( " M a rx's thought p l aces u s before the a bys s a l q ues­ tion : what is life?") has i n deed to refer to this abyss, wh ich is to say, to re-problematize a l l the p reced i n g statements of that book wh ich i s so who l l y a bout the living, the living i n d ivid u a l , living s u bjectivity, real work as living work, and so fo rth , in other words, the w h o l e critical arsenal of a p rofo u n d ly polemical work. For it is finally in the n ame of this u n ivocal reference to the l iving that it tries, with great v i o l ence, to discred it m o re or less a l l p revious read i ngs of M a rx, a n d especially in their political d i mension. O n e wonders: Why would the q u e stion of l i fe be " a bys s a l , " precisely? I n other word s , why th is questi o n ? Does it not open onto the u nthought non-self-identity of the concept or the bei n g called " l i fe"? O nto the es sentia l obscu rity, for both scie,ce and p h i l osophy, ofwhat i s cal led l i fe ? Does not a l l of this m a rk the i nternal or extern a l l i m its, the clos u re or principle of ru i n of a p h i l osophy of l ife? And of s u bj ectivity, however novel its con ceptual p resentation may be, once it i s d eterm i ned as essenti a l ly l ivi ng? I f one i ntegrates i nto the l ife of th i s l iv i n g s u bj ectivity the work of negativity or- of objectivity, the phenomena or rather the non-phenomena of death and so forth , why pers i st in ca l l i n g it l i fe? On the other h a n d , we do not think th i s i nte rpretation of bei n g o r of p roduction as m a n i fest­ ation-or radical i m m a nence-of a living a n d monad i c s u bj ectivity (cf. fo r exa m ple I I , pp. 41 -42) , an i nterpretation that is fo u n d to be widely j u stified in the lette r of nu merous texts of M a rx, s h ould be opposed by some p h i losophy of death (wh i ch could clai m j u st as many ri ghts a n d refe rences i n the same texts read diffe re ntly) . We are attempt i n g someth i n g else. To try to accede to the poss i b i l ity of t h i s very a lternative (life a n d /or death) , w e a r e d i recti n g o u r attention to the effects or the petitions of a survival or of a return of the dead (neither life nor death) o n the sole bas i s of which one i s a b l e to speak of " l iving s u bj ectivity" (in opposition to its death) : to speak of it but also to und ersta nd that it can, itself, s peak and speak of itself, leave traces or legacies b eyo n d the living present of its l i fe, a s k (itself)

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question s rega rd i n g its own s u bject, i n short, also ad d re s s itself t o the oth er o r, if one prefers, to oth e r l iving i nd ivid u a l s , to othe r " monads." For a l l these q uesti o n s , and s u ch i s the hypothesis of o u r read i n g, the wo rk of the s pecter h e re weaves, i n the shadow of a l a byri nth cove red with m i r rors, a ten u o u s but i n d i s pensable gu i d i n g thread . 8 The text i ntrod uces th i s passage by poi nti n g out that "the French tra n s lation most ofte n l oses these tra its." (Tr.) 9 Before I had found th i s a l l u s io n to the " red s pecter" i n The Eighteenth Brumaire, Etie n n e B a l i ba r h a d a l e rted me to the exi stence of a n ews­ paper titled The Red Specter ("during the Revol ution of '48 apparently after the J u n e massacres that is, the s pecter of the dead proleta rian revo l ution a ries") . 'I am a n nou nci n g the jacquerie!' writes Romieu in The Red Specter. 'The proleta ria n s a re ready, lying i n a m b u s h in the l east l ittle v i l l age, hate a n d envy i n their hearts (cited by J. B r u h at, Le Socialisme franfais de 1848 a 1871, in Histoire generaIe du socialisme [Pari s : Presses U n iversita i re s de Fra nce, 1 972-78], vo l . I , p. 507) . "One a l so th i n ks , " adds B a l i b a r, "of 'the s pecter of the red death' by V i l l iers de l ' l s le-Ad a m , written , if I am not m i stake n , afte r the Com m u n e, even if the ' red d eath ' is not a pparently the s a m e th i n g a s the 'death of the red s' 1 0 Cf. above, p . 1 86, n . 7 . "Stirner d iscovers that at the end of the ancient wo rld, ' s p i rit' 'aga i n foamed and frothed over i rres i sti bly beca u se gases' (s p i rits) [Gase/ ' " Marx then a n a lyzes the "wonderfu l Geister) 'devel oped wit h i n it p lay" that Sai nt M ax thus descri bes (The German Ideology, i n M a rx a n d Engels, Collected Works 5 ( N ew York: I nterriati onal Publ i s hers, 1 976) , pp. 1 86-87) . H egel had a l ready been attentive to the affin ity Gas-Geist: the work of death , the fermentation of the cadaver in deco m positi o n m a rk the pass age from a p h i l osophy of n atu re to a ph i losophy of s p i rit. O n these themes, perm it me to refer to Glas (especi ally p p . 5 9 , 9 1 , 2 35) a n d Of Spirit (p. 99) · 1 2 The German Ideology, p . 1 53 . A s i s wel l known , M a rx con sta ntly weaves i nto h i s polemical re m a rks l o n g q u otations fro m Der Einzige und sein Eigenthum (1 845; tra n s l ated as The Ego and His Own) . 1 3 The word "chaire," p u l pit o r p rofessorial ch a i r, i s a h omonym of " ch a i r," fl e s h . (Tr.) 1 4 On the tangled a n d overdeter m i ned h i sto ry of the relations with Sti rner a nd o n the h istorico-political context of t h i s polem ic, cf. H e n ri Arvon , Aux sources de I'existentialisme, Max Stimer (Paris: P resses U n iversitai res d e Fra nce, 1 954) , pp. 1 28ff. "

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5 A P PA R I T I O N

O F T H E I N A P PA R E N T

T h e Engl i s h tra n s l ation o f The German Ideology reta i n s "conj uri ng trick" for Marx a n d E n ge l s ' term Eskamotage. We wi l l do so as well for obvious reas o n s , a lthough the French word "escamotage" cou ld a l so be t ranslated by "dodge," "evasion," "filch i n g , " "pinchi ng, " and so forth . (Tr.) 2 The French term has the sense of a secret con versation , sometimes with con s p i ratoria l overtones. See below, Derrida's own glos s . (Tr.) . 3 On the stra ngely m u rm u red i m pl ication of death (not only of an " I a m morta l " b ut of a n " I a m d ead " ) i n the decla ratio n of the " I a m , " cf. my Speech and Phenomena (Eva n ston , I I I . : N o rthwestern U n i vers i ty Press, 1 973) , pp. 88 ff. 4 Cf. pp. 1 57 , 44 9 , a n d es peci a l ly 229· 5 I n French, fa me regarde: it is looking at me, b u t a l s o more i d iomatical ly, that' s my co ncern . (Tr.) 6 Of cou rse, the n a rrow a n d strict co ncept of the pha ntom or the phantasma will n ever be red u ced to the general ity of the phainesthai. Con cerned with the origi n a l experience of h a u nting, a phenomen­ ology of the spectra l o u ght, accord i n g to good H u sserl ian l ogic, t� isolate a very dete r m i ned and relatively derived field with i n a regio n a l d i s c i p l i n e (for exa m p le, a phenomenology of the i m age, and so forth) . Without contesti n g h e re the legitim acy, or even the fe rtil ity of s uch a del i m itation, we a re m erely s u ggesting the fo l l owing, without bei n g able here to go a n y fu rther: the rad ical poss i b i l ity of a l l s p ectra l i ty s h o u l d be sought i n the di rection that H u s serl identifies, i n s uch a s u rprising b ut fo rcefu l way, as an i ntenti o n a l but non-real [non-reel/e] co m ponent of the phenomenological l i ved experience, namely, the noeme. U n l i ke the th ree othe r terms of the two correlations (noese­ noeme, morp he-bule) , this non-real ity [non-reel/itt], th i s i ntentio n a l b u t non· real i n cl u s ion o f t h e noematic correlate i s neither " i n " t h e wo rld n o r " i n " co nsciousness. B u t it i s p reci sely t h e con d ition of any experience, any obj ectivity, any phenomenal ity, namely, of a ny noetico-noematic correlation, whether origi n a ry or mod ified . It is n o longer regio n a l . With out the non-real i nc l u s i o n of this i ntentional co m ponent (th e refo re i n cl u s ive and non-i nclusive i nclusion: the noeme i s i n cl u d ed without being a part) , o n e cou ld not speak of any manifestati o n , of any phenomenal ity in general (that bei n g-for-a· con sciousness, that appea ri n g appearance which is neith e r co n · sciousness n o r the being that appears t o it) . I s not s u c h an " i rrea l ity"

