liberal

political subjectivity

is cut from the same cloth as the conservative. Both concern the same problematizations: Of freedom, of tolerance, of the cultivation of individuality, of happiness. Both constitute themselves by establishing a relation to themselves that is structured by these problematizations.

Yet, geneologically speaking, the liberal and the conservative fall from the same tree. Their self-formation as political subjects merely involves adjustments in the same problematizations: of freedom, of tolerance, of the cultivation of individuality, of happiness. Both liberals and conservatives constitute themselves by establishing a relation to themselves that is structured by these problematizations. They differ from each other because of qualitative distinctions in their interpretations of freedom, of the sort of individuality that freedom is meant to bring about, and above all of what they will tolerate fro the sake of their freedom.

is characterized by the tolerance that informs one's self-formation. It moves away from the center to the left and the right. Just left of center is the activist, then the radical, the revolutionary, and finally the anarchist... on the other hand, moving to the right we have the patriot, the moral majority member, the reactionary, and finally the fascist.

Once this qualitative distinction has been established, we could go on to (provisionally) draw out a 'family tree' of modern political subjects based on the degree of tolerance that informs their self-formation, that is, on the extremes to which they are characteristically willing to go in support of, or in opposition to, the status quo. On the 'left,' moving further and further away from the center, we would find, respectively, the 'activist, the 'radical,' the 'revolutionary,' and finally, the 'anarchist.' On the 'right,' moving in the opposite direction from the center, we would find the 'patriot,' the 'moral majority member,' the 'reactionary,' and finally the 'fascist.' Not surprisingly perhaps is the fact that the farther we move toward either extreme of the political spectrum, the more intolerance we find informing the modes of political identity'

Michael Clifford

Authors(0)

Michael CliffordThinkers

Michael Clifford