Aff Framework Cards

Their interpretation of framework relies on a normative understanding of should which is

the wrong starting point
Schlag 91 (Pierre Schlag, Professor of Law at the University of Colorado, 1991, Normativity and the Politics of Form, !S"#$%
&gainst this 'ac(dro) of '*rea*cratic )ower games, it 'ecomes an interesting +*estion ,*st what all of o*r )assionate and very moral normative conversation does or does not
contri'*te- &gainst the 'ac(dro) of this )ower game of law, o*r normative conversation can seem e.ceedingly )olite/
given to a rather *n'elieva'le romantici0ation of the enter)rise we call 1law-1 2any legal thin(ers *nderstand
this dramatic conflict in terms of an o))osition 'etween the 1realities1 of )ractice and the 1ideals1 of the legal
academy- For these legal thin(ers, it will seem es)ecially *rgent to as( once again3 4hat sho*ld 'e done5 6ow
sho*ld we live5 4hat sho*ld the law 'e5 "hese are the hard +*estions- "hese are the momento*s +*estions- &nd they are the
wrong ones- "hey are wrong 'eca*se it is these very normative +*estions that re)rieve legal thin(ers from recogni0ing the
e.tent to which the cherished 1ideals1 of legal academic tho*ght are im)licated in the re)rod*ction and
maintenance of )recisely those *gly 1realities1 of legal )ractice the academy so ro*tinely condemns- 7t is these
normative +*estions that allow legal thin(ers to shield themselves from the recognition that their wor( )rod*ct consists largely of the re)rod*ction of rhetorical str*ct*res 'y
which h*man 'eings can 'e coerced into achieving ends of d*'io*s social origin and im)lica/tion- 7t is these very normative +*estions that allow
legal academics to contin*e to address (rather lamely% '*rea*cratic )ower str*ct*res as if they were rational,
morally com)etent, individ*al h*manist s*',ects- 7t is these very normative +*estions that allow legal thin(ers to ass*me 'lithely that/in a world
r*led 'y 62#s, )ersonnel )olicies, standard o)erating )roced*res, )erformance re+*irements, standard wor( incentives, and )rod*ctivity monitor/ing/they somehow have
esca)ed the '*rea*cratic )ower games- 7t is these normative +*estions that ena'le them to re)resent them/selves as whole and intact, as
self/directing individ*al li'eral h*manist s*',ects at once rational, morally com)etent, and in control of their
own sit*ations, the ca)tain of their own shi)s, the 6erc*les of their own em)ires, the a*thor of their own te.ts- 7t isn8t so-9 &nd if it isn8t so, it wo*ld
seem advisa'le to ma(e some ad,*stments in the agenda and )ractice of legal tho*ght- "hat is what 7 will 'e trying to do here- 2*ch of what follows will no do*'t seem
threatening or nihilistic to many readers- 7n )art that is 'eca*se this article )*ts in +*estion the very coherence, mean/ingf*lness, and integrity of the (inds of normative
dis)*tes and disc*ssion that almost all of *s in the legal academy )ractice- #ne +*estion will no do*'t rec*r to the reader thro*gho*t this
article3 1:*t what sho*ld we do51 "hat +*estion is not going to receive a straightforward answer here, and 7 wo*ld li(e to e.)lain why at the o*tset- S*))ose
that yo* are wal(ing on a road and yo* come to a for(- "his calls for a decision, for a choice- So yo* as( yo*r com)anions3 14hich for( sho*ld we ta(e5 4here sho*ld we go51
;o* all 'egin to tal( a'o*t it, to consider the )ossi'ilities, to weigh the considerations- <iven these circ*mstances, given this sort of )ro'lem,
the +*estions, 14here sho*ld we go5 4hat sho*ld we do51 are )erfectly sensi'le-= :*t now s*))ose that it gets
dar( and the terrain 'ecomes less familiar- ;o* are no longer s*re which road yo* are on or even if yo* are on a
road at all-> So yo* as(, 1where are we51 #ne of yo*r com)anions says 17 don8t (now/7 thin( we sho*ld ,*st (ee) going forward-1 &nother one says, 17
thin( we sho*ld ,*st go 'ac(-1 ;et another says 1No, 7 thin( we sho*ld go left-1 Now given the right conte.t, each of these s*ggestions can 'e )erfectly sensi'le- :*t not in this
conte.t- Not anymore- #n the contrary, yo* (now very well that going forward, 'ac(ward, left or in any other direction ma(es no sense *nless yo* ha))en to (now where yo*
are- So, of co*rse, yo* try to fig*re o*t where yo* are- ;o* loo( aro*nd for telltale signs- ;o* scan the hori0on- ;o* try to reconstr*ct mentally how yo* got here in the first
)lace- ;o* e.)lore- ;o* even start thin(ing a'o*t how to fig*re o*t where yo* are- 2eanwhile, if yo*r com)anions (ee) as(ing 1:*t what sho*ld
we do5 4hich road sho*ld we ta(e5,1 yo* are li(ely to thin( that these (inds of +*estions are not )artic*larly
hel)f*l- "he +*estions (4here sho*ld we go5 4hich for( sho*ld we ta(e5% that seemed to ma(e so m*ch sense a short time 'ac( have now 'ecome a hin/drance- &nd if
yo*r com)anions (ee) *) this sort of +*estioning (4hich road sho*ld we ta(e5 4hich way sho*ld we go5%,
yo*8re going to start wondering a'o*t how to get them to foc*s on the new sit*ation, how to get them to dro)
this 1for( in the road1 st*ff and start *sing a different meta)hor-? Now one meta)hor that rec*rs thro*gho*t this essay is that of the
theater-9 Now, yo* might reasona'ly thin( that it8s a 'it diffic*lt to get from the 1for( in the road1 meta)hor of normative legal tho*ght to the meta)hor of law as theater- :*t
act*ally, it8s not that diffic*lt/es)ecially not if yo* *nderstand at the o*tset that those individ*als who (ee) saying 14here sho*ld we go5 4hat sho*ld we do51 are themselves
already doing a (ind of theater- "hey are engaged in a )artic*lar (ind of dramatic action a))ro)riate for a )artic*lar (ind
of scene, agon, and actors- "hey are doing the (ind of theater that is )artic*larly a))ro)riate for for(s in the
road- Now, one )ro'lem with normative legal tho*ght is that it is constantly re)resenting o*r sit*ation as a for( in the road/calling, of co*rse, for a choice, a commitment to
this way or that way- Now, yo* might thin(3 well, this is not so 'ad- &t least we get to choose- 4e are free and we can choose which way to go- :*t, of co*rse, we are not free-
"he rhetorical scri)t of normative legal tho*ght is already written, the social scene is already set and )lay after
)lay, article after article, year after year, normative legal tho*ght re+*ires yo* to choose3 14hat sho*ld we do5
4here sho*ld we go51 4e are free, '*t we m*st choose/which is to say that we are not free at all- #n the contrary, we (yo* and 7% have 'een constit*ted as the
(ind of 'eings, the (ind of thin(ers who com)*lsively treat every intellect*al, social, or legal event as calling for a choice- 4e m*st choose- 4hat sho*ld we do5 4here sho*ld
we go5 "hese +*estions are not hel)f*l now- 7t8s time to do a different (ind of theater- &nd the first thing to do is fig*re o*t
where we are and what we8re doing- 4hat we8re doing, of co*rse, is normative legal tho*ght- 7- (@7$"U&LL;% &L4&;S&
NA &L$B&A;N #$2&"7@B "he orientation of &merican academic legal tho*ght is )erva/sively and overwhelmingly normative- For the legal thin(er, the central +*estion is
1what sho*ld the law 'e51 #r, 1what sho*ld the co*rts do51 #r, 1how sho*ld co*rts decide cases51 #r, 1what val*es sho*ld the *'i+*ito*s (and largely non/referential% 8we8
(i-e-, *s% 'elieve51 #r, 1how sho*ld ----1 "hese +*estions and their doctrinal derivatives constit*te, organi0e, and
circ*mscri'e the tacit agenda of contem)orary legal tho*ght- "he (ey ver' dominating contem)orary legal tho*ght is some version of
1sho*ld-1 Sometimes this 1sho*ld1 does not +*ite rise to the moral 1o*ght,1 and remains merely an instr*mental, technical, or )r*dential 1sho*ld-1 Sometimes it is a covert
1sho*ld1/hidden 'eneath layers of legal )ositivism- :*t the fact remains that 1sho*lds1 and 1o*ghts1 dominate legal disco*rse- &nd
the +*estion of whether any given 1sho*ld1 is a tr*e moral 1o*ght1 or another instr*mental 1sho*ld1 t*rns o*t
to 'e ,*st another internecine s+*a''le among com)eting normative )ers)ectives-1C "he normative orientation is so dominant
in legal tho*ght that it is *s*ally not noticed- No do*'t the very )ervasiveness and dominance of this tho*ght has ena'led it to esca)e conscio*s themati0ation-11 7ndeed, while
the conce)t 1normative legal tho*ght1 is hardly *n(nown or *nintelligi'le to &merican legal thin(ers, its )recise significance, its )recise movements in social or intellect*al
s)ace, remain largely *nrecogni0ed and *ndetermined- 7ndeed, the *nderstanding (or rather *nderstandings% of normative legal
***!"#AT$%$T&
tho*ght within the legal academy are not nearly as refined or contested as the *nderstandings, for instance, of
legal formalism, legal realism, legal )rocess, law and economics, critical legal st*dies (cls%, or the li(e- Nonetheless,
normative legal tho*ght does not arrive on this scene witho*t meaning, witho*t a history- #n the contrary, normative legal
tho*ght arrives an already loaded term/one that has already 'een engaged in,*ris)r*dential s(irmishes with conce)t*al/ism, )ositivism, and nihilism- 7ndeed, o*r image of
normative legal tho*ght is already a )rod*ct of some cognitively and )rofessionally sedimented distinctions1D 'etween normative legal tho*ght and3 (a% descri)tive tho*ght (as
in, for instance, the o))osition 'etween descri)tive and normative law and economics%E1F ('% conce)t*alism (as in, for instance, the claim that norma/tive legal tho*ght is
val*e/conscio*s, o)en/ended, and non/a*thoritarian in contrast to conce)t*alism%E8G or (c% nihilism (as in, for instance, the claim that either law is a normatively meaningf*l
enter)rise or we face the a'yss of a 'lea( and chaotic nihilism%-19 "hese distinctions and the )atterns of arg*ment str*ct*res associated with these distinctions have )layed
significant roles in fashioning o*r )re/conscio*s, )re/reflective *nderstanding of the character and location of normative legal tho*ght- 7t is im)ortant to attend
to these )re/reflective *nderstandings lest they sha)e o*r conce)t*ali0ation of normative legal tho*ght in ways
that t*rn o*t to 'e *nhel)f*l- 4e want to avoid as m*ch as )ossi'le 1)ositing1 a model or 1)ro)osing1 a
definition of normative legal tho*ght- For *s, then, normative legal tho*ght is already a social constr*ction, already having meaning and significance- 4e
want to reveal o*r own sedimented, )re/reflective images and conce)t*ali0a/tions of normative legal tho*ght so that in the )rocess of revealing, 1D we might learn something
a'o*t how these )re/reflective conce)t*/ali0ations will hel) or hinder the in+*iry *nderta(en here- 7ndeed, it will t*rn o*t that o*r )re/reflective
images and conce)t*ali0ations of normative legal tho*ght in some senses hel) and in others o'str*ct o*r
attem)ts to *nderstand normative legal tho*ght- "hey hel) in the sense that they are socially and cogni/tively o)erative among legal thin(ers and
th*s allow *s to get some shared 1fi.1 on what we mean 'y normative legal tho*ght- &t the same time these images and conce)t*ali0ations are *nhel)f*l 'eca*se once we ma(e
their arg*mentative logic intellect*ally e.)licit, they colla)se- #n the one hand, the three distinctions remain socially and cognitively
o)erative/not only in the act*al )rod*ction of contem)orary legal tho*ght, '*t in o*r very re)resen/tation here
of that legal tho*ghtE1= on the other hand, they colla)se whenever serio*s intellect*al attention is t*rned their
way-
This desensiti'es us to real(world suffering as people outside de)ate
*elgado 91 ($ichard Aelgado, Professor of Law H the University of Colorado, 1991, Norms and Normal Science, !S"#$%
:*t what is the cash val*e of all this )riest/tal( in the law reviews, in the classrooms of at least the 1'etter1 schools, and in the o)inions of at least some ,*dges5 &re
normativos 'etter than other )eo)le5 &re we 'etter off for engaging in normative tal(, either as s)ea(ers or
listeners5 Pierre Schlag, for e.am)le, has descri'ed normativity as a 0ero/as a vac*o*s, self/referential system of tal(, all form and no s*'stance, meaning nothing, and
a'o*t itself-?D "his descri)tion may 'e too genero*s- Normativity may 'e more than a harmless tic )revalent only in certain
circles- 1- Permission to 7gnore S*ffering "he history of organi0ed religion shows that intense immersion in at least certain ty)es of
normative system is no g*arantee against cr*elty, intolerance or s*)erstition-?F 7n modern times, social scientists have tried to
find a correlation 'etween religio*s 'elief and altr*istic 'ehavior- 7n most st*dies, the correlation is none.is/tent or negative- 7n one st*dy, seminary st*dents were o'served as
they wal(ed )ast a well/dressed man lying moaning on the side/wal(-?G 2ost ignored the man, even tho*gh they had ,*st heard a sermon a'o*t the <ood Samaritan- "he
)ro)ortion who sto))ed to offer aid was lower than that of )assers'y in general- "he researchers, commenting on this and other
st*dies of religion and hel)ing 'ehavior, hy)othesi0ed that religio*s )eo)le feel less need to act 'eca*se of a sense that they are 1chosen1 )eo)le-?9 7 'elieve this
anestheti0ing effect e.tends 'eyond religion- 4e confront a starving 'eggar and immediately translate the concrete d*ty we feel into a normative (i-e-,
a'stract% +*estion- &nd once we see the 'eggar8s demand in general, systemic terms, it is easy for *s to )ass him 'y
witho*t rendering aid-?= Someone else, )erha)s society (with my ta. dollars%, will ta(e care of that )ro'lem- Normativity th*s ena'les *s to
ignore and smooth over the ro*gh edges of o*r world, to t*ne o*t or redefine what wo*ld otherwise ma(e a claim
on *s- 7n the legal system, the clearest e.am)les of this are fo*nd in cases where the S*)reme Co*rt has 'een faced with s*'sistence claims-
The +udge,s +o) as an educator is to vote aff to refuse normativit-
Schlag 9. (Pierre Schlag, Professor of Law H the University of Colorado, 199C, Normative and Nowhere to <o, Le.is/Ne.is
&ll of this can seem very f*nny- "hat8s 'eca*se it is very f*nny- 7t is also deadly serio*s- 7t is deadly serio*s, 'eca*se all this normative legal tho*ght, as
$o'ert Cover e.)lained, ta(es )lace in a field of )ain and death- IFN9=J &nd in a very real sense Cover was right- ;et as it ta(es )lace, normative
legal tho*ght is )laying lang*age games/*tterly o'livio*s to the character of the lang*age games it )lays, and
th*s, *tterly *ninterested in considering its own rhetorical and )olitical contri'*tions (or lac( thereof% to the field of )ain and
death- "o 'e s*re, normative legal thin(ers are often gen*inely concerned with red*cing the )ain and the death- 6owever, the )ro'lem is not what normative legal
thin(ers do with normative legal tho*ght, '*t what normative legal tho*ght does with normative legal thin(ers- 4hat is missing in
normative legal tho*ght is any serio*s +*estioning, let alone tracing, of the relations that the )ractice, the rhetoric, the ro*tine of normative legal tho*ght have (or do not have%
to the field of )ain and death- &nd there is a reason for that3 Normative legal tho*ght mis*nderstands its own sit*ation- "y)ically, normative
legal tho*ght *nderstands itself to 'e o*tside the field of )ain and death and in charge of organi0ing and )olicing that field- 7t is as if the action of normative legal tho*ght
co*ld 'e se)arated from the 'ac(gro*nd field of )ain and death- "his theatrical distinction is what allows normative legal tho*ght its
own self/im)ortant, self/righteo*s, selfimage/its congrat*latory sense of its own accom)lishments and
effectiveness- &ll this self/congrat*lation wor(s very nicely so long as normative legal K1?? tho*ght contin*es to imagine itself as o*tside the field of )ain and death and
as having effects within that field- IFN9>J ;et it is do*'tf*l this image can 'e maintained- 7t is not so m*ch the case that normative legal
tho*ght has effects on the field of )ain and death//at least not in the direct, originary way it imagines- $ather, it
is more the case that normative legal tho*ght is the )attern, is the o)eration of the '*rea*cratic distri'*tion
and the instit*tional allocation of the )ain and the death- IFN9?J &nd a)art from the leftover ego/centered rationalist rhetoric of the
eighteenth cent*ry (and o*r ro*tine%, there is nothing at this )oint to s*ggest that we, as legal thin(ers, are in control of normative legal tho*ght- "he )ro'lem for *s, as legal
thin(ers, is that the normative a))eal of normative legal tho*ght systematically t*rns *s away from recogni0ing that normative legal tho*ght is gro*nded on an *tterly
*n'elieva'le re/)resentation of the field it claims to descri'e and reg*late- "he )ro'lem for *s is that normative legal tho*ght, rather than assisting in the *nderstanding of
)resent )olitical and moral sit*ations, stands in the way- 7t systematically reinscri'es its own aesthetic//its own fantastic
*nderstanding of the )olitical and moral scene- IFN99J Until normative legal tho*ght 'egins to deal with its own
)arado.ical )ostmodern rhetorical sit*ation, it will remain something of an irres)onsi'le enter)rise- 7n its rhetorical
str*ct*re, it will contin*e to )o)*late the legal academic world with individ*al h*manist s*',ects who thin( themselves em)owered Cartesian egos, '*t who are largely the
mani)*lated constr*ctions of '*rea*cratic )ractices//academic and otherwise- IFN=CJ "o the e.tent )ossi'le, it is im)ortant to avoid this (ind of
category mista(e- For instance, it is im)ortant to *nderstand that yo*r a*tomo'ile ins*rance ad,*ster is not sim)ly some *)dated version of the eighteenth cent*ry
K1?9 individ*al h*manist s*',ect- Bven tho*gh the ins*rance ad,*ster will +*ite often engage yo* in normative tal(/arg*ing with yo* a'o*t res)onsi'ility, fairness, fa*lt,
allocation of 'lame, ade+*acy of com)ensation, and the li(e/he is *nli(ely to 'e terri'ly rece)tive or s*sce)ti'le to any a*thentic normative dialog*e- 6is normative
com)etence, his normative sensitivity, is scri)ted somewhere else- 7t is im)ortant to 'e clear a'o*t these things- "he contem)orary lawyer, for instance, may tal(
the normative rhetoric of the eighteenth cent*ry individ*al h*manist s*',ect- :*t ma(e no mista(e3 "his normative or h*manist rhetoric is very li(ely the *nfolding of
'*rea*cratic logic- "he modern lawyer is very often a (ind of meta/ins*rance ad,*ster- &nd that ma(es yo* and me, as legal academics, trainers of meta/ins*rance ad,*sters-
"his is )erha)s an *n)leasant reali0ation- #ne of the most im)ortant effects of normative legal tho*ght is to intercede here so that we, as legal academics, do not have to
confront this *n)leasant reali0ation- Normative legal tho*ght allows *s to )retend that we are )re)aring o*r st*dents to 'ecome &ttic*s Finch IFN=1J while we are in fact
training )eo)le who will enter the meta/ins*rance ad,*stment '*siness- For o*r st*dents, this role/conf*sion is *nli(ely to 'e very f*nny- 7t will get
even less so *)on their grad*ation/when they learn that &ttic*s Finch has 'een written o*t of the scri)t- For *s, of co*rse, it is a )leasant fantasy to thin( we are teaching
&ttic*s Finch- 4hen the fantasy is over, it 'ecomes one hell of a category mista(e- &nd in the r*de transition from the one to the other,
&ttic*s Finch can +*ic(ly t*rn into Aan L*ayle- 7n fact, if yo* train yo*r st*dents to 'ecome &ttic*s Finch, they will li(ely end *) as Aan L*ayle// cognitively defenseless
against the regimenting and monitoring )ractices of '*rea*cratic instit*tions- &ttic*s Finch, as admira'le as he may 'e, has none of the cognitive or critical reso*rces
necessary to *nderstand the d*)licities of the '*rea*cratic networ(s within which we o)erate- &)art from the fantasies of the legal academy, there is no longer a )lace in
&merica for a lawyer li(e &ttic*s Finch- "here is nothing for him to do here//nothing he can do- 6e is a moral character in a world where the role of moral tho*ght has 'ecome
at 'est highly am'ivalent, a normative thin(er in a world where normative legal tho*ght is already largely the
'*rea*cratic logic of instit*tions-
/sing personal e0perience does not create a confessional format1it,s an opportunit- to share
e0perience and e0pose disenfranchisement
"eid(2rinkle- =MDGM13
(Ar- Shanara $- $eid/:rin(ley, !*ne DG, DC1D, Personali0ed Ae'ate and the Aiffic*lty of :*ilding Coalitions,
htt)3MMresistanceandde'ate-word)ress-comMDC1DMC=MDGM)ersonali0ed/de'ate/and/the/diffic*lty/of/'*ilding/coalitions/DM%FS
;o* ma(e a few ass*m)tions a'o*t the *se of )ersonal e.)erience in de'ate that 7 want to +*estion- 2ost of the st*dents who *se )ersonal e.)erience
in de'ate are not doing so to ,*st win the ro*nd- "he st*dents of color (and their allies% that ma(e race centric
arg*ments are not ,*st tal(ing a'o*t their )ersonal e.)erience to win a 'allot- "here are way more easy ways to
win a 'allot than to ma(e yo*rself v*lnera'le 'y disc*ssing yo*r )ersonal e.)erience- "heir *se of )ersonal
e.)erience is a choice to share, to offer those who have never enco*ntered the iss*es they face an o))ort*nity to )*t names to the faces of real )eo)le facing
real )ro'lems- Ae'ate enco*rages *s to remain disconnected from the s*',ect matter and ma(es it easier to ignore
the cries of the disenfranchised- "hat yo* ass*me they are as(ing yo* to engage )ersonally ,*st to win the de'ate
is incorrect- 7nstead, they are as(ing yo* to o)en yo*rself *) to honest engagement which re+*ires that yo*
ma(e yo*rself v*lnera'le too- 7t is o*t of that s)ace of v*lnera'ility that real em)athy across difference can 'e
'*ilt- "his is not a'o*t individ*al de'ate ro*nds, its a'o*t the very nat*re of the de'ate comm*nity- 4hen they as( yo* to invest yo*rself )ersonally, they are as(ing yo* to
,oin hands and )*t yo*r 'ody on the line, ,*st li(e they do every time they ste) foot in the hostile environment of national de'ate to*rnaments-
$nclusion of personal e0perience is inevita)le and necessar- to confront power structures4
which must )e e0plored and not merel- accepted as stasis points for de)ate
2utler =MD9M13
(:*tler, !*dy, !*ne D9, DC1D, Some "ho*ghts on the $ole of Personal B.)erience and Ae'ate, htt)3MMresistanceandde'ate-word)ress-comMDC1DMC=MD9Msome/tho*ghts/on/
the/role/of/)ersonal/e.)erience/and/de'ateM%FS
"he +*estion is not do we de'ate from o*r )ersonal e.)eriences (7 have never heard a team say we )ersonally e.)erience o))ression and
yo* donNt so we win% '*t whose )ersonal e.)eriences do the str*ct*re of to)ics reflect O 7 wo*ld h*m'ly s*ggest that they )res*))ose a relation to the
state as a ne*tral, nat*ral and normal tool of )olicy, that yo* can )rogram in a goal and o*t comes an
#U"C#2B O not an historically &NA CU$$BN"L; hostile instit*tion that was anything '*t ne*tral in its
s*',*gation of yo* and those who loo( li(e yo* O 1? to DG year old 'lac( males (now they dis)ro)ortiona'ly )o)*late the ,ails as a class O their
F$7BNAS go to ,ail, it is not a statistic that they ,*st read a'o*t O and the concomminent day to day reality of the )olicing of yo*ng 'lac( men that
re+*ires a great deal of real, in )erson contact 'etween the sec*rity organs of the state and those yo*ng men O and not m*ch of it is )ositive or feels li(e )rotection O the
statistics are glaringly a))arent-
Pretending de'ate or any )olicy ma(ing deli'eration can 'e somehow se)arated in anything '*t a very s*rface
and artificial way from ones )ersonal e.)erience is co*nterint*itive O yo* can ac(nowledge it or not O '*t 7 defy yo* to teach novice
de'aters how to de'ate witho*t a))ealing and referring to their )ersonal e.)eriences
***5ersonal 60periences 7ood ***State 2ad
8urts Agenc-
5olic-making that privileges the state over the individual cannot articulate the capacit- and
a)ilit- of human agenc-
2leiker 3k ($oland, Ph-A-, visiting research and teaching affiliations at 6arvard, Cam'ridge, 6*m'oldt, "am)ere, ;onsei and P*san National University as well as the
Swiss Federal 7nstit*te of "echnology and the 7nstit*te of Social St*dies in 6a*ge, Popular Dissent, Human Agency and Global Politics, Cam'ridge University Press, DCCC,
Print%
4hile o)ening *) the st*dy of glo'al )olitics to a variety of new domains, most efforts to rethin( the international have
not gone as far as they co*ld have, or, indeed, sho*ld have gone- 6ere too, +*estions of conce)t*alisation and re)resentation are of cr*cial im)ortance-
