Levi Bryant - Politics and Speculative Realism

7/28/2019 Levi Bryant - Politics and Speculative Realism

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15Levi R. Bryant

Levi R. BRyant

PoLiticsand sPecuLative ReaLism

Is i our aul i he neworks are simulaneously real, like naure,narraed, like discourse, and collecive, like societ? Lour1

1. stRange BedfeLLows

sRand sociaLand PoLiticaL theoRy

Sc brh 2007, pcuv r (SR) hr r o corovry jour, hhory boophr, corc. O wousearch in vain or a unied speculaive realispoo or ocr. Th our or pcuvrealiss who coined he ermRay Brassier, Gra-ham Harman, Iain Hamilon Gran, and QueninMeillassouxargue or very dieren onologiesand episemologies, opposed o one anoher in aubr o rpc. I hr yh h uheir posiions, i is ) deense o some vrin or or r, 2) crqu o corr-o. Fr co by Moux, corro h h h w c oy vr pk o b orrele o he suje nd never he world ndsubjec apar rom one anoher.2 Beyond ha, heor o r (or r) ch o h hk-ers deends nd how hey riique orrelionismdiverges quie susnilly.

I will no here discuss he various speculaiver poo or h y vr vr oobjc-or oooy. Rhr, h rc whr r h corovr h hv rrou SR. Th b hv o prry kpc h cp o phoophy, bu hv rhruo cp ou o phoophy uch

rry u, u, h oc cc,nd vrins o soil nd poliil hough ine-ed by neo-Marxis heory, eminism, race heory,and queer heory. Given ha correlaionism is arher lssil nd sr episemologil issuein philosophy, he quesion arises as o jus why airly ehnil issue in philosophy hs genereduch h b pocy or brcho he humniies? Moreover, given h SR, in heh o or our our h b rhrapoliical se o philosophical concerns ocusedon quesions o he being o he real, he naureo maerialiy, and quesions o episemology, i

1 Bruo Lour, We Have Never Been Modern, r. ChrPorr (Cbr, MA: Hrvr Uvry Pr, 1993), 6.2 Quenin Meillassoux,Aer Finiude: An Essay on heNeessit o Coningenc, rans. Ray Brassier (New York:Coninuum, ), .

is sriking h dees surrounding SR hve eenoused on quesions o he soil nd poliil. Inwh ollows my im is o ouline jus why SR hsgeneraed hese conroversies and discuss wha imigh have o oer o poliically oriened heoryin our urren hisoril momen.

2.the Basic schemaof cRiticaL theoRy

Broadly speaking, a criical heory (CT) can bedened s ny heory h oness he nauralnesso caegories peraining o human ideniies andsocial relaions, revealing how hey are sociallycoruc, co, horc. Aruby, hr oruo o crc hory c b ou Lucru De Rerum Naura. Thr Lucru wr,

Whever exiss you will lwys nd onneed,To hese wo hings, or s y-produs o hem;Conneced mening h he quliyCn never e sured rom is ojeNo more hn weigh rom sone, or he rom re,Weness rom wer. On he oher hnd,Slvery, rihes, reedom, povery,Wr, pee, nd so on, rnsiory hingsWhose omings nd goings do no ler susneThese, nd quie properly, we ll by-producs.3

Lucreius draws a disincion beween properiesh bo o h hv uch , properies ha arise rom how we relae o oherhings such as slavery. Unlike hea which is aninrinsic propery o re, slvery is no n inrinsipropery o a person, bu raher people are madeino slves y oher people.

While a number o peoplegenerally hose in

power or who sand o bene rom a paricularway o ordering socieymigh ry o claim hapop r naurally v, h xuy urysrucured in paricular ways, ha cerain groupsare naurally inerior, ha a paricular economicy h ur or o xch, o o, crc hory rv how we hv consruced hh. Two hou yr r, Mrx w u uphe elemenry gesure o riil heory when hewr h h cooy oh bu h - oc ro bw hv whchu, or h, h c ro bwhings.4 When purchasing a commodiy, we ake

3 Lucru, Te Way Tings Are: Te De Rerum Naura o iusLureius Carus, rans. Role Humphries (Bloomingon:Indin Universiy Press, ), 33.4 Karl Marx, Capial: Volume 1, rans. Ben Fowkes (NewYork: Penguin Clssis, ), .