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[irreellittj , its independence both i n relation to the worl d and i n rel ation to the real st u ff of egological s u bjectivity, the very place of appa rition, the e s senti a l , general, non-regi o n a l pos s i b i l ity ofthe s pecter? I s it not a l s o what i n scribes the pos s i b i l i ty of the other a n d of mourning right onto the p h enomenal ity of the phenomenon? When The German Ideology reca l l s the H ege l i a n origin of Sti rner's p h i losophy o f h i story, it i n s i sts on a nothe r thematics of the N egro, the one for which " 'The Negroid character [die NegerhaftigkeitJ represents antiquity, d e pendence on things' (chi/d) , " pp. 1 63 ff. Cf. The Republic, 555e. Th i s p reci se sense of the word from venery has been glossed over in eve ryd ay u s age where achamement, s'achamer mean, as we wi l l con­ ti n u e to tra n s l ate, ferocity, relentless p u rs u it. B ut the form of the word retai n s what is most pertinent here a n d wi l l be explo ited more later: its l i n k to fl esh, to the carn a l , to chair. We wi l l i n sert it in brackets whenever th i s l i n k need s to be underscored. (Tr.) Th e term u s ed here is lIoler ("il a IIOIt les spectres de M a rx " ) . The play i s o n the exact homonyms which mean "to stea l " a n d "to fly, " the l atte r a l s o having a relation to lIolerie, that is, h u nti n g with b i rd s of p rey. (Tr.) The phra s e i s "chasse � I'eloigneme nt" i n which "eloignement" co u l d i ndeed designate either the h u nter' s p rey or the mea n s of t h e h u nt. The other u ntra n s l ata ble featu re of th i s sentence is the l i n k between " I o n gtem ps" and "eloigneme nt, " which is not repeated i n "long time" and " d i stance." (Tr.) As we a re attempti ng here to reaffirm the heritage of M a rx wh i le accord i n g it or bendi n g it to a thinking of the s pectra l that takes i nto acco u nt (in particu l a r in the political a pprehension of the res publica a n d its-more or less n ew-s pace) a n i rred ucible lIirtuality (vi rtual s pace, v i rtual object, synthetic i m age, spectral s i m u lacru m, teletech nological d ifferance, idealiterability, trace beyon d presence a n d absence, and so forth) , we m u st attach great i m porta nce to what Patrice Loraux h i mself says, i n a wel l -chosen fo rm ulation, about " M a rx's writing" as "synthetic i mage" and "vi rtual object." He i s tal k­ i n g about a M a rxist d i scou rse that "d oes not, therefore, accede by itself to the th reshold of read a b i l ity. " The writte n does not remain under " M a rx' s h a n d , " with i n reach of his body that "takes plea s u re i n h o l d i n g on to i t " (but a l s o , w e s h o u ld s ay, i n not hold i n g on t o it, and eve ryth i n g begi n s with th i s oth e r p l ea s u re, wh ich i s nevertheless the same) . Loraux then comments: " But, with u s i n mind, p u b l i s hers

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fa b ricate a com pletely other object: M a rx' s text, prod uct o fa sophistical manipulation that must fu r n i s h the reader with a synthetic image of M a rx's writi ng, fo r the l atter i s n ever but a virtual object, and no o n e h o l d s it in h i s hand" (Les Sous-main d e Marx, p p . 21 -22; e m ph a s i s added) . A s a necessary and fasci nati n g task, o n e ought o f course t o read Sti rner beyond the extracts (wh i ch a re ge nerous, it is true) that The German Ideology selects and s u b m its most often to the twist of sati re. One ought as wel l to reconstitute a tradition or genea l o gy, wh ich trave rse s Stirner's text, of th i s thematics of the ghost i n t h e n i n eteenth centu ry, a t least, from Ka nt ( n ot o n l y t h e K a n t i nterested i n Swed e n borg, but t h e thi n ke r o f t h e tra n scendental i m agination a n d th u s o f a l l the conceptual t h i rd terms that the fa ntastic i ntroduced between the s e n s i b l e and the i n te l l igible, which a re so many p ro p­ itious pl aces for s pectra lity) , to the Schopenhauer of the Essay on Ghosts (Versuch aber Geistersehen und was damit zusammenhiingt, 1 851 ) , to N ietzsche-who had i n d i rect knowledge of Stirner's texts and recommended them to Bau mgartner in 1 874, or to M a l l a r m e, whose work keeps watch n ext to a "ghost white as a sti l l u nwritten page" (Mimique) . As such a reco n stituti o n exceeds the l i m its of oLit con cerns here, l et us cite at least once a few passages from The Ego and His Own: "The Rom a ntics felt the attack on the very fa ith i n G od rep resented by the aba n d o n ment of belief i n s p i rits and ghosts; they sought to remedy the fatal consequence s of this, not o n ly by resusci­ tating the world of fa ble but es peci ally by 'opening the gates to a h i gher world ' with the i r sleep-wal kers , Prevorst's cla irvoya nts, etc. The faithfu l and the C h u rch Fath e rs d i d not rea lize that by destroyi n g bel ief i n ghosts, they were also ta k i n g away the basis of rel igion, which left it floati ng, detached fro m the ground that nouris hed it. Whoever no longe r believes i n ghosts h a s o n ly to pursue h i s u n bel ief to its con c l u ­ s i o n t o rea lize that there is no being h i d d e n beh i n d thi ngs, n o ghost or-what comes down to the same thing if o n e u nderstands the word in its naive sense-no ' spi rit' . " And u n d e r the head i n g of "s pecter " or " s pook": "With ghosts, We e nter i nto the real m of spi rits, of beings. What h a u nts the u n iverse, pursuing there its secret and unfathomable activities, i s the mysterious s pook We ca l l the Su preme Bei n g. For centuries, m e n h ave given them selves the task of knowi n g its natu re, of conceiving it, of d i scovering reality there (of proving 'the existence of God') ; it is i n th i s fri ghte n i ng, i m po s s i ble, and end less labor of DanaTdes that they persist, seeki n g to change the s pecter i nt o a

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n o n - s pecter, t h e u n real i nto the rea l , the spirit i nto a total person ofJlesh and blood. " The Ego and His Own, tra n s . Steven T. Byi n gton , ed . J o h n Ca rroll (N ew York: H a rper & Row, 1 971 ) . [Th i s is a n abrid ged edition of Byi ngto n ' s 1 907 tra n s lation and does not i nclude the passages q u oted by Derrida. These m ay be fou n d in L 'Unique et sa ProprieU et autres ecrits, tra n s . P. G a l l i s s a i re et A. S a u ge (Paris: B i b l i otheque l 'Age d ' H omme, 1 972) , pp. 1 07 and 1 1 2 respectively. (Tr.)) M a rx th u s refu ses t h e m i rages o f S a i n t M ax's Ch ri sti an o nto-th eology as S a i nt M ax had a l ready refu sed the m i rages of Ch ristian o nto­ theology. Both of them relentless ly p u rs ue [s'acharnent sur) ghosts, both of them chase and h u nt them, and they are the same except that M a rx's relentless pursuit chases (those of) the re lentless other, Saint M ax. But both mean to chase the onto-th eologica l and trin itary s pec­ ter i n the n a m e of a more dema n d i n g o ntology that not o n ly no l o n ger confu ses the rellenant with the bei n g a s living body, i n flesh and blood, but es pecia l ly d oes n ot confuse it with that arch-ghost i n flesh and blood that i s , as Saint M ax expl a i n s s o clea rly, Ch rist, God made Man i n the i n ca r n ation. M a rx a nd Saint M ax seem to put i n q uestion, others m i ght say a l ittl e q u ickly "deco n struct, " a n onto-theological and Chri sti a n phenomenology; but it i s to the extent that it i s occu­ pied, they both say, and thus i n h a bited , h a u nted o n ly by ghosts . Thei r "d econ structi o n " is l i m ited at the po i nt at which they both oppose this s pectral onto-theology-each i n h i s own way b!Jt rega rd less of the d i fferences b etween the m-to the hyper-phenomenological principle of the fl esh-and-blood presence of the living person, of the bei n g itself, o f i t s effective and non-phanto m atic prese nce, of p resence i n fl e s h a n d b l ood. The progra m of t h i s d i s agreement i s i n teresti n g i n itself, to be s u re, but it also fu rn ishes u s with a virtual model for many d ebates go i n g o n tod ay. I t a l s o matters t o u s for this reason. Let u s once again quote Sti rner beyon d the excerpt that M a rx s u p p l ies: "The l ongi n g to make the spook com p rehen sible, or to realize non­ sens [i n French in the text], has brought about a corporeal ghost, a ghost or s p i rit with a rea l body, an e m bod i ed gho st. H ow the stro ng­ est and m o st talented Ch risti a n s h ave tortu red themselves to get a concepti on of this ghostly appariti o n ! B u t there a lways rem a i n ed the contrad ictio n of two natu res, the d iv i n e and h u m a n , the ghostly a n d sensu a l ; there remai ned t h e m o s t won d rous s pook, a th i n g that was n ot a thi n g. N ever yet was a ghost m o re sou l-tort u r i n g. B ut through Ch rist the truth of the m atter h a d at the same t i m e come to