Cam)'ell stresses that for all their efforts to *nderstand a wide range of glo'al )henomena, most a))roaches to international theory have
dis)layed a remar(a'ly )ersistent com)*lsion to anchor an *nder standing of the com)le.ities of glo'al life in a
8something/national8 form*lation P whether it is 8international8, 8m*ltinational8, or 8transna tional8-1G$e)resentative for s*ch forms of conce)t*alising is
2ar( Qacher8s seemingly sensi'le claim that 8non/state actors s*ch as m*lti national cor)orations and 'an(s may increase in im)ortance, '*t there are few signs
that they are edging states from centre stage8-19 Ae'ates a'o*t the role of h*man agency dis)lay similar state/centric
tendencies- "here are disagreements on vario*s fronts, '*t virt*ally all disc*ssions on agency in international theory remain foc*sed on
conce)t*alising state 'ehavio*r- &le.ander 4endt, who has 'een instr*mental in 'ringing iss*es of agency to the st*dy of international relations, has 'een
e+*ally infl*ential in directing ens*ing disc*ssions on a state/centric )ath- 6e e.)licitly and re)eatedly ac(nowledges 8a commitment to states as *nits of analysis8 and
constr*cts m*ch of his theoretical wor( aro*nd an e.amination of states and the constraints within which they o)erate-1= 6ere too, the logic 'ehind ada)ting a state/centric
form of re)resentation rests on the ass*m)tion that 8as long as states are the dominant actors in international )olitics, it is a))ro)riate to foc*s on the identity and agency of
the state rather than, for e.am)le, a transnational social movement8-1> L*estions of agency in international theory sho*ld not and cannot 'e red*ced to analyses of state
'ehavio*r- "his 'oo( demonstrates how an instance of transversal dissent may infl*ence glo'al )olitics at least as m*ch as, say, a di)lomatic
treatise or a foreign )olicy decision- &t a time when )rocesses of glo'alisation are *nfolding and national 'o*ndaries are 'ecoming increasingly )oro*s, states can no
longer 'e viewed as the only conse+*ential actors in world affairs- @ario*s scholars have th*s 'eg*n to +*estion the )revalent s)atial
modes of re)resentation and the artificial se)aration of levels of analysis that iss*es from them- "hey s*ggest, as mentioned a'ove, that glo'al life is 'etter
*nderstood as a series of transversal str*ggles that increasingly challenge what $ichard &shley called 8the )aradigm of sovereign
man-8 "ransversal str*ggles, &shley em)hasises, are not limited to esta'lished s)heres of sovereignty- "hey are neither domestic nor
international- "hey (now no final 'o*ndaries 'etween inside and o*t side-1? &nd they have come to 'e increasingly recognised as central as)ects of glo'al )olitics- !ames
$osena* is among several scholars who now ac(nowledge that it is along the shifting frontiers of trans versal str*ggles, 8and not thro*gh the nation state
system that )eo)le sort and )lay o*t the many contradictions at wor( in the glo'al scene8-19
9e can claim our agenc- onl- )- re+ecting the state(centric view of politics:
2leiker 3k ($oland, Ph-A-, visiting research and teaching affiliations at 6arvard, Cam'ridge, 6*m'oldt, "am)ere, ;onsei and P*san National University as well as the
Swiss Federal 7nstit*te of "echnology and the 7nstit*te of Social St*dies in 6a*ge, Popular Dissent, Human Agency and Global Politics, Cam'ridge University Press, DCCC,
Print%
L*estions of agency have 'een disc*ssed e.tensively in international theory, mostly in the conte.t of the so/called str*ct*reP
agency de'ate- &ltho*gh strongly wedded to a state/centric view, this de'ate nevertheless evo(es a n*m'er of im)ortant
conce)t*al iss*es that are relevant as well to an *nderstanding of transversal dynamics- "he roots of the str*ct*rePagency
de'ate can 'e traced 'ac( to a feeling of discontent a'o*t how traditional a))roaches to international theory have
dealt with iss*es of agency- S(etched in an overly 'road manner, the )oint of de)art*re loo(ed as follows3 &t one end of the s)ectr*m were neorealists,
who e.)lain state identity and 'ehavio*r thro*gh a series of str*ct*ral restraints that are said to emanate from the anarchical nat*re of the international system- &t the other
end we find neoli'erals, who acce)t the e.istence of anarchy '*t see( to *nderstand the 'ehavio*r of states and other international actors in terms of their individ*al
attri'*tes and their a'ility to engage in coo)erative 'argaining- 7f )*shed to their logical end/)oint, the two )ositions amo*nt, res)ectively, to a
str*ct*ral determinism and an e+*ally farfetched 'elief in the a*tonomy of rational actors- DG "he str*ct*rePagency
de'ate is located somewhere 'etween these two )oles- Neither str*ct*re nor agency receive analytical )riority-
7nstead, the idea is to *nderstand the interde)endent and m*t*ally constit*tive relationshi) 'etween them- "he disc*ssions that have
evolved in the wa(e of this ass*m)tion are highly com)le. and cannot )ossi'ly 'e s*mmarised here- D9 Some of the (ey )remises, tho*gh, can 'e recognised 'y o'serving how
the wor( of &nthony <iddens has sha)ed the str*ct*rePagency de'ate in international relations- <iddens s)ea(s of the 8d*ality of str*ct*re,8 of str*ct*ral )ro)erties that are
constraining as well as ena'ling- "hey are 'oth 8the medi*m and o*tcome of the contingently accom)lished activities of sit*ated actors8- D= B.)ressed in other words, neither
agents nor str*ct*res have the final word- 6*man actions are always em'edded in and constrained 'y the str*ct*ral conte.t within
which they form and evolve- :*t str*ct*res are not imm*ta'le either- & h*man 'eing, <iddens stresses, will 8(now a great deal a'o*t the
conditions of re)rod*ction of the society of which he or she is a mem'er8- D> "he actions that emerge from this awareness then sha)e the
)rocesses thro*gh which social systems are str*ct*rally maintained and re)rod*ced-
$ncrease %iolence
State(centricit- leads to the violent e0clusion of other viewpoints
2leiker 3k ($oland, Ph-A-, visiting research and teaching affiliations at 6arvard, Cam'ridge, 6*m'oldt, "am)ere, ;onsei and P*san National University as well as the
Swiss Federal 7nstit*te of "echnology and the 7nstit*te of Social St*dies in 6a*ge, Popular Dissent, Human Agency and Global Politics, Cam'ridge University Press, DCCC,
Print%
"o e.)and the sco)e of international theory and to 'ring transversal str*ggles into foc*s is not to declare the state
o'solete- States remain central actors in international )olitics and they have to 'e recognised and theorised as s*ch- 7n fact, my analysis will e.amine vario*s ways in
which states and the 'o*ndaries 'etween them have mediated the formation, f*nctioning and im)act of dissent- 6owever, my reading of dissent and agency
ma(es the state neither its main foc*s nor its starting )oint- "here are com)elling reasons for s*ch a strategy, and
they go 'eyond a mere recognition that a state/centric a))roach to international theory engenders a form of
re)resentation that )rivileges the a*thority of the state and th*s )recl*des an ade+*ate *nderstand ing of the radical
transformations that are c*rrently *nfolding in glo'al life- 2ichael Sha)iro is among an increasing n*m'er of theorists who convincingly )ortray the
state not only as an instit*tion, '*t also, and )rimarily, as a set of 8stories8 P of which the state/centric a))roach to international theory is a
)erfect e.am)le- 7t is )art of a legitimisation )rocess that highlights, )romotes and nat*ralises certain )olitical )ractices and the territorial conte.t within which they
ta(e )lace- "a(en together, these stories )rovide the state with a sense of identity, coherence and *nity- "hey create
'o*ndaries 'etween an inside and an o*tside, 'etween a )eo)le and its others- Sha)iro stresses that s*ch state/stories also e.cl*de, for
they see( 8to re)ress or delegitimise other stories and the )ractices of identity and s)ace they reflect-8 &nd it is these )rocesses of e.cl*sion that
im)ose a certain )olitical order and )rovide the state with a legitimate rationale for violent enco*nters-DD
*ecreases 6ducation
State(centricit- leads to a monopol- on education that silences other viewpoints
2iswas ; (Sham)a, Professor of Politics at 4hitman College, Aecem'er, Bm)ire and <lo'al P*'lic 7ntellect*als3 $eading Bdward Said as an 7nternational $elations
"heorist, 2illenni*m3 !o*rnal of 7nternational St*dies, @ol- F=, No- 1, )- 1D9/1D=%
7n ma(ing a case for the e.ilic orientation, it is the )owerf*l hold of the nation/state *)on intellect*al thin(ing that Said most 'emoans- F1 "he nation/state of
co*rse has a )artic*lar )ride of )lace in the st*dy of glo'al )olitics- "he state/centricity of 7nternational $elations has not ,*st
circ*mscri'ed the a'ility of scholars to *nderstand a vast ensem'le of glo'ally oriented movements, e.changes and )ractices not
red*ci'le to the state, '*t also inhi'ited a critical intellect*al orientation to the world o*tside the national 'orders within which
scholarshi) is )rod*ced- Said ac(nowledges the fact that all intellect*al wor( occ*rs in a (national% conte.t which im)oses *)on oneNs intellect certain ling*istic
'o*ndaries, )artic*lar (nationally framed% iss*es and, most invidio*sly, certain domestic )olitical constraints and )ress*res, '*t he ca*tions against the dangers of s*ch
restrictions *)on the intellect*al imagination- FD Com)aring the develo)ment of 7$ in two different national conte.ts O the French and the <erman ones O <erard 6olden has
arg*ed that different intellect*al infl*ences, different historical resonances of different iss*es, different domestic e.igencies sha)e the disci)line in different conte.ts- FF
4hile this is to 'e e.)ected to an e.tent, there is good reason to 'e ca*tio*s a'o*t how scholarly sym)athies are
e.)ressed and circ*mscri'ed when the reach of oneNs wor( (iss*es covered, )eo)le affected% so o'vio*sly e.tends 'eyond the
national conte.t- For scholars of the glo'al, the (often *nconscio*s% hold of the nation/state can 'e es)ecially )ernicio*s in the ways that it limits the sco)e and range
of the intellect*al imagination- Said arg*es that the hold of the nation is s*ch that even intellect*als )rogressive on domestic
iss*es 'ecome colla'orators of em)ire when it comes to state actions a'road- FG S)ecifically, he criti+*es
nationalistically 'ased systems of ed*cation and the tendency in m*ch of )olitical commentary to frame analysis in
terms of RweN, R*sN and Ro*rN / )artic*larly evident in coverage of the war on terrorism / which a*tomatically sets *) a series of (often
hostile% o))ositions to RothersN- 6e )oints in this conte.t to the rather common intellect*al tendency to 'e alert to the a'*ses of others while remaining 'lind to those of oneNs
own- F9
6liminates $dentit-
$t is )ad to focus on the state in $"( the state creates )oundaries within its self and e0cludes and
represses certain aspects in order to reflect a certain identit-
2leiker in 3... ($oland, Senior Lect*rer and Coordinator of the Peace and Conflict St*dies Program at the University of L*eensland, Po)*lar Aissent, 6*man
&gency and <lo'al Politics%
"o e.)and the sco)e of international theory and to 'ring transversal str*ggles into foc*s is not to declare the state
o'solete- States remain central actors in international )olitics and they have to 'e recognised and theorised as s*ch- 7n fact, my analysis will e.amine
vario*s ways in which states and the 'o*ndaries 'etween them have mediated the formation, f*nctioning and im)act of dissent- 6owever, my reading of dissent
and agency ma(es the state neither its main foc*s nor its starting )oint- "here are com)elling reasons for s*ch a
strategy, and they go 'eyond a mere recognition that a state/centric a))roach to international theory engenders a form of
re)resentation that )rivileges the a*thority of the state and th*s )recl*des an ade+*ate *nderstanding of the radical
transformations that are c*rrently *nfolding in glo'al life- 2ichael Sha)iro is among an increasing n*m'er of theorists who convincingly )ortray the state not only as
an instit*tion, '*t also, and )rimarily, as a set of 8stories8 P of which the state/centric a))roach to international theory is a )erfect e.am)le- 7t is )art of a
legitimisation )rocess that highlights, )romotes and nat*ralises certain )olitical )ractices and the territorial conte.t within
which they ta(e )lace- "a(en together, these stories )rovide the state with a sense of identity, coherence and *nity- "hey create 'o*ndaries
'etween an inside and an o*tside, 'etween a )eo)le and its others- Sha)iro stresses that s*ch state/stories also e.cl*de, for they see( 8to
re)ress or delegitimise other stories and the )ractices of identity and s)ace they reflect-8 &nd it is these )rocesses of e.cl*sion that im)ose a certain
)olitical order and )rovide the state with a legitimate rationale for violent enco*nters-
The state sustains collective identit- through an increasing process of oppressive power
struggles4 culminating in violence
Connol- in 3k3 (4illiam, Professor and Chair of the Ae)artment of Political Science H !ohns 6o)(ins University, 7dentityMAifference, e.)anded edition%
7n several domains, the state no longer emerges as a cons*mmate agent of efficacy, even tho*gh it e.)ands as a )ivotal
agent of )ower-G & crac( in the very *nity of 1)ower1 has o)ened *)- 4e have entered a world in which state )ower is sim*ltaneo*sly magnified
and increasingly disconnected from the ends that ,*stify its magni/ fication- &s o'stacles to its efficacy m*lti)ly, the state increasingly s*stains
collective identity thro*gh theatrical dis)lays of )*nish/ ment and revenge against those elements that threaten to signify
its inefficacy- 7t la*nches dramati0ed cr*sades against the internal other (low/level criminals, dr*g *sers, disloyalists, racial minor/ ities, and the *nderclass%, the e.ternal
other (foreign enemies and terrorists%, and the interior other (those strains of a'normality, s*'version, and )erversity that may reside within anyone%- "he state
'ecomes, first, the screen *)on which m*ch of the resentment against the adverse effects of the civili0ation of )rod*c/
tivity and )rivate affl*ence is )ro,ectedE second, the vehicle thro*gh which rhetorical reass*rances a'o*t the glory
and d*ra'ility of that civili0ation are transmitted 'ac( to the )o)*laceE and third, the instr*ment of cam)aigns
against those elements most dist*r'ing to the collective identity- 7n the first instance, the welfare a))arat*s of the state is
singled o*t for criticism and reformation- 7n the second, the )residency is organi0ed into a medi*m of rhetorical diversion
and reass*rance- 7n the third, the state disci)linary/)olice/)*nitive a))arat*s is marshaled to constit*te and stigmati0e constit*encies whose terms of e.istence
might otherwise )rovide signs of defeat, in,*ry, and sacrifice engendered 'y the civili0ation of )rod*ctivity itself- S)DC=T
Sci(Fi <aundr- <ist
The plan is a utopian imagination of technolog- asserted against the gradual erosion of hope
that accompanies the focus on detail: "eclaiming the narrative of technological utopianism
does not mean )lindl- em)racing all technologies4 )ut it does prevent the destruction of all
human meaning
<eong 3..= (Leong 6ang/tat, Ph-A- candidate at the Chinese University of 6ong Uong in )hiloso)hy, 7deology and Uto)ia in Science Fiction, ProL*est% :4
2annheim concl*des his analysis of the conce)t of *to)ia after the disc*ssion of the fo*r *to)ian mentalities- For him, the ty)ology of *to)ia constit*tes a
tem)oral se+*ence- "he socialist/comm*nist *to)ia, as the last form of *to)ian mentality, is not only less
incongr*o*s with reality than the )receding forms, '*t also )rogressively more congr*o*s with the act*al world- 6is
'asic arg*ment is that the histor- of utopia constitutes a gradual appro0imation to real life and
therefore tolls the death knell of utopia in its very s*ccess at social transformation3 "h*s, after a long tort*o*s, '*t heroic
develo)ment, ,*st at the highest stage of awareness, when history is ceasing to 'e 'lind fate, and is 'ecoming
more and more manNs own creation, with the relin+*ishment of *to)ias, man wo*ld lose his will to sha)e
history and therewith his a'ility to *nderstand it- "he socialist idea, in its act*ali0ation, has the effect of red*cing the *to)ianism of *to)ia and leads to the
decay of *to)ia- 2annheim )erceives that the historical )rocess of the dominant forms of the *to)ian mentality
shows a grad*al descent and a closer a))ro.imation to real life of a *to)ia that at one time com)letely transcended history and reveals a general s*'sidence
of *to)ian intensity (DDD/F%- 2annheim is *nsettled 'y his own concl*sion that im)lies the end of *to)ia- 6e laments that the com)lete elimination
of reality transcending elements from o*r world wo*ld lead *s to a matter/of/factness which *ltimately wo*ld
mean the decay of h*man will (DF=%- L*oting the )ro)hecy of Swiss )oet <ottfried Ueller, 2annheim wonders whether ItJhe *ltimate tri*m)h
of freedom will 'e 'arren (DD9%- Near the end of the disc*ssion, he s*ggests the sym)toms of this 'arrenness3 "he disa))earance of *to)ia
'rings a'o*t a static state of affairs in which man himself 'ecomes no more than a thing- 4e wo*ld 'e faced
then with the greatest )arado. imagina'le, namely, that man, who has achieved the highest degree of rational
mastery of e.istence, left witho*t any ideals, 'ecomes a mere creat*re of im)*lses- (DF=% 7f ideology is false conscio*sness related to dominant
h*t declining classes, we can imagine a society witho*t it as the decline of ideology re)resents a crisis only for certain strata (DF=%- 6owever, the com)lete
disa))earance of the *to)ian element from h*man tho*ght and action wo*ld mean that h*man nat*re and h*man
develo)ment wo*ld ta(e on a totally new character (DF=%- 9e cannot imagine the complete a)andonment
of utopia )ecause a societ- without utopia would )e a societ- without goals: 4ith the loss of
ill*sions, h*manity wo*ld lose the sense of direction when the victory of a certain matter/of/factness, or
congr*ence, is reali0ed- 2annheimNs ty)ology is incom)lete, 'eca*se he in fact neglects the role )layed 'y science and
technology in reali0ing *to)ia- 7n the following disc*ssion, 7 will consolidate the technological *to)ian mentality as one of
the ma,or *to)ias from 'oth the sociological and literary )ers)ective- "he conce)tion of science and technology as significant means to
achieve *to)ia has a long lineage- &s Nell B*rich )oints o*t in her hoo( Science Vn Uto)ia3 & 2ighty Aesign (19=>%, the 'ac(gro*nd for this form of *to)ia comes )rinci)ally
from Francis :acon and his New &tlantis- :aconNs *to)ia is essentially a tri*m)h of the scientists whose ideas and innovation )rovide direction and ways for the reali0ation of
a technological *to)ia- 6owever, h*manityNs am'ivalent attit*de toward science and scientists has essentially s*))ressed
this form of *to)ia- 7n the history of civili0ation, h*manity always faces a 'arrier whenever a new science or
technology a))ears in society- "he 'arrier can 'e termed the RFran(enstein 'arrier for the significance of 2ary ShelleyNs first
science fiction novel Fran(enstein (1?1?% (Sl*sser 9%- 7n this wor(, the scientist @ictor Fran(enstein arrives on the verge of giving his new
creat*re a f*t*re, a sym'ol of the f*t*re for new science as well, when he is as(ed 'y his creat*re to ma(e a 'ride for it-
Fran(enstein cannot overcome his am'ivalence and th*s ref*ses its re+*est- &s a res*lt of his ref*sal, the scientist is
forced to retreat from his e.)anded search for (nowledge and the f*t*re of his creat*re is forsa(en- Fran(ensteinNs ref*sal
signifies the )ersistence of a significant 'arrier in h*manity, which has remained dee)/rooted in 4estern c*lt*re and sym'oli0es
the conflict 'etween *tilitarian technology and those who greatly do*'t the role of science and scientists- 7n the
late twentieth cent*ry and the 'eginning of the twenty/first cent*ry, the technological *to)ia has 'ecome even more )rominent-
"his form of *to)ian mentality is 'est fo*nd in science fiction, which, at its 'est, not only )rovides the most s*))le and
)o)*lar means of e.)loring +*estions of diversity and difference, '*t also o)ens *) new )ossi'ilities and ma(es
*s thin(- 7n science fiction, we can find *to)ia that effectively addresses the +*estions that have defined the age we
live in3 technology, gender, race, ideology, history and so on- &s a genre of ideas, science fiction has 'een a'le to )ortray
technological *to)ia in vivid and )o)*lar ways- &fter analy0ing eight science fiction te.ts from the 4estern and #riental c*lt*res, 7 wo*ld li(e to
concl*de this section 'y a disc*ssion on the characteristics of technological *to)ia- "his form of *to)ia em)hasi0es the roles of intellect*als
and scientists- "he dominant desire of this *to)ian mentality is the technological *to)ia that em'races the
)ower of science and technology, as well as )reserving the identifying and legitimi0ing )ower of h*manity and the
)resent stat*s +*o- "he em'odiment of forces in ideology and *to)ia sim*ltaneo*sly ma(es the )rogress to
technological *to)ia 'ecome a s)iral movement- Li(e the socialist/comm*nist *to)ian mentality, it is also considered the 'est
)ossi'le form to 'ridge the ga) 'etween the dream and the )resent state of things-DF 4ith the )rogression in science and
technology at different strategic moments, es)ecially in the as)ects of cy'ers)ace, cy'org and s)ace travel that we have disc*ssed, h*manity can reali0e its ago/old desire of
transcending the mind, the 'ody, and s)ace res)ectively- &s the disc*ssion of the science fiction te.ts shows, these technological meta)hors )rovide
***Sci > Fi 7ood
'oth ideological and *to)ian f*nctions to h*manity and ma(e the technological *to)ia a s)iral movement to
the )erfect state of 'eing- "he sense of time in this form is seen as a series of strategic )oints in history, rather
than a grad*al )rogress in the li'eral/h*manist idea- Bvery new 'rea(thro*gh in science or technology, or a Nov*m
DG re)resents a strategic )oint in technological *to)ia- "he technologies of cy'ers)ace, cy'org, and s)ace travel are most im)ortant nova, or *to)ian
meta)hors, which transcend the limitations of the mind, 'ody and s)ace res)ectively for h*manity- Nevertheless, technological *to)ia shares with the li'eral ideas that the
location of a )erfect world is in the f*t*re, in the time when vario*s limiting conditions of h*manity are transcended 'y the means of new science and technology as in the case
of all the science fiction te.ts that 7 have st*died- 7n Ne*romancer and Aream/c*tting romance, the strategic )oint for the advancement of the s)iral movement in
technological *to)ia is signified 'y the *)grade of cy'ernetic technology as well as the merge 'etween h*manity and technological entities- 7n 6ard/:oiled 4onderland and
the Bnd of the 4orld, the 'rea(thro*gh is re)resented 'y scientific e.)eriment and the *nderstanding of h*man mind 'y dream reading- Similarly, in "he Positronic 2an,
<host in the Shell and "he Ultimate 4ar of S*)er/'rains, the strategic moment for the s)iral movement is em'odied 'y the *)grade of the ro'otic entities to 'ecome more
h*man, mortal and organic- Finally, the 'rea(thro*gh in achieving technological *to)ia is shown in the transcendence of Uelvin and :owman in Solaris and DCC1 res)ectively-
!ur call to imagine what the government might do forces us out of our current su)+ect position
1the a)ilit- to imagine another role is the foundation of ethical engagement with the !ther
65ST6$ 1999 (2i(hail, &ssociate Professor in the Ae)artment of $*ssian and Bast &sian Lang*ages and C*lt*res at Bmory University, "ransc*lt*ral
B.)eriments3 $*ssian and &merican 2odels of Creative Comm*nication, )- 1=G/1==
"ransc*lt*ral theory needs to artic*late its own ethics, which can 'e called an ethics of the imagination- "raditionally, imagination was
considered to 'e the ca)acity least 'o*nd to ethical res)onsi'ility, incom)ati'le with or even antagonistic to ethical im)eratives- "he longstanding de'ates 'etween ethics and
aesthetics targeted e.actly this o))osition 'etween moral norms and free imagination, 'etween d*ty and desire, 'etween reason and fantasy-