Speculations: A Journal of Speculative Realism IV (2013)ISSN: 2327-803Xhttp://speculations-journal.org
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16 Speculations IV

illusraes his poin nicely in his example o hewo doors in The Insance o he Leter in heUnonsious :

I will be noed ha he wo doors in Lacans diar r idenical. Mry, phycy, hr orc bw h oor o h h oo h rh. Apr ro hr poo spe, here is nohing in he doors hemselves hmkes hem one ype o door rher hn noherPu ry, hr oh h reeren o hr h kone door he Ladies room and anoher door heGenlemens room. I is insed he signieriselh oc cuur copoh rouchis dierene eween he doors.

Drwing on he Peirin onep o he sign, wen hus see how riil heories proeed in heircv or o crqu. Prc ru h are a riadic relaional srucure composed o asign-vehicle or he sound or wriing ha conveyshe sign, an inerprean or he concepualizedmening ehind he sign, nd he reeren or hwhih he sign denoes in he world:

In essenialis discourses such as racism, hoseproperies h mke hing he tpe o hing i is

re ound in he reeren. They re held o e wh5 Jcqu Lc, Th Ic o h Lr h Ucocou or Ro Sc Fru, cris: Te Firs CompleeEdiion in English, r. Bruc Fk (Nw York: W.W. Noro& Compny, ), 4.

our relionship o his oje s ) merely eing relion eween person, he seller, nd he hing,and 2) rea he value as being an inrinsi eaureo he hing isel. For example, we rea he valueo gold s eing rel propery o he hing like iscolor or aomic weigh. Wha Marx reveals in hiscbr y o cooy h hvu r ro h bor rqur o prouc hcooy. Th coquc o h r proou,

or i llows Mrx o demonsre h ) exhngero r o ry ro bw proand a hing, bu open on o a broader nework ooc ro by vru o h proucv roh o o prouc h cooy, b) h vu o rc ur o h, bu r ou o prcur y o prouco, c) h vu rro workr, o owr or cp, ) h hro ur cp r uju or hyusurp workers o wh is righully heirs euseor vu prouc prouco h workrr cop or hr bor. Accopyhis nlysis, Mrx presens hisory o modes oproducion showing ha in he pas here havebeen very dieren sysems o producion as wells he possiiliy o oher modes o produion. Indoing so, he hus shows h he pilis mode oproducion is social and hisorical, underminingh h h ur uvr or h ocrelions have o e his wy.

Fory, rhr h h v o co, Mrxanalysis o commodiy eishism will become heu ch o rvouory oc pocy or crc hory. Hcorh, h crcoperaion will consis in showing a eishinMarxs sensea work in hose social ormaionsnd relions liming o e nurl nd hereore

inelucably necessary. Thus, or example, wheresexis, heeronormive, nd ris disourses willargue ha orms o social inequaliy arejusied

because cerain groups o people are inrinsiallyinerior o ohers and hereore are unsuied ovarious occupaions and naurally need o be led,he riil heoris will show how hese ideniiesre soilly onsrued, hisoril, nd hve een c b ohrw. Whr h poo w ruh cp h naural or o xch ha i has exised a all imes and places hrough-ou hisory, he criical heoris will demonsraehow capialism arose under paricular hisorical

condiions and ha oher sysems o producionnd disriuion re possile.Th crc ur hu co how h

somehing we ook o be a propery o he hingshemselves is insead social and culural. Lacan

ladies gentlemen

a

b

c

sense (inerpren)

sign vehile (represennem) reeren


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17Levi R. Bryant

Lucreius called conneced properies. In oherwor, h ru h h hvhave hese properies regardless o how we speakbou h. By cor, h crc hor po show ha wha we ook o be a propery o hereeren is inseadin Saussurean languageanefe o he signier (sign-vehicle) and he signi-ed (inerpren) soring or rving up he worldin paricular ways. Like Lacans doors, he criical

hor ru h hr oh h rr h k h wh hy r or ocy, buraher ha i is language, discourse, and praciceh rves up he world in priulr wy.

