Browsing by Author "Beitia, Maia"

The present thesis is an approach to Rancière’s political thinking comparing it to the anarchist ideology. I have based my research mainly in regarding Rancière in his own books and some secondary sources, although due to the fact that it is a recent author comparing to other philosophers, there is no much written about him yet. For the anarchist part I have used introductory books to grasp the discussions and the controversies within anarchism, as well as the main features. The essay presents Rancière’s main concept, equality which is neither a value nor a goal. Equality is a point of departure to experiment the lack of arkhé or foundation in the society. Equality is verified by the demos, who in an act of subjectivization, challenges the labells imposed as the invisibles, and claims to have part in the political arena. The action disrupts not only the order in the society but also 'le partage du sensible', the way we see, think and speak. The stablished-order as well as the common partage du sensible is called by Rancière the police; its alteration by a reivindication from the demos is called politics. Rancière criticises the political philosophers because they have tried to suppress any space for politics in their theories. Regarding anarchism, I base its definiton in the sceptic attitutde towards authority, defining authority as social power and a form of domination. I describe different kinds of authority, especially the political which is linked to the understanding of the state. So far, anarchits have not been able to find any moral foundation or legitimacy for the state. However, anarchism compiles many different perspectives and, on this ground, a historical approach (as I have) is not only interesting, but even necessary for its understanding. The variety also can be found in the different ways of protesting that anarchists have endorse, from pacific actions to terrorism. In the comparison, Rancière it has to be highligted that Rancière is almost to bound to fit and not to fit in anarchism, depending ot the isse at hand. The reason for this is the diversity of the anarchist tradition. I also criticize Todd May’s view on Rancière and anarchism, since in my opinion he missunderstands Rancière. Finally, this essay also presents a practical example of a possible anarcho-rancierian politics, based on the group Anonymous.