6owever, if we loo( at the most common and esta'lished ethical r*le as it is inscri'ed in the heritage of many c*lt*resPChristian, Chinese, <ree(Pwe find an im)licit call for
imagination as e.)ressed in the re+*irement that we 1do *nto others as we wo*ld have them do *nto *s-1 "his )res*))oses a (ind of commonness 'etween o*rselves and
others that cannot 'e fo*nd in act*al e.istence and em)irical e.)eriencePwe are all different- 4itho*t imagination a )erson wo*ld 'e *na'le to
)*t herself in the )osition of others or to )*t others in her own )osition- #ne has to 'e imaginative to 'e righteo*s- #ne has to imagine
what other )eo)le may need, dream of, and as)ire to in order to res)ond ade+*ately to their needs- Percy :ysshe Shelly has e.)ressed s*ccinctly this lin( 'etween morality and
imagination in his 1& Aefence of Poetry1 3 1& man, to 'e greatly good, m*st imagine intensely and com)rehensivelyE he m*st )*t himself in the )lace of another and of many
othersE the )ains and )leas*res of his s)ecies m*st 'ecome his own-11
:*r there is m*ch more to this imaginative as)ect of ethics than ,*st identifying oneself with others- "wo modifications may 'e added to the golden r*le to em'race those
as)ects of ethics that are not red*ci'le to a commonness 'etween myself and others, 'etween the s*',ects and o',ects of ethical actions-
"he first addition wo*ld refer to the *ni+*eness of the ethical s*',ect as distinct from the ethical o',ect- 1Ao *nto others as we wo*ld have them do *nto *s - - - '*t as no'ody
else co*ld do *nto them e.ce)t for *s-1 "he *ni+*eness of the ethical s*',ect wo*ld 'e cr*cial in cases when among the many needs of others are those to which the given
s*',ect is *ni+*ely or e.cl*sively +*alified to res)ond- "he action that will 'e ethically )refera'le is that which no one can accom)lish e.ce)t for me and that which no one can
do 'etter than me- Since 7 am different from the other, the ethical relationshi) 'etween *s sho*ld 'e 'ased on o*r m*t*al irre/d*ci'ility- "he 'asic r*le of differential ethics
th*s can 'e form*lated in this way3 Ao what no other )erson in the same sit*ation co*ld do in yo*r )lace- &ct in s*ch a way that yo*r most individ*al a'ilities meet the most
individ*al needs of the other-
"his is also tr*e for o*r e.)ectations from other )eo)le- Not only what we do to others, '*t whar we e.)ect them to do for *s, is an ethically mar(ed )osition- & totalitarian
)olitics that forced a violinist to ta(e an a. and c*t wood to )rovide heat d*ring an energy shortage was ethically re)rehensi'le tho*gh it claimed to 'e tr*ly h*manistic as
e.)ressing e+*al concern a'o*t the needs of all )eo)le- From the stand)oint of the ethics of difference, the m*sician sho*ld not only 'e allowed '*t enco*raged to res)ond to
those s)ecific needs of )eo)le that he is in a *ni+*e )osition to answer- $ed*ction of individ*al a'ilities to the more general needs is what *nderlies the cr*de, )olitically
dominated ethics of 1mass societies-1
"h*s an ethical s*',ect has to imagine not only what ma(es other )eo)le similar to him '*t what ma(es them
different, which is a more com)le. tas( for the imagination- 7t is easier to imagine that other )eo)le need heat and food in the same way as yo* do than to )ro,ect their
s)ecific intentions and e.)ectations, which might com)letely esca)e the range of yo*r interests- "his second level of ethical concern involves imagining the other as the other,
in his or her irred*ci'ility to any common model of h*manness-
Finally, the third level of ethics involves not others as myself and not others as others '*t myself as other- "his ca)acity to 'e a stranger
to oneself, to go 'eyond one8s in'orn or socially constr*cted identity is not ,*st a creative )ossi'ility '*t also an
ethical res)onsi'ility- 4itho*t 'eing different from oneself one can never find )oints of commonality or
dialogi/cal interaction with )eo)le of different c*lt*res and ways of life- &s !ac+*es Aerrida rightly o'serves, 1it is 'eca*se 7 am not
one with myself that 7 can s)ea( with the other and address the other-1/
!*deo/Christian ethics is foc*sed on the notion of 1neigh'or,1 the nearest and closest oneE '*t what a'o*t love of, or at least res)onsiveness to, the distant ones5 Niet0sche
attem)ted to introd*ce this im)erativeP 1love to a distant one1Pinto ethics '*t his anti/Christian stance ca*sed him to ignore love for those nearest and act*ally grew into
contem)t toward his own 1neigh'ors1Pcontem)oraries, com)atriots, colleag*es, co/h*mans, and others in )ro.imity- 7t is interesting that altho*gh Soviet ethical doctrines
never e.)licitly ac(nowledged Niet0sche8s infl*ence, they were 'ased on a similar )rinci)le3 "he distant ones were )rivileged over neigh'ors in the val*e hierarchy of a ty)ical
Soviet citi0en- 6e had to love his comrades, his class 'rothers, and the e.)loited toiling masses all over the world '*t was re+*ired to deno*nce his family mem'ers on the
'asis of their disloyalty to the state- Soviet ethics was devoid of imagination and did not recogni0e the right of model citi0ens to m*lti)le identities or alterations of identity-
7n fact, love for distant ones or at least the a'ility to interact with them de)ends on the ca)acity of a given s*',ect
to 'e different from himself to em'race an *nlimited range of virt*al or )otential identities- 7n distinction from
the ethics of commonality, as )rescri'ed in the golden r*le, and in distinction from the differential ethics of *ni+*eness, the
third level can 'e )osited as an interferential ethics of m*lti)lied identities and transformational )ossi'ilities
that is certainly most a))ealing to the ca)acities of the imagination-
The polic- interpretation of fiat makes ethical engagement with others impossi)le: 9e should
imagine possi)ilities rather than legislate commands
65ST6$ 1999 (2i(hail, &ssociate Professor in the Ae)artment of $*ssian and Bast &sian Lang*ages and C*lt*res at Bmory University, "ransc*lt*ral
B.)eriments3 $*ssian and &merican 2odels of Creative Comm*nication, )- 1==/1=?%
"ho*gh ethics is *s*ally )resented as a set of r*les and norms of 'ehavior, this does not im)ly that the contents of ethics sho*ld 'e as normative and )rescri)tive as its forms
are- Bthical )rescri)tions incl*de the freedom from )rescri)tions- "his )arado.ical element of ethics cannot 'e
f*lly eliminated- 4hen Christ said, 1Unow the tr*th, and the tr*th will set yo* free,1 6e e.)ressed in )rescri)tive form the freedom from all )rescri)tions-
7f we loo( at the most elementary forms of ethics, s*ch as )oliteness and co*rtesy, we find that even these most ro*tine models of morality are 'ased on the )res*m)tion of
h*man freedom- 7f yo* need some'ody to give yo* a glass of water, the )olite way to e.)ress this need will 'e not an im)erative
or a command '*t a s*ggestion, 14o*ld yo* )lease 'e so (ind as to 'ring me a glass of water51 14o*ld it 'e )ossi'le for yo* to do this or that51 "he
)oliteness is im)lied in the modality 1wo*ld,1 which transforms the action from the act*al or im)erative
modality to a s*',*nctive mode- 2y need has to 'e transformed into some'ody else8s )ossi'ility or o))ort*nity
in order to 'e )resented ethically ()olitely%- "he im)erative 1Ao this1 is a))lied only 'etween )arents and children or officers and
soldiers, th*s mar(ing the relation of )ower or a*thority- :*t insofar as ethics challenges this )ower relation, it has
to transform any command into a s*ggestion, every im)erative into a s*',*nctive-
7f this is tr*e on the level of elementary )oliteness, how m*ch more im)ortant it m*st 'e on the level of the higher moral
initiatives that are addressed to others- Bven in the most f*ndamental and glo'al iss*es of war and )eace,
)ower and freedom, a*thority and e+*ality, disci)line and res)onsi'ility, ethics sho*ld a))eal to )ossi'ilities
rather than im)ose necessity and constraints- #ften the same )erson who *ses the s*',*nctive 14o*ld yo*1
when as(ing for a glass of water wo*ld *se a categorical im)erative, demanding that h*manity o'ey his grand
ethical schemes and )rescri)tions- &lmost all o*r disco*rses and the procedures of teaching and writing are
im'*ed with the im)erative mode3 Ao as 7 do, do as 7 say, do as 7 write- Bvery inter)retation avers its concl*sive tr*thf*lness
instead of s*ggesting itself as ,*st a )ossi'ility, a disco*rse in a s*',*nctive mode- All disciplines of
scholarship and inter)retation wo*ld 'enefit 'y incor)orating these 0ones of )oliteness, )otentiality, and
imagination, which are not only an 1e.cess1 of aesthetic s*',ectivity '*t are first of all modes of ethical res)onsiveness that multipl-
the levels of freedom in o*r readers, st*dents, interloc*tors, instead of forcing their minds into o*r own
)ers*asions-
Bthics is the domain of re+*ests rather than commands, the domain of imagination rather than o'ligation- "he commandments )rono*nced 'y <od cannot hel) '*t 'e
o'ligatory if we identify o*rselves with the )eo)le of <od and recogni0e the hierarchy that connects heavenly Father and earthly children- 6owever, if ethics sho*ld 'e
*nderstood as a s)ecific domain reg*lating the relationshi) 'etween 'rothers and sisrers and distinct from the religio*s domain reg*lating the relationshi) 'etween Father
and children, we sho*ld form*late the )rinci)les of this ethics in a noncommanding mode, as a system of re+*ests and )ro)osals a))ealing to the freedom of the other )erson,
to his 1may'e or may'e not-1 Certainly, this ethics 1in the s*',*nctive mood1 is m*ch more favora'le to the wor( of the
transc*lt*ral imagination than an ethics that prescri)es us to o)e- alread- esta)lished laws -
"h*s, in addition to the golden r*le of commonness, we need a differential and interferential ethics 'ased on imagining others as
different from o*rselves and imagining ourselves as possi)ilities for others -
"eimagining technolog- is critical to overcome threats to human survival1we must imagine an
alternative technological societ- that )rings us together in a common pro+ect
Fresco and #eadows .; (!ac+*e W $o.anneE Str*ct*ral designer, architect*ral designer, )hiloso)her of science, conce)t artist, ed*cator, and f*t*rist,
fo*nder of "he @en*s Pro,ectE :-F-&- from 2aryland 7nstit*te of &rt- She st*died technical and architect*ral rendering and model ma(ing *nder !ac+*e Fresco for G yearsE
Aesigning the F*t*re%MM$S4
&ccording to many )olls, a ma,ority of scientists thin( that the h*man race is on a 1collision co*rse1 with nat*re, that all of Barth8s
ecosystems are s*ffering, and that the a'ility of the )lanet to s*stain lite is in serio*s ,eo)ardy- (1% "here is a
threat of ra)id glo'al climate change that will certainly have )rofo*nd conse+*ences- "he )oll*tion of rivers, land, and the air we
'reathe threatens o*r health, 4e are destroying non/renewa'le reso*rces li(e to)soil and the o0one layer
instead of *sing these reso*rces intelligently- 4e lace common threats that transcend national 'o*ndaries3
over)o)*lation, energy shortages, water scarcity, economic catastro)he, the s)read of *ncontrolla'le diseases,
and the technological dis)lacement of )eo)le 'y machines, to name a few- Bight h*ndred and fifty two million
)eo)le across the world are h*ngry- Bvery day, more than 1=-CCC children die from h*nger/related ca*ses/ one child every five seconds- (1% 4orld/wide
more than 1 'illion )eo)le c*rrently live 'elow the international )overty line, earning less than X1 )er day, (D% & very small )ercent of the )eo)le own most of the world8s
wealth and reso*rces- "he ga) 'etween the rich and )oor is widening- 7n the US as of DCCD, the average CB# made D?D times as m*ch as the average wor(er- (F% 7n DCC9 the
com)ensation of CB#s of ma,or U-S- cor)orations rose 1DY to an average of X9-? million )er year- #il com)any CB#s did even 'etter with raises that averaged a who))ing
1C9Y to ?1=-= million )er year- 2eanwhile, wor(ers8 salaries 'arely (e)t *) with inflation in most ind*stries and occ*)ations across the U-S- 7n #regon, minim*m wage
wor(ers saw their )ay rise 'y a modest D-?Y to X19C?C )er year- 4hat has 'een handed down to *s does not seem to 'e wor(ing for the ma,ority of )eo)le- 4ith the advances
in science and technology over the last two h*ndred years, yo* may 'e as(ing3 1does it have to 'e this way51 4ith the o'serva'le fact that scientific (nowledge
ma(es o*r lives 'etter when a))lied with concern for h*man welfare and environmental )rotection, there is no
+*estion that science and technology can )rod*ce a'*ndance so that no one has to go witho*t- :*t the mis*se
and a'*se of technology seems to ma(e things worse- "he )ro'lems we face in the world today are mostly of
o*r own ma(ing- 4e m*st acce)t that our future depends on us: 4hile the val*es re)resented 'y religio*s leaders over the cent*ries have
ins)ired many to act in a socially res)onsi'le manner, others have gone to war over their differences in religio*s 'eliefs- 6o)es for divine intervention 'y mythical characters
are del*sions that cannot solve the )ro'lems of o*r modern world- "he f*t*re of the world is o*r res)onsi'ility and it de)ends *)on decisions we ma(e today- 9e are
our own salvation or damnation- "he sha)e and sol*tions of the f*t*re rely totally on the collective effort
of )eo)le wor(ing together- 4e are all an integral )an of the we' of life- 4hat affects other )eo)le and the environment has
conse+*ences in o*r own lives as well- 9hat is needed is a change in our sense of direction and
purpose (( an alternative vision for a sustaina)le new world civili'ation unlike an- in the past:
&ltho*gh this vision is highly com)ressed here, it is 'ased on years of st*dy and e.)erimental research- "hese writings offer )ossi'le alternatives for striving toward a 'etter
world- 7t arrives at decisions *sing the scientific method- Li(e any new a))roach, it re?uires some imagination and a willingness to
consider the unconventional in order to )e appreciated: $emem'er that almost every new conce)t was
ridic*led, re,ected, and la*ghed at when first )resented, es)ecially 'y the e.)erts of the time- "hat8s what ha))ened to the
first scientists who said the earth was ro*nd, the first who said it went aro*nd the s*n, and the first who tho*ght )eo)le co*ld learn to fly- ;o* co*ld write a
whole 'oo(, and many have, ,*st on things that )eo)le tho*ght were im)ossi'le *) *ntil the time they
ha))ened- 7magine going to the moon for e.am)leZ ;o*r great/grand)arents wo*ld have la*ghed at s*ch a notionZ S*ch notions were the
ram'lings of science fiction writers- 2any forward thin(ing )eo)le have 'een loc(ed *) and even e.ec*ted for saying s*ch things as the earth wasn8t the
center of the *niverse- "hose who fo*ght for social ,*stice and change had even greater diffic*lties- Peo)le advocating change were 'eaten, a'*sed, )*t in )rison, and 'r*tally
m*rdered- For e.am)le, 4angari 2aathai, who was awarded the DCCG No'el Peace Price on Aecem'er 1C, DCCG was tear gassed, 'eaten *nconscio*s, and im)risoned for
fighting against deforestation in Uenya, &frica- Aianne Fosse, the nat*ralist who actively strived to )rotect declining gorilla )o)*lations from )oachers, was fo*nd hac(ed to
death in her h*t- Unfort*nately she did not )rovide for the needs of the )oachers- &ny n*m'er of vol*mes co*ld 'e written on the hardshi)s end*red 'y those who so*ght
change that threatened the stat*s +*o-
6ver- act of imagination has elements of science fiction1the ver- nature of fiat makes
descri)ing the real world impossi)le since ever- plan is a fictional alternative
F"66*#A 3... // &ssociate Professor of Bnglish at Lo*isiana State University (Carl, Critical "heory and Science Fiction 4esleyan University Press,
University Press of London, DC/DD%
7t is a )riori li(ely that most te.ts dis)lay the activity of n*mero*s different genres, and that few or no te.ts can 'e
ade+*ately descri'ed in terms of one genre alone- <enre in this sense is analogo*s to the 2ar.ist conce)t of the mode of )rod*ction as the
latter has gained new e.)lanatory force 'y 'eing contrasted, in the &lth*sserian voca'*lary, with the category of social formation O a term that is )referred to the more
familiar notion of society, 'eca*se the latter connotes a relatively homogeneo*s *nity, whereas the former is meant to s*ggest an overdetermined com'ination of different
modes of )rod*ction at wor( in the same )lace and d*ring the same time- "ho*gh it is th*s im)ossi'le sim)ly to e+*ate a given social formation with a given mode of
)rod*ction, it is nonetheless legitimate to affirm that (for instance% the United States 1is1 ca)italist, so long as we *nderstand that the co)*lative signifies not tr*e e+*ation or
identity '*t rather conveys that, of the vario*s and relatively a*tonomo*s modes of )rod*ction active within the U-S- social formation, ca)italism en,oys a )osition of
dominance. 7n the same way, the dialectical rethin(ing of genre does not in the least )recl*de generic discrimination- 4e
may validly descri'e a )artic*lar te.t as science fiction if we *nderstand the form*lation to mean that cognitive
estrangement is the dominant generic tendency within the overdetermined te.t*al whole- &ccordingly, there is
)ro'a'ly no te.t that is a )erfect and )*re em'odiment of science fiction (no te.t, that is to say, in which
science fiction is the only generic tendency o)erative % )ut also no te0t in which the science fiction
tendenc- is altogether a)sent: 7ndeed4 it might )e argued that this tendenc- is the precondition for
the constitution of fictionalit- O and even of re)resentation O itself- For the constr*ction of an alternative
world is the very definition of fiction3 owing to the character of re)resentation as a nontrans)arent )rocess that
necessarily involves not only similarity '*t difference 'etween re)resentation and the 1referent1 of the latter,
an irred*ci'le degree of alterity and estrangement is 'o*nd to o'tain even in the case of the most 1 realistic@
fiction imagina'le- "he a))earance of trans)arency in that )aradigmatic realist :al0ac has 'een famo*sly e.)osed as an ill*sionED 8 nonetheless, it is
im)ortant to *nderstand the o)eration of alterity in realism not as the fail*re of the latter, '*t as the sign of the
estranging tendency of science fiction that s*))lies (if secretly% some of the )ower of great realistic fiction D9
F*rthermore, ,*st as some degree of alterity and hence estrangement is f*ndamental to all fiction, finally incl*ding realism itself, so the same is tr*e ('*t here the limit case is
fantasy% of that other dialectical half of the science/fiction tendency3 cognition- "he latter is after all an *navoida'le o)eration of the h*man
mind (however )recritical, and even if clinically schi0o)hrenic% and m*st e.ercise a determinant )resence for literary )rod*ction to
ta(e )lace at all- Bven in The Lord of the Rings/to consider again what is )erha)s the most thoro*ghgoing fantasy we )ossess, 'y an a*thor who stands to fantasy
rather as :al0ac stands to realism O cognition is +*ite strongly and overtly o)erative on at least one level3 namely that of the
moral and theological val*es that the te.t is concerned to enforce- D 7t is, then, in this very s)ecial sense that the a))arently wild
assertions that fiction is science fiction and even that the latter is a wider term than the former ma- )e
+ustified3 cognition and estrangement, which together constit*te the generic tendency of science fiction, are
not only act*ally )resent in all fiction, '*t are str*ct*rally cr*cial to the )ossi'ility of fiction and even of
re)resentation in the first )lace- ;et in more ro*tine *sage, the term of science fiction o*ght, as 7 have maintained a'ove, to 'e reserved for those te.ts in
which cognitive estrangement is not only )resent '*t dominant- &nd it is with this dialectical *nderstanding of genre that we may not reconsider the a))arently diffic*lt cases
of :recht, on the one hand, and Star ars on the other-
Traditional conceptions of government fiat are also fiction4 the- simpl- present themselves as
fact1fiat misrepresents the process of government decision(making4 which means it,s neither
educational nor predicta)le
C<A/*6 19AA (7nis, Professor of <overnment and Foreign &ffairs, University of @irginia, States and the <lo'al System, )ages 1?/DC%
"his view of the state as an instit*tional monolith is fostered 'y the notion of sovereignty, which calls *) the image of the monarch, )residing over his (ingdom-
Sovereignty em)hasi0es the sing*larity of the state, its mono)oly of a*thority, its *nity of command and its ca)acity to s)ea( with one voice-
"h*s, France wills, 7ran demands, China intends, New Qealand )romises and the Soviet Union insists- #ne all too easily
con,*res *) the )ict*re of a single/minded and )*r)osef*l state that decides e.actly what it wants to achieve,
ado)ts coherent )olicies intelligently ada)ted to its o',ectives, (nows what it is doing, does what it intends and always has its act together-
"his view of the state is reinforced 'y )olitical scientistsN em)hasis *)on the conce)t of policy and *)on the thesis that
governments derive )olicy from calc*lations of national interest- 4e th*s ta(e it for granted that states act internationally in
accordance with rationally conceived and conscio*sly constr*cted schemes of action, and we im)licitly ref*se to consider
the )ossi'ility that alternatives to )olicy/directed 'ehavio*r may have im)ortanceOalternatives s*ch as random, reactive, instinct*al, ha'it*al and
conformist 'ehavio*r- #*r rationalistic ass*m)tion that states do what they have )lanned to do tends to inhi'it the discovery that
states sometimes do what they feel com)elled to do, or what they have the o))ort*nity to do, or what they have
*s*ally done, or what other states are doing, or whatever the line of least resistance wo*ld seem to s*ggest-
&cademic )reocc*)ation with the ma(ing of )olicy is accom)anied 'y academic neglect of the e.ec*tion of
)olicy- 4e seem to ass*me that once the state has calc*lated its interest and contrived a )olicy to f*rther that interest, the carrying o*t of )olicy is
the virt*ally a*tomatic res*lt of the ro*tine f*nctioning of the '*rea*cratic mechanism of the state- 7 am inclined to call this the Genesis
theory of )*'lic administration, ta(ing as my te.t the )assage3 R&nd <od said, Let there 'e light3 and there was lightN- 7 s*s)ect
that, in the realm of government, )olicy e.ec*tion rarely follows so )rom)tly and ine.ora'ly from )olicy statement-
&lternatively, one may d*' it the Pooh/:ahMUo/Uo theory, hono*ring those deni0ens of 4illiam S- <il'ertNs !a)an who too( the )osition that when the 2i(ado ordered that
something e done it was as good as done and might as well 'e declared to have 'een done- 7n the real world, that which a state decides to do is
not as good as doneE it may, in fact, never 'e done- &nd what states do, they may never have decided to do-
<overnments are not a*tomatic machines, grinding o*t decisions and converting decisions into actions- "hey are agglomerations of h*man 'eings,
li(e the rest of *s inclined to 'e falli'le, la0y, forgetf*l, indecisive, resistant to disci)line and a*thority, and
li(ely to fail to get the word or to heed it- &s in other large organi0ations, left and right governmental hands are fre+*ently ignorant of each otherNs
activities, official s)o(esmen contradict each other, ministries wor( at cross )*r)oses, and the crea(ing machinery of government often gives the im)ression that no one is
really in charge- 7 ho)e that no one will attri'*te my ,a*ndiced view of government merely to the fact that 7 am an &mericanOone, that is, whose )ersonal e.)erience is limited
to a governmental system that is notorio*sly com)le., dis,ointed, erratic, c*m'ersome and *n)redicta'le- "he United States does not, 7 s*s)ect, have the least effective
government or the most '*m'ling and incom)etent '*rea*cracy in all the world- 6ere and there, now and then, governments do, of co*rse )erform
)rodigio*s feats of organi0ation and administration3 an e.traordinary war effort, a flight to the moon, a s*ccessf*l hostage/resc*e o)eration- 2ore
often, states have to ma(e do with governments that are not nota'ly clear a'o*t their )*r)oses or coordinated
