Recognition as a Counterhegemonic Strategy

Abstract

Building on the analyses of cultural hegemony in the works of Nancy Fraser and Wendy Brown, I argue in the paper that the historic bloc (order of cultural hegemony) of post-Fordist capitalism is characterized by a particular dynamic between several ‘axes’ of hegemony that gives rise to the ‘paradox of engagement/disengagement’. The ‘progressive-expertocratic’ axis of hegemony creates a subject-position of the ‘engaged self’, a figure embodying a certain promise of political agency that is simultaneously obstructed by other, depoliticizing axes of hegemony. This dynamic is conducive to the rise of contemporary right-wing authoritarianism, which purports to fulfill this promise of political agency through a series of displacements – the counterhegemonic left, I argue, has so far not formulated an effective alternative to this strategy. In the second part, I explore the potential of Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition, in particular his concept of ‘interpersonal respect’, for grounding a left strategy of connecting (mutually articulating) the hegemonic figure of the ‘engaged self’ with a progressive politics of social transformation. To that end, I elaborate Honneth’s perspective by means of an argument about the role of trust in the context of societal crises that Igor Cvejić, Srđan Prodanović and I have recently formulated.

Gradeći na temeljima analize kulturne hegemonije u delima Nensi Frejzer i Vendi Braun, u ovom radu argumentujem da se istorijski blok (poredak hegemonije) postfordističkog kapitalizma karakteriše specifičnom interakcijom nekoliko ’osa’ hegemonije koja proizvodi ’paradoks angažmana/dezangažmana’. Osa hegemonije koju nazivam ’progresivno-ekspertokratskom’ konstituiše subjektnu poziciju ’angažovanog sopstva’, figuru koja otelovljuje određeno obećanje moći političkog delanja koje je istovremeno opstruirano drugim, depolitizujućim osama hegemonije. Ova dinamika pogoduje rastu savremenog desnog autoritarizma, koji pretenduje da ispuni ovo obećanje moći političkog delanja kroz seriju određenih izmeštanja – kontrahegemona levica, sa druge strane, nije do sada formulisala efektivnu alternativu ovoj strategiji. U drugom delu rada, istražujem potancijal teorije priznanja Aksela Honeta, prevashodno njegove koncepcije ’interpersonalnog poštovanja’, kao teorijskog temelja leve strategije povezivanja (međusobne artikulacije) hegemone figure ’angažovanog sopstva’ sa progresivnom politikom društvene transformacije. U tu svrhu, elaboriram donekle Honetovu perspektivu pomoću argumenata o ulozi poverenja u kontekstu društvenih kriza koje sam nedavno formulisao sa Igorom Cvejićem i Srđanom Prodanovićem.