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18 19 20

21

l i ght, that the verita ble s p i rit or ghost i s-m a n . Henceforth m a n no l o nger, i n typical cases, sh udders a t ghosts outside h i m , b u t at h i m s elf. In the depth of h i s b reast dwe l l s the spirit of sin; even the fa i n test thought (a nd this is itself a spi rit, you know) may be a d evi l , etc.-The ghost h a s p u t on a body, G o d h a s become m a n , b u t n ow m a n i s h i m self the gruesome s pook which he seeks to get beh i n d , to exorcize, to fath om, to bring to real ity and to s peech ; man i s-s p i rit" The Ego and His Own, pp. 56-57) . I n the conclusion of a book that has j u st appeared, La penultieme est morte, Spectrographies de la modernite (Pari s : C h a m p Val l o n , 1 9 93) , J ea n - M ichel Rabate u n d e rscores fo rcefu l ly that " M a rx and Engels p reten d not to u n d e rsta nd the critica l scope of Stirner's a n a lyses" (p. 223) . Even as he d e n ies wanti n g th u s to " reh a b i l itate 'Saint M ax', " Ra bate rema rka bly re i n scri bes The Ego and His Own i n a powe rful l i neage-which is thus spectrogra phic-that the anarchist posterity of the book is not eve n close to exh austi n g (from Shakespeare to Sade, M al larme, Joyce, Beckett) . I n Fre n c h , "une ta b l e tourn a nte" refers most often t o the s p i ritu a l i st seance. (Tr.) Ch. If Capital, trans. Ben Fowkes ( N ew Yo rk: Vi ntage, 1 977) , Vol . sect. 4, pp. 1 63 ff. The E n glish translation co n j u res away this d ifficu lty with " a t h i n g which tra n scends sen s uousness." (Tr.) "The for m of wood , for i n stance, i s altered if a table i s made out of it. N evert h e less the ta ble conti nues to be wood , an o rd i n a ry, sensuous th i n g. B u t as soon as it emerges as a com modity, it cha nges i nto a th i n g wh ich transce n d s sensuou s n ess. I t not o n ly stan d s with its feet on the grou nd, but, in relation to a l l other com mod ities, it sta n d s o n its h e a d , a n d evolves o u t o f i t s wooden bra i n grotesque ideas, fa r more wonderfu l than if it were to begin dancing of its own free wi l l . The mystical cha racter o f the co m mod ity does not therefore a ri se from its u se-val ue" (pp. 1 63-64) . A s the ed itor s pecifies, "A refere n ce t o t h e s i m u lta neous emerge n ce i n the 1 850S of the Ta i p i n g revolt in Ch i n a and the craze for s p i ritu a l · i s m which swept over u p per-cl ass German society. T h e rest o f t h e world was ' stan d i n g sti l l ' i n t h e period o f reaction i m m ediately after the defeat of the 1 848 Revolution s . " Even though , a s we have rem arked , every period has its ghosts (and we have ours) , its own experie nce, its own m ed i u m , and its proper h a u ntological media, even though a n "epoch a l " hi story of h a u nting poses the same p roblems, and not by

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22 23

24

25

26

27

ch a nce, a s a n "epoch a l " h i story of Bei n g, t h i s co m p l icatio n ought n ot to forbid a n h i storica l i n q u i ry on this s u bject. It should merely cause such an i n q u i ry to be very cautiou s . I t i s certa i n , for exa m ple, that th e texts of Sti rner, M a rx, and E n gels to which we a re referri n g corres­ p o n d-a n d res pond-i n their own time to a powerfu l "craze" that co u l d s u m marily be ca l led "med i u m istic." O n e ca n find soc i a l , p h i lo­ soph ical, and l i terary signs of t h i s (let us recal l Stirner's i n te rest i n Eugene S u e's Mysteries of Paris, t h e "spi ritua l i st" tem ptation s o f Victor H u go and a few others) and one can try to isol ate, or even exp l a i n up to a cert a i n po i n t its h i storical s i ngula rity. But one m u st not fa i l to re i n s c ri be it in a m u ch l a rger s pectrological sequence. Tra n s . Alan B a s s (Chicago: U n ivers ity of Chicago Press, 1 982) , p. 45. Th e term is used in the sen se of a m i staken s u bstitution of one th ing fo r a n other, in particu l a r i n the theater when characters rep ly to each othe r out of some m i s u ndersta n d i ng, and not in the now p reva lent sense i n E n g l i s h of tit for tat. The E n gl i s h tra n s l ation of the passage i n q uestion from Capital s u bstitutes " s u b stituti o n " for M a rx's u se o f the Lat i n p h rase. (Tr.) Both a word t h at i s whis pered , for example by the p rom pte r [sou.ff1e ur) , b u t a l s o a word t h a t i s stolen or p i nched. " La parole soufflee" is the title of Derri d a ' s fi rst essay on Artaud, in 1 9 65, collected in Writing and Diffe rence, t ra n s . A l a n Bass (Ch icago: U n ivers ity of Chicago Press, 1 978) . (Tr.) I n the cou rse of a n a d m i ra ble read i n g of La Peau de chagrin, S a m uel Weber poi nts out th i s vampiristic cha racter of capita l , this l ivi n g mon­ ster (beseeltes Ungeheuer) , and p recisely i n relation to the s pectra l logic of the feti s h . Cf. Unwrapping Balzac: A Reading of "La Peau de chagrin" (Toronto: U n ivers ity of Toronto Press, 1 979) , p. 86, and es peci a l l y n otes 1 -3 devoted to M a rx-and to Balzac. S i n ce M a rx was also, i n a d ifferen t way than Shakespeare, a th i n ke r of the pact a n d the oath, one may con s u lt what he ironically says about the oath in The German Ideology, p . 1 62 . H owever one i nterp rets this traj ectory, it goes back at l east to what the t h i rd of t h e 1844 Manuscripts says about death and the senses, about the m a n n e r i n which the senses become "theoretici a n s " in their very practice, t h u s i n sen s i b i lizing, one cou ld say, the sensible a n d ru i n i ng thereby i n adva n ce a" oppositions between " s u bjectivi sm a n d obj ect­ ivi s m , s p i ritu a l i s m a n d materi a l i s m . " M a rx is th i n ki n g then a n d , it seems to me, w i " never cease to th i n k that these oppos itio n s , deemed i n so l u b le by a p h i losophy that wou l d o n ly see a theoretical tas k i n

N OT E S

28 29 30 31

32

33

34 35

them, a re and or must be l i fted by the state of society a n d by socia l p ractice. Cf. Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, trans. Martin M i ll i ga n (Buffalo, N .Y. : Prometh eus Boo ks, 1 987) , p p . 1 0 5 ff. The German Ideology, p . 1 6 1 . See The Critique, fo r exa m p l e p. 93. Capital, p. 1 84. I n the French tra n s l ation cited by the text (ed . J ean-Pierre Lefebvre [Paris: Pre s ses U n ivers itai res de Fra nce, "Quad rige" col lection, 1 993]) , t h e fi n a l sente n ce of this passage reads: "Si donc nous n o u s echap­ pons vers d ' a utres fo rmes d e productio n , nous verrons d i spa raltre i nstantanement tout Ie mysti cisme du monde de la m a rcha n dise, tous les sortileges qui voilent d ' u n e brume fa nto m atique les produ its du t rava i l acco m p l i s u r l a base de la production m a rchande_" D e rrida then comments in his text: "With the expres sion 'brume fa n toma­ tique' [ghostly fog], the recent t ranslation we a re citi ng m a rks ve ry wel l t h e l iteral refe rence t o t h e ghost (Spuk) , there where s o m a ny earlier t ra n s l ations reg u l a rly effaced it." (Tr.) The E n gl i s h t ra n s l ation of t h i s passage read s : "The ridd le of the money fetish i s therefo re the riddle of the com mod ity fetish, now become visible and dazzl i n g to our eyes " (p. 1 87) . (Tr.) � I n its ge neral fo rm, I h ave attem pted to approach it elsewhere (cf. in particular Glas, pp. 42, 1 30, 2 0 6 ff. , 222 ff_ , 237 ff.) . O n the relation between feti s h i s m and ideology, cf. Sarah Kofm a n Camera obscura­ de I'ideologie (Paris: G a l i lee, 1 973) , in particu l a r what p recedes a n d fol lows " La ta b l e tournante" (p. 2 1 ) , and Etien n e Balibar, Cinq etudes du maUrialisme historique, as concerns the "theory of feti s h i s m," p p . 2 0 6 ff. Cf. B a l i bar, Cinq etudes, pp. 208 ff. I n the figu re o f its sensuous m ateri ality, t h e p roper body of this p h a n tomatic objectivity ta kes fo rm, harden s , e rects, or petrifies i tself, crystallizes out of a slack a n d u nd i fferentiated s u bstance, it i n stitutes itself out of an amorphous residue: " Let us n ow look at the residue of the prod ucts of labo u r. There i s noth i n g l eft of them i n each case but the same phanto m - l i ke objectivity; they a re merely congealed q u a ntities (Gal/erte: gelat i n , figu re of the homogeneous mass] of h o mogeneous h u m a n l a b o u r, i.e., of h u m a n l a bou r-power expended without regard to the fo rm of its expend iture. Al l these t h i n gs now tell u s [a l l that i s p resented i n them: Diese Dinge stellen nur noch dar] i s t h a t h u man labour-power h a s been expended t o p rod uce them, h u m a n l abou r i s accu m u l ated i n the m . As crysta l s [Als Kristalle] of