and disci)lined in their o)erations- "his means that, in international relations, states are sometimes less dangero*s, and sometimes less relia'le, than one
might thin(- Neither their threats nor their )romises are to 'e ta(en with a'sol*te serio*sness- &'ove all, it means that we st*dents of
international )olitics m*st 'e ca*tio*s in attri'*ting )*r)osef*lness and res)onsi'ility to governments- "o say
the that the United States was informed a'o*t an event is not to esta'lish that the )resident acted in the light of
that (nowledgeE he may never have heard a'o*t it- "o say that a Soviet )ilot shot down an airliner is not to )rove that the Uremlin has ado)ted the
)olicy of destroying all intr*ders into Soviet airs)aceE one wants to (now how and 'y whom the decision to fire was made- "o o'serve that the re)resentative of Qim'a'we
voted in favo*r of a )artic*lar resol*tion in the United Nations <eneral &ssem'ly is not necessarily to discover the nat*re of Qim'a'weNs )olicy on the affected matterE
Qim'a'we may have no )olicy on that matter, and it may 'e that no one in the national ca)ital has ever heard of the iss*e- 4e can hardly dis)ense with the convenient notion
that Pa(istan claims, C*'a )romises, and 7taly insists, and we cannot well a'andon the formal )osition that governments s)ea( for and act on 'ehalf of their states, '*t it is
essential that we 'ear constantly in mind the reality that governments are never f*lly in charge and never
achieve the *nity, )*r)osef*lness and disci)line that theory attri'*tes to themOand that they sometimes claim-
!ur act of imagination shapes world politics1representations create the world and are
ine0trica)l- linked to polic-
96<*6S 3..= O Senior Lect*rer, :ristol UniversityE PhA (2inn% (!*tta, Po)*lar c*lt*re, science fiction, and world )olitics3 e.)loring inter te.t*al relations in
"o see( o*t new worlds3 science fiction and world )olitics ed- 4eldes, Palgrave 2acmillan DCCF, 1D/1F%
:*t this is at 'est a )artial *nderstanding of the relationshi) 'etween re)resentation and the real- "he realities we (nowP the meanings they have
for *sP are disc*rsive )rod*cts- 1G :eca*se the real is never wholly )resent to *sP how it is real for *s is always
mediated thro*gh some re)resentational )racticeP we lose something when we thin( of re)resentation as
mimetic (Sha)iro, 19??3 .ii%- SF is not ,*st a window onto an already )re/e.isting world- $ather, SF te0ts are part of
the processes of world politics themselves3 they are im)licated in )rod*cing and re)rod*cing the
)henomena that <regg and others ass*me they merely reflect- 19 $nstead of reading these te0ts as simple
reflections of the real4 we can read the realPin o*r case world politics1 as itself a social and
cultural product- I"Jo read the RrealN as a te.t that has 'een )rod*ced (written% is to disclose an as)ect of h*man
cond*ct that is f*gitive in a))roaches that colla)se the )rocess of inscri)tion into a static reality (i'id-%- For instance,
thro*gh its overtly li'eral ideology and mechanisms li(e the Prime AirectiveP which for'ids interference 'y the United Federation of Planets in the normal
internal develo)ment of technologically less develo)ed societiesP Star "re( hel)s to )rod*ce U-S- foreign )olicy as non/interventionary
and 'enign (4eldes, 19993 1DGO 1D>%- 4orld )olitics, then, is itself a c*lt*ral )rod*ct- :ased as they are on s*ch ass*m)tions, o*r analyses
have more in common with Cynthia 4e'erNs *se of )o)*lar film to access what 7$ theory says, how it )lots its story, and how all this together gives *s a )artic*lar vision of
the world (DCC13 1FD, em)hasis added%-
!ur model of fiat is )etter for polic-(making1we should imagine alternative worlds even if
the-,re technicall- impossi)le
<$55A"* 3.1. / Sr- Sec*rity Prod*ct 2anager for <lo'al Crossing and a Ph-A- st*dent in 6*man and Social Aimensions of Science and "echnology at &ri0ona
State University (&)ril D9, !im, Science fiction scenarios and )*'lic engagement with science htt)3MMli))ard-'logs)ot-comMDC1CMCGMscience/fiction/scenarios/and/
)*'lic-html%
Science fiction has 'een a )o)*lar genre at least since !*les @erneNs 19th cent*ry wor(, and arg*a'ly longer still- :*t can it have )ractical
val*e as well as 'e a form of esca)ist entertainment5 Clar( 2iller and 7ra :ennett of &SU s*ggest that it has )otential for *se in
im)roving the ca)acity of the general )*'lic to imagine and reason critically a'o*t technological f*t*res and
for 'eing integrated into technology assessment )rocesses ("hin(ing longer term a'o*t technology3 is there val*e in science fiction/ins)ired
a))roaches to constr*cting f*t*res51 Science and P*'lic Policy F9(?%, #cto'er DCC?, ))- 99>/=C=%- 2iller and :ennett arg*e that science fiction can )rovide a
way to stim*late )eo)le to wa(e from technological somnam'*lism (Langdon 4innerNs term for ta(ing for granted or 'eing o'livio*s
to sociotechnical changes%, in order to recogni0e s*ch changes, reali0e that there may 'e alternative )ossi'ilities and that
)artic*lar changes need not 'e determined, and to engage with deli'erative )rocesses and instit*tions that
choose directions of change- 4here most political planning is short(term and )ased on pro+ections that
simpl- e0tend current trends incrementall- into the future4 science fiction provides scenarios
which e0hi)it non(linearit- )- involving multiple4 ma+or4 and comple0 changes from current
realit-: 4hile these scenarios li(ely )rovide---little technical acc*racy a'o*t how technology and society will act*ally
interact, they may still )rovide ideas a'o*t alternative )ossi'ilities, and in )artic*lar to )rovide clear visions of
desira'le//and not so desira'le//f*t*res- "he article 'egins with a +*ote from Christine Peterson of the Foresight 7nstit*te recommending that
hard science fiction 'e *sed to aid in long/term (DC[ year% )rediction scenariosE she advises, AonNt thin( of it
as literat*re, and foc*s on the technologies rather than the )eo)le- 2iller and :ennett, however, arg*e otherwise//that not only is
science fiction *sef*l for thin(ing a'o*t longer/term conse+*ences, '*t that the )arts a'o*t the )eo)le//how
technologies act*ally fit into society//are ,*st as, if not more im)ortant than the ideas a'o*t the technologies
themselves-
Sci(Fi B3 5olitics
Science fiction is critical to understanding contemporar- politics
Thacker 3B (B*geneE teaches technology and c*lt*re at $*tgers University, where he directs ItechneJ, a new media organi0ation- 6e c*rrently lives in New ;or(,
where he is an editor at "he "hing and &lt/\ Aigital P*'lishing and is wor(ing with Fa(esho)E "he Science Fiction of "echnoscience3 "he Politics of Sim*lation and a
Challenge for New 2edia &rtE )ro,ect2USB%MM$S4
7n order to a))roach s*ch a +*estion, it will 'e hel)f*l for *s first to attem)t to o*tline something li(e a 1definition1 of contem)orary science fiction- "o 'e s*re, histories of
science fiction as a genre refer to as many definitions as there are movements or ty)es of science fiction -9 6owever, for o*r )*r)oses here, we might 'egin with the following3
science fiction names a contem)orary mode in which the techni+*es of e.tra)olation and s)ec*lation are
*tili0ed in a narrative form, to constr*ct near/f*t*re, far/f*t*re or fantastic worlds in which science, technology
and society intersect- "his is of co*rse a )rovisional definition, '*t in it are three im)ortant com)onents that characteri0e contem)orary science fiction (most often
in fiction, film and video games%- "he first is the distinction 'etween the methodologies of e.tra)olation and s)ec*lation -= <enerally s)ea(ing, e.tra)olation is defined as an
imaginative e.tension of a )resent condition, *s*ally into a f*t*re world that is 1,*st aro*nd the corner1 or even indisting*isha'le from the )resent (1the f*t*re is now1%- :y
contrast, s)ec*lation involves a certain imaginative lea), in which a world (either in the distant f*t*re or altogether *nrelated% mar(edly different from the )resent is
constr*cted- &s can 'e imagined, most science fiction involves some com'ination of these, c*lminating in worlds that are at once strange and very familiar- Secondly, science
fiction8s narratological goal is the delineating of a total s)ace in which certain events occ*rE that is, the constr*ction of entire worlds that o)erate according to their own
distinct set of r*les that form their own 1reality1 (what has 'een called the 1ontological1 mode in science fiction% -> Finally, more and more genre science
fiction is coming to terms not ,*st with technical concerns, '*t also with social, c*lt*ral and )olitical concerns-
&s s*ch, the *se of e.tra)olation or s)ec*lation and the constr*ction of ontological worlds move science fiction
into a realm that involves thin(ing a'o*t the com)le. dynamics 'etween technology and glo'ali0ation, science
and gender, race and colonialism, and related concerns- S*ch a com)le.ification of science fiction has 'een
highlighted 'y critics s*ch as Fredric !ameson as a critical f*nction- 7n an article entitled 1Progress vers*s Uto)ia,1 !ameson artic*lates
two critical f*nctions that science fiction can have -? "he first is characteri0ed 'y the develo)ment of 1f*t*re histories1 or ways
in which science fiction )laces itself in relation to history- Aisc*ssing science fiction as the dialectical
co*nter)art to the genre of the historical novel, !ameson s*ggests that one of the )rimary roles of science fiction is not
to 1(ee) the f*t*re alive1 '*t to demonstrate the ways in which visions of the f*t*re are first and foremost a
means of *nderstanding a )artic*lar historical )resent- & second role !ameson ascri'es to science fiction is a more sym)tomatic one-
$eferencing the wor( of the Fran(f*rt School on the 1*to)ian imagination,1 science fiction can form a (ind of
c*lt*ral indicator of a c*lt*re8s a'ility or ina'ility to imagine )ossi'le f*t*res- For !ameson, writing d*ring the high )oint of
)ostmodernism, science fiction was an indicator of a )ervasive loss of historicity and the atro)hying of the will to
critically imagine *to)ias- "h*s, not only is each vision of the f*t*re conditioned 'y a historical moment in which
it is imagined, '*t, increasingly, science fiction8s main concern is with the contingency involved in )rod*cing
the f*t*re, as well as interrogating the constraints and limitations that ena'le the ca)acity to imagine the f*t*re
at all-
Science fiction can shape )oth political and social conditions )- comparing different realities
5ohl 199; (Fredric(, famo*s science fiction a*thor, edited 'y Aonald 6assler is a )rofessor of Bnglish at Uent State University, Clyde 4ilco. is a )rofessor in the
<overnment Ae)artment at <eorgetown University, Political Science !iction, "he Politics of Pro)hecy <oogle :oo(s% :4
"o s)ea( of )olitical science fiction is almost to commit a ta*tology for 7 wo*ld arg*e that there is very little science fiction, )erha)s even that there is no good
science fiction at all, that is not to some degree )olitical-
#f the ma(ing of definitions of science fiction there is no end- Still, however we define the term, V thin( that most of *s wo*ld 'e forced to agree with "om Shi))ey that, at
'ottom, science fiction is a literat*re of change- "hat change can 'e of many (inds- 7t may 'e revol*tionary or evol*tionary,
in the stories that set themselves in the f*t*re of o*r own h*man raceE it may concern life/styles which are different from o*r own
'eca*se they arise from different origins, as in the stories that deal with e.traterrestrial aliensE it may concern the changes that
might have arisen in alternate )aratime worlds of the )resent or )ast if certain decisions had 'een ta(en, or
certain events had occ*rred, in a different way in o*r own history- &s far as 7 can see, this is a diagnostic trait of science fiction- "here
sim)ly is no other way to write it-
Some twenty or more years ago 7 had a disc*ssion on this s*',ect with the late Bnglish science fiction writer !ohn "- Phillifent (most of whose wor(s a))eared *nder his )en
name of !ohn $ac(ham%- "oward the end of o*r corres)ondence, !ohn wrote with some e.citement that he had at last arrived at the one factor that was common to all
science fiction and a'sent in all other literat*res3 ,*st as the factor which made organi0ed science different from the ho''yist gathering of facts and s)ecimens and the
*nfettered s)ec*lation of the amate*r was the scientific method, so, !ohn anno*nced, science fiction was *ni+*ely that sort of writing that was written according to the
science/fiction method-
Unfort*nately !ohn died 'efore he co*ld say l*st what his science fiction method was, '*t 7 'elieve it wo*ld have 'een related to the )rocess 7 descri'ed a'ove- &s 7 see it,
science fiction writers do *niversally *se a single method in devising their stories- First they loo( at the world aro*nd them in all its )arts- "hen they ta(e same of those )arts
o*t and throw them away and re)lace them with new )arts of their own imagining- "hen they reassem'le this changed world and start it going to see how it wor(sE and that is
the 'ac(gro*nd to every science fiction story 7 (now-
&nd every time a writer creates one of these different worlds, he or she ma(es a )olitical statement, for he or
she offersPdeli'erately or in advertentlyPthe readers the chance to com)are his or her invented world with the
real one aro*nd them- #f co*rse, it is not often inadvertent- 2ost of the 'etter writers, at least, (now f*ll well what they are a'o*t, and the )olitical
statement they ma(e is f*lly intended- &s a case in )oint, when $ay :rad'*ry was once as(ed if he tho*ght the gritty, mean world of
Fahrenheit G91 was meant as a )rediction, he re)lied, 6ell, no- 7Nm not trying to )redict the f*t*re- 7Nm ,*st
doing my 'est to )revent it- &nd that, of co*rse, is where the )olitics comes in- 7t is )olitics that determines what
societies will do, and th*s it is )olitics that sha)es, and reflects, change-
#vertly )olitical science fiction has 'een with *s for a long timeE <*lliverNs "ravels is only one of the early master)ieces of the class- !onathan Swift did not care to say what he
tho*ght of the )oliticians who s*rro*nded the c*rrent Bnglish royalty in clear lang*age, so he invented the Lilli)*tians, the :ro'dingnagians, and the 6o*hyhnhms to ma(e
his )oint-
2ore than that, science fiction has act*ally ta(en a )art in creating )olitical change, and one of its most effective
ways of doing so is 'y offering new models to its readers- For e.am)le, consider how science fiction has enco*raged
the change of attit*des in race relations- "hey tell me that when Ca)tain Uir( (issed Lie*tenant Uh*ra on Star "re( it
'ro(e an ancient ta'*- "hat was said to 'e the first interracial (iss on television, and )erha)s it has )layed some )art in
the increasedP)erha)s only very slightly increasedPtolerance for 'lac(/and/white love affairs in the real world-
Science fiction fosters free political dialogue
5ohl 199; (Fredric(, famo*s science fiction a*thor, edited 'y Aonald 6assler is a )rofessor of Bnglish at Uent State University, Clyde 4ilco. is a )rofessor in the
<overnment Ae)artment at <eorgetown University, Political Science !iction, "he Politics of Pro)hecy <oogle :oo(s% :4
7n many re)ressive societies all over the world, science fiction has 'een *sed for )olitical statements- 7t has
even ha))ened, in fact, here in the United States- 7 donNt (now how many of yo* remem'er the chill on free s)eech that was im)osed 'y the !ose)h
2cCarthy )eriod in the early 199Cs- "ail <*nner !oe terrified the media, the schools, the Pentagon, and even the 4hite 6o*se, and few dared
s)ea( freely- :*t science fiction writers went on saying ,*st a'o*t whatever they chose, which led to some odd
conse+*ences- For e.am)le, in Los &ngeles there was a minister named Ste)hen Fritchnian who tho*ght there was m*ch to 'e said in criticism of &merican society at
that time and mo*rned the fact that so few were willing to say 7t- So he 'egan the )ractice of '*ying science fiction maga0ines and )*tting them on sale in his vestry after his
S*nday services, 'eca*se, $everend Fritchman said, maga0ines li(e <ala.y and the others re)resented the only tr*ly free s)eech left in &merica-
7f we agree that science fiction often has a )olitical s*'te.t, is it )ossi'le to say ,*st what that te.t is5 7t is certainly not the official dogma of any )olitical )arty- "he
)olitical affiliations of science fiction writers are as diverse as those of any random selection of &mericansE
there are Aemocrats and $e)*'licans, li'ertarians and socialists, warhaw(s and )eaceni(sPeven a few
anarchists, and at least one old/fashioned royalist- ;et there is, 7 thin(, a common )olitical thread that *nites nearly all
of them and shows itself, in some form, in nearly every science fiction story written-
B3 Their Framework
!ur leap of imagination is necessar- for their framework1science fiction is an e0ploration of
what changes are possi)le and the e0tent of human freedom
*e Cock 3..9 (Christian is a )rofessor in the School of :*siness and Bconomics at Swansea University, s)eciali0ing in organi0ational 'ehavior, change
management, creative )ro'lem solving, and *ncomforta'le last names, !*m)starting the f*t*re with Fredric !ameson $eflections on ca)italism, science fiction and Uto)ia
!o*rnal of #rgani0ational Change 2anagement% :4
:*llshit- ;o* need to read more science ]ction- No'ody who reads SF comes o*t with this cra) a'o*t the end of history (a
conversation in :an(s, DCC>, )- G9%-
4ho co*ld ever 'elieve that this is the end of history as F*(*yama )rono*nced in 19?9, as tho*gh to say things are as good
as they can get5 Uto)ia only comes into its own when we treat it as non/]ction, or in Aele*0eNs terms as a
virt*ality (i-e- real witho*t 'eing act*al% O only then do we see Uto)ia is not some dreamt/*) fantasy )lace where
everything is mirac*lo*sly 'etter, '*t rather a cognitive procedure of determining what it is a)out
our present world that must )e changed to release us from its man- known and unknown
unfreedoms (:*chanan, DCC=, )- 11?%-
:*t 7 thin( it wo*ld 'e 'etter to characteri0e all this in terms of 6istory, a 6istory that we cannot imagine e.ce)t
as ending, and whose f*t*re seems to 'e nothing '*t a monotono*s re)etition of what is already here- "he
)ro'lem is then how to locate radical differenceE how to ,*m)start the sense of history so that it 'egins again to
transmit fee'le signals of time, of otherness, of change, of Uto)ia- "he )ro'lem to 'e solved is that of 'rea(ing
o*t of the windless )resent of the )ostmodern 'ac( into real historical time, and a history made 'y h*man
'eings (!ameson, DCCF, )- >=%-
&ll the indicators in which A*r(heim ta*ght *s to read the signs of anomie have 'een on the increase since the second half of the 19>Cs- "his may 'e inter)reted not only as a
mechanical res*lt of the growth in ,o' insec*rity and )overty, '*t also as the mar( of an elimination of the )*rchase that )eo)le can have on their social environment, with a
conse+*ent fading of their 'elief in the f*t*re as a vanishing )oint which can orientate action and th*s retros)ectively confer meaning on the )resent (:oltans(i and Chia)ello,
DCC9, )- GD1%-
Aialectical criticism, literat*re and history
!ameson is (nown as a 2ar.ist literary theorist (altho*gh 7 )refer his self/designation of dialectical materialistI1J%- 6e sees 2ar.ism as an economic rather than a )olitical
doctrine, insisting on the )rimacy of the economic system and on ca)italism itself as the *ltimate hori0on of the )olitical, social and c*lt*ral sit*ation- For !ameson, ca)italism
is the ]rst socioeconomic order which de/totali0es meaning3 it is not glo'al at the level of meaning (there is no glo'al ca)italist world/view%E its glo'al dimension can 'e
form*lated only at the level of the $eal of the glo'al mar(et mechanism- 7n !amesonNs oe*vre, 6istory )lays the same role as &lth*sserNs
&'sent Ca*se or LacanNs $eal3 it is f*ndamentally non/narrative and non/re)resentational and detecta'le
only in its effect- #*r a))roach to history and to the $eal itself necessarily )asses thro*gh its )rior
te.t*ali0ation, its narrativi0ation in the Political Unconscio*s (!ameson, 19?1MDCCD%- "he reason why !ameson considers it so cr*cial to attend to the
novel is that he sees in this material one of the most cr*cial forms of mediation in societyE it offers a )artic*lar formal str*ct*re which em'races what individ*als cannot
directly )erceive (C*ller, DCC>%- !ameson considers the )rod*ction of narrative form in the novel as an ideological act with the f*nction of inventing imaginary or formal
sol*tions to *nresolva'le social contradictionsN (!ameson, 19?1MDCCD, )- =G%IDJ- For him, dialectical criticism offers the )ro)er mediation
'etween o*r individ*al )erce)tion of society as fract*red and fragmented on the one hand, and the real state
of affairs of social totality on the other- 4hilst this social totality is always *nre)resenta'le, it can sometimes 'e
ma))ed (e-g- in a novel% and allow a small/scale model to 'e constr*cted on which the f*ndamental tendencies and
the lines of ^ight can more clearly 'e read- &t other times, this re)resentational )rocess 'ecomes im)ossi'le, and
)eo)le face history and the social totality as a 'ewildering chaos, whose forces are indiscerni'le- 7t is the latter sit*ation
we )resently ]nd o*rselves in, according to !ameson- &nd if we cannot re)resent the world to o*rselves how are we to *nderstand
it, m*ch less change it5
Aialectical criticismNs twofold )*r)ose lies in *ncovering the ways in which twenty/]rst cent*ry ca)italism disg*ises its strategic interests while sim*ltaneo*sly (ee)ing alive
tho*ghts of the f*t*re, th*s *ndermining the )ense_e *ni+*e (:oltans(i and Chia)ello, DCC9% or 4ashington consens*s (:*chanan, DCC=% that there is only one way of
thin(ing a'o*t the world- 7t is f*ndamental in a))lying the dialectic method that we gras) its critical negativity as a
conce)t*al instr*ment designed, not to )rod*ce some f*ll re)resentation, '*t rather to discredit and demystify
the claims to f*ll re)resentation of the dominant thin(ing of the day- &s Qi0e( (DCC=, )- 1D>% )*t it3 "o )resent the deadloc( in all its
radicality is m*ch more )ertinent than sim)le )rogressist sol*tions- !ameson el*cidated his method in a recent interview as follows (:*chanan, DCC=, )- 1FC%3
2y own method, which has seemed to many )eo)le to 'e fr*strating and )essimistic, is to concentrate on ways in which we cannot
imagine the f*t*re- 7t has seemed to me that something wo*ld 'e achieved if we 'egan to reali0e how ]rmly we
are loc(ed into a )resent witho*t a f*t*re and to get a sense of all the things that limit o*r imagination of the
f*t*re- 7 s*))ose this is a :rechtian device in the sense that :recht always wanted *s to *nderstand that the things that we consider to )e
natural and eternal are reall- onl- historical and constructed and there)- can )e changed:
4hat we th*s m*st try and do is somehow triang*late what is missing, or more s)eci]cally imagine that which
cannot 'e said or written in o*r time 'eca*se somehow it is o*t of ste) with history- #*r analyses need to 'egin
with the ta'oos '*ried in the recesses of the )olitical *nconscio*s (!ameson, DCCD%- #ne concrete a))lication following from his in,*nction to
determine the c*lt*rally im)ossi'le is !amesonNs )assion for <reimasNs semiotic s+*ares which very m*ch signals a ret*rn to formalism- !ameson *ses these s+*ares as ma)s
of the logic of clos*re any conce)t or formal device inevita'ly conceals within its ma(e/*)- "he )ro'lem, !ameson (DCC9, )- 1>9% s*ggests, is how to invent a formalism that
does not create s)*rio*s syntheses or the ironic s*)er)osition of o))osites, '*t rather one that goes all the way thro*gh that contradictory content and emerges on the other
side- 7t is )recisely this )ossi'ility which the semiotic s+*are seems to )romise-
/topianism 7ood
Conceptuali'ing utopias is critical to real world pro)lem solving
Segal 13 (Ar- 6oward P-E Ph-A-, Professor of 6istory and Airector, "echnology W Society Pro,ect at the University of 2aineE "he Nat*re of Uto)iasE Uto)ias3 & :rief
6istory from &ncient 4ritings to @irt*al Comm*nitiesE Ch- 1%MM$S4