The poliil impliions o he soil onsru-ivis hesis are obvious. I i is rue ha signs arerbrrywhch o y, h hv o nauralor c k wh wh hy y h -y y c crv up h wor vryo wy ru h how h r orino kinds is an eec o he signier/signiedrelaion, raher han properies belonging o heh hv, h oow h jucoor inequaliy premised on claims abou wha isur rc hror, ucbll pr euse i is lnguge nd pries hcarve up he world in his way, no he world iselh rucur h wy. Ior u horc hboh cro r und hroughou hisoryrved up he world in variey o dieren ways, here is no one way hewor u b crv. W cou ju y our wo oor . Thr nohing in he doors hemselves h dies hpop u b or o p hrouh h owy rhr h ohr. Rhr wh k oor wh Lucru c by-prouc o

how we relae o he doors.Th crqu o h h oc ur h

hus een prooundly imporn o emniporyru. I how h cr oc oroare he eec o our pracices and how we signiyhings, we undercu jusicaions or oppressivesoil relions h lim h hings mus e hiswy euse hey re nurl nd hereore peopler ry occupy hr ucb crysoil posiions; nd, in showing h hese hingsr ocy coruc h w r h o whomde hings his wywe open up he possiiliyo onsruing lernives. As iek pus i,

Being--king is n ee o he nework o soilrelions eween king nd his sujes; und here is he eishisi misreogniiono hepriipns o his soil ond, he relionship

ppers neessrily in n inverse orm: hey hinkh hey re sujes giving he king royl re-men euse he king is lredy himsel, ousidehe relionship o his sujes, king; s i hedeerminion o eing--king were nurlpropery o he person o king.

Th rwork h b--k nauralpropery o being king, also sees obedience o he

k ju by ur. By cor, heoreil orienion h reognizes h kingis only a king because o he social relaions hamake him a king, calls ino quesion he legiima-cy o he kings sovereigny by showing ha i iswe ha make kings kings, and ha we can chooseo rescind his sovereigny and organize socieyin dieren ways. A he ormal level, similar ar-gumens have been deployed agains capialism,rc, hroorvy, prrchy. Th bcopro o CT co uk ,heologil, nd nurlis jusiions or soily pr o quy, or h ry hy r oc coruco h ujuydeend he privilege o a ew and ha are capableo eing oherwise.

3.the dangeRsof sRandthe Limitsof ct

In ligh o he oregoing, we n see why he appar-enly brc cocr o SR hv r o uchonroversy in poliilly oriened domins o hehu. Throuh crqu o corroand is deense o realism, SR risks arguing hahe king really is a king. In oher words, criiqueso orrelionism nd deenses o relism re nomere ehnil philosophil issues, u hve very

signin poliil impliions. Rdil emni-pory poc hory h b corro -r hrouh hrouh. I ru h is language and social pracices ha carve up heworld, CT is correlaionis in ha i reas caego-ries or ypes s resuling rom our disourse ouhe world. I is ni-relis in rguing h ypes orkinds h we triue o he soil worldmle,

emale, sraigh, gay, black, whie, and soonare he resul o social consrucions, o dis-cour prcc, r hror o urkinds. Seen in his ligh, blanke condemnaionso correlaionism risk undermining decades o

hard-won emancipaory vicories in he name ojusie nd equliy.

