This text is part of the special edition Solidarité internationale
“A state of malaise”: this is the situation observed by the philosopher and essayist Alain Deneault, who does not mince words to describe the current polarization in his latest essay Manners. From the cannibal left to the vandal right (Lux Publisher). The terms are as lapidary as the philosopher’s discourse is posed, inviting us to nuance and weighting, to better engage us socially.
“I offer concrete concepts to equip those who do not recognize themselves in the often retrograde, racist, bellicose, mendacious or recuperative conservative right, nor in a (alleged) left that is strictly societal and, ultimately in its own way, identity-based”, explains- he. An alternative to the “ni-nor” can be sought by finding consistency between the different scales of causes that we must defend. “The intersectional ramifications, which are essential for thinking about our world in its complexity, should not however prevent the development of common causes (such as social justice or equity). And conversely, historical battles for common causes should not prevent recognizing the relevance of intersectional discourses,” says the philosopher. We can both advocate for the cause of Haitians in Montreal North and for universal social programs, for example.
Moreover, it is often mobilizations for common causes that have made it possible to improve the condition of disadvantaged groups in history, notes Alain Deneault, who also evokes the debates of the Democrats during the presidential primaries of 2016, in the United States. United. “Bernie Sanders was talking in very general terms about access to education, health, social programs or housing. He was more feminist than Hillary Clinton, who presented herself as a woman and insisted on this subjective characteristic, ”he points out. By guaranteeing access for all to public programs in health and education, Sanders found himself improving the lot of a majority of women, in particular.
Atomized individuals
According to Alain Deneault, we have entered the era of “governance”, a term that appeared after the Second World War in large multinationals, then borrowed from the turn of the 21st century.e century by the State and other structures of the public sphere. “We have, in a way, imposed in everything a managerial discourse of private inspiration, which explains for example the abusive use of the word “clients”, even by the National Library of Quebec”, he observes.
This shift towards corporate discourse is not without effects on society. “People have been convinced to develop partnerships with other individuals and bodies larger than themselves, in an openly unequal and explicitly unequal perspective,” says the philosopher. These atomized individuals seek what the Anglo-Saxons call “theempowerment within a limited individual radius (their company or their neighborhood, for example). “You end up ’empowering’ yourself on the scale of your subjectivity alone, whereas before, political thought was immediately developed on a collective level. We saw ourselves as subjects of a socially diverse group that presented itself in the strength of the collectivity, and not in the weakness of individuality and distinction,” he recalls.
(Re)thinking with Aristotle
How to move towards rigorous discussions today, avoiding that our debates fall into moralism, agitation and intoxication? Alain Deneault finds an answer in Aristotle, who “teaches us how to distinguish between vice and virtue”. In his Ethics in Nicomaque, the Greek philosopher appeals to a virtue called “medium” (usually translated as “golden mean”), which does not fall into excess or shortcoming. To be courageous, for example, is to be neither too cowardly nor too reckless.
This weighting can guide us to relearn how to defend our social causes, believes Alain Deneault, who does not question radicalism, from the moment it does not abdicate on thought. “Excessive manifestation of societal activism harms feminism, anti-colonialism, civil rights or anti-discrimination because it becomes so caricatural, excessive, crude, thoughtless and brutal that it suits its opponents”, underlines the one who invites us to show ourselves “capable of thinking radically, but with precision”.
On Sunday, November 6 at 1:30 p.m., online and in person, Alain Deneault will give a conference entitled Has one lost the ability to unite for common causes?
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