Uto)ias are fre+*ently mis*nderstood as scienti]c )ro)hecies whose im)ortance sho*ld 'e determined 'y the
acc*racy of their s)eci]c )redictions- 7n this res)ect, the notion that *to)ias can )rovide realistic alternatives to e.isting society can 'e misleading- 7f
anything, this view has grown increasingly )o)*lar in recent decades, given o*r *n)recedented electronic access to and )rocessing of information and the conse+*ent growth
of forecasting as a serio*s and )ro]ta'le ind*stry- 7f, as the late economist !ohn Uenneth <al'raith wittily o'served, economists ma(e )redictions not
'eca*se they (now '*t 'eca*se theyNre as(ed, how m*ch more so does that a))ly to )rofessional social
forecastersPand how m*ch more s*)er]cial and s)ecio*s are their )redictions5 "his growth of )rofessional forecasting will 'e
disc*ssed in Cha)ter =- "he intrig*ing +*estion (also disc*ssed in that cha)ter% is why tho*sands of otherwise intelligent )eo)le
ta(e social forecasting so serio*slyPand why many of them later hold *) those forecasts as scorecards- Few
s*ch tr*e 'elievers in social forecasting, li(e their co*nter)arts regarding economic forecasting, wo*ld ever
categori0e themselves as *to)ians- Neither wo*ld tens of tho*sands, may'e millions, of devotees of
contem)orary social media and of cy'ers)ace comm*nitiesPdisc*ssed in Cha)ter >- 7t is im)ortant not to enlarge the
)ool of *to)ians in the name of identifying the *to)ian rhetoric em'raced 'y so many- ;et the critical )oint is
the serio*sness with which s*ch )ersons treat whatever ma(es them interested in the f*t*re- 7nstead, as noted,
utopias, principal value is their illumination of alleged pro)lems and solutions )ack in the real
world from which the- sprang: Uto)ias sho*ld therefore 'e )layed 'ac( *)on the real world rather
than )e held up as cr-stal )alls:
A3C 6scapism
Science fiction isn,t escapism > it provides uni?ue insights into our material world
5ohl 199; (Fredric(, famo*s science fiction a*thor, edited 'y Aonald 6assler is a )rofessor of Bnglish at Uent State University, Clyde 4ilco. is a )rofessor in the
<overnment Ae)artment at <eorgetown University, Political Science !iction, "he Politics of Pro)hecy <oogle :oo(s% :4
7f we s*))osePas 7 thin( most of *s doPthat science fiction is something more than mere esca)ist entertainment, it is
'eca*se we 'elieve that at its 'est science fiction gives its readers some new and otherwise *no'taina'le
insights into o*r worldPin fact, into all o*r )ossi'le worlds- 7 do 'elieve that- 7 thin( that thro*gh science fiction we can see, for
instance, how many of the c*stoms and tr*ths we live 'y are logically inevita'le, and th*s right, and how many
are mere accidents of decisions ta(en, or even of o*r mammalian 'iology and the )hysical constraints of the
)artic*lar )lanet on which we ha))ened to evolve- Science fiction is the only literat*re we have that can give *s
this o',ective )ers)ective on o*r h*man affairsPwhat 6arlow Sha)ley once, in a considera'ly different conte.t, called R"he @iew from a Aistant
Star-
*issent Turns
Turn4 conformit- to norms of a communit- crush dissent
7ordon .9 (2ordechai <ordon L*inni)iac University, 6amden, C", 2- <ordon (ed-%, $eclaiming Aissent3 Civics Bd*cation for the D1st Cent*ry, 11OD=, DCC9,
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7n light of SocratesN e.)erience, we can see that dissent is fre+*ently related to critical thin(ing and the search for tr*th- "his is not
to say that every dissident is a )erson who is committed to thin(ing and finding the tr*th- ;et historically s)ea(ing, dissidents were more often than not
)eo)le who +*estioned )o)*lar 'eliefs and ref*sed to ta(e things for granted (e-g- <alileo, 2artin L*ther Uing and Nelson
2andela%- 2oreover, for Socrates, dissent im)lies a willingness to stand to*gh against )o)*lar 'eliefs and an eagerness to defend the tr*th at all cost- 7n this view, dissent
and disagreement are )refera'le to consent and conformity 'eca*se the former are li(ely to lead to a dee)er
*nderstanding of com)le. iss*es li(e the nat*re of the good life and whether or not the United States sho*ld have attac(ed 7ra+- Consent and
conformity, on the other hand, have historically led )eo)le to s*))ort misg*ided )ractices, *nethical )olicies, and even
criminal acts (the 6oloca*st is a case in )oint%G-
*issent is on )alance )etter for the communit-
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&nother instance in which Socrates disc*sses dissent is when he is forced to defend himself at his trial (&)ology%- #ne
of the im)ortant arg*ments that Socrates ma(es at his trial is that dissidents are val*a'le 'eca*se they often e.)ose
(nowledge from which others can greatly 'enefit3 7 thin( that god )*t me on the state something li(e that, to wa(e yo* *) and )ers*ade yo* and
re)roach yo* every one, as 7 (ee) settling on yo* everywhere all day long ($o*se, 19=9, GF=%- Conformists, on the other hand, can de)rive the )*'lic of
inval*a'le information and even tacitly s*))ort criminal acts- Cass S*nstein (DCCF% s*mmari0es this )oint well3 Conformists are often tho*ght to
'e )rotective of social interests, (ee)ing +*iet for the sa(e of the gro*)- :y contrast, dissenters tend to 'e seen as selfish individ*alists,
em'ar(ing on )ro,ects of their own- :*t in an im)ortant sense, the o))osite is closer to the tr*th- 2*ch of the time,
dissenters 'enefit others, while conformists 'enefit themselves- 7f )eo)le threaten to 'low the whistle on wrongdoing or disclose facts that
contradict an emerging gro*) consens*s, they might well 'e )*nished- Perha)s they will lose their ,o's, face ostracism, or at least have some diffic*lt months- ()- =%
Aissenters are im)ortant for democratic societies not only 'eca*se they e.)ose vario*s dangero*s tr*ths '*t also
'eca*se they often s)ea( o*t and str*ggle against *n,*st laws and )ractices- 6ere, 7 thin(, the e.am)le of 6enry Aavid "horea* is
instr*ctive- 7n an introd*ction to a collection of "horea*Ns writings, !ose)h 4ood Ur*tch notes that the slavery +*estion drove "horea*, who in the earlier )art of his life wo*ld
have 'een inclined to withdraw from society and immerse himself in nat*re, to fight against this grave in,*stice3 "o "horea*, who cherished individ*al freedom as the most
)recio*s of h*man rights, slavery co*ld not '*t 'e the 'lac(est of evils, and so, in time, he was to find himself somewhat incongr*o*sly enrolled among the defenders of the
active a'olitionists ("horea*, 19=D, )- 1F%-
6m)racing dissent and re+ecting conformit- improves an- communit-
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Aiversity, o)enness, and dissent reveal act*al and inci)ient )ro'lems- "hey im)rove societyNs )ool of information and
ma(e it more li(ely that serio*s iss*es will 'e addressed- 7 do not deny that great s*ffering can 'e fo*nd in democracies as elsewhere- "here
is no g*arantee, from civil li'erties alone, that s*ch s*ffering will 'e minimi0ed` :*t at least it can 'e said that a society which
)ermits dissent and does not im)ose conformity is in a far 'etter )osition to 'e aware of, and to correct, serio*s social
)ro'lems- ()- 1G9%
****issent
*issent 7ood
Academic settings have a uni?ue o)ligation to facilitate dissent
Stit'lein 13 DS&$&6 2- S"7"QLB7N is &ssistant Professor of Philoso)hy of Bd*cation and a core fac*lty mem'er of the 4omenNs St*dies Ae)artment at the
University of New 6am)shire "6B $7<6" "# A7SSBN" &NA 7"S 72PL7C&"7#NS F#$ SC6##L7N<, Bd*cational "heory, @ol*me =D, 7ss*e 1, First P*'lished #nline3 1=
!&N DC1D%
4hen dissent is viewed as a negative right, schools 'ear little res)onsi'ility other than ens*ring that they do
not interfere with st*dent dissent and that s*ch dissent conforms to the conditions o*tlined earlier- :*t when the iss*e is
reframed as a )ositive right, it 'ecomes clear that schools are res)onsi'le for m*ch more than )ermitting dissentE
rather, they are tas(ed with c*ltivating a st*dentNs a'ility to invo(e it- 7f dissent is seen as a right of entitlement, then it follows that it
m*st 'e )rovided to all citi0ens- :*t it is not eno*gh sim)ly to grant the right of dissent to ad*ltsE children m*st 'e a'le to )ractice and
develo) the s(ills they will em)loy as ad*lts so that a legitimate and ,*st democracy is maintained- For my )*r)oses here, this means that all )*'lic
schools wo*ld have the o'ligation to formally develo) s(ills and dis)ositions of dissent- "his wides)read a))lication wo*ld li(ely enco*nter some
resistance, es)ecially from sta(eholders concerned with local control, )arents who may find teaching dissent to conflict with their a'ility
to )ass down their lifestyle and to maintain a )osition of a*thority in the home, and citi0ens who *)hold strict and *n+*estioning )atriotic loyalty-
*issent against ma+orit- opinion is essential
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&nyone who has ta(en the time to watch the State of the Union addresses in the last eight years may have noticed that there is
something terrifyingly similar 'etween the way in which the senators and re)resentatives res)onded to the
PresidentNs remar(s and how the Chinese )arliament mem'ers reacted to 2aoNs s)eeches in the middle )art of the
twentieth cent*ry- "hose long )a*ses of almost *nanimo*s stand/*) a))la*se every co*)le of min*tes are
reminiscent of the footage de)icting the great ad*lation that 2ao received d*ring the heyday of Comm*nist China
five decades ago- "o 'e s*re, the State of the Union s)eech is a caref*lly scri)ted s)ectacle, incl*ding a*dience mem'ers
who are hand/)ic(ed to create a feeling of )ride, strength, and )atriotism- :*t it seems to me that this event sho*ld also give *s
reason to )a*se and reflect on what is ha))ening to the &merican democracy today- 7n )artic*lar, we need to ta(e a serio*s loo( at the dangers that
the lac( of dissent in the United States )oses to the strength of o*r )*'lic schools, the )ower of o*r free )ress, and the integrity of o*r )olitical instit*tions- :y
dissent, 7 mean the re,ection of the views that the ma,ority of )eo)le hold- "o dissent im)lies to disagree with or withhold consent from a
)ro)osal, law, or an action of a government or a gro*) of )eo)le in )ower- Aissent is *s*ally associated with difference of o)inion, disagreement and nonconformity with
conventional views or sentiments- "he list of famo*s dissidents incl*des )eo)le s*ch as <andhi, 2artin L*ther, $osa Par(s, and Salman $*shdie, to mention only a few-
"hese dissidents were individ*als who were willing to sacrifice )ersonal comfort and sec*rity for the sa(e of
e.)osing some serio*s social )ro'lem and esta'lishing a more h*mane and democratic society-
B3 5orta)le Skills
9e control the internal link to porta)le skills( dissent skills are essential
Stit'lein 13 DS&$&6 2- S"7"QLB7N is &ssistant Professor of Philoso)hy of Bd*cation and a core fac*lty mem'er of the 4omenNs St*dies Ae)artment at the
University of New 6am)shire "6B $7<6" "# A7SSBN" &NA 7"S 72PL7C&"7#NS F#$ SC6##L7N<, Bd*cational "heory, @ol*me =D, 7ss*e 1, First P*'lished #nline3 1=
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Unfort*nately, history has shown *s that the well/'eing of o))ressed gro*)s is often not elevated *ntil a strong
dissenter or a m*ltit*de of dissenters wor(ing together attract attention- Learning the s(ills of dissent P incl*ding the
arts of ver'al )ers*asion, conscio*sness/raising, coalition '*ilding, and others P is necessary for st*dents to 'e a'le to sec*re their own ,*stice and
e+*ality or that of others- For, if they do not (now how to artic*late their needs or do not (now how to e.)ress
dissatisfaction with )olicies and )ractices, then they cannot f*lly invo(e democracy or )*rs*e ha))iness-
"estricting dissent destro-s essential skills of dissent
Stit'lein 13 DS&$&6 2- S"7"QLB7N is &ssistant Professor of Philoso)hy of Bd*cation and a core fac*lty mem'er of the 4omenNs St*dies Ae)artment at the
University of New 6am)shire "6B $7<6" "# A7SSBN" &NA 7"S 72PL7C&"7#NS F#$ SC6##L7N<, Bd*cational "heory, @ol*me =D, 7ss*e 1, First P*'lished #nline3 1=
!&N DC1D%
7 '*ild off of the s)irit of the fo*nders 'y s*ggesting that if we have a li'eral democracy g*ided 'y a constit*tion that
)rotects individ*al li'erties and ens*res the rights of minorities and the )owerless, then we can only f*lfill and s*stain
this system if we )rotect the li'erties of all and ens*re the a'ilities of minorities to *nderstand o))ression in the
world aro*nd them and fight against it- Understanding oneNs o))ressed )osition, es)ecially when internali0ed, is challenging if one is *na'le to e.)lore or assess
alternative ways of living- 4ith limited s(ills of criti+*e or o))ort*nities to consider alternatives, o))ressed )eo)les are
often *na'le to vocali0e or reali0e alternative ways of 'eing- 7 want to 'e caref*l here, however, in not ass*ming that o))ressed )eo)le do not
already have some of these s(ills- "hey may indeed )ossess and e.ercise these s(ills, '*t when their )roliferation and
develo)ment is not enco*raged or when they fall on deaf and *nres)onsive ears (as in the state that does not win the consent of the o))ressed and fails to
notice the dissent of its minorities%, then the state has fallen short of its o'ligation to )rovide ed*cation as a re+*irement of
,*stice- F*rther, the state fails to c*ltivate a )o)*lation that can )*rs*e or s*stain ,*stice if its citi0ens lac( the ca)acity and a'ility to dissent on 'ehalf of their own well/
'eing and that of others-
5ushing standard approaches to advocac- destro-s porta)le dissent skills
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"his 'oo( foc*ses on the val*e of dissent for the s*rvival of o*r democracy and the role that ed*cation and schooling
can )lay with res)ect to this virt*e- "he idea for this 'oo( comes o*t of my interest in )olitics and ed*cation and my dee) concern a'o*t the erosion of
democracy in the United States in the last several decades- #ne of the most stri(ing characteristics of this erosion is the fact that
dissent is disco*raged and even s*))ressed in the mainstream media, in o*r )*'lic schools, and in )*'lic de'ates in general- Partic*larly
tro*'ling is the way in which conservative leaders and gro*)s are )*shing schools to s*))ort their reactionary agenda, one that em)hasi0es standardi0ation, traditional
notions of a*thority, and 'lind )atriotism- S*ch an agenda *ndermines the develo)ment of those s(ills and facilities st*dents
need to 'ecome critical and active citi0ens in a democracy- &s a res*lt, the meaning and val*e of dissent for the life of a democracy is lost *)on
most st*dents and citi0ens in the United States- 7ndeed, as one of the (ey democratic virt*es, dissent seems to 'e all '*t forgotten in this co*ntry-
*issent $ncreases Awareness
The importance of dissent is not tied to fi0ing pro)lems )ut raising awareness
Stit'lein 13 (S&$&6 2- S"7"QLB7N is &ssistant Professor of Philoso)hy of Bd*cation and a core fac*lty mem'er of the 4omenNs St*dies Ae)artment at the
University of New 6am)shire "6B $7<6" "# A7SSBN" &NA 7"S 72PL7C&"7#NS F#$ SC6##L7N<, Bd*cational "heory, @ol*me =D, 7ss*e 1, First P*'lished #nline3 1=
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Aissent ta(es many forms, which, at times, overla)- "he first ty)e of dissent is that of the c*lt*ral critic, who inter)rets and
criti+*es c*lt*ral events and )ractices in order to e.)ose their shortcomings and *ltimately direct attention
toward 'etter ways of living- C*lt*ral critics wor( to hel) others see some as)ect of c*lt*ral )ractice, norms, or law that the comm*nity had not )revio*sly seen
as )ro'lematic- 4hile these critics serve a val*a'le social role, their efforts ty)ically sto) at writings or s)eechesE they t*rn the contin*ed, and often more challenging, as)ects
of the movement for change over to others- "his 'rings *s to the second ty)e of dissent, which involves '*ilding a movement to raise
awareness of an iss*e that has 'een silenced or ignored 'y the mainstream- "his form of dissent may also entail ma(ing it (nown
that some sta(eholders do not agree with the view of those in )ower- Aissidents of this ty)e )*t forward alternative information and
form inde)endent organi0ations, 'oth noteworthy as)ects of a healthy democracy-1C "hey may march, )ic(et, or )rotest-
4hile they may not necessarily RRfi.NN a )ro'lem, they ma(e it (nown that there are )eo)le who disagree, '*ild
solidarity with others who hold an alternative view, or destigmati0e an iss*e 'y 'ringing it into )*'lic view thro*gh conscio*sness/raising- "he
third ty)e *ses dissent to change minds or )ractices- "his targeted form of social change may )lay o*t *nder a )ic(et sign, '*t it
may also occ*r thro*gh more s*'tle democratic contri'*tions or )artici)ation within the system the dissident see(s to
change- 7t tends to 'e a far less flashy a))roach, aimed at gen*inely changing the o)inions of other )eo)le or of )resenting alternative )ers)ectives, rather than ,*st demanding
their attention or *rging them to do something differently- S*ch change of o)inion, however, may re+*ire the instigation of controversy in order to challenge witnesses to
+*estion their 'eliefs and to consider alternative ones- "he fo*rth ty)e of dissent involves rallying oneNs com)atriots- "he aim is not
to change the minds of o))osing gro*)s, '*t rather to enliven, im)assion, and ignite oneNs s*))orters as a cheerleader of sorts- "his
RR)reaching to the choirNN may involve sharing stories or facts that s*))ort a view)oint held 'y oneNs gro*) or *sing coalition/'*ilding techni+*es and )*'lic anno*ncement
systems to mo'ili0e oneNs gro*)-11
FrameworkE7enocide
Turn ( Their author argues that genocide comes from enforcing procedural rules and the
solution is to listen openl- to the ideas of others
"o)erts(#iller 3 (Patricia $o'erts/2iller D is &ssociate Professor of $hetoric at the University of "e.as Fighting 4itho*t 6atred3 6annah &rendt8s &gonistic
$hetoric htt)3MMwww-,aconline,o*rnal-comMarchivesMvolDD-FMmiller/fighting-)df%
"otalitarianism is closely connected to '*rea*cracyE it is o))ression 'y r*les, rather than 'y )eo)le who have willf*lly chosen to
esta'lish certain r*les- 7t is the tri*m)h of the social- Critics ('oth friendly and hostile% have )aid considera'le attention to &rendt8s
category of the 1social,1 largely 'eca*se, des)ite s)ending so m*ch time on the notion, &rendt remains vag*e on
certain as)ects of it- Pit(in a))ro)riately com)ares &rendt8s conce)t of the social to the :lo', the ty)e of monster that fig*red in so many )ost/war horror movies-
"hat :lo' was 1an evil monster from o*ter s)ace, entirely e.ternal to and se)arate from *s IthatJ had fallen *)on *s intent on de'ilitating, a'sor'ing, and *ltimately
destroying *s, go''ling *) o*r distinct individ*ality and t*rning *s into ro'ots that mechanically serve its )*r)oses1 (G%- Pit(in is critical of this version of
the 1social1 and s*ggests that &rendt meant (or )erha)s sho*ld have meant% something m*ch more com)licated- "he sim)listic
version of the social/as/:lo' can itself 'e an instance of :lo' thin(ingE Pit(in8s criticism is that &rendt tal(s at times as tho*gh the social comes from o*tside of *s and has
fallen *)on *s, t*rning *s into ro'ots- ;et, &rendt8s ma,or criticism of the social is that it involves seeing o*rselves as
victimi0ed 'y something that comes from o*tside o*r own 'ehavior- 7 agree with Pit(in that &rendt8s most )owerf*l descri)tions of the
social (and the other conce)ts similar to it, s*ch as her disc*ssion of totalitarianism, im)erialism, Bichmann, and )arven*s% em)hasi0e that these )rocesses are not entirely o*t
of o*r control '*t that they ha))en to *s when, and 'eca*se, we (ee) ref*sing to ma(e active choices- 4e create the social thro*gh negligence- 7t is
not the sort offorce in a Sorcerer8s &))rentice, which once let loose cannot 'e sto))edE on the contrary, it contin*es to
e.ist 'eca*se we str*ct*re o*r world to reward social 'ehavior- Pit(in writes, 1From childhood on, in virt*ally all o*r instit*tions, we reward
e*)hemism, salesmanshi), slogans, and we )*nish and s*))ress tr*th/telling, originality, tho*ghtf*lness- So we contin*ally c*ltivate ways of (not% thin(ing that ind*ce the
social1 (D>G%- 7 wantto em)hasi0e this )oint, as itis im)ortant for thin(ing a'o*t criticisms of some forms of the social constr*ction of (nowledge3 denying o*r own agency is
what ena'les the social to thrive- "o )*t it another way, theories of )owerlessness are self/f*lfilling )ro)hecies- &rendt grants that
there are )eo)le who willed the 6oloca*st, '*t she insists that totalitarian systems res*lt not so m*ch from the
6itlers or Stalins as from the '*rea*crats who mayor may not agree with the esta'lished ideology '*t who
enforce the r*les for no stronger motive than a desire to avoid tro*'le with their s*)eriors (see Bichmann and Life%- "hey
do not thin( a'o*t what they do- #ne might )revent s*ch occ*rrences//STr, at least, resist the modem tendency toward totalitarianism'y tho*ght3 1critical tho*ght is in
)rinci)le anti/a*thoritarian1 (Lect*res F?%- :y 1tho*ght1 &rendt does not mean eremitic contem)lationE in fact, she has great contem)t for what she calls 1)rofessional
thin(ers,1 ref*sing herselfto 'ecome a )hiloso)her or to call her wor( )hiloso)hy- ;o*ng/:r*ehl, :enha'i', and Pit(in have each said that 6eidegger re)resented ,*st s*ch a
)rofessional thin(er for &rendt, and his em'race of Na0ism e)itomi0ed the gen*ine dangers s*ch 1thin(ing1 can )ose (see &rendt8s 16eidegger1%- 1"hin(ing1 is not
ty)ified 'y the isolated contem)lation of )hiloso)hersE it re+*ires the arg*ments of others and close attention
to the tr*th- 7t is easy to overstate either )art of that harmony- #ne m*st consider caref*lly the arg*ments and view)oints of others3 Political tho*ght is re)resentative- 7
form an o)inion 'y considering a given iss*e from different view)oints, 'y ma(ing )resent to my mind the
stand)oints of those who are a'sentE that is, 7 re)resent them- "his )rocess of re)resentation does not 'lindly
ado)t the act*al views of those who stand somewhere else, and hence loo( *)on the world from a different
)ers)ectiveE this is a +*estion neither of em)athy, as tho*gh 7 tried to 'e or to feel li(e some'ody else, nor of co*nting noses and ,oining a ma,ority '*t of 'eing and
thin(ing in my own identity where act*ally 7 am not- "he more )eo)le8s stand)oints 7 have )resent in my mind while 7 am
)ondering a given iss*e, and the 'etter 7 can imagine how 7 wo*ld feel and thin( if 7 were in their )lace, the
stronger will 'e my ca)acity for re)resentative thin(ing and the more valid my final concl*sions, my o)inion- (1"r*th1
DG1% "here are two )oints to em)hasi0e in this wonderf*l )assage- First, one does not get these stand)oints in one8s mind thro*gh imagining them, '*t thro*gh listening to
themE th*s, good thin(ing re+*ires that one hear the arg*ments of other )eo)le- 6ence, as &rendt says, 1critical thin(ing, while still a solitary
'*siness, does not c*t itself offfrom 8all others- 81 "hin(ing is, in this view, necessarily )*'lic disco*rse3 critical
thin(ing is )ossi'le 1only where the stand)oints of all others are o)en to ins)ection1 (Lect*res GF%- ;et, it is not a disco*rse in
which one sim)ly anno*nces one8s stanceE )artici)ants are interloc*tors and not ,*st s)ea(ers3 they m*st listen- Unli(e many c*rrent versions of )*'lic
disco*rse, this view )res*mes that s)eech matters- 7t is not asymmetric mani)*lation of others, nor merely an economic e.changeE it m*st 'e a
world into which one enters and 'y which one might 'e changed-
6nforcing conformit- through procedural framework rules leads to genocide1listening to
others arguments is anti(authoritarian1e0cluding arguments is authoritarian
"o)erts(#iller 3 (Patricia $o'erts/2iller D is &ssociate Professor of $hetoric at the University of "e.as Fighting 4itho*t 6atred3 6annah &rendt8s &gonistic
$hetoric htt)3MMwww-,aconline,o*rnal-comMarchivesMvolDD-FMmiller/fighting-)df%
;et, there are im)ortant )ositive )olitical conse+*ences of agonism- &rendt8s own )romotion of the agonistic s)here hel)s to e.)lain how the
system co*ld 'e actively moral- 7t is not an overstatement to say that a central theme in &rendt8s wor( is the evil of conformity/