6 Slavoj iek, Te Sublime Obje o Ideology (New York:Verso, ).


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However, beore proceeding, i is imporan onoe ha maters are signicanly more complexhan he oregoing migh sugges. Firs, many po-liical criiques in he radiion o CT proceed onhe basis orealis premises. In oher words, heyboh show ha cerain social caegorizaions areocy coruc, and h hy r b oalsec bou our booy. For xp, k oor h h / bry pror-

maive or socially consruced, Buler atemps ohow how v booy o o uppor h bry.7Th r ru. Sry, wh Sph

J. Gou crqu uc, h how, o ohrh, how booy o o uppor h c ohe re heoriss. Oen i is relis ppels o henaure o human beingsha we are plasic andha here are no signican geneic dierences

eween men nd women nd people o dierenracesha serve as grounds or he unmaskingo eishes pries y CT.

Second, i is no clear ha wheher or no oneis a correlaionis or a realis is an eiher/or. I ispossible o be a correlaionis abou some hingsand a realis abou ohers. In discussions o SR,here hs een endeny o overlook he hCT has largely been concerned wih criiques osoial kinds. While here are imporan exampleso he onrry, CT hs lrgely een oupied wihor h cor or k pro human ideniies and how socieies are orga-nized are socially consruced. Ian Hacking hasargued ha i we are o undersand hese debaes,is imporan o disinguish beween ineracivekinds and non-ineracive kinds.9 An ineracivekind is a kind ha has he capaciy o hange hehing ha i represens. As such, i uncions as

boh a descripion and a norm. Following Buler,or example, we can rea a kind like emale asrcv. Wh pro corz ,h cory o py describe ur o hrr ubu urh , bu o pr normaive crp how wo ough o bin order o be women. Is i because women nau-rally have hese properies ha hey are classiedas women, or do womenperorm hese hings as aresul o eing egorized in his wy? Inerivek ch h oc u o h pro uunder hemonsider how eoming proessor

7 Juh Bur, Gender rouble: Feminism and he Subversiono Idenit (New York: Rouledge, ), 3-4.8 Sephen Jay Gould, Te Mismeasure o Man (New York:W.W. Noron & Compny, ).9 I Hck, Te Social Consrucion o Wha? (Cbr,MA: Hrvrd Universiy Press, ), 3.

or being caegorized as menally ill changes onessocial sausand he people subsumed underhem adop atiudes and pracices owards hesecaegorizaions. This suggess ha hey denoeno naural eaures, bu raher are socially consruced. By conras, a non-ineracive kind such b-hyro ch oh hyroo. Uk h pro ubu ur h ko eing-depressed who migh egin o enac or

pror ypo o pro coquc ob corz h wy, hyro o ohnge heir ehvior nd properies s resul obeing caegorized in a paricular way. Ineracivekinds are reexive in ha hey change wha heyegorize nd we n dop snes owrds hemwhile non-ineracive kinds are non-reexive. Iis possile o e relis ou some hings nd nani-realis and correlaionis abou oher hingsDb urrou SR o b r or prcbou h u, xpor quo o whhror o k r ur, whhr o k rur ohr r coruc, rjus where we migh drw he line.

Where SR risks undermining dvnes in glolsruggles y dismissing wide odies o ni-relisriique well suppored y ehnogrphy, soiologynd linguisis, CT hs mde i very diful o dr cr coporry poc quo. Aw w h co, h ur o CT co brck h rr o o rv h hc rcoo h hr o occaegorizaions and he nauralizaion o cerainyp o oc orzo uch ho ou prrchy, cp, hroorvy. Thhs led o endeny o re ll poliil inequli discursive or semioic, o r poc

problems as problems o discursiviy. Under hiso o poc, h prouco o poc chconsiss in unmasking he eishisic misrecogniion upon whih unjus soil relions re sedhrby co h cy o cr ocrelaions and opening he possibiliy or orgingnew soil relions.