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37 38

th i s social s u bsta n ce, which i s co m m o n t o them a l l , they are val u es­ c o m modity values" (Capital, p. 1 28) . O n this " pha nto m atic objectivity" (gespenstige Gegenstiindlichkeit) , cf. Sam uel Weber (Unwrapping Balzac, p. 75) who, between Ba lzac a n d M arx, i ns i sts q u ite rightly o n t h e fem i n i n e cha rater of the commodity­ c h i mera. There i s in fact m ore th a n one sign of this. But how to sta b i l ize the sex of a feti s h ? Does it not pass from one sex to the other? I s it not this movement of passage, wh atever may be its stases? In a text that has j u st appeared, Thomas Kee n a n a l so a n a lyzes, among othe r th i n gs, what gets " s u b l i m ated" i n this "ghostly real ity": " I n th e rigor o f the a bstract i o n , o n l y ghosts s u rvive" ("The Point I s To (Ex) cha n ge I t, " i n Fetishism as Cultural Discourse, E. Apter a n d W. Pietz, ed s. [Ithaca: Cor n e l l U n ivers ity Press, 1 9 93), p . 1 68) . For all these m otifs , we refer obviously to the work of Paul Viri l i o, as wel l as to Bernard Stiegler, La technique et Ie temps, La faute d' Epimethte, (Paris: G a l i lee, 1 9 94) . The pa l i n d ro m i c syntax h ere i s : "tout a utre est tout autre, " both "every other is alto gethe r other, " a n d "altogether other is every othe r. " (Tr.) Why does Fre u d con s i d e r h a u nti n g to be "perhaps the most stri k i n g o f a l l [exa m ples] , " a k i n d o f prototype, i n t h e experien ce o f Unheimli­ chkeit? Beca u s e m a n y people experience " i n the highest degree" (im allerhochsten Grade) the sense ofthe " u n he i m l ich" in relation to death and dead bod ies, to the ret u rn of the dead , and to spi rits and ghosts" (Geistern und Gespenstern) . But to the great chagri n of tra n s l ators, Freud wa nts to i l l u strate th i s a ssertio n by rema rki n g not th at "es s p u kt" is so d ifficu lt to tra n s l ate (for the rea s.o ns we i n d i cated a bove) , but that " s o m e l a n gu ages i n use to-day can only render the Germ a n express i o n 'ein unheimliches Haus' by a house i n which 'es spukt' [manche moderne Sprachen unseren Ausdruck: ein unheimliches Haus gar nicht a nders wiedergeben konnen als durch dies Umschriebung: ein Haus, in dem es spukt)" ( " D a s U n he i m l iche," Gesammelte Werke, X I I , p p. 254-55) . I n truth, " u n h ei m l iche" i s j u st a s u ntra n s lata b l e as "es s p u kt." A n d this yiel d s awkwa rd a n d i n fact i n compreh e n s i b l e tra n s l a­ tions. For exa m p le: " p l u s i e u rs l a n gues modernes ne peuvent ren d re notre express i o n ' u n e m a i son unheim lich' a utrement q u e par cette circo n l ocuti o n : u n e m a i s o n h a ntee" (" L' l nqu i eta nte etra n gete," tra n s . M . Bon a p a rte e t E. M a rty, i n Essais de psychanalyse appliquee [Paris: G a l l i m a rd , 1 933] , pp. 1 94-95) ; o r aga i n : " some l a n gu ages i n use to-day c a n o n ly render the German expression 'an unheim lich h o u se'

NOTES

39

by 'a haunted h o u se' (Standard Edition, vol . XVI I , p. 241 ) . As fo r what Freud then puts fo rward concerning d eath itself, we ret u r n to it e l se­ whe re in order to rel ate it to the d i scou rses of Hei degger and Levi nas on th i s subject (cf. Aporias) . Another period , another moda l ity, an other mode for ghosts: Freud rem a rks, on the same page, that d i stingu i s hed lectures on com m u n icatio n with spi rits were s howi ng a tendency to pro l i ferate. S u btle m i n d s , he n otes, among men of science and e s pe­ cially at the e n d of thei r l ives, give i nto the telepath ic or med i u m i stic tem ptation. He knew what he was ta l k i n g about. And s i n ce Hamlet w i l l have been o u r s u bject, let us s pecify that Freud deemed its appar· itio n s whol ly d evoid of any power of Unheimlichkeit (GW, p. 265; SE, p. 251 ) . Like those of Macbeth or J u l i u s Caesar, l i ke those in Da n te's I nferno. They may be terrify i n g (schreckhaft) or l ugubrious (duster) , to be s u re, b u t no m o re unheimlich than the world of H o m eric gods. Explan ati on: l iteratu re, theatrical fiction. Accord i n g to Freud, we adapt ou r j u d gment to the co nditions ofjictive rea l ity, s uch a s they a re esta b l ished by the poet, and treat "souls, spirits, a n d specters " l i ke grou nded, norm a l , l egiti m ate exi stences (vollberechtige Existen­ zen) . A remark that is all the m ore su rpris i n g in that a l l the exa m ples of Unheimlichkeit i n this essay a re borrowed from l iteratu re ! if· Freud a n d H e i d egger. I n The Post Card (Chicago: Ch icago U ni ve rsity Pre s s , 1 987) , the s i gnatory of Envois couples them l i ke two specters: " H e re Freud and Heidegger, I conj o i n them with i n me l i ke the two great ghosts of the 'great epoch.' The two s u rvivi ng grandfa t hers. They did not know each oth er, but accord i ng to m e they form a cou p le, and i n fact j u st beca use of th at, this s i n g u l a r a n ach rony" (p. 1 91 ) . G iven that a revenant i s a lways ca l led u pon to come a n d to come back, the th i n k i n g of the s pecter, contrary to what good s e n s e lea d s us to bel ieve, signals towa rd the future. I t i s a th i n k i n g of the p ast, a legacy that ca n come o n l y fro m that wh ich has not yet a rrived-from the arrivant itself.

245

I N D EX

abjuration 1 40 Abraham 21 0 a b straction 83-4, 1 83, 1 94, 209, 21 6 academics 6 6 , 69, 1 1 3 accounta b i l i ty 26, 30, 1 1 4 actuality 78, 81 , 87, 1 63, 1 77 Adikia 27, 2 9-30, 32 adolescents 1 60 adu lts 1 60 a h i sto ricity 1 46 a l i e n ation 35, 149, 1 57, 1 9 9 a l l iances 58, 730 76-7, 8 5 , 1 07, 1 1 3, 1 24-5, 1 28 , 13 1 , 2 1 0 A l l ies 1 03 Althusser, L. 40, 1 1 2 America see U n ited States of America a m nesia 1 3 9 a nach ronY 1 3 9-41 , 1 43-5 a n a rchy 1 47 A n axi mander 27-9

Anglo-Saxon model 76-7 a n i m al ity 89-91 a n i m i s m 64, 147, 1 91 anthropology 66, 1 80, 1 8 9 anthro pomorphism 1 97 apocalypse 1 6-17, 1 50 apparitions 1 56-222 'On an Approach to Com m u n i sm' 17 a p propriatio n 65, 67, 73 ; age less world 97, 1 05, 1 08, 1 1 2 ; conj u ratio n 90; pheno m e n ology 1 61 , 1 98, 2 1 0; revolution 1 27, 1 34, 1 36-7 a rcha i s m 1 02-3 Aristotle 1 79 arms i n d ustry 1 02 a rt 204 atheism 36 Atla ntic Ocean 1 03 a u cti o n s 1 90 Austi n , J . L. 22

2 48

I NDEX

autonom ization 1 57-8, 1 61 , 1 67, 1 72, 1 77, 1 9 1 -2 , 208-9, 2 1 3 , 2 1 6 , 21 9 avarice 56 Babyl o n , wh o re Of 1 50 barricades 1 1 8-55 Baudel a i re, Charles P. 1 93 Bauer 1 65 beari ng witness 6 8 , 1 1 0 Bei n g 1 79, 1 85 Being and Time 21 8 Benj a m i n , Wa lter 25, 68, 1 93 bereavement 85-7, 145 Berl i n 1 54 B i bl e 72-3 , 1 54, 21 1 biology 1 21 Bla nchot, M a u rice 1 7, 1 9-20, 35-6, 39-40, 42-3 B loom, Al l a n 70 B o n a pa rte fam i ly 1 45 B o n a parte, Lo u i s 1 49 Bonapa rte, N a po l eon 1 38, 141 , 1 49 Bon n efoy, Yves 22, 24 borrowi n g 1 3 6, 1 44, 1 58, 21 1 bou rgeo i s i e 59, 1 37-40, 1 86 , 205-6 b u reaucra cy 1 6 Ca l i forn i a 8 9 Capital 6 , 41 , 57; phenomenology 1 78 , 1 86 , 1 9 4, 1 98-9, 205-9, 21 3-1 4; revol ution 1 50 capita l i s m 1 7, 46 , 64, 70; ageless world 97, 99-1 01 , 1 03 , 1 06 ; conj u ration 73 , 80, 85-6 , 89-90, 93; p h e n o m e n o logy 1 93; revol ution 1 23 , 1 30, 1 3 9 ce l l s 1 4 C h a m isso, Ad e l be rt von 146 C h i l i asts 1 48 C h i n a 90, 1 92 chosen people 1 1 3