the fact that the modem '*rea*cratic state ma(es )ossi'le e.traordinary evil carried o*t 'y )eo)le who do not even have
any ill will toward their victims- 7t does so 'y 1im)osing inn*mera'le and vario*s r*les, all of which tend to 8normali0e8 its mem'ers, to ma(e them 'ehave,
to e.cl*de s)ontaneo*s action or o*tstanding achievement1 (6*man GC%- 7t (ee)s )eo)le from thin(ing, and it (ee)s them 'ehaving- "he
agonistic model8s cele'ration of achievement and ver'al s(ill *ndermines the )olitical force of conformity, so it is a force against the '*rea*crati0ing of evil- 7f )eo)le
thin( for themselves, they will resist dogmaE if )eo)le thin( of themselves as one of many, they will em)athi0eE if )eo)le can do 'oth, they will resist
***7enocide $mpacts
totalitarianism- &nd if they tal( a'o*t what they see, tell their stories, arg*e a'o*t their )erce)tions, and listen to one
another/that is, engage in rhetoric/then they are engaging in antitotalitarian action-
B3 Critical Thinking
Turn > viewing the +udge as an intellectual is the onl- wa- to increase critical thinking
7irou0 AF (6enry &- <iro*., the <lo'al "elevision Networ( Chair in Bnglish and C*lt*ral St*dies at 2c2aster University in 6amilton, #ntario, 7ntellect*al La'or
and Pedagogical 4or(3 a $ethin(ing the $ole of "eacher as 7ntellect*alN, 19?9, #nline% <angee0y
2y main )oint will 'e that the crisis in creativity and critical learning has in large )art to do with the develo)ing trend toward
the disem)owerment of teachers at all levels of ed*cation- "his involves not only a growing loss of )ower among teachers aro*nd the 'asic
conditions of their wor(, '*t also a changing )erce)tion of their role as reflective )ractitioners- 7n effect, 7 will arg*e that teacher wor( is 'eing
increasingly sit*ated within a technical and social division of la'or that red*ces teachers to the dictates of e.)erts
removed from the conte.t of the classroom and serves to widen the )olitical ga) 'etween those who control the
schools and those who act*ally deal with c*rric*la and st*dents on a day/to/day 'asis- 7n the first instance, teachers are relegated to
instr*mental tas(s that re+*ire little or no s)ace for o))ositional disco*rse and social )ractices- Pedagogy, in this case, is red*ced to the im)lementation
of ta.onomies that s*'ordinate (nowledge to forms of methodological reification, while theories of teaching are increasingly
technici0ed and standardi0ed in the interest of efficiency and the management and control of discrete forms of (nowledge-F "eachers are not sim)ly 'eing )roletariani0ed, the
changing nat*re of their roles and f*nction signifies the disa))earance of a form of intellect*al la'or central to the nat*re of critical )edagogy itself- 2oreover, the tendency to
red*ce teachers to either high level cler(s im)lementing the orders of others within the school '*rea*cracy or to the stat*s of s)eciali0ed technicians is )art of a m*ch larger
)ro' lem within 4estern societies, a )ro'lem mar(ed 'y the increasing division of intellect*al and social la'or and the increasing trend towards the o))ressive management
and administration of every day life- "he c*rrent tendency to reform*late the stat*s and nat*re of teacher wor( needs to 'e s)ecified 'riefly 'efore 7 arg*e for an
alternative view of how teacher wor( sho*ld 'e viewed, and what the im)lications might 'e for a critical theory
of schooling-
***Gudge E $ntellectual
B3 $nnovation and Creativit-
%iewing the +udge as an intellectual increases innovation and creativit-
7irou0 AF (6enry &- <iro*., the <lo'al "elevision Networ( Chair in Bnglish and C*lt*ral St*dies at 2c2aster University in 6amilton, #ntario, 7ntellect*al La'or
and Pedagogical 4or(3 a $ethin(ing the $ole of "eacher as 7ntellect*alN, 19?9, #nline% <angee0y
4ithin this overly 'ehavioristic model of ed*cation, teachers are viewed less as creative and imaginative
thin(ers, who can transcend the ideology of methods and means in order to critically eval*ate the )*r)ose of ed*cational disco*rse and )ractice, than as o'edient civil
servants d*tif*lly carrying o*t the dictates of others- &ll too often teacher ed*cation )rograms lose sight of the need to ed*cate st*
dents to 'e teacher/scholars 'y develo)ing ed*cational co*rses that foc*s on the immediacy of school )ro'lems
and s*'stit*te the dis co*rse of management and efficiency for a critical analysis of the *nderlying conditions
that str*ct*re school life- 7nstead of hel)ing )ros)ective teachers to thin( a'o*t who they are and what they sho*ld do in classrooms, or what their res)onsi'ility
might 'e in in terrogating the means and ends of s)ecific school )olicy, st*dents are often trained to share techni+*es on how to control st*dent dis ci)line, teach a given
s*',ect effectively, organi0e a dayNs activities as efficiently and in as orderly a way as )ossi'le- "he em)hasis is on finding o*t what wor(sZ "he form of technical rationality that
*nderlies this ty)e of ed*cational training is not confined to *nder grad*ate )rograms- 7ts logic e.ercises a strong infl*ence on grad*ate )rograms
as well, )rograms that are often intended to )romote what is e*)hemistically called ed*cational leadershi)- For instance, it was noted in a recent st*dy of doctoral
)rograms in ed*cation that $esearch in ed*cation is )reocc*)ied with techni+*es, rather than with the in+*iry into the
nat*re and co*rse of eventsPwith Rhow toN rather than Rwhat,N with form rather than s*'stance- - - - "oo often st*dents in ed*cation- - - have diffic*lty even
finding serio*s +*es tions worth addressing-F
2est #odel
%iewing the +udge as an intellectual is the onl- wa- to create space for interrogation and de)ate
7irou0 AF (6enry &- <iro*., the <lo'al "elevision Networ( Chair in Bnglish and C*lt*ral St*dies at 2c2aster University in 6amilton, #ntario, 7ntellect*al La'or
and Pedagogical 4or(3 a $ethin(ing the $ole of "eacher as 7ntellect*alN, 19?9, #nline% <angee0y
4hat 7 have tried to do in the )revio*s section is )oint to the vario*s ideological and material forces at wor( in the United States that c*rrently
*ndermine the conditions of wor( necessary for teachers to ass*me the )ost*re of tho*ghtf*l, critical, ed*cational
leaders- 7n what follows, 7 want to arg*e that one way to rethin( and restr*ct*re the nat*re of teacher wor( is to view teachers as intellect*als- "he category of
intellect*al is hel)f*l in a n*m'er of ways- First, it )ro vides a theoretical 'asis for e.amining teacher wor( as a
form of in tellect*al la'or- Secondly, it clarifies the ideological and material conditions necessary for intellect*al
wor(- "hirdly, it hel)s to ill* minate the vario*s modes of intelligi'ility, ideologies, and interests that are )rod*ced
and legitimated 'y teacher wor(- :y viewing teachers as intellect*als, we can ill*minate and recover the rather general notion that all h*man activity
involves some form of thin(ing- "hat is, no activity, regardless of how ro*tini0ed it might 'ecome, is a'stracted from the
f*nctioning of the mind in some ca)acity- "his is a cr*cial iss*e 'eca*se 'y arg*ing that the *se of the mind is a
general )art of all h*man activity, we dignify the h* man ca)acity for integrating thin(ing and )ractice and in
doing so highlight the core of what it means to view teachers as reflective )ractitioners- 4ithin this disco*rse, teachers can 'e
seen not merely as )erformers )rofessionally e+*i))ed to reali0e effectively any goals that may 'e set for them- $ather, Ithey sho*ldJ 'e viewed as free
men and women with a s)ecial dedication to the val*es of the in tellect and the enhancement of the critical
)owers of the yo*ng-DD F*rthermore, viewing teachers as intellect*als )rovides a strong cri ti+*e of those ideologies that legitimate social )ractices that se)a rate
conce)t*ali0ation, )lanning, and designing from the )rocesses of im)lementation and e.ec*tion- 7t is im)ortant to stress that teachers m*st ta(e
active res)onsi'ility for raising serio*s +*estions a'o*t what they teach, how they are to teach it, and what the
larger goals are for which they are striving- "his means that they m*st ta(e a res)onsi'le role in sha)ing the )*r)oses and conditions of school ing-
S*ch a tas( is diffic*lt within a division of la'or where teachers have little infl*ence over the ideological and
economic conditions of their wor(- 2oreover, there is a growing )olitical and ideological tendency as e.)ressed in the c*rrent de'ates on ed*cational
reform to a'stract teachers and st*dents from their histories, c*lt*res, and e.)eriences in the name of )edagogical a))roaches that will ma(e schooling more instr*mental,
which generally means that teachers and st*dents ali(e are sit*ated within c*rric*la a))roaches and instr*ctional management schemes that red*ce their roles to either
im)lementing or receiving the goals and o',ectives of )*'lishers, o*tside e.)erts, and others far removed from the s)ecificities of daily classroom life- "his iss*e
'ecomes all the more im)ortant when seen as )art of the growing o',ectification of h*man life in general- "he
conce)t of teacher as intellect*al )rovides the theoreti cal )ost*re to fight against this ty)e of ideological and
)edagogical im)osition- 2oreover, the conce)t of intellect*al )rovides the 'asis for interro gating the s)ecific
ideological and economic conditions *nder which intellect*als as a social gro*) need to wor( in order to
f*nction as critical, creative h*man 'eings- "his last )oint ta(es on a normative and )olitical dimension and
seems es)ecially relevant for teachers- For if we 'elieve that the role of teaching cannot 'e red*ced to merely training
in the )ractical s(ills, '*t involves instead the ed* cation of a gro*) of intellect*als vital to the develo)ment of a demo
cratic society, then the category of intellect*al 'ecomes a way of lin(ing the )*r)ose of teacher ed*cation, )*'lic
schooling, and inservice training to the very )rinci)les necessary for the develo)ment of a democratic order and
society-
B3 6ducation
%iewing the +udge as an intellectual is the most productive wa- to increase education
7irou0 AF (6enry &- <iro*., the <lo'al "elevision Networ( Chair in Bnglish and C*lt*ral St*dies at 2c2aster University in 6amilton, #ntario, 7ntellect*al La'or
and Pedagogical 4or(3 a $ethin(ing the $ole of "eacher as 7ntellect*alN, 19?9, #nline% <angee0y
7 have arg*ed that 'y viewing teachers as intellect*als we can 'egin to rethin( and reform those historical traditions and conditions that have )revented schools and teachers
from ass*ming their f*ll )oten tial as active, reflective scholars and )ractitioners- :*t 7 want to 'oth +*alify this )oint and e.tend it f*rther- 7 'elieve that it is im
)erative not only to view teachers as intellect*als, '*t also to conte.t*ali0e in )olitical and normative terms the
concrete social f*nctions that teachers )erform- 7n this way, we can 'e more s)ecific a'o*t the different
relationshi)s that teachers have 'oth to their wor( and to the society in which s*ch wor( ta(es )lace- 7 want to de
velo) this )osition in a more detailed way 'elow- &ny attem)t to reform*late the role of teachers as intellect*als has to also incl*de
the 'roader iss*e of how to view ed*cational theory in general- 7t is im)erative to view ed*cational theory as a form
of so cial theory- 7 say im)erative 'eca*se if seen as a form of social theory, the disco*rse of ed*cational theory can 'e *nderstood and in terrogated as re)resenting
forms of (nowledge and social )ractice that legitimate and re)rod*ce )artic*lar forms of social life- Bd*ca tional theory in this case is not viewed as
merely the a))lication of o',ective scientific )rinci)les to the concrete st*dy of schooling and learning- 7nstead, it
is seen as an eminently )olitical disco*rse that emerges from and characteri0es an e.)ression of str*ggle over what
forms of a*thority, orders of re)resentation, forms of moral reg*la tion, and versions of the )ast and f*t*re sho*ld 'e
legitimated, )assed on, and de'ated within s)ecific )edagogical sites- &ll forms of ed*cational theory and disco*rse re)resent a form of ideology that has an intimate
relation to +*estions of )ower- "his is evident in the way s*ch disco*rses arise o*t of and str*ct*re the distinctions 'etween high and low stat*s (nowledge, legitimate c*lt*ral
forms that re)rod*ce s)ecific class, racial, and )atriarchal interests, and hel) to s*stain s)ecific organi0ational )atterns and classroom social relations- Bd*cational
theory sho*ld also 'e seen as having a dee) commit ment to develo)ing schools as sites that )re)are st*dents
to )artici )ate in and str*ggle to develo) democratic )*'lic s)heres- "his means that the val*e of ed*cational theory and
)ractice sho*ld 'e lin(ed to )roviding the conditions for teachers and st*dents to *n derstand schools as )*'lic
s)heres dedicated to forms of self and so cial em)owerment- 7t also means defining teacher wor( against the im)erative to develo)
(nowledge and s(ills that )rovide st*dents with the tools they will need to 'e leaders rather than sim)ly man agers or s(illed civil servants- Similarly, it means
fighting against those ideological and material )ractices that re)rod*ce )rivileges for the few and social and
economic ine+*ality for the many- :y )olitici0ing the notion of schooling and revealing the ideological nat*re of
ed*cational theory and )ractice, it 'ecomes )ossi'le to 'e more s)ecific in defining the meaning of the category of
the intellec t*al and to interrogate the )olitical and )edagogical f*nction of the intellect*al as a social category-
"here are two related '*t se)arate )oints 'y which to vent*re a definition of the intellect*al- "he more general definition is rooted in a +*ality of mind that ia characteri0ed as
having a creative, critical and contem)lative relationshi) to the world of ideas- $ichard 6ofstadter e)itomi0es this )osition in his distinction 'etween the meaning of intellect
and the meaning of in telligence- 7ntelligence, for him, is an e.cellence of mind that is em )loyed within a fairly narrow, immediate )redicta'le rangeE it is a mani)*lative,
ad,*stive, infailingly )ractical +*ality- - - 7ntellect, on the other hand, is the critical, creative, and contem)lative side of mind-
4hereas intelligence see(s to gras), mani)*late, reorder, ad ,*st, intellect e.amines, )onders, wonders,
theori0es, critici0es, im agines-DF
o $mpact
Too man- studies have proven fairness has no impact
Falk et al 3..= a,',1(K &rmin Corres)onding a*thor at3 7nstit*te for Bm)irical $esearch in Bconomics, :lbmlisal)strasse 1C, C6/?CC= Q*rich, Swit0erland% , Brnst
Fehr c,D , Urs Fisch'acher c, a 7Q&, :onn, <ermany ' University of :onn, :onn, <ermany c University of Q*rich, Q*rich, Swit0erland Blsevier ,o*rnal "esting theories of
fairnessP7ntentions matter DF !*ly DCCF
htt)3MMwww-vwl-t*wien-ac-atMlvaMe.)oe(-)sMarti(elMfairnesstheorieMgamescDCC?ctestingctheoriescofcfairnesscintentionscmatter-)df 6erm
:efore )resenting o*r e.)erimental design, we disc*ss the )otential reasons for the lac( of convincing evidence in favor of fairness intentionsE fo*r )otential
reasons e.ist in o*r o)inion- "he ]rst reason is that a )otential confo*nd with the ef]ciency motive e.ists in
some st*dies- &ndreoni and 2iller (DCCD%, :olle and Uriti(os (DCC1%, Charness and $a'in (DCCD% and Bngelmann and Stro'el (DCCG% re)ort res*lts
s*ggesting the )resence of a non/negligi'le fraction of s*',ects willing to increase ef]ciency- "hese s*',ects seem to
'e willing to 'ear some cost in order to increase the total )ayoff, i-e-, the s*m of the )ayoffs that accr*es to all the
)arties- "his motive co*ld have swam)ed the )ositively reci)rocal res)onses in the st*dies of Charness (DCCG%, :olton
et al- (199?% and #fferman (DCCD% 'eca*se the second moverNs reci)rocal 'ehavior was associated with large ef]ciency
increases in these st*dies- 7t is also )ossi'le that reci)rocity motives and ef]ciency motives interact in a yet *n(nown
way- For this reason, o*r design r*les o*t an increase in the total )ayoff d*e to reci)rocal res)onses- & second reason is related to the iss*e of re)etition-
S*',ects faced a different o))onent in each of ten )eriods in Charness (DCCG%- $e)etitions may create all sorts of ill/
*nderstood noise and s)illovers across )eriods that ma(e it dif]c*lt to isolate the attri'*tion of fairness
intentions- For this reason we cond*cted a one/shot e.)eriment witho*t any re)etitions- & third )otential reason for the lac( of a 'ehavioral
im)act of fairness intentions co*ld 'e that the treatment mani)*lations were not strong eno*gh- 7deally, two
treatments are needed to isolate the role of fairness intentions, one where ]rst/movers can signal their fairness intentions, and one where
s*ch signals are r*led o*t com)letely- "he signaling of fairness intentions rests on two )remises3 (i% the ]rst/moverNs choice set act*ally allows
the choice 'etween a fair and an *nfair action, and (ii% the ]rst/moverNs choice is *nder the ]rst moverNs f*ll control- "he ]rst )remise im)lies that the
treatment mani)*lation can 'e too wea( 'eca*se the choices availa'le to the ]rst/mover may not 'e
s*f]ciently different, i-e-, the fairness or *nfairness of the availa'le actions is not salient eno*gh- 4e solved this )ro'lem in
o*r design 'y giving the ]rstmover a choice set that allows for very different actions- 7n )artic*lar, the ]rst/mover co*ld either increase or decrease
the second/moverNs )ayoff relative to a clearly de]ned reference )oint (i-e-, relative to an initial endowment that was the same for 'oth
)layers%- "his disting*ishes o*r st*dy from the st*dies of Charness (DCCG%, :olton et al- (199?% and Co. (DCCG% where the ]rst movers
co*ld only 'e more or less (ind to the second/movers, '*t they co*ld not h*rt them- Perha)s, the distinction 'etween 'eing
more or less (ind was not salient eno*gh and, as a conse+*ence, there was little or no intention/driven
reci)rocal 'ehavior in these st*dies- "he fo*rth reason is related to the second )remise a'ove- 7t concerns the +*estion of
how one can r*le o*t the attri'*tion of fairness intentions to the ]rst moverNs choice- 7n o*r view, the strongest method is to
de)rive the ]rst mover of any choice at all and to ma(e this salient to the second mover- 4e achieved this in o*r e.)eriment 'y determining the ]rst moverNs action with a
salient random device- Saliency was im)lemented 'y rolling dice in front of each second mover- 6owever, if a random device determines the ]rst
moverNs choice, the second movers might have views a'o*t what constit*tes fair or *nfair random devices- For
e.am)le, if the random device determines a very 'ad o*tcome for the second mover with high )ro'a'ility, the
second mover may 'ecome angry 'eca*se she views this as a rather *nfair device- 7f, in contrast, h*man ]rst movers
are *nli(ely to choose s*ch a 'ad o*tcome, the com)arison of res)onses across the random device and the h*man choice condition does not isolate
the im)act of fairness intentions- "he reason is that a confo*nd d*e to the angry res)onse to an *nfair random device is
li(ely to e.ist- #*r sol*tion to this )ro'lem is to im)lement a random device that mimics the )ro'a'ility distri'*tion over the actions of h*man ]rst movers-
2est studies prove there is no foundation for their theoretical claims
Falk et al 3..= a,',1(K &rmin Corres)onding a*thor at3 7nstit*te for Bm)irical $esearch in Bconomics, :lbmlisal)strasse 1C, C6/?CC= Q*rich, Swit0erland% , Brnst
Fehr c,D , Urs Fisch'acher c, a 7Q&, :onn, <ermany ' University of :onn, :onn, <ermany c University of Q*rich, Q*rich, Swit0erland Blsevier ,o*rnal "esting theories of
fairnessP7ntentions matter DF !*ly DCCF
htt)3MMwww-vwl-t*wien-ac-atMlvaMe.)oe(-)sMarti(elMfairnesstheorieMgamescDCC?ctestingctheoriescofcfairnesscintentionscmatter-)df 6erm
&ltho*gh the 'ehavioral relevance of intention is very int*itive , it has 'een +*ite dif]c*lt to )rovide clean evidence for the
'ehavioral relevance of fairness intentions *) to now- 4e have disc*ssed several )otential reasons for this and
designed an e.)eriment that avoids )otential confo*nds with other so*rces of reci)rocal 'ehavior- #*r res*lts )rovide evidence
that )eo)le not only ta(e the distri'*tive conse+*ences of an action '*t also the intention it signals into
acco*nt when ,*dging the fairness of an action- 1= "his res*lt casts serio*s do*'t on the conse+*entialist )ractice in
standard economic theory that de]nes *tility of an action solely in terms of its conse+*encesE it f*rther shows that the
models of fairness 'y :olton and #c(enfels (DCCC% and Fehr and Schmidt (1999% are incom)lete to the e.tent that they neglect
nonconse+*entialist reasons for reci)rocally fair actions- Aifferent a))roaches have 'een )ro)osed for incor)orating intentions into
fairness models- $a'in (199F%, A*fwen'erg and Uirchsteiger (DCCG%, Fal( and Fisch'acher (DCC=%, and Co. et al- (DCCG% consider the choice set of a )layer and infer the
intention of a )artic*lar choice from the set of )ossi'le alternatives- 7f, for e.am)le, there is no choice at allPas in o*r random
**Fairness 2ad
treatmentP no intention can 'e inferred from a )artic*lar move- 7f, however, a )layer act*ally has the choice
'etween (ind and *n(ind actions, the choice of a (ind action allows inferring (ind intentions and vice versa- Fal(
et al- (DCCF% cond*cted fo*r mini/*ltimat*m games to directly test whether choice sets act*ally matter- 7n their e.)eriment, one allocation . remains
constant (? )oints for the )ro)oser and D for the res)onder% in all fo*r games, while the allocation y (the alternative to .% differs from
game to game- &ltho*gh the o*tcome of the allocation . was constant, the re,ection rate of this allocation varied de)ending on the
availa'le alternatives- 7t was highest (GGY% when a fair alternative (9, 9% was availa'le and lowest (9Y% when the alternative was even more *nfair (1C for the )ro)oser, C for
the res)onder%- :randts and Sola (DCC1% fo*nd a similar res*lt, also showing that the choice set determines the )erce)tion of fairness of an
o*tcome, as )redicted 'y the models mentioned a'ove- "he reci)rocity models e.)lain the difference 'etween
the 7/ and N7/treatment- 6owever, we also o'serve that there is reci)rocity even in an environment where actions
do not signal any intention- "h*s, the fairness of the o*tcome matters as well- "his im)lies that the )*re intention
models of $a'in (199F% and A*fwen'erg and Uirchsteiger (DCCG% are also incom)leteE *nli(e reci)rocity models that com'ine
intentions with distri'*tional concerns, s*ch as Fal( and Fisch'acher (DCC=%- Levine (199?%, and Charness and $a'in (DCCD% choose another a))roach
for incor)orating intentions- 7n these models, the )layers differ in an individ*al )arameterPthe )layerNs ty)e- "his ty)e meas*res
the )layerNs (indness- "he chosen alternative allows estimating this )arameter- 2ore (ind )layers choose more
(ind offers and therefore the estimate of this )arameter can 'e inter)reted as the )layerNs intention- 7f )layer 1
chooses to ta(e = )oints in o*r e.)eriment, for e.am)le, one can infer that he is a rather *n(ind ty)e, while nothing can 'e
concl*ded a'o*t )layer 1Ns ty)e in case of a random ]rst move- Since )layers 'ase their reci)rocation on the
assessment of the other )layerNs ty)e, these models )redict the main difference 'etween the 7and the N7/
condition *nder reasona'le ass*m)tions- "hese models, however, fail to e.)lain the e.istence of )layers who
do 'oth, reward and )*nish in the N7 condition-
Fairness and reciprocit- is not an opportunit- cost to the plan due to intentions > the- cannot
)e separated
Falk et al 3..= a,',1(K &rmin Corres)onding a*thor at3 7nstit*te for Bm)irical $esearch in Bconomics, :lbmlisal)strasse 1C, C6/?CC= Q*rich, Swit0erland% , Brnst
Fehr c,D , Urs Fisch'acher c, a 7Q&, :onn, <ermany ' University of :onn, :onn, <ermany c University of Q*rich, Q*rich, Swit0erland Blsevier ,o*rnal "esting theories of
fairnessP7ntentions matter DF !*ly DCCF
htt)3MMwww-vwl-t*wien-ac-atMlvaMe.)oe(-)sMarti(elMfairnesstheorieMgamescDCC?ctestingctheoriescofcfairnesscintentionscmatter-)df 6erm
"his )a)er e.amines the most controversial +*estion in the modeling of fairness )references3 the role of fairness intentions- F Ao fair/minded )eo)le