Criil unmsking hs een n exremely powru oo cpory rupcy sruggles or gender equliy, ril equliy, ghs orch powr, ru or xureedombu is noneheless problemaic or woro. Fr, o cr h h powr rucur

social relaions is solely discursive or semioic inchrcr. Fur o orphy, choo, howrrucur rr, h ubr o cor person ges a day, mediums and channels o comuco, how rucur y o y


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19Levi R. Bryant

work ph o rbuo corbuo h orzo o oc ro ucoo reinorce power relaions. A people migh verywell know h heir irumsnes re unjus, uhve litle opion u olering hem euse herucuro o hr orphc coo owor o ohr rv. CT o proc rohe premise h people olere unjus ondiionsbecause hey have misaken belies and ha i is

ry quo o rv h uruh o hb o prouc ch. Wh ooy, o oub,plys signin role in susining unjus soilassemblages, his overlooks he role ha hingshemselves ply in orgnizing power.

Sco, h bc ch o CT k fcuo r h cry poc quo pro one o he mos imporan issues o our ime:global warming. The poliical quesions posed byglol wrming re o dieren order hn hoseou ro CT prcc o bukeishisi misreogniions. The endeny o CT iso redue he world o disursiviy or he semioi.Wh cry hc rcoo py roin social pracices ha conribue o global warm-, c ch o r quo bou hbo o h rh, h propr o o u, hrelese o rozen mehne gses in he undr inohe amosphere, he number o calories requiredo susain global populaions, he unis o energyrqur o rbu ho cor, prouc h,nd o run iies nd homes, he imp o vriousagriculural pracices, and so on. These quesionsco b quy r o o w brckh rr. No, rpo o h u rqurrealis or maerialis onologies ha recognizehe efcacy o hings hemselves. In brackeing

he reeren in he name o he discursively andsemioically consruced, CT makes i difcul oeven reognize hese hings s sies o he poliil.

4.the PoLiticaL oPPoRtunityof sR

I would like o sugges h SR, in is es momens,is no a rejeion or annulmen o CTs criiqueso eishisic misrecogniion premised on socialcorucv, bu horc rwork h

boh xp our ur o wh xrcpower in soil ssemlges nd wh sies elongo h phr o h poc. S h h, SR

vrou crqu o corro orelism need no e ken s rejeing wek soilconsrucivisms, bu as delimiing he domainwhere hese models o criique are appropriae ppcb, wh op pc o rcoz

he poliical efcacy o hings, as well as openingnew sies o poliil impor where reogniion ohe rel is neessry, suh s lime hnge. Fromhis vanage, he problem wih CT is no ha i iscorrelaionis because here are domains such asmonarchy, sexual ideniies, racial ideniies, andso on h re indeed soilly onsrued, u hi oversaes is correlaionism. Is endency is osee all power as semioic or discursive and o see

ll eings s ees o he signier, orelosing hero h o-y py xrcpowr or oc ro, k fcu onlyze he rel properies o nonhumn eniiesnd he dierenes hey mke in he world.

By cor, h horc oro u byo vr o SR, h w r ,acor-nework heory (ANT), and he assemblageheory o Deleuze nd Gutri, suggess roderpoliical heory and se o sraegies ha can bemodeled on Lns orromen kno:

I h ch, Lc h hr orr,

oneiving hem s inerreled domins h rell on equl ooing wihou one domin overod-ing he ohers. In Lacans earlies eaching, i washe order o he Imaginary ha was dominan. Inhe second phase o his hough, he order o heSymoli sruured he ohers. In he hird phse, h R h orz h ohr wo orr. Ihe nal phase, we are o hink he simulaneousand synchronous inerrelaion o all hree orders,whou o orr ovrco h ohr wo orr.

A poliical heory ineced by SR, he new ma-erilisms, nd ANT, ye symphei o CT, wouldp r ur. Th o o h Syboc

wou r h c o ro CT woucou wh w h c opoc or h

10 C. Jqu Lc, Encore: On Feminine Sexualit, he Limiso Love and Knowledge, rns. Brue Fink (New York: W.W.Noron & Compny, ), hper .

