PROKLA - Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialwissenschaft
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Universität und Polizei: Jacques Rancière über intellektuelle Emanzipation
Get PDFTests and exams are more or less unquestioned parts of academic life. In his book on the „ignorant schoolmaster“, the French educator Joseph Jacotot, Jacques Rancière argues for a radical critique of the disciplinary effects of these instruments of state education and thereby also rejects on anarchist grounds all progressive attempts of educational reform. In this early text, he already fully formulates the principle of „axiomatic equality“, which will play a fundamental role in his later writings. My paper reconstructs Rancière’s position, partly by tracing it back to its Foucauldian roots, and argues that although it is too spontaneist and thus voluntarist, Rancière’s intervention poses an important challenge for every reflection on critical educational practice today
Humanismus nach dem Tod des Menschen: Flucht und Rückkehr des subjektiven Faktors der Geschichte
Get PDFBy passing through the “death of man”, Deleuze’s, Guattari’s and Foucault’s antihumanism dissolved the teleologically founded “history” of traditional marxism into a pluralist history of pure contingency. When today’s postmarxism as outlined by Hardt/ Negri or Badiou/Zizek returns to a historical subject and its “materialist teleology” (Hardt/ Negri), their philosophical move seems to be a step back into traditions already overcome. But poststructuralism and postmarxism don’t block each other in the dead end of an eitheror. Instead of this, their constellation opens up a third option rightly named “posthumanism”
Neoliberal-Islamische Synthese in der Türkei: Der Herrschaftsmodus der AKP
Get PDFAfter several landslide victories in the elections since 2002, Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been forming an unchallenged single party government in Turkey. There is a broad and controversial debate on the success and prospects of its societal project. Along with the rise of the ‘Arab Spring’ AKP is even being discussed as a role model party for a moderate Islam in a ‘Muslim democracy’. Far from agreeing with such assessments and based on a Gramscian theoretical approach, this article critically sheds light on the current political and social developments in Turkey on four exemplary fields: democratization process, economic adjustments, faith-based charity and education. As distinct from most Turkey-related research in Germany, which often sees AKP’s power politics as the outcome of a cultural clash of antagonistic elites, this article examines the intertwined dynamics of gaining consent and exercising coercion in the process of capitalist domination. It stresses the contradictory nature of AKP’s cross-culture- and crossclass- coalition, in order to provide a more complex understanding of how AKP’s rule is still met with (comparatively broad) approval of different dominated groups and classes – despite the enormous repression of critical voices
Industrieller Kapitalismus und Finanzmarktrationalität – am Beispiel des Umbruchs in der (traditionellen) deutschen Großchemie
Get PDFThe paper deals with fiancialisation in the German chemical and pharmaceutical industry, focussed on Hoechst, Bayer, and BASF. Important restructuring in each of these companies is justified by financial markets’ requirements. However, that restructuring has not been enforced by institutional investors or financial markets, it was driven by dominant management coalitions referring to financial rationality. Therefore the outcome of financialisation of rather similar companies has been extremely heterogeneous. The most important general outcome was the end of the technology based integrated chemical and pharmaceutical company as a paradigm for the core of the industry. An important social outcome was the increased heterogenity and differentiation of wage and labour conditions where homogeneous standards based on one overall collective agreement used to be in force, with only upward variation by companies. As decisions on what financialisation may be in big companies are a matter of strategic choice, workers and labour representatives may be able to influence respective strategies, depending on their ability and preparedness to draw on power resources in collaboration
Die Herausbildung einer neuen Economic Governance als Strategie zur autoritären Krisenbearbeitung in Europa – gesellschaftliche Akteure und ihre Strategien
Get PDFIn the context of the economic crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis in particular the dominant social forces and state apparatuses are pushing for a long term solution. Here I argue that relevant European class forces as well as national class factions established the so called Six Pack as a political strategy that aims to radicalize neoliberal policies via European regulations. While in the member states democratic structures are being minimized, more decisions are made on the European level, through which the executive apparatus, especially the European Commission, gains more influence. I analyze the way in which the dominant social forces shaped the Six Pack and examine similarities but also differences to the European Fiscal Compact. Finally I look at the meaning of these current reforms for a left strategy of rupture in Europe
Noch immer „Modell Deutschland“? Mythen und Realitäten politökonomischer Kontinuität einer Gesellschaftsformation. Gilbert Ziebura zum 88. Geburtstag
