Universal Emancipation: Race beyond Badiou

Inattention to questions of race in Alain Badiou's philosophical system is a significant weakness, as demonstrated by Elisabeth Paquette's book Universal Emancipation. She argues that Badious theory of emancipation fails to account for racial and racialized subjects, attenuating its utility in thinking about freedom and justice. Paquette offers an alternative framework for emancipation based on Sylvia Wynter's pluri-conceptual theory, emphasizing solidarity over indifference and recognizing the importance of particular identities, such as race, in the pursuit of emancipation.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 27 October 2020
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

A significant and timely addition to the expanding body of scholarship on Alain Badiou's political thought, Elisabeth Paquette's book Universal Emancipation raises a crucial concern regarding the neglect of questions of race within Badiou's philosophical framework. In the context of the growing prevalence of white nationalist movements, the tensions between allegiance to universal principles and the need to address difference and identity become increasingly pressing. Paquette's incisive critical analysis reveals a significant flaw in Badiou's approach to (in)difference in political life, which undermines the effectiveness of his theory of emancipation in addressing issues of freedom and justice. At the heart of Paquette's argument lies a distinction that Badiou draws between culture and politics, where freedom is limited solely to the political realm and not the cultural. This distinction becomes particularly evident when Paquette examines two examples within Badiou's theory: the Négritude movement and the Haitian Revolution. In his 2017 book Black, Badiou recognizes the significance of the Négritude movement as a cultural movement, but he argues that it cannot be considered a political movement due to the emphasis placed on particularities such as racial identity by Négritude writers and artists. Paquette contends that Badiou's discussion of Négritude mirrors the critique leveled by prominent critical race theorists against Jean-Paul Sartre's 1948 essay "Black Orpheus." Furthermore, Nick Nesbitt, a prominent scholar of Badiou, suggests that the Haitian Revolution could only be deemed political if its adherents had shifted their focus away from race. However, Paquette challenges this assertion by arguing that race was a central feature of the Haitian Revolution and that the revolution should be understood as a political movement. Paquette's book contributes to a growing body of scholarship that emphasizes the importance of addressing questions of race and (in)difference in political life. By highlighting the limitations of Badiou's theory in this regard, she prompts us to reevaluate our understanding of freedom, justice, and the role of culture in shaping political movements.

Weight: 376g
Dimension: 141 x 216 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517909444