Ch rist 1 48, 1 54, 1 67, 1 80-1 Christians 74-6, 83, 1 03 , 1 25, 1 52-4, 1 67, 176, 1 80 civil war 98, 1 00, 1 3 9 class politique 6 5 class system 1 0, 6 9 , 9 0 , 9 7 cogito 1 6 6-7 com modity 1 86-9°, 1 93-2°4, 206-1 0 com m u n i catio n s 63, 65-6, 98 com m u n i s m 2, 1 5, 1 7, 35; con j u ration 62, 64, 81 , 83, 8 9-90; i nj u nctio n s 38, 43 , 46-7; phenomenology 1 76; revol uti o n 1 23-6, 1 28-3 1 , 1 33 Co m m u n i st League 46 The Communist Manifesto; con j u ration 2, 64, 6 9 , 76-7, 79; i nj u ncti ons 1 1 , 1 3-14, 46, 49; phenomenology 1 65, 1 76 , 1 82; revol ution 1 21 , 1 23, 1 26-30, 1 46 Com m u n i st Party 1 28-9 com petition 1 01 , 1 38-9, 1 90 conj u ration 49-50, 58-9 ; M a rxi s m 6 1 -95; revolution 1 20-1 , 1 24, 1 33, 1 35, 1 38, 1 40/1 45, 1 47-9; tricks 1 56-222 conscience 82, 97 con scious ness 1 21 , 1 54, 214-1 6 con s e rvati s m 1 5, 1 1 3 con s p i racy 49-50, 58 con stitutions 1 27, 1 45 contretemps 1 09-1 0 A Contribution to the critique of Political Economy 51 Copernicus, N icol a u s 1 21 corporeal ity 1 5 9-62, 1 64 corru ption 22-3 , 25, 52, 204 cou n ter-revolution 1 45-7 credit 1 3 6 , 1 44 cri m e 29, 2 1 3

I N D EX

criti q u e 68, 84, 1 09-1 2; ageless wo rld 1 1 7; phenomenology 1 5 9, 1 6 1 , 1 67, 1 74, 1 76, 204, 21 3-1 6 ; revol ution 1 3 1 , 1 4 6 , 1 54 The Critique ofPol;t;cal Economy 55, 203 Cromwel l , Ol iver 1 40 crypto- M a rxi sts 62 cu rrency 1 29 cybers pace 67 D a n i s h l a n guage 1 29 Dante Al i gh ieri 1 1 9 Danto n , G eorges J . 1 38 Darwi n , Charles 1 21 death 27, 38, 41 , 43-4; conj u ratio n 63, 67, 7 0 , 7 8 ; inju nctions 56-7, 59-60; phenomenol ogy 1 6 1 , 1 65, 1 6 9 , 1 74, 1 ]7, 1 84-5, 2 1 2 , 2 1 7, 21 9-20; revol uti on 1 20-1 , 1 24, 1 2 6, 1 28, 1 34-6, 1 38, 1 40-4, 1 48 d ebt 2 9-31 , 33, 79, 1 02, 1 06 , 1 1 4-1 7 decadence 22 decon struction 1 6, 32-3 ; ageless wo rld 1 1 1-13, 1 1 5; co n j u ration 74, 86, 93-5; i nju nctions 36, 42; phenomenology 1 67, 1 76 , 204, 214; revol ution 1 22 , 1 27 deja vu 1 5, 1 7 democracy 1 7, 65, 67; ageless world 98-1 03, 1 05-6, 1 08, 1 1 7; conj u ration 6 9-71 , 74-5, 78-81 , 85, 88, 90; phenomenology 21 2; revo l ution 1 23 , 1 27-8, 1 47 Den m a rk 9-1 0 d e reg u l ation 1 00-1 Derocq u igny 2 4 Desca rtes, Rene 1 67 desert 33, 21 0-1 1 Des m o u l i ns, Ca m i l l e 1 3 8 determ i n ation 1 53-4 d i a lectica l materi a l i s m 1 0, 7 9 , 8 6

d i a lectics 1 8, 20, 42, 48; conj u ration 77-8, 85, 87; phenomeno logy 1 60, 1 68, 1 94; revol ution 1 53 diastema 81 d i ctators h i p 1 0, 80, 1 07 d ictio n a ries 22, 58 Diels 30 The Difference ;n the Ph;losophy of Nature of Democr;tus and Ep;curus 1 3 2 D;ke 27, 29-32 d i scern ment 1 55, 1 6 5 d i scurs ivity 63, 1 49 doctri n e 1 4 dogma 1 4, 5 9 , 64, 6 8 ; ageless world 1 1 1 , "3; conj u ration 70, 80; phenomeno logy 1 66, 221 ; revo l ution 1 48 d o m i n a nt d i scourse 64-5, � 67-9 d ru g traffic 1 02-3 earth 1 21 -2, 21 1 , 21 9 Eastern b l oc 1 6 , 1 01 , 1 03 ecology 1 1 4 econom i sts 1 86 , 1 97-8 economy 64-5, 67, 69; ageless world 97-8, 1 00-1 , 1 04-6, 1 08, 1 1 4-1 5, 1 1 7; conj u ration 72-3, 75-9, 82, 86, 88; phenomenol ogy 1 81 , 1 85-6, 1 93, 1 9 9, 2 ° 5-6 , 21 5 , 21 9 effectivity 78, 81 , 87, 94 ego 1 21 -2 , 1 51 , 1 53, 1 60-1 , 1 64 , 1 6 6-7, 1 69 , 1 77, 1 81 , 21 6 The Ego and H;s Own 1 53 The E;ghteenth Bruma;re of Lou;s Bonaparte 1 33-4, 1 45 election s 1 7, 98-9 emanci pation 74, 94, 1 04, 1 06 , 1 1 1 -1 2, 1 3 1 , 1 34, 209, 21 9

249

250

IN DEX

empi ricitY 71 , 7 6 , 78, 80, 86, 1 00, 1 07-8, 1 53 , 21 5 Encyclopedia 1 94 The End of Histo ry and the Last Man 70, 76 'The End of P h i losophy' 1 7 Engels, Fried rich 3 , 1 3 ; ageless world 1 09 -10; i nj u n cti ons 42, 46, 52; phe nomenology 1 65; revol utio n 1 2 1 , 1 23, 1 33 , 1 50 England 9 Engli sh l a ngu age 20, 49, 57, 90, 1 2 9 , 21 5 Engli sh people 1 40 en i gma 1 86 , 1 95 , 207 En l i ghtenment 1 1 0, 1 1 3 , 1 72, 1 88, 1 91 epi stemology 2 1 8 eq u iva lence 203-4 eschatology 9, 1 6 , 45; ageless world 1 07, 1 09, 1 1 2; conj u ratio n 72-6, 80-1 , 8g, 94; p henomenology 209 ; revo l ution 1 2 1 , 1 3 1 ' Eskamotage' 1 59 esthetics 2 9 ethics 22, 36, 82, 1 6 5 etym ology 1 67 eucharist 1 80 Europe i s p ; 2-4, 1 1 , 1 6 ; ageless world 98, 1 00, 1 02, 1 04; con j u ration 64, 76-7; i nj u ncti o n s 46-9 , 58; phenomenology 1 6 5, 176; revol ution 1 23-6, 1 28, 1 30-1 , 146 E u ropean Co m m u n ity 76-7, 79, 89, 1 01 eva nge l i s m 72, 74, 77, 1 06 , 1 25, 1 50, 1 79 evi l 86, 1 09, 1 33, 1 79, 220 exa mples 41 exchan ge-va l u e 5 7 , 1 84, 1 8 6 , 1 88, 1 9 1 , 1 94, 1 97, 200-1 , 204, 21 9

exorci s m 58-9, 62, 1 20; phenomenol ogy 1 62-3 , 1 75-6, 202, 205-6 , 209, 213, 220; revol ution 1 24, 1 33 , 147- 9 , 1 51 expiation 1 71 expropriation 1 1 2, 1 1 5, 1 21 , 1 49, 1 57, 1 64 exterm ination 71 , 1 06 Ezechiel 52 fa m i ne 1 06 fa sci sts 71 , 1 03 , 1 21 , 1 27, 1 3 1 fate 23, 34 feti s h i s m 1 58, 1 78, 1 86 ; phenomenology 1 85, 1 94, 1 96 , 1 99 , 204; role 206-9, 2 1 3 , 21 9 feudalism 138 Feuerbach, Ludwig A. 63 , 1 65, 1 83 , 215 F ichte, Johan n G . 1 6 6 Fi rst I nternational 46 Fi rst Wo rld Wa r 98 Flemish language 1 2 9 ' Force o f Law' 74 foreign debt 791 1 02, 1 06 , 1 1 7 formulae 5 9 , 61 , 70, 1 94, 207 fortune 1 98 Fra nce 1 6-1 7, 65, 1 01 , 1 38 , 1 45 fraternity 1 08, 1 48 free ma rket 72, 1 01 freedom 72, 76 French language 1 3, 21'-2 , 49, 57, 1 29, 1 35, 1 81 , 207 Fre nch people 88, 9 1 , 1 1 2 , 1 90 Fre nch Revolution 75-6, 1 38 , 1 45 , 1 49 frequency 1 25-6, 1 3 1 , 1 33 , 1 40-1 , 1 54 Freud, Sigmund 26, 64, 84-5, 1 2 1 -2, 1 6 6, 21 7-20