The Rel

The Imginry The Symoli


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20 Speculations IV

criical unmasking and debunking o discourses rrv z vrou powr roand ideniies hrough appeals o naure, divineorr, horc c. Th o o hIry wou b h o o hu phenomenology,11 exploring he lived experienceo how humans encouner he world abou hem,

u lso how vrious nonhumns suh s nimls,baceria, plans, echnologies, and insiuions

selecively relae o he world abou hem. Finally,he domain o he Real would be he exploraiono hose properies h relly do elong o hingsnd he efy hings orgnize on oher hings.

Here my remrks mus e rie nd impression-c, bu wh borro crc hory (BCT), wdomins o poliil inquiry nd inervenion reopened. For exmple, we now lern h semiopol-iis only ells us pr o he sory regrding powerrelaions. While discursive and semioic agenciesplay an imporan role in he orm ha socialrelions ke, i is lso rue h ll sors ononsig-nifing genies perining o he order o he Relconribue o he organizaion o social relaionsand power as well. A difcul o pass mounainrange, or example, conribues o he orm socialrelaions and economy ake, no by virue o howwe signiy he mounin, u y virue o wh heou is. Pr o h R, BCT wou our addiional orms o poliical analysis o ourrpror o horc oo: opoc, rpo-c (ro rrucur), hropoc (ro

hermodynamics), chronopoliics (rom ime).In drwing tenion o hese oher domins, BCTwould lso open spe or perhps unreognizedwy whch powr uco o prpu ujuoc ro, wh o h vo

o new sregies or poliil invenion.Gopoc wou xpor h pc o ur

o geogrphyhe vililiy o resoures, oencurrens, weaher paterns, local auna, mounainranges, rivers, and so onon he orm ha socialb k, bu wou o v pocquesions ouside o quesions o human jusiceand equaliy, such as hose posed by ecoheorissand criical animal heoriss. Wih some noablexcpo, h cy o opoc h bo rrc h poc o quo o hu jucand equaliy, almos enirely ignoring he animal h cooc o h poc. W

new poliical caegories and rameworks o raisehese issues (Alimo, Bridoti, Clro, nd Wole,

11 C. I Boo,Alien Phenomenology or Wha Is Like o Bea Ting (Mpo: Uvry o Mo Pr, 2012).

among ohers, have all done an excellen job ineginning o develop his rmework).

Irpoc wou v h ro h chnological and urban inrasrucures play on hesrucuraion o social relaions and power. Herewe would invesigae how roads, rain lines, heproperies o vrious medi suh s he elegrphhe sor o power used, onriue o he orm hoc b k how poc uco

no by vru o how w signif h, bu by vru owh hy are how hyr cour. Sryhropoc wou b ro h pr hin order or people o live, or iies o run, or produion o ke ple, nd so on, energy is required h or o cor vrou u. Morovrh ry u b prouc rbu o bcou. A, o cour, h coupo o ryprodues wase. Thermopoliis would invesigehow rc cocr corbu o h or ocro k, h pc o coupo wnd he mnner in whih energei requiremensxrc powr ovr . Fy, chroopoc wouv how por cor corbu oh rucuro o oc ro h prpuion o oppressive orms o power.

In opening poliical hough o he domain ohe Real raher han resricing i o he domaino he Imaginary and Symbolic, BCT promises oco uxpc wy whch opprv powruncions and mainains isel, boh unmaskingw o poc ru w pobo inervenion. A he level o inrpoliis, or exp, fcu o h poby o hArb Spr or Occupy W Sr h bc ohe inerne nd soil medi suh s Twiter ndFeook euse prior o his inormion hd o

be ranspored hrough he channels o he news or c o c cour. Th w op h poby o w or o orzo(while also allowing emancipaory collecives obypass pary sysems ha were beore required odissemine nd orgnize ion due o inrsruural limiaions on communicaion). The poin h h caused h or o pocco, bu h hy rr possible. Rcozh h r u o couco crr ry w or o cpory poc