res)ond to fair or *nfair intentions, or do they res)ond solely to fair or *nfair o*tcomes5 #ne class of fairness modelsPthe ine+*ity
aversion models of Fehr and Schmidt (1999% and :olton and #c(enfels (DCCC%Pis 'ased on the ass*m)tion that fairness intentions are
'ehaviorally irrelevant- &nother class of models (e-g-, $a'in, 199FE Fal( and Fisch'acher, DCC=E A*fwen'erg and Uirchsteiger, DCCG% assigns fairness intentions a
ma,or 'ehavioral role- "he answer to o*r +*estion is of great )ractical and theoretical interest- &t the theoretical level, the
+*estion not only concerns the )ro)er modeling of fairness )references, '*t also standard *tility theory as well-
Standard *tility theory ass*mes that the *tility of an action de)ends solely on its conse+*ences and not on the intention 'ehind the action- "herefore, if the
attri'*tion of intentions t*rns o*t to 'e 'ehaviorally im)ortant, the conse+*entialism inherent in standard
*tility models is also in do*'t- "he iss*e is im)ortant at the )ractical level 'eca*se many relevant decisions are li(ely to 'e affected if the attri'*tion of
intentions matters- Fairness attri'*tions are li(ely to in^*ence decision/ma(ing in ]rms and other organi0ations as
well as in mar(ets and the )olitical arena- Political decisions and '*siness decisions, for instance, often affect
some )artiesN material )ayoffs negatively- 7f the res)onse of the negatively affected )arties also ta(es the decision/ma(erNs fairness intentions into
acco*nt, it will 'e m*ch easier to )revent o))osition when the decision/ma(er can credi'ly claim that he is
somehow forcedP'y law, 'y international com)etition, or 'y some other e.ternal forcePto ta(e the action- 7t is,
therefore, no coincidence that the rhetoric of )oliticians and '*siness leaders often a))eals to the )hrase that
there is no alternative- 7f there is indeed no alternative, it is not )ossi'le to attri'*te *nfair intentions to the action
'eca*se the decision/ma(er cannot 'e held res)onsi'le for the action- 7f, in contrast, o'vio*s alternative actions are availa'le, it is
m*ch easier for the affected )arties to attri'*te *nfair intentions to the action and, as a conse+*ence, their o))osition will 'e m*ch stronger- "he attri'*tion of
intentions is also im)ortant in law (6*ang, DCCC%- 7ntentions often disting*ish 'etween whether the same action is a
tort or a crime and whether a tort sho*ld involve )*nitive damages- #ther distinctions made in criminal law concern whether an action
is ta(en )*r)osely, (nowingly, rec(lessly, or negligently (see 2odel Penal Code dD-CD(1%O(D%%- "h*s, the )enal code (which re)resents a codi]ed 'road sense of ,*sti ce%
disting*ishes +*ite caref*lly 'etween the conse+*ences of an action and its *nderlying intentions- <o*ldner (19=C% )oints o*t th e im)ortance of intentions in
his classic acco*nt of reci)rocity 'y con,ect*ring that the force of reci)rocity de)ends on the motives im)*ted to the
donor andthe donorNs own free will- &ltho*gh this notion of reci)rocity is highly s*ggestive, )roviding direct and *nam'ig*o*s
evidence for the 'ehavioral relevance of fairness intentions has )roven very dif]c*lt *) to now- "his is not s*r)rising
with regard to ]eld data 'eca*se o*tcomes and intentions are *s*ally ine.trica'ly intertwined in the ]eld- ;et, the iss*e has 'een
+*ite el*sive, even in la'oratory e.)eriments- Charness (DCCG%, :olton et al- (199?%, #fferman (DCCD% and Co. (DCCG% ]nd little or no evidence that the
attri'*tion of fairness intentions matters in the domain of )ositively reci)rocal 'ehavior- G :lo*nt (1999% and #fferman
(DCCD% ]nd evidence that it matters in the domain of negatively reci)rocal 'ehavior '*t, as we will arg*e 'elow, these st*dies have
some methodological )ro'lems- "h*s, we face the )*00le that, int*itively, the attri'*tion of fairness intentions seems to 'e im)ortant while, the iss*e remains
controversial in light of the )revailing evidence-
$ne?ualit- $nevita)le
9e do not operate in a Hfair, world > awareness of fairness is high4 )ut is suppressed in +ustice
and legal considerations like the plan
de Gasa- 3..I &nthony went to #.ford in 1999 and was elected a research fellow of N*ffield College where he stayed till 19=D, )*'lishing )a)ers in the Bconomic
!o*rnal, the !o*rnal of Political Bconomy and other learned ,o*rnals- &nalyse W Uriti( D?MDCC= Fairness as !*stice htt)3MMwww-analyse/*nd/(riti(-netMDCC=/
1M&Ucde!asaycDCC=-)df 6erm
4ithin a societyNs feasi'le set, there is a s*'set of acts that are interdicted and made lia'le to sanctions *nder an
e.isting r*le system- "he r*les 7 )ro)ose to ta(e as r*les of ,*stice are conventions in the game theoretic sense, i-e-
e+*ili'ria which, if enforcement/de)endent, have '*ilt/in conditional strategies for )*nishing deviation- "hey arise s)ontaneo*sly
witho*t resort to a r*le for r*le/ma(ing that wo*ld confer a*thority to r*le/ma(ers $*les of ,*stice also serve as
r*les of freedom if we identify freedom, as 7 thin( we sho*ld do, with the aggregate of acts not lia'le to sanction *nder the r*les of ,*stice- &dhering
to a convention is a )ayo /im)roving strategy- 7t is not the o*tcome of a 'argain and involves no forward
commitmentE deviation is one of the strategyo)tions- &dhering to the convention is strategic in that each individ*al )layer
chooses his strategy in e.)ectation of the res)onses of other )layers, '*t the choice is not made so as to achieve a
distri'*tion of the )ayo s*m among the )layers in any )artic*lar way- No fairness norm is em)loyed to select
the e+*ili'ri*m- Unli(e a 'argain to share a )erfectly divisi'le )ie that has in]nitely many e+*ili'ria, a convention may have only two and the
choice 'etween them is *n)ro'lematic3 R]rst/come/]rst servedN that )rotects ]rst )ossession of *nowned )ro)erty as well as +*e*ing, has no real
alternative in originating )ro)erty and in deciding who gets on the ne.t No- DF '*s- Fairness, as far as one can
see, is irrelevant to its selection- !*stice in com)liance with s)ontaneo*sly emerging self/enforcing r*les
s*)ersedes *nenforced considerations of fairnessE it does all the wor( in its s)here and leaves none over for
fairnesss- &cts in 'reach of the r*les of ,*stice are *n,*st, and that settles the matter3 they are wrongs- 7n saying that ,*stice s*)ersedes fairness, we are not
claiming that it s*))resses awareness of fairness- & )rice that clears the mar(et may 'e in^*enced 'y some
sellers withholding their goods 'eca*se they strongly hold some idea of a fair )rice- 6owever, any n*m'er of other
factors may also enter into the sellersN motivation- 4e are )ro'a'ly *na'le to discover all of them and assess their relative im)ortance, incl*ding
the im)ortance of fairness among them- :*t there is no need and no sensi'le call for doing so, for all these in^*ences are s*'s*med in the s*))ly
)rice over which the seller is free, in ,*stice, to ma(e any decision he )leases-
Calls for fairness are not grounded in logic > nostalgia for a fair world will alwa-s )e there4 )ut
separated from realit-
de Gasa- 3..I &nthony went to #.ford in 1999 and was elected a research fellow of N*ffield College where he stayed till 19=D, )*'lishing )a)ers in the Bconomic
!o*rnal, the !o*rnal of Political Bconomy and other learned ,o*rnals- &nalyse W Uriti( D?MDCC= Fairness as !*stice htt)3MMwww-analyse/*nd/(riti(-netMDCC=/
1M&Ucde!asaycDCC=-)df 6erm
"here is no logical reason im)lied in the Rtreat li(e cases ali(eN )rinci)le of fairness , nor does it ins)ire an ethical
arg*ment that the 'ene]t or '*rden distri'*ted to a set of cases sho*ld vary thro*gho*t in the same )ro)ortion
Convicted criminals are Rli(e casesN- "hey m*st 'e Rtreated ali(eN in that they m*st all 'e sentenced- :*t the fairness )rinci)le
does not re+*ire that the m*rderer who (illed two )ersons sho*ld 'e sentenced to twice as long a )rison term
than the other who (illed only one- Fairness demands that he sho*ld 'e given a longer sentence, '*t RlongerN
may mean more or less than )ro)ortionately longerE the f*nction relating y to . may well 'e non/linear- &ll the )rinci)le re+*ires is that
the relation 'etween the distri'*tion and the gro*nd for it sho*ld dis)lay a )attern s* ciently reg*lar and visi'le for the o'server
to recogni0e- = $ela.ing strict )ro)ortionality 'etween a 'ene]t (or '*rden% and the gro*nd or gro*nds for it, and admitting a non/linear relation
'etween them, ta(es *s from &ristotlean to general e+*ality as the fairness norm- <eneral e+*ality admits not only discretion in
the choice of the traits that give rise to a distri'*tion, '*t also the e.tent to which each may do so- <eneral e+*ality incl*des the s)ecial and limiting case of a'sol*te e+*ality-
6ere, all )ossi'le gro*nds for a distri'*tion e.ce)t one are e.)licitly )*rged from the fairness f*nction- (Formally,
they ]g*re to the )ower of 0ero-% "he e.ce)tion is one common trait all cases )ossess to the same e.tent, namely that all are
h*man 'eings- 4hether they e.ert great e orts at wor(, (ill many enemy soldiers and rear many children or
,*st la0e away the day in serene contem)lation, they all get the same income 'eca*se a'sol*te e+*ality is act/
irrelevant- "he s)ecial case of a'sol*te e+*ality has always 'een a magnetic )ole of attraction for )olitical tho*ght,
tho*gh it has seldom 'een )resented in its star( na(ed formE more often than not it has 'een em'ellished, camo*^aged or
disg*ised *nder some )se*donym- 7t merits re^ection that in Uen :inmoreNs treatise on fairness as ,*stice, a nostalgia for fairness as
e+*ality is never far from the s*rface-
Fairness 2ad
Their instance upon the truth of their framework is contrived and ignores the historical
contingenc- of de)ate: 9e should em)race this contingenc- rather than closel- guarding the
)order of our activit-:
Gohnston 3... (7an4 "hereNs nothing Niet0che Co*ldnNt teach ;a a'o*t the $aising of the 4rist, htt)3MMwww-oneeyedman-netMschool/
archiveMclassesMf*llte.tMwww-mala-'c-caMa,ohnstoiMintroserMniet0s-htm%
"he analogy 7 want to )*t on the ta'le is the com)arison of h*man c*lt*re to a h*ge recreational com)le. in which a large n*m'er of different games are going on-
#*tside )eo)le are )laying soccer on one field, r*g'y on another, &merican foot'all on another, and &*stralian
foot'all on another, and so on- 7n the cl*' ho*se different gro*)s of )eo)le are )laying chess, dominoes, )o(er,
and so on- "here are coaches, s)ectators, trainers, and managers involved in each game- S*rro*nding the recreation
com)le. is wilderness- "hese games we might *se to characteri0e different c*lt*ral gro*)s3 French Catholics, <erman Protestants, scientists, Bnlightenment
rationalists, B*ro)ean socialists, li'eral h*manitarians, &merican democrats, free thin(ers, or what have yo*- "he variety re)resents the rich diversity of intellect*al, ethnic,
)olitical, and other activities- "he sit*ation is not static of co*rse- Some games have far fewer )layers and fans, and the
)o)*larity is shrin(ingE some are gaining )o)*larity ra)idly and increasingly ta(ing over )arts of the territory availa'le- "h*s, the traditional
s)ort of &'original lacrosse is '*t a small remnant of what it was 'efore contact- 6owever, the Aemocratic ca)italist game of 'ase'all is growing e.)onentially, as is the
materialistic science game of archery- &nd they may well com'ine their efforts to create a new game or merge their leag*es- 4hen Niet0sche loo(s at B*ro)e
historically what he sees is that different games have 'een going on li(e this for cent*ries- 6e f*rther sees that many of the
)artici)ants in any one game have 'een aggressively convinced that their game is the 1tr*e1 game, that it corres)onds with the
essence of games or is a close match to the wider game they imagine going on in the nat*ral world, in the wilderness 'eyond the )laying fields- So they have s)ent a lot
of time )rod*cing their r*le 'oo(s and coaches8 man*als and ma(ing claims a'o*t how the )rinci)les of their game co)y or
reveal or a))ro.imate the laws of nat*re- "his has )romoted and still )romotes a good deal of 'ad feeling and fierce arg*ments- 6ence, in addition any one
game itself, within the gro*) )*rs*ing it there have always 'een all sorts of s*'/games de'ating the nat*re of the activity, refining the r*les, arg*ing over the correct version of
the r*le 'oo( or a'o*t how to ed*cate the referees and coaches, and so on- Niet0sche8s first goal is to attac( this dogmatic claim a'o*t the tr*th of
the r*les of any )artic*lar game- 6e does this, in )art, 'y a))ealing to the tradition of historical scholarshi) which shows that these games are not eternally
tr*e, '*t have a history- $*g'y 'egan when a soccer )layer 'ro(e the r*les and )ic(ed *) the 'all and ran with it- &merican foot'all develo)ed o*t of r*g'y and has changed
and is still changing- :as(et'all had a )recise origin which can 'e historically located- $*le 'oo(s are written in lang*ages which have a history 'y )eo)le with a dee)
)sychological )oint to )rove3 the games are an *nconscio*s e.)ression of the )artic*lar desires of inventive games )eo)le at a very )artic*lar historical momentE these r*le
writers are called Plato, &*g*stine, Socrates, Uant, Scho)enha*er, Aescartes, <alileo, and so on- For vario*s reasons they 'elieve, or claim to 'elieve, that the r*les they come
*) with reveal something a'o*t the world 'eyond the )laying field and are therefore 1tr*e1 in a way that other r*le 'oo(s are notE they have, as it were, )rivileged access to
reality and th*s record, to *se a favorite meta)hor of Niet0sche8s, the te.t of the wilderness- 7n attac(ing s*ch claims, Niet0sche )oints o*t, the
wilderness 'ears no relationshi) at all to any h*man invention li(e a r*le 'oo( (he )oints o*t that nat*re is 1wastef*l 'eyond
meas*re, witho*t )*r)oses and consideration, witho*t mercy and ,*stice, fertile and desolate and *ncertain at the same timeE imagine indifference itself as a )ower//how
co*ld yo* live according to this indifference- Living//is that not )recisely wanting to 'e other than this nat*re1 (B)igram 9%- :eca*se there is no connection
with what nat*re tr*ly is, s*ch r*le 'oo(s are mere 1foregro*nd1 )ict*res, fictions dreamed *), reinforced,
altered, and discarded for contingent historical reasons- 2oreover, the r*le 'oo(s often 'ear a s*s)icio*s resem'lance to
the r*les of grammar of a c*lt*re (th*s, for e.am)le, the notion of an ego as a thin(ing s*',ect, Niet0sche )oints o*t, is closely tied to the r*les of B*ro)ean
lang*ages which insist on a s*',ect and ver' constr*ction as an essential )art of any statement%- So how do we (now what we have is the tr*th5
&nd why do we want the tr*th, anyway5 Peo)le seem to need to 'elieve that their games are tr*e- :*t why5 2ight
they not 'e 'etter if they acce)ted that their games were false, were fictions, having nothing to do with the reality of
nat*re 'eyond the recreational com)le.5 7f they *nderstood the fact that everything they 'elieve in has a history and that, as he says in the <enealogy of 2orals, 1only that
which has no history can 'e defined,1 they wo*ld *nderstand that all this )ro*d history of searching for the tr*th is something +*ite different from what )hiloso)hers who
have written r*le 'oo(s )roclaim- F*rthermore these historical changes and develo)ments occ*r accidentally, for contingent reasons,
and have nothing to do with the games, or any one game, sha)ing itself in accordance with any *ltimate game or any given
r*le 'oo( of games given 'y the wilderness, which is indifferent to what is going on- &nd there is no 'asis for the 'elief that, if we
loo( at the history of the develo)ment of these games, we discover some )rogressive evol*tion of games towards some higher ty)e- 4e may 'e a'le, li(e Aarwin, to trace
historical genealogies, to constr*ct a narrative, '*t that narrative does not reveal any clear direction or any final goal or any )rogressive develo)ment- "he genealogy of
games indicates that history is a record of contingent change- "he assertion that there is s*ch a thing as )rogress is
sim)ly one more game, one more r*le added 'y inventive minds (who need to 'elieve in )rogress%E it 'ears no relationshi) to
nat*re 'eyond the s)orts com)le.- Aitto for science- So long as one is )laying on a team, one follows the r*les and th*s has a sense of what constit*tes right and wrong or
good and evil cond*ct in the game, and this awareness is shared 'y all those carrying o*t the same endeavo*r- "o )ic( *) the 'all in soccer is evil (*nless yo* are the goalie%E
and to )*nt the 'all while r*nning in &merican foot'all is )ermissi'le '*t st*)idE in &*stralian foot'all 'oth actions are essential and right- 7n other words, different
c*lt*ral comm*nities have different standards of right and wrong cond*ct- "hese are determined 'y the artificial inventions called
r*le 'oo(s, one for each game- "hese r*le 'oo(s have develo)ed the r*les historicallyE th*s, they have no )ermanent stat*s and no claim to
)rivileged access-
6ven using framework4 there is no wa- to find the underl-ing truths of a game
Gohnston 3... (7an4 "hereNs nothing Niet0che Co*ldnNt teach ;a a'o*t the $aising of the 4rist, htt)3MMwww-oneeyedman-netMschool/
archiveMclassesMf*llte.tMwww-mala-'c-caMa,ohnstoiMintroserMniet0s-htm%
Now, at this )oint yo* might 'e thin(ing a'o*t the other occasion in which 7 introd*ced a game analogy, namely, in the disc*ssions of &ristotle8s Bthics- For &ristotle also
ac(nowledges that different )olitical systems have different r*les of cond*ct- :*t &ristotle 'elieves that an
e.amination of different )olitical comm*nities will ena'le one to derive certain )rinci)les common to them all, 'ottom/
*) generali0ations which will then )rovide the 'asis for relia'le rational ,*dgment on which game is 'eing )layed 'etter, on what constit*tes good )lay in any )artic*lar game,
on whether or not a )artic*lar game is 'eing cond*cted well or not- 7n other words, &ristotle maintains that there is a way of discovering and a))ealing to some a*thority
o*tside any )artic*lar game in order to ad,*dicate moral and (nowledge claims which arise in )artic*lar games or in conflicts 'etween different games- Plato, of co*rse, also
'elieved in the e.istence of s*ch a standard, '*t )ro)osed a different ro*te to discovering it- Now Niet0sche em)hatically denies this )ossi'ility-
&nyone who tries to do what &ristotle recommends is sim)ly inventing another game (we can call it S*)er/s)ort% and is not
discovering anything tr*e a'o*t the real nat*re of games 'eca*se reality (that8s the wilderness s*rro*nding *s% isn8t
organi0ed as a game- 7n fact, he arg*es, that we have created this recreational com)le. and all the activities which go on in it to )rotect o*rselves from nat*re
(which is indifferent to what we do with o*r lives%, not to co)y some recreational r*le 'oo( which that wilderness reveals- 6*man c*lt*re e.ists as an
affirmation of o*r o))osition to or contrast with nat*re, not as an e.tension of r*les which incl*de 'oth h*man c*lt*re and
nat*re- "hat8s why falsehoods a'o*t nat*re might well 'e a lot more *sef*l than tr*ths, if they ena'le *s to live more f*lly h*man lives- 7f we thin( of the wilderness as a te.t
a'o*t reality, as the tr*th a'o*t nat*re, then, Niet0sche claims, we have no access whatsoever to that te.t- 4hat we do have is access to conflicting
inter)retations, none of them 'ased on )rivileged access to a 1tr*e1 te.t- "h*s, the soccer )layers may thin( they and their game is
s*)erior to r*g'y and the r*g'y )layers, 'eca*se soccer more closely re)resents the s*rro*nding wilderness, '*t s*ch statements a'o*t 'etter and worse are irrelevant-
"here is nothing r*le 'o*nd o*tside the games themselves- 6ence, all dogmatic claims a'o*t the tr*th of all
games or any )artic*lar game are false-
$mposing one,s own rules provides the largest )enefit out an activit- or game
Gohnston 3... (7an4 "hereNs nothing Niet0che Co*ldnNt teach ;a a'o*t the $aising of the 4rist, htt)3MMwww-oneeyedman-netMschool/
archiveMclassesMf*llte.tMwww-mala-'c-caMa,ohnstoiMintroserMniet0s-htm%
"he third gro*) of )eo)le, that small minority which incl*des Niet0sche himself, are those who acce)t the games meta)hor, see the
fictive nat*re of all systems of (nowledge and morality, and acce)t the challenge that to 'e most f*lly h*man is to
create a new game, to live a life that is governed 'y r*les im)osed 'y the dictates of one8s own creative nat*re- "o
'ase one8s life on the creative tensions of the artist engaged with creating a game that meets most elo+*ently and *ncom)romisingly the demands of one8s own irrational
nat*re//one8s will//is to 'e most f*lly free, most f*lly h*man- "his call to live the selfcreated life, affirming oneself in a game of one8s own devising, necessarily condemns the
highest s)irits to loneliness, do*'t, insec*rity, emotional s*ffering, ('eca*se most )eo)le will moc( the new game or 'e actively hostile to it or ref*se to notice it, and so onE
alternatively, they will acce)t the challenge '*t misinter)ret what it means and settle for some mar(eted easy game, li(e floating down the 2ississi))i smo(ing a )i)e%, '*t a
self/generated game also 'rings with it the most intense ,oy, the most )layf*l and creative affirmation of what
is most im)ortant in o*r h*man nat*re%- 7t8s im)ortant to note here that one8s freedom to create one8s own game is not *nlimited- 7n that sense,
Niet0sche is no e.istentialist maintaining that we have a d*ty and an *nlimited freedom to 'e whatever we want to 'e- For the reso*rces at o*r dis)osalthe )arts of the field
still availa'le and the recreational material lying aro*nd in the cl*' ho*se//are determined 'y the )resent state of o*r c*lt*re- F*rthermore, the r*les 7 devise and
the lang*age 7 frame them in will almost certainly owe a good deal to the )resent state of the r*les of other
games and the state of the lang*age in which those are e.)ressed- &ltho*gh 7 am changing the r*les for my
game, my starting )oint, or the r*les 7 have availa'le to change, are given to me 'y my moment in history- So in
moving forward, in creating something that will transcend the )ast, 7 am *sing the materials of the )ast- B.isting games are the materials o*t of which 7 fashion my new game-
"h*s, the new )hiloso)her will transcend the limitations of the e.isting games and will e.tend the catalog*e of
games with the invention of new ones, '*t that new creative s)irit faces certain historical limitations- 7f this is relativistic, it is not totally so-
This creates the greatest value in the participation of the game
Gohnston 3... (7an4 "hereNs nothing Niet0che Co*ldnNt teach ;a a'o*t the $aising of the 4rist, htt)3MMwww-oneeyedman-netMschool/
archiveMclassesMf*llte.tMwww-mala-'c-caMa,ohnstoiMintroserMniet0s-htm%
"he val*e of this endeavo*r is not to 'e meas*red 'y what other )eo)le thin( of the newly created gameE nor does its
val*e lie in fame, material rewards, or service to the gro*)- 7ts val*e comes from the way it ena'les the individ*al to
manifest certain h*man +*alities, es)ecially the will to )ower- :*t whether or not the game attracts other )eo)le and 'ecomes a )ermanent
fi.t*re on the s)orting calendar, something later citi0ens can derive en,oyment from or even remem'er, that is irrelevant- For only the accidents of history
will determine whether the game 7 invent for myself attracts other )eo)le, that is, 'ecomes a so*rce of val*e for them-
Niet0sche claims that the time is right for s*ch a radically individ*alistic endeavo*r to create new games, new meta)hors for my life- For, wrongheaded as many of the
traditional games may have 'een, li(e Plato8s meta)hysical soccer or Uant8s version of eight 'all, or 2ar.8s materialist chess to*rnament, or Christianity8s stoical sna(es and
ladders, they have s)lendidly trained *s for the m*ch more diffic*lt wor( of creating val*es in a s)irit of radical *ncertainty- "he e.ertions have trained o*r
imaginations and intelligence in *sef*l ways- 6ence, altho*gh those dogmatists were f*ndamentally *nso*nd, an immersion in their systems has
done m*ch to refine those ca)acities we most need to rise a'ove the nihilists and the herd-
aJtC *o it !utside the "ound
$n round discussions of de)ate practices are essential to the activit-
5anetta 1.