I N DEX

Fuk uya m a , Francis 1 6 , 70-2, 74-9, 82-6 , 88, 90, 93, 1 00, 1 07, 1 25 fu n d a m e nta l i sm 2 1 0 gaze 1 63 , 1 68 General Agreement o n Ta riffs and Trade (GATT) 79 generations 1 33-4 genocide 71 geopol itics 47, 6 9 , 72, 87, 1 02, 1 21 -2 The German Ideology 6, 51 ; co n j u ration 58, 6 9 , 84; phenomenology 1 5 6, 1 6 5, 1 78, 1 84-5, 1 99, 2 1 0 , 21 3-14, 21 6; revo l ution 133, 1 50, 1 53 Germ a n language 49-50, 52, 1 29 , 1 69 Germany 204 Geschichte der Philosophie 1 70 ghost theses 1 79-84 Gide, Andre 22, 24 G i ron d i n s 1 45 gods 51 , 54, 1 43, 220 go ld 5 1 - 6 , 1 86, 203 Good Fri day 1 47 Gorbachev, M i k h a i l 1 24 go spel 70, 78 G ramsci, A nto n i o 1 28 graved i ggers 56, 1 42, 1 44 G reek l a n gu age 1 73 , 1 91 G reeks 2 9 gu a rd i a n s 1 98 H a bakku k 1 40 h a l l u c i n ations 1 59, 1 63 , 1 70, 1 75, 1 85 Hamlet 2-5, 7-9 , 1 2-1 3 ; ageless wo rld 96, 1 1 4; con j u ration 61 ; i nj u nctions 1 9-20, 22-6 , 28-30, 34, 50, 56; phenomenology 206; revol ution 142 H a n i , Ch ris 1 0

happy e n d 8 9 haunti n g 3, 20-1 , 25, 43 ; i n j u ncti o n s 45-7, 49, 56-7; phenomenology 1 62, 1 66, 1 68 , 1 70, 1 75-6, 1 81 , 1 83-4, 1 86, 1 8 g, 1 98, 201 -2, 21 6, 21 9-20; revo l u t i o n 1 23, 1 32, 1 36, 1 3 9 , 155 hau ntology 9, 63, 202 Hebrew prophets 1 40 , 1 43 Hege l , Georg Wilhelm F.; conj u rati o n 75-8, 83-5, 88-9, 93 ; inju nction s 4, 9, 1 6-17, 44, 47; phenomenology 1 65, 1 70, 1 94; revoluti o n 1 25, 1 34, 147, 1 52-4 H egel i a n i s m 1 52, 1 54, 1 57, 1 6 6 , 1 72 , 215 hegemony 46, 4 9 , 5 8 , 62, 64-9 , 86 , 1 1 3, 1 1 5, 2 1 4 Heidegger, M a rtin 1 6, 25; conju ration 84, 91 ; i n j u ncti o n s 27-32, 3 4 , 44 ; phenomenolc¥gy 1 90, 2 1 4, 21 8-20 hel met effect 7-8, 1 30, 141 , 1 58, 1 75, 1 92 H e n ry, M ichael 1 49 heresy 1 65 heritage 21 1 hermeneutics 9, 38 H ess 1 65 heterogeneity 81 , 94-5 , 1 05, 1 1 4, 1 49 heterol ogy 1 54 hiera rchy 65, 6 9 , 1 09 , 1 73 , 1 79-80 h i sto ri a n s 66, 1 53 h i storical m ateri a l i s m 69, 86 h i stori c i s m 3 6 , 94 h i storicity 1 4, 88, 91 -4, 1 26 h i story 9-1 0, 1 6-1 7, 20-1 ; ageless world 96, 98, 1 04, 1 06, 1 08, 1 1 4, 1 1 6 ; co nj u ration 64, 69-72 , 76-8, 80, 82-3, 86-9, 92-4; ghosts 1 2 1 -2, 1 2 5 -6, 1 49-5 2 , 1 54;

25 1

25 2

I N D EX

i nj u nctio n s 23-4, 26, 34-5 , 47; phenomenology 1 76, 1 78-80, 1 9 9 , 206, 21 0, 214-1 5 , 21 8, 220-1 ; revolution 1 3 1 , 1 33-4, 1 37, 1 40, 1 42 , 1 45-7, 1 49 H itler, Adolf 77 hoard i n g 5 6-7 H o b bes, Thomas 7 6-7 Holderi i n , Friedrich 68 H oly Al l i a n ce 1 24-5 , 1 28, 1 3 1 H o l y Spi rit 1 54, 1 71 , 1 83 homeles s n e s s 1 01 Homer 1 1 9 homogen eity 75, 9 9 . 1 71 , 21 0 H u go. Victor 1 1 8-20, 1 34 h u m a n rights 74, 1 00, 1 02, 1 05-6, 1 08, 1 1 7. 21 0 h u m a n i s m 35-6, 53. 1 81 H u ngary 1 6 h u nti n g 1 50, 1 57, 1 74-6, 1 82 H u s serl, E d m u n d 84 ico n icity 63 idea l ity 78-80, 82-3 , 86, 94. 1 07-8 ideology 1 4, 40, 43; ageless world 97, 1 06; conj u rati on 68-70, ]3 , 85, 87, 93-4; i nj u ncti o n s 51 , 56; phenomenology 1 58, 1 85-6, 204, 207-9, 2 1 3 , 21 9 ; revo l ution 1 26, 1 31 idolatry 55 i m a g i n ation 1 25 , 1 40-1 , 1 85-6 , 215 i m m igrants 1 01 , 21 g i m m i nence 40, 44, 1 6 g , 21 0 i m peri al i s m 66 i n a pparent 1 56-222 i n cantatio n 59, go, 1 47, 1 71 , 207 i n carnation 1 3 6 , 1 58, 1 6 6, 1 80, 1 82 i n corporation 1 57-8, 1 60, 1 80, 205, 208-9 i n d u stri a l i zati o n 75

i n fidel ity 55 i n formation 65, 98, 1 00 i n habiti n g 1 98 i n h erita n ce 1 8-20, 24-5; ageless world 1 1 3-14; co nju ration 67-9; i nj u nction s 33, 41-2; phenomenology 21 3 , 220; revol ution 1 20, 1 27-8, 1 30, 1 34, 1 3 6-7, 1 42 i nj u n ctions; ageless wo rld 1 1 4; con j u ration 67, 81 , g2; phenomenology 205, 209, 21 1 , 2 1 3 ; revo l ution 1 21 ; ro le 1 -60 i nterest 1 1 7, 1 71 , 1 73 I ntern ational 1 0, 1 5 , 35; ageless world 1 05-7, 1 1 2-1 3 ; conj u ration 62, 64, 86; i nj u nctions 46; revol ution 1 2 6, 1 28 i ntervention i s m 1 01 I s l a m 75 isothym ia 77 I s rael 72 Italian la nguage 1 2 9 Italy 1 03 J acob i n s 1 45 J a pan 79, 88-9, 91 , 1 01 J a pa n ization 9 1 J e rusalem 7 3 , 21 0 J ews 52, 74-5, 1 43 J o nes 26 J udgment Day 56 Julius Caesar 1 1 j u stice 25-7, 29, 3 1 ; ageless world 1 04, 1 1 0, 1 1 2 ; co nju ration 74, 82, 94; i nj u nct i o n s 33-4, 37; phenomenology 21 0-1 2. 214, 220-1 ; revo l ution 1 21 Kant, I m m a n uel 4, 9, 55, 81 . 1 67, 1 90, 1 94, 204 keys 1 20-1

I N DEX

Kojeve, Aleksandr V. 1 6, 70, 76-7, 85, 88-93 , 97 labor 1 0, 47, 1 0 1 -2, 1 1 4; phenomenology 1 85, 1 93 , 1 95-7, 205-6 , 209, 21 3-14; revolution 1 2 1 , 1 27 l a n gu age 66, 68, 75, 77; ageless world 1 01 , " 5; co n j u ration 82, 88; phenomenol ogy 1 67, 1 77, 1 89 , 1 99, 210, 21 7, 221 ; revo lution 1 29 , 1 33, 1 35, 137, 142 La n s o n , G u stave 8g The Last Man 1 7 Last S u pper 1 67 l aw 72, 74, 92-3, 1 01 ; ageless world 1 04-8, 1 1 0, 1 1 2, " 7, 1 40-1 , 1 48; phenomenology 1 83, 204, 21 0, 212, 220; revol uti o n 140-1 , 1 48 League of the J ust 46 Left 70-1 Lei b n itz, G ottfried W. 4 Lei pz i g Cou nci l 58, 1 57, 1 59 Len i n i s m 1 3 0 Leo n a rd o da Vi nci 4 Levinas, E m m a n u e l 26 l i bera l i s m 1 7, 46, 64-5; ageless world 97-1 00, 1 06 , 1 08; conj u rati o n 69-72, 75-83, 85-8, go; revolution 1 27 l i berty 75 l i n gu i stici s m 1 1 5 l iteratu re 66, 1 48 Locke, J o h n 76-7, 1 40 logic 78, 82, 84-5, 87-8; ageless world 1 02, 1 07-8, 1 1 4, 1 1 7; conj u ration 93; phenomenology 1 57, 1 6 6, 1 70, 1 72-3, 1 75-6, 1 85, 204-5, 207, 217; revo l ution 1 2 1 , 1 33, 1 44, 149, 1 53 logocentri s m " 5 London 1 29