12 S Scy Ao, Bodily Naures: Science, Environmen, andhe Maerial Sel(Bloomingon: Indin Universiy Press); Rosi Bridoti, Te Poshuman (Mlden, MA: PoliyPr, 2013); Mhw Crco,Zoographies: Te Quesion ohe Animal rom Heidegger o Derrida (Nw York: CoubUvry Pr, 2008); Cry Wo, Wha is Poshumanism?(Minnepolis: Universiy o Minneso Press, ).


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21Levi R. Bryant

possile, migh led us o see he onsruion ndprolieraion o such inrasrucure inegral opoliil emnipion.

The case is similar wih hermopoliics andchronopoliics. The endency o semiopoliicsis o claim ha people olerae oppressive socialssemlges euse hey re duped y signiyingregimes, iling o reognize h hey re he onesh v powr o h coruco. Th crc

ur hu bco uk h ow uo h we r h ourc o h powr hvhe piy o mke hings oherwise. Clerly hisis an imporan emancipaory gesure, bu her-mopoliics and chronopoliics sugges ha ohermechanisms o power are in play as well. A hev o ry, cocv o pop h vry wrcoz h h oc b whch hyexis is unjus and coningen, while nonehelessoleraing i because hey can draw he energyhey require o live nd susin hemselves in nyoher way. Similarly, a he level o ime, we mighnd h how he working dy is sruured leveslitle ime or anyhing else, much less poliicalchange. The average working and middle classperson wkes up erly in he morning, hs o eed,r, hr ch ry or choo, h oo a job where hey work or nine o welve hours dy mind-numing nd energy-spping lor,comes home, does chores, eeds hemselves andheir amily, and alls asleep wih a glass o WildTurkey waching brainless realiy elevision. Is ih hey re duped y n ideology, y sysem oco, h h o or h y,or is i ha heir ime is srucured in such a wayh hey hve litle ime or nyhing else nd nonly enjoy mindless litle plesures? Oen he CT

pk wr h orr, wh chroo- hropoc prpcv h upc h r.Wh BCT ry rcoz h r ou ow by Rcr wh uch ru, horcyheyve een used o deend he need or philoso-pher-kings or n avan garde inelleul pry orepresen he ineress o he working nd middlec,13 w bv h h rco o hro- chronopoliics reveal ime and energy as sies opoc ru, whr w cour r ooppression hrough he sruurion o ime ndhe ormaion o dependence on orms o energy,and suspec ha ransormaions in he space o

h vby o ry c corbu obr bou cpory ch. Hr rynd ime exerise power nd emnipion no y

13 C. Jcqu Rcr, Te Philosopher and His Poor(Durh:Duke Universiy Press, 3).

how hey re signied, u y wh hey re in helives o peoples.

I, hen, here is a poliical opporuniy o beound in SR, ANT, and he new maerialisms, hiswill arise rom he abiliy o hese orienaions oreveal unexpeced sies o poliical concern, un-expeced ways in which power uncions hrougho-y c, hrouh op w crv wy o rpo o rucv

oppressive orms o power. Someimes i makesmore sense o lierally unnel hrough mounin,and someimes he quesion o poliics is a ques-ion o ime no misaken belies. In academiaody, or exmple, we see he Se developing llor o r or xhu h o cuy,herey undermining he possiiliy o exploringohr or o cu, uco, oclie. The prolem here is no misken elies, uchronopoliical poliical sraegies aimed a heTaylorizaion o he Academy. Wheher or no SRgrabs his poliical opporuniy, wheher or no i

bco cour h opprv oro soil orgnizion hrough ppels o he Rel,essences, naure, and divine orders is somehingha only ime will ell. Clearly he debae so arrevels h here is lo o work o do.

Levi Bryant - Politics and Speculative Realism

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