Get PDFThe regulation of the economic crisis within German capitalism since 2008 seems to follow thebasic structures of the so-called „Modell Deutschland”: in industrial relations a corporatistarrangement between capital, state and labour tried to absorb the consequences of the crisis,and the traditional export industry supported the new economic growth since summer 2009.The article analyses the internal and external dynamics of its transition between structuralchange of the world economy and conditions of political decision-making since its proclamationin 1976. In conclusion today the German „Exportmodell” is no longer based on classcompromises in German society on the one hand and on European balances between interestsof economic stabilization and modernization on the other hand, but a force that is able toundermine alternative paths of economic development in Europe.The regulation of the economic crisis within German capitalism since 2008 seems to follow thebasic structures of the so-called „Modell Deutschland”: in industrial relations a corporatistarrangement between capital, state and labour tried to absorb the consequences of the crisis,and the traditional export industry supported the new economic growth since summer 2009.The article analyses the internal and external dynamics of its transition between structuralchange of the world economy and conditions of political decision-making since its proclamationin 1976. In conclusion today the German „Exportmodell” is no longer based on classcompromises in German society on the one hand and on European balances between interestsof economic stabilization and modernization on the other hand, but a force that is able toundermine alternative paths of economic development in Europe
Poststrukturalismus. Gesellschaft. Kritik: Über Potenziale, Probleme und Perspektiven
Get PDFIn light of a boom of radical social critique following the financial crisis, Cultural Studies and poststructuralism, which used to be favorites among many left-wing academics until recently, seem to have lost ground: In the wake of the “big crisis” with its material problems and consequences, the theoretical problematization of The Subject, truth, and structure, as well as the focus on subversive micropolitics (instead of macro analyses), complex power relations and battles of interpretation is considered to be outdated and misleading. This article takes the wide-spread unease with regard to poststructuralism’s potential for radical social critique seriously and confronts the paradigm with questions concerning criticism and truth, inequality and authority and its ability to problematize society on a systemic level. The main argument is that current shortcomings in the field of radical social critique can be conquered by key ideas of poststructuralist thinking itself
Das spanische Modell
Get PDFPrior to the debacle of 2008,Spain’s economy was an object of particular admiration for Western commentators. In thecontext of the global crisis, however, Spain has been hovering on the brink of classification asa case for Eurozone bail-out, following Greece, Ireland and Portugal. We borrow from RobertBrenner’s concept of ‘asset-price Keynesianism’ in order to analyse the recent crash of theSpanish economy as well as its social and political consequences. The bursting of the Spanishbubble has torn the veil from a highly polarized social order, with a large proportion of thepopulation deep in debt, many out of work and dependent on public services doubly hit byspending cuts and privatization.Prior to the debacle of 2008,Spain’s economy was an object of particular admiration for Western commentators. In thecontext of the global crisis, however, Spain has been hovering on the brink of classification asa case for Eurozone bail-out, following Greece, Ireland and Portugal. We borrow from RobertBrenner’s concept of ‘asset-price Keynesianism’ in order to analyse the recent crash of theSpanish economy as well as its social and political consequences. The bursting of the Spanishbubble has torn the veil from a highly polarized social order, with a large proportion of thepopulation deep in debt, many out of work and dependent on public services doubly hit byspending cuts and privatization
Ringen um den Regelsatz: Erwerbslosenproteste und die Neubestimmung der Hartz-IV-Höhe
Get PDFIn 2010 the German constitutional courtobligated legislative and government to revaluate the rate of welfare payments. Hence a windowof opportunity opened for poor people’s movement activists to initiate a broad debateon scarce benefits in the German workfare regime of „Hartz IV” and to promote significantlyhigher benefits. We discuss the crucial factors of their campaign’s failure such as the weaknessof the hardly existing movement of the unemployed, the interests of parties and administration,and the important politico-economic function of „Hartz IV”.In 2010 the German constitutional courtobligated legislative and government to revaluate the rate of welfare payments. Hence a windowof opportunity opened for poor people’s movement activists to initiate a broad debateon scarce benefits in the German workfare regime of „Hartz IV” and to promote significantlyhigher benefits. We discuss the crucial factors of their campaign’s failure such as the weaknessof the hardly existing movement of the unemployed, the interests of parties and administration,and the important politico-economic function of „Hartz IV”
Weltpolizist Obama: Anmerkungen zur US-amerikanischen Außenpolitik
Get PDFWhen Barack Obama first came to power he was widely regarded as the perfect “anti-Bush”. However, in the field of US foreign policy, Obama has essentially continued to pursue Bush’s agenda, especially as regards the so-called “war on terror”. Although Obama’s government has abandoned this concept from the public discourse, it has conducted an aggressive policy: Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan and unleashed an unprecedented drone war which takes place under a veil of official secrecy. On Iran, Obama was not serious in his first term about starting a dialogue with Teheran and there is a great danger of war over Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions. Obama’s policy in the Middle East has not deviated from the position of previous US governments. While his foreign policy within a multilateral context seems to signal a departure from Bush’s unilateralism, Obama has successfully avoided from being portrayed as weak on national security matters by the Republicans