Lo raux, Patrice 1 78 Lo uis XV I I I 1 3 9 , 1 41 Luther, M a rtin 137, 141

Macbeth 1 1 M ach i avel l i , N iccolo 77 mafia 1 03 magic S o , 56, 58-9, 64; phenomeno logy 1 61 , 1 7 1 , 20 6-7; revol uti o n 1 20, 1 3 1 , 1 33 , 1 47-9 Magn u s , Bernd 63 M a l a p l ate, Jean 24 m arket 3 1 , 69, 72, 87; ageless wo rld 1 00-2, 1 06, 1 08, 1 1 7; phenomeno logy 1 88, 1 9 1 -2, 1 94, 1 96-8, 201-6 M a rrast, M a rie-Fra n �o i s- Pasca l ­ Arm and 1 41 M a rx, Ka rl; abstractio n 84; age l e s s world 1 07, I l l , 1 1 5; a l l i a n ce 49; anachrony 144; a n a lys i s 84; � appearances 146-7; class 6g; conj u ration 66-7, 85, 1 38, 1 45; death 64, 1 21 ; debt 1 1 4-1 5; d i savowa l 46; disjunction 40; end 88, 93-4; evol ution 83; execution 60; exeges i s 37-9 ; fear 130- 1 , 1 43; ghosts 1 53, 1 55-62 , 1 66 , 1 72-5, 1 78-84, 200, 202, 21 6 ; head 1 3 9, 1 41 ; hunting 1 75-7; ideology 1 85, 210, 214, 21 8, 220; i m precations 52-3; i nfl uen ces 96; i n h erita nce 1 8-20, 33, 41 -2, 67, 1 1 3, 1 20, 1 28, 1 30, 142-3; i n spiration 3, 1 0-1 1 ; madness 205-6; materi a l i s m 76; metamorphosis 62; money 5 5-6, 203; na mes 1 22-7, 1 36-7, 1 62-3, 1 71 ; obsession 1 32-3 ; origi n a l ity 2 1 3 ; persecution 1 32; phenomenology 1 67-9 , 1 71 ; rea d i n g 14-1 5; rea ppropriati o n

253

254

I N DEX

1 64-5; respo n s e 36; resu rrection revo l ution 1 33-4, 1 47 , 1 50-2; sal uti ng 1 1 0; socia l ity 1 93 , 1 95-7, 208-9; s pectro logy 2 1 9 ; speculation 5 7 ; speech 1 97-8; s p i r its 2 , 4-6 , g, 1 3-1 5, 1 8, 35, 51 , 58; table 1 86-90, 1 92; wi l l 1 9 9 Marxism 2 , 9, 1 2 , 14-1 5; ageless wo rld 97; cod e 94; conj u ration 6 1 -95, 97; cou p 1 21 -2; critique 73-4, 86 , 1 07-8, 1 1 7; debt 1 1 4; deconstructio n 1 1 5-1 6 ; end 68-70, 72, 78-9 , 90; fear 1 30-1 , 1 45, 1 81 ; figu re 88; fi n a l stage 89; i n h erita nce 1 1 3 , 1 27, 1 30; i nj u nctions 37-8, 46-7, 49, 209; ral lying 1 09-1 0 ; regi mes 65; rei n terpretation s 1 1 2; spi rits 95, 1 05, 1 08-1 1 , 1 1 3 , 1 1 5, 21 6; structu res 21 3 ; tradition 79-80 M a rxi sts 1 7, 36, 3 8, 42-3, 47 ' M a rx' s Th ree Voices' 1 7-1 9 , 34 m a s ks 141 , 1 92, 1 9 9 m a ster-s lave d i a lectic 77 materi a l i s m 76-7, 85-6, I I I matter 1 91 Mechanics 1 94 med i a 1 4, 1 6-1 7, 6 3 , 65-7; con j u ratio n 6 9-70, 72, 79, 85, 88, 93; revol ution 98-9, 1 27 megalothymia 77, 80 Mephistopheles 1 48 merchan d ise 1 56-2 2 2 The Merchant oI Venice 51 messian i c 33, 45, 69, 72-4; ageless world 1 07, 1 1 1 -1 2 , 1 1 4; conj u ration 81-2 , 9 2 , 94; phenomenology 1 61 , 209-1 3; revolution 1 21 meta morphosis 151 , 1 54-5, 1 79-80, 1 83 , 188, 203 44;

meta physics 1 0, 44, 86, 88, l l l , 1 1 3 , 1 1 5, 1 88 metonymy 72, 1 1 7, 1 73 M i d d l e Ages 3, 58 M iddle East 72-3, 1 50 m i l itary 72, 75, 80, 1 06 M i lton , J o h n 1 1 9 Les Miserables 1 1 8-20, 1 3 1 m i ssion 23 moderni s m 73 monarch ies 1 27, 1 30 money 51 , 55-6, 1 29, 186, 1 93, 203, 207 moral ity 204 More, Tho m as 22 Moscow 1 6, 1 1 1 , 1 20 M oses 75 m o u r n i n g 9 , 64, 67, 85; ageless world 1 07, 1 1 3 , 1 1 5; conjuration 94; phenomenology 1 58, 1 64, 1 9 9 , 209; revol ution 1 21 -2, 1 2 6 , 1 42, 1 44 m u s i c 31 M u sso l i n i, Ben ito 1 03 mysticism 1 85-6, 1 88, 1 93, 1 95, 202, 206, 208 mystification 1 8 6 mythology 1 1 3-14 N a ba l 1 82 naiVete 78, 85, 87-8, 1 97 N a poleon the G reat 141 N a poleon 'Ie Petit' 141 narci s s i s m 1 21 -2, 1 64, 1 67 N ational Assembly 146 n atio n al i s m 1 82, 213 N atu re 80, 83-6 , 89, 1 98 N azis 71 , 1 2 1 , 1 27, 1 3 1 necromancy 1 38, 206 N egroid 1 71 -3 n eo-ca pita l i s m 4 6 neo-conservatives 1 1 3

I N D EX

neo-l i bera l i s m 46 , 87 neo- M a rx i s m 9 1 neuro s i s 30 N ew I nternational see I nternational N ew World 49 n ew wo rld o rder 46, 49, 62, 1 00 n ews 14, 63 N ietzsche, Friedrich W. 1 6, 25, 29-30, 44, 68, 84, 1 43 n i h i l i s m 2 9 , 36, 44 nostalgia 1 69-70 n u clear wea pons 89, 1 00, 1 02 obses s i o n 1 32, 1 3 6 , 1 74-5, 1 8 1 , 207, 215 occult societies 5 9 Oedipus Rex 26, 29 Old Testa ment 21 1 onomastics 1 71 o ntology 5, 9-1 0, 22; ageless wo rld 1 03, I l l , 1 1 4-1 5; conj u ratio n 63, ]3, 86, 88, 93 -4; inju ncti o n s 35-6, 3 9 , 60; phenomenology 1 65, 1 75, 1 79-80, 1 84-5, 202, 207, 2 1 4; revol ution 1 22, 1 3 0 ontopology 1 02-3 oppres s i o n 71 , 1 06 oratory 149 The Other Healing 74 overprod uctio n 79 Oxford E n g l i s h Dictionary (O E D) 22, 58 pamphleteers 1 73 para- Heideggerian i s m 91 para- M a rxi sts 62 para m i l itaries 1 00 parl i a mentari s m 1 7, 1 46 parthenogenesis 1 90 pa rty structu re 1 4, 1 27-30 pata physics 89 patri mony 1 49, 1 84-5, 1 90

pau perization 79 ped agogy 1 85 P�guy, Charles 88 perestroika I I I perj u ry 52-5 persecution 1 26, 1 3 1 -2, 1 52 , 1 8 2 petty bou rgeoisie 51-2 Phaedo 1 84 phenomenology 1 56-222 The Phenomenology of Spirit 77, 9 1 , 1 52-4, 1 72, 1 80 philology 38-9 p h i losophers 66, 84, 87, I I I philosophers' stone 57 p h i losophy 9, 1 3-1 4, 1 6-1 7; ageless world 1 04, 1 1 3-1 5; con j u ration 63, 85-6, 93; i nj u nctio n s 35-6, 38-9, 43-4, 60; phenomenology 1 84-5, 1 90-1 , 204, 2 1 5 ; revolution 1 3 6 , 1 49-51 Philosophy of Nature 1 94 The Philosophy of Right 75 phonologi s m 1 1 5 Phrygian cap 1 47 physics 74-5, 77 Plato 6, 77, 1 57, 1 73, 1 7 5 , 1 84, 1 90 pledge 21 0 P l i ny 56 Ploti n u s 31 p l u ra l 1 -2 , 1 8-1 9, 21, 25; ageles s world 1 09 ; co nj u ratio n 6 1 , 73 ; i nj u nctions 43 ; phenome nology 1 71 , 1 79-80 pneuma 1 92 poach i n g 1 75 poetry 3 1 , 51 -2, 1 42, 1 44, 1 90 Pol Pot 71 Pola n d 1 24 politici a n s 6 9 , 99, 1 24 pol itologi sts 66 Ponge - 1 90 Pope 76, 1 24, 1 62-3

25 5

256

I N D EX

pop u l i s m 1 82 posses sion 1 65, 1 75 post-hi sto ry 88-9 1 p ost- M a rx i s m 91 postmodern i s m 73, 1 00 poverty 1 01 power 65, 67, 9 9-1 00, 1 20, 1 63, 2 1 7 Prague 87 p ress 63, 6 6 , 1 48 p rey 1 74-5 princi p l es 80 prod uction 1 0, 1 01 , 1 08, 1 20, 1 85, 206, 209, 214-1 5 proleta riat 1 0, 1 07 Pro m i sed Lan d 72, 74-5, 86 propaganda 93 p roperty rights 51-2, 82, 1 81 prostitution 52, 54-5, 1 93 , 203 protectio n i s m 79, 1 01 -2 p seud o - M a rxists 62 psychoanalysis 5 , 9 , 29-30, 1 2 1 -2, 1 85 psych o logy 2 9 , 1 2 1 -2 , 1 8 5 p u b l i c s pace 6 3 , 6 5, 7 9 , 8 8 , 98-9, 1 27 raci s m 1 0 0 rad ica l i zation 1 1 5-1 6 ra i l roads 1 4 read i n g 1 4, 1 7-1 8, 3 8 , 43 , 1 1 6, 142, 1 87 red s pecter 1 45-7 redemption 1 70 relativi sm 84 rel igion 5 1 , 53, 73-4, l l l ; ageless world 1 1 3-1 4; phenomenology 1 85, 1 9 6 , 1 9 9 , 204, 206-1 1 , 2 1 5 ; revolution 1 53 representatio n 69, 98-9 ; ageless worl d 1 08; phen o m e n ology 1 63 , 1 7 1 -2, 1 77, 1 83, 2 1 4-1 6 ; revolution 1 27

re p res sion 26, 46, 71 , 77 re p u blica n s 1 5, 1 30 res publica 63, 98 res pon s i b i l ity 62, 64, 89, 94, 1 09 , 1 1 3-1 4, 1 1 7, 21 3 res u rrect i o n 1 40, 1 48 revi s i o n i s m 1 3 1 revolution 38-41 , 47, 64; ageless world 1 02 ; conj u ration 72, 75; phenomenology 205, 21 1 ; rol e 1 1 8-55 revolutiona ries 1 35 rhetoric 68-9, 72, 75; ageless world 1 00; conj u ration 87; phenomenology 1 57, 1 75-6, 1 84-6 , 1 90, 1 97, 2 1 8 ; revol ution 1 25, 1 34, 1 44-5, 1 47, 1 49-50 Right 1 5, 70-1 Robes pierre, M axi m i l ien F. 1 38 Romans 1 3 7-40, 1 43 ruling ideas 6 9 R u s s ia 1 25 Russians 9 1 Saddam H ussein 77 St j o h n 1 50 St Pa u l 1 37, 1 41 Sai nt-J ust, Lou i s Antoine Leon d e 138 sanctions 26 scandals 9 9 scenography 149 sch i s m 1 65 scholars 1 2-14, 3 9 , 41 , 43 , 63, 66, 1 77, 221 science 40-1 , 43 , 6 6 , 72-3 ; ageless world 1 02, 1 06 , 1 08, 1 1 3-14; co njurati o n 75, 79, 88; phenomenology 1 6 9, 2 1 2 ; revo l ution 1 2 2 Seco nd World Wa r 7 2 semantics 5, 9 , 49, 1 34, 1 8 5

I N D EX

servitude 1 1 2 sexual ity 84, 1 90 S h a kes pea re, Wi l l i a m 3, 1 0, 20, 25, 51 , 1 98 S i ci l ia n s 1 03 s i lver 1 86 s l avery 1 1 7, 1 82 s l eights of h a n d 86, 1 49, 1 57, 1 59 soci a l i s m 64, 1 03, 1 07 social ity 1 9 9 socializati o n 1 9 6 sociol ogists 6 6 soph i s m 78 soul 7 6 , 1 33, 1 84, 1 92, 1 97-8, 203, 21 2 Soviet U n i o n 1 5-1 6, l l l , 1 27 s paci n g 63 s pectators 1 1 s pectra lity 48, 58, 82, 98, 1 1 4, 1 61 , 1 71 , 205, 209 s pectra l ization 158 , 1 62, 1 66 , 1 99 s pectroge n ics 1'57 s pectrology 1 32, 1 50, 1 60, 21 9 s pecu lati o n 1 83, 2 1 4 s peech 63, 1 97-8, 221 s p i ritual ization 152, 1 55, 1 58 Der Spruch des Anaximander 27-8, 30 Sta l i n , J osef 77 Sta l i n ists 1 6 , 7 1 , 1 22 , 1 30 State 1 0, 1 4, 35, 47, 56; ageless world 1 01 -7 , 1 1 1 -1 2 , 1 1 4, 1 1 6-1 7; co nj u rati o n 69, 72-3, 75-8, 8 1 -2, 86, 88; p h e nomenology 1 63, 1 77, 21 0; revol ution 1 27-8, 1 30 stereotypes 38, 84 Sti rner, M a x 6, 84, 1 25; phenomenology 1 57-62, 1 64-71 , 1 74-7, 1 79-84, 1 9 9 , 21 5-1 6; revo l ution 1 3 1 -2, 1 50-2, 1 54-5

strategy 149, 1 57, 1 64, 1 6 6, 1 71 stratification 1 49 Strau s s , Leo 70 s u bvers ion 41 suffrage 1 08, 1 48 s u icide 1 82 S u nday 1 47-8 s u perstition 1 42 superstructure 69 s u rve i l l a n ce 67, 1 00, 1 25 swea r i n g oaths 34, 36, 50, 53-5, 62, 1 24, 1 35 , 1 65, 207 Sze l i ga 1 67-70 -

ta ble 1 86-9 1 , 1 94, 1 96-7, 1 9 9-202, 208, 2 1 0 tacti cs 1 49 tech n i city 94 tech nology 63, 65-7, 72-3; age l e s s world 98, 1 00, 1 02, 1 04, 1 06 , 1 08, 1 1 4; conj u ration 75, 7 9-80, 8 8i 94; phenomenology 1 93 , 21 0 , 21 2-1 3, 2 1 5 ; revol ution 1 22, 1 27 teleology 9, 45, 84, 86, 93, 9 6 , 1 1 2 , 1 21 telephony 1 23 tel evi s i o n 9 9-1 00, 1 23 tem poral ity 1 94 Ten nyson, Alfred 22 terror 71 , 1 3 1 testa ment 7 0 , 1 20, 1 27, 1 48 , 1 52 testi mony 65, 83, 1 23, 1 29-30 theft 1 59 theocracy 80 theology 63, 73. 88, 93-4; a geless wo rld 1 1 2; phenomenology 1 79-80, 1 83, 1 85 , 1 88-9, 21 1 ; revol ution 1 22 thymos 76-7 Timaeus 1 84

25 7

258

I N D EX

Timon

0fAthens ' l , 50-1 , 53-4, 57,

9 6 - 7 , 20 3

49,

76-7, 7 9 , 89-90, 97, 1 01 , 1 28

tota l itaria n i s m 1 6, 71 , 8 8 ; ageless world 9 9 , ' 1 1 , 1 1 4; revo l ution 1 21 , 1 2 3-4, 1 2 7 , 1 3 0-1

towns 59 tra d e 79, 1 02 tran s-hi story 84, & 6 tra n s l ata b i l i ty 42 tra n s l atio n s 1 35, 1 3 7,

U n ited States of America (U SA)

1 6 6 , 1 6 9 , 1 81 ,

1 85 , 1 90, 2 0 6-7, 21 6

tricks 8 6 , 1 5 6-222 Trier 1 3 2 Tri n ity 1 54 twi n p i l lars 7 6 -7 tyra nny 80

u n ivers ities 38 u n locki n g 1 21 utopia 8 1 Va lery, Paul 3-4, 9 va m p i re s 1 9 5 ve nal ity 53 vengea nce 25-6, 30 ventri loq u i sts 1 97 v i rtual ization 2 1 2 v i s itatio n s 1 25-6 visor effect 6-8, 1 30,

war

u n consci o u s 1 2 1 , 21 3 u nd ere mployment 1 01 u n e m ployme nt 1 00-2 • Das Unheim liche' 1 6 6 U n i on of Soviet Soci a l ist Republ ics ( U S S R) 1 5 , 90 u n io n s 1 4, 1 27 U n ited N ati ons 1 04

1 32, 1 41 , 1 58 ,

1 68, 1 75 , 1 92

ageless world conj u ration 8 9 , 9 1 ; phenomenology 1 90, 1 92-3 ; revolution 1 30-1 , 1 3 9 wealth 7 5 , 7 9 , 9 0 , 1 3 9 Westphalen, Ludwig v o n 1 32 wi l l 1 97-9 62, 71 -3 , 7 9 , 85;

9 7-8, 1 00-1 ;

xenophobia

1 00