(Panetta, Bdward 2-, PhA and de'ate director at the University of <eorgia, )*'lished DC1CControversies in Ae'ate Pedagogy3 4or(ing Pa)er, Navigating #))ort*nity3
Policy Ae'ate in the D1
st
Cent*ry, 4a(e Forest National Ae'ate Conference%FS
!*st as there are 'enefits to acce)ting )oints of stasis )rior to a de'ate, one )otentially enriching element in intercollegiate de'ate
involves the )ossi'ility of arg*mentation that sim*ltaneo*sly challenges the loci of agreement for de'ate and
enhances deli'erative disc*ssion- 7n other words, the )ossi'ility of de'ating a'o*t the very )ractices of de'atesPhow to
eval*ate arg*ments, the role of the resol*tion, the meaning of advocacyPis one of de'ateNs essential characteristics- "he de'ate a'o*t
de'ate, or the )rocess of defending and setting com)eting )arameters, can occ*r in many ways- &t times, those decisions occ*r im)licitly or )rior to the
contest ro*nd itself, as when two teams agree that narrating )ersonal e.)erience is the most meaningf*l way to defend or re,ect the resol*tion- 7n other instances, agreement
may 'e )artially constit*ted thro*gh acce)tance of s)eech times and the e.istence of a common to)ic, '*t the role of the ,*dge and the val*e of )artic*lar forms of evidence are
de'ated in the ro*nd- "his '*ilt/in s)ace for reflection gives the de'ate comm*nity access to a set of s(ills s*ch as
critical thin(ing and the a))lication of creativity, 'oth of which are significant for a deli'erative )rocess that
matters to everyone and maintains fle.i'ility- :eing a'le to f*lly defend a )ers)ective, incl*ding the framing of
that )ers)ective, relies on a nascent )*'lic s)ace o)en to a criti+*e of itself and its own e.)ectations- "he
)*'lic s)ace of de'ate, conceived more as a )*'lic intersection than as a )redetermined vision of what a )*'lic sho*ld 'e, is certainly '*ilt on
m*t*al agreement and common notions of how de'ates ta(e )lace, '*t it is e+*ally '*ilt on the ca)a'ility of
de'ating the validity of its own constr*ction-
*e)ating a)out de)ate practices is essential to advocac- skills and engagement1the call for a
point of stasis reflects a desire to remain comforta)le and ignores the ver- foundation of the
activit-
5anetta 1.
(Panetta, Bdward 2-, PhA and de'ate director at the University of <eorgia, )*'lished DC1CControversies in Ae'ate Pedagogy3 4or(ing Pa)er, Navigating #))ort*nity3
Policy Ae'ate in the D1
st
Cent*ry, 4a(e Forest National Ae'ate Conference%FS
"his self/refle.ive chec( on de'ate disting*ishes it from other comm*nicative activities, s*ch as conversation-
2ari :oor "onn (DCC9%, )rofessor of rhetoric and comm*nication st*dies at the University of $ichmond, contends that sim)ly conversing over an iss*e
can lend itself to gro*)thin(Pwho can dominate the conversation5Pwhereas de'ate ta(es )rinci)les s*ch as
an agreed/*)on to)ic and a com)etitive )latform as starting )oints for the creation of arg*ment o)tions- :eca*se
one of those o)tions incl*des de'ating a'o*t de'ate, the significance of the choice of what to say and how to say it is rarely lost on st*dents or
coaches- Not only do words and ideas matter, '*t so does their framing and their arrangement- "he idea that a
de'ate co*ld feat*re an arg*ment +*estioning the e.istence of that very form of de'ate in the first )lace so*nds ta*tological
or even vac*o*s, '*t it act*ally demonstrates the e.tent to which de'aters, coaches, and ,*dges (the de'ate comm*nity% commit
themselves to f*ll engagement with a to)ic- Not only are de'ates a'o*t de'ate )ossi'le in the activity, they occ*r reg*larly and
are a )rominent com)onent in the develo)ment of advocacy s(ills, small/gro*) negotiation, and e.)ressing
confidence in an academic setting- &llowing the )oint of stasis itself to 'e o)en to disc*ssion, arg*ing a'o*t
what we sho*ld de'ate in the first )lace, enhances the radically democratic )otential inherent in the activity-
#*r realities are f*ll of norms )roclaiming to *)hold or im)rove a given notion of society, a certain stasis to
add comfort to o*r )ers)ective- Norms are contingent *)on the conte.t in which they are acce)ted, gest*ring to
de'ate as a cr*cial means for teaching s(e)ticism and +*estioning, 'oth of which are a'le to develo) in even more
intense and val*a'le ways thro*gh the )ractice of de'ating de'ate- Some may see this defense as an e.tension of )ost/str*ct*ralism into
de'ate, '*t it is instead )erha)s the inevita'le o*tgrowth of the goal of teaching de'aters to critically eval*ate the world
aro*nd them- 7t then 'ecomes far more intrinsic and far/reaching than sim)ly a contem)orary sensi'ility 'eca*se the crafting of a s)ace for de'ate that incl*des
)*tting itself on the ta'le may 'e what defines de'ate-
6ven if there,s a risk it diminishes the in(round e0perience4 non(traditional forms of de)ate are
essential to e0posing de)aters to a wide range of scholarship1that outweighs
5anetta 1.
(Panetta, Bdward 2-, PhA and de'ate director at the University of <eorgia, )*'lished DC1CControversies in Ae'ate Pedagogy3 4or(ing Pa)er, Navigating #))ort*nity3
Policy Ae'ate in the D1
st
Cent*ry, 4a(e Forest National Ae'ate Conference%FS
"hose who are committed to the traditional conce)tion of intercollegiate )olicy de'ate sho*ld, in fact, cele'rate the
o))ort*nity to test arg*mentation against a diverse range of o',ections- 4hile this may create some discomfort
for )artici)ants at the moment a de'ate is decided, the e.)erience is an inval*a'le one for the st*dent when
meas*red over a longer )eriod of time- 7n a diverse world, o*r st*dents will come face/to/face with a variety of
a))roaches to cases of controversy over their lifetimes- Bvolving critical methodologies and arg*mentative
styles that )*sh e.isting limits create content that follows academic innovations and dee)ens awareness of
scholarshi) and research )rograms that might not 'e familiar academic offerings at the st*dentNs own *niversity- &ll academic
instit*tions ()artic*larly comm*nication de)artments% r*n the ris( of solidifying a )artic*lar )aradigm or a))roach too
strongly- Cond*cting research that is )resented and eval*ated o*tside of the classroom environment creates
gen*ine interdisci)linary enco*nters-
**SS* 2ad
!nl- through reform of de)ate can we )ecome true li)eral citi'ens and de)ate a)out issues on a
neutral )asis: This is an internal link turn to their Switch Side 7ood arguments
8icks .; Aarrin 6ic(s is &ssociate Professor in the Ae)artment of 6*man Comm*nication St*dies at the University of Aenver- (Aarrin 6ic(s, (DCC>%3 "he New
Citi0en, L*arterly !o*rnal of S)eech, 9F3F, F9?/F=C, htt)3MMd.-doi-orgM1C-1C?CMCCFF9=FC>C1G=FG99% $aPa
$on <reene and 7 recently )*'lished a genealogy of switch/side de'ating- F 4e arg*ed that the RRde'ating 'oth sidesNN controversy emerged from
the )ro'lematic relationshi) 'etween )*'lic s)eech and )ersonal conviction- 4e contended that the defense and
)ractice of switch/side de'ating was )art of the formation of the li'eral citi0en, contri'*ted to the develo)ment
of &merican B.ce)tionalism, and wor(ed alongside aesthetic modes of class s*',ectivity associated with the
formation of the (nowledge class- "hat essay 'egan with the e.)licit )res*m)tion of mid/cent*ry de'ate coaches and s)eech ed*cators, li(e $ichard
2*r)hy, &- Craig :aird, Ao*glas Bhninger, and Aennis Aay, that there was an intrinsic relationshi) 'etween s)eech )erformance and )olitical li'eralism- "o
*nderstand how that )res*m)tion came into 'eing, however, we m*st loo( 'ac( to the )rogressive s)eech ed*cators wor(ing *nder the
sign of s)eech hygiene- "he disco*rse of mental hygiene, of which s)eech hygiene was an e.tension, contri'*ted to the shift from character to )ersonality as the dominant
model of s*',ectivity in the twentieth cent*ry- 7ts 'asic )remise was that )ersonality malad,*stment was the root ca*se of social )ro'lems
and their sol*tion de)ended on read,*sting the )ersonality- 6ygienists claimed the *niversity was the ideal
)lace to diagnose and read,*st the )ersonality- 4hile most h*manities de)artments strongly o))osed this thera)e*tic conce)t of ed*cation, s)eech
de)artments em'raced it- :y 19D? the s)eech ,o*rnals were sat*rated with calls to a'andon eloc*tion, which was la'eled RRemotional '*tchery,NN in favor of s)eech hygiene-
S)eech training, hygienists arg*ed, sho*ld no longer center on training st*dents to deliver effective s)eeches '*t rather on the treatment of )ersonality disorders and the
inc*lcation of 'ehavioral ha'its that wo*ld aid in )ersonal and social integration- 7n his 19F> 'oo( "he S)eech Personality, University of Aenver Professor Blwood 2*rray
delivered the most so)histicated e.)ression of s)eech hygiene- G 2*rray contended that the ca*se of most social )ro'lems were s)eech )ro'lems which, in t*rn, were s*rface
manifestations of )ersonality disorders, and that the s)eech classroom served as the ideal la'oratory for their identification and treatment- "he ina*g*ration of the RRs)eech
)ersonalityNN was a watershed moment in the develo)ment of the disci)line- 2*rray not only invented a theoretical voca'*lary and a series of instr*ments for o'serving,
descri'ing, meas*ring, and calc*lating the attri'*tes of the s)ea(ing s*',ect- 6e e.)anded the domain of the disci)line 'y showing that s)eech itself was an
o',ect and instr*ment of governance, an o',ect inasm*ch as it was the ca*se of social ills and an instr*ment
inasm*ch as its calc*lated resha)ing was necessary to address them- 7t +*ic(ly 'ecame the c*ltivation of the
well/ad,*sted s)eech )ersonality that the disci)line saw as its *ni+*e contri'*tion to democratic c*lt*re- 2*rray
form*lated this contri'*tion as the c*ltivation of the new citi0en- "he new citi0en, 'y virt*e of having the correct 'alance of self/s*fficiency, emotional sta'ility, e.troversion,
dominance, and o',ectivity to ens*re s*ccessf*l social integration, and the intellect*al ca)acity to co)e with the )ro'lems that have
accom)anied technology and invention, was first and foremost a RRcritically/minded coo)eratorNNKor, in Sh(larNs
terms, a citi0en c*ltivated in the RRha'its of freedom-NN "he details of this story notwithstanding, to *nderstand the relationshi) 'etween s)eech
hygiene and li'eralism, it wo*ld first 'e necessary to write the history of the )sychoand socio/metric instr*ments designed to isolate and identify the characteristics of the well/
ad,*sted and socially integrated citi0en (the incl*sion of the historical develo)ment of research instr*ments is critical for any genealogy of the field%- Second, the s)ecific
)edagogical techni+*es s)eech hygienists ada)ted from Christian/Pastoral models of ed*cation, s*ch as the RRs*)ervised freedomNN of gro*) activities and disc*ssion/'ased
teaching that aim to foster the ca)acity for rigoro*s self/analysis, self/)ro'lemati0ation, and self/transformation, wo*ld need to 'e thoro*ghly reviewed (to ass*me that these
were the res*lt of critical )edagogy movements or to ass*me that any teaching )rior to that movement conformed to a 'an(ing model is to mis*nderstand serio*sly the origins
of o*r )edagogy%- "he aim of s)eech hygienists was to man*fact*re self/reflective citi0ens ca)a'le of 'oth coo)eration
and dissent- "hey were committed to c*ltivating those ha'its that ena'le one to end*re the RRris(s of freedom-NN
"he irony of s)eech hygiene lay in the fact that these RRha'its of freedomNN co*ld emerge only after individ*als had 'een disci)lined to )ro'lemati0e and reg*late their own
cond*ct- 7t was this disci)line that *nderwrote the conviction that thro*gh the calc*lated resha)ing of s)eech we
all co*ld 'ecome virt*o*s citi0ens-
Switch Side *e)ate encourages political am)ivalence > that internal link turns their political
education claims:
Feldman and 5rice A K PhA candidate at the &nnen'erg School for Comm*nication, University of Pennsylvania- KK (PhA, Stanford University% is the Steven
6- Chaffee Professor of Comm*nication and Political Science at the &nnen'erg School for Comm*nication, University of Pennsylvania- (La*ra Feldman, @incent Price,
Conf*sion or Bnlightenment5 6ow B.)os*re to Aisagreement 2oderates the Bffects of Political Aisc*ssion and 2edia Use on Candidate Unowledge, Comm*nication
$esearch @ol*me F9 N*m'er 1 Fe'r*ary DCC? =1/?>, htt)3MMcr.-sage)*'-com-)ro.y-li'-*mich-ed*McontentMF9M1M=1-f*ll-)df%$aPa
7nter)ersonal enco*nters with )eo)le of diverse view)oints have long 'een *)held 'y )olitical theorists as
re+*irements of a s*ccessf*l democracy (e-g-, &rendt, 19=?E :ar'er, 19?GE Fish(in, 1991E <*ttmann W "hom)son, 199=E 6a'ermas, 19?9E 2ill,
1?99M199=% '*t have only recently )i+*ed the interest of em)irical researchers- &ltho*gh the )resence of disagreement in networ(s of
)olitical disc*ssion has 'een eval*ated for its effects on )olitical tolerance (2*t0, DCCD'%, awareness of rationales for oneNs own and othersN )olitical o)inions (2*t0, DCCD'E
Price, Nir, W Ca))ella, DCCD%, and )olitical engagement (6*c(feldt, 2ende0, W #s'orn, DCCGE 2*t0, DCCDa%, its e.)licit infl*ence on fact*al )olitical (nowledge has received
little attention- <iven that fre+*ent e.)os*re to disagreement has 'een fo*nd to foster a 'etter *nderstanding of alternative )olitical )ers)ectives (2*t0, DCCD'E Price et al-,
DCCD% '*t also c*ltivate *ncertainty and am'ivalence toward )olitical candidates (6*c(feldt et al-, DCCGE 2*t0, DCCDa%, its conse+*ences for fact/'ased learning are not
)artic*larly self/evident- "he interest, then, of the c*rrent st*dy is not only in disagreementNs )otential to ill*minate the relationshi) 'etween disc*ssion and media '*t also in
the contri'*tion it ma(es to )olitical (nowledge in its own right- S)ecifically, we *se )olitical networ(s data from a nationally re)resentative sam)le of &merican ad*lts to
e.amine how e.)os*re to disagreement moderates the effects of )olitical disc*ssion and media *se on (nowledge of candidatesN 'ac(gro*nds and iss*e )ositions d*ring the
DCCC )residential )rimary cam)aign- 4e disting*ish 'etween these two ty)es of (nowledge to )rovide a contrast 'etween information that is *narg*a'ly fact*al (i-e-,
candidate 'ac(gro*nds% and that which is relatively less so (i-e-, candidate iss*e )ositions% and th*s )erha)s somewhat more s*sce)ti'le to comm*nication conf*sion (also see
Chaffee et al-, 199G%- &t the same time, this st*dy )rovides the o))ort*nity to investigate the *ni+*e infl*ence of three different cam)aign mediaPnews)a)ers, television news,
and candidate de'atesPand inter)ersonal disc*ssion on learning d*ring a )rimary cam)aign, a relatively *ndere.)lored arena of )olitical comm*nication- Learning From
2edia Use and Aisc*ssion &ltho*gh the moderating effects of disagreement are the )rimary foc*s of the )resent st*dy, the main effects of media *se and inter)ersonal
disc*ssion are also of interest- &ltho*gh )revio*s research has fre+*ently s*))orted a )ositive role for news)a)er reading (e-g-, Patterson W 2cCl*re, 19>=E 4eaver W Arew,
199F%, television news *se (e-g-, Chaffee et al-, 199GE Chaffee W Schle*der, 19?=E 4eaver W Arew, 1999, DCC1%, de'ate e.)os*re (e-g-, :enoit, 6ansen, W @erser, DCCF%, and
)olitical conversation (e-g-, 6ol'ert et al-, DCCDE Uennamer, 199C% in )olitical learning, m*ch of the e.tant research on the lin( 'etween )olitical comm*nication and
)residential candidate (nowledge has foc*sed on the general election )eriod- Candidates are m*ch less well (nown, however, d*ring the )rimary )hase, )roviding the media,
in )artic*lar, with an even greater o))ort*nity to endow voters with new Feldman, Price M Conf*sion or Bnlightenment5 =F &s mentioned, em)irical wor( in
which the role of )olitical disagreement has 'een e.)licitly e.amined demonstrates that networ( diversity
does, in fact, foster a 'etter *nderstanding of m*lti)le )ers)ectives on iss*es (2*t0, DCCD'E Price et al-, DCCD%- 2ore s)ecifically,
e.)os*re to disagreement a))ears to increase the a'ility to artic*late reasons for other )eo)leNs views- #ne co*ld, then, easily imagine that awareness of why someone else
might s*))ort the $e)*'lican )arty (e-g-, Price et al-, DCCD% or )refer a )artic*lar candidate for )resident (e-g-, 2*t0, DCCD'% wo*ld first re+*ire (nowledge a'o*t the iss*e
)ositions of that )arty or candidate (i-e-, to reason that other )eo)le li(e <eorge 4- :*sh 'eca*se of his )osition on a'ortion, one wo*ld first need to (now what his )osition
is%- &s s*ch, the a'ility to rationali0e other )eo)leNs view)oints might 'e considered an indirect meas*re of fact/'ased iss*e (nowledge- #n the other hand, in their st*dies of
disagreementNs im)act on deli'erative o)inion, 2*t0 (DCCD'% and Price et al- (DCCD% did not em)loy any standard of correctness or so)histication when meas*ring their
o*tcome varia'le- "hat is, an individ*al co*ld have )rod*ced a reason for )referring a candidate that was inconsistent with or am'ig*o*s a'o*t that candidateNs act*al iss*e
)osition and still 'een credited with )roviding a valid reason- "h*s, altho*gh oneNs re)ertoire of arg*ments may very well 'e e.)anded
via )olitical disagreement, this is not to say that these arg*ments and the iss*es that s*))ort them are
necessarily conveyed or inter)reted acc*rately in s*ch an inter)ersonal e.change- &s de :oer and @elth*i,sen Feldman, Price M
Conf*sion or Bnlightenment5 =9(DCC1% have noted, )eo)le tend to tal( a'o*t what they thin( rather than what they (now ()- 19C%- Bmotion, misinformation,
and 'ias may all interfere with the transmission of acc*rate (nowledge in a conte.t of disagreement- 2oreover, not all
research on disagreement has s*))orted its 'enefits- 2*t0 (DCCDa% also fo*nd that e.)os*re to disagreement ind*ces am'ivalence toward )olitical candidates and iss*es (also
see 6*c(feldt et al-, DCCG% and, in t*rn, hinders )olitical )artici)ation- "his relationshi) 'etween disagreement and am'ivalence co*ld
have im)ortant im)lications for fact/'ased learning a'o*t )olitical candidates- Political am'ivalence arises
when e.)os*re to com)eting ideas ma(es )eo)le *ncertain a'o*t their own )ositions regarding iss*es or
candidates (2*t0, DCCDa%- 4ith s*ch *ncertainty, )eo)le may 'ecome less convinced of what they (now to 'e the
tr*th- &cc*rate (nowledge of candidate iss*e )ositions, which are arg*a'ly a matter of inter)retation to 'egin
with, co*ld conceiva'ly s*ffer as a res*lt- 7n s*m, then, the em)irical evidence from )revio*s research o*tlines
no clear e.)ectation for how disagreement in )olitical disc*ssion will affect fact/'ased learning a'o*t )olitical
candidates- &ltho*gh social networ( and deli'erative theories s*ggest that the ac+*isition of )olitical
(nowledge will 'e enhanced 'y e.)os*re to diverse view)oints, this has not 'een directly tested- F*rthermore, given
the research on am'ivalence, it is )ossi'le that disagreement wea(ens )eo)leNs confidence not only in their
)olitical o)inions '*t also in their fact*al (nowledge of the iss*es that s*))ort these )ositions- "hese vario*s
)ossi'ilities have th*s led *s to the following research +*estion3
((e0ceptionalismJ8icks and 7reen
Switch side de)ate forces de)aters to lose a conviction for their argument and that is
undermining for making real social change
7reene and 8icks F ($onald 4alter <reene, &ssociate Professor at the University of 2innesota/"win Cities, and Aarrin 6ic(s, Professor at the University of
Aenver, Lost Convictions3 Ae'ating :oth Sides and "he Bthical Self Fashioning of Li'eral S*',ects, !an*ary DCC9, #nline, PAF%
4hile the o))osition to de'ating 'oth sides )ro'a'ly reaches 'ac( to the challenges against the ancient )ractice of
dissoi logoi , we want to t*rn o*r attention to the *ni+*e c*lt*ral history of de'ate d*ring the Cold 4ar- 7n the midst of !ose)h 2cCarthyNs im)ending cens*re 'y the US
Senate, the US 2ilitary &cademy, the US Naval &cademy and, s*'se+*ently, all of the teacher colleges in the state of Ne'ras(a ref*sed to affirm the resol*tion cM R$esolved3
"he United States sho*ld di)lomatically recogni0e the Peo)leNs $e)*'lic of ChinaN- ;et, switch/side de'ating remained the national standard, and, 'y the fall of 1999, the
military academies and the teacher colleges of Ne'ras(a were de'ating in favo*r of the ne.t resol*tion- $ichard 2*r)hy (199>%, however, was not content to let the controversy
)ass witho*t comment- 2*r)hy la*nched a series of criticisms that wo*ld s*stain the de'ate a'o*t de'ate for the ne.t ten years- 2*r)hy held that de'ating 'oth
sides of the +*estion was *nethical 'eca*se it divorced conviction from advocacy and that it was a dangero*s
)ractice 'eca*se it threatened the integrity of )*'lic de'ate 'y divorcing it from a gen*ine search for tr*th-
2*r)hyNs case against the ethics of de'ating 'oth sides rested on what he tho*ght to 'e a sim)le and irref*ta'le rhetorical )rinci)le3 & )*'lic *tterance is a
)*'lic commitment- 7n 2*r)hyNs o)inion, de'ate was 'est imagined as a s)ecies of )*'lic s)ea(ing a(in to )*'lic
advocacy on the affairs of the day- 7f de'ate is a form of )*'lic s)ea(ing, 2*r)hy reasoned, and a )*'lic *tterance entails a )*'lic
commitment, then s)ea(ers have an ethical o'ligation to st*dy the +*estion, disc*ss it with others *ntil they (now their )osition, ta(e a
stand and then cM and only then cM engage in )*'lic advocacy in favo*r of their view)oint- 2*r)hy had no do*'t that intercollegiate de'ate
was a form of )*'lic advocacy and was, hence, rhetorical, altho*gh this )oint wo*ld 'e severely attac(ed 'y )ro)onents of switch/side de'ating- 2odern de'ating, 2*r)hy
claimed, Ris geared to the )*'lic )latform and to rhetorical, rather than dialectical )rinci)lesN ()- >%- 7ntercollegiate de'ate was rhetorical, not dialectical,
'eca*se its )ro)ositions were s)ecific and timely rather than s)ec*lative and *niversal- Ae'aters evidenced their claims 'y a))eals to a*thority
and o)inion rather than formal logic, and de'aters a))ealed to an a*dience, even if that a*dience was a single
)erson sitting in the 'ac( of a room at a relatively isolated de'ate to*rnament- &s s*ch, de'ate as a s)ecies of )*'lic arg*ment sho*ld 'e held to the ethics
of the )latform- 4e wo*ld s*rely hold in contem)t any )*'lic actor who s)o(e with e+*al force, and witho*t gen*ine conviction, for 'oth sides of a )*'lic )olicy +*estion-
4hy, as(ed 2*r)hy, wo*ld we e.em)t st*dents from the same ethical o'ligation5 2*r)hyNs master ethic cM that a )*'lic *tterance entails a )*'lic commitment cM rested on a
classical rhetorical theory that ref*ses the modern distinctions 'etween cognitive claims of tr*th (referring to the o',ective world%, normative claims of right (referring to the
inters*',ective world%, and e.)ressive claims of sincerity (referring to the s*',ective state of the s)ea(er%, altho*gh this distinction, and 2*r)hyNs ref*sal to ma(e it, wo*ld
s*rface as a ma,or )oint of contention in the 19=Cs for the )ro)onents of de'ating 'oth sides-> 2*r)hy is avoiding the idea that the words s)o(en
'y a de'ater can 'e divorced from what the s)ea(er act*ally 'elieves to 'e tr*e, right, or good (e.)ressive claims of
sincerity%- For 2*r)hy, to stand and )*'licly )roclaim that one affirmed the resol*tion entailed 'oth a claim that the )olicy 'eing advocated was indeed the 'est )ossi'le
choice, given e.tant social conditions, and that one sincerely 'elieved that her or his arg*ments were tr*e and right- 7n other words, a ,*dge sho*ld not ma(e a
distinction 'etween the merits of the case )resented and the sincerity of the advocates )resenting itE rather, the
reasons s*))orting a )olicy and the ethos of the s)ea(ers are m*t*ally constit*tive forms of )roof- "he interde)endency of logos
and ethos was not only a matter of rhetorical )rinci)le for 2*r)hy '*t also a fo*ndational )remise of )*'lic reason in a democratic society- &ltho*gh he never
e.)licitly states why this is tr*e, most li(ely 'eca*se he ass*med it to 'e self/evident, a charita'le inter)retation of 2*r)hyNs
)osition, certainly a more genero*s inter)retation than his detractors were willing to give, wo*ld show that his a.iom rests on the following arg*ment3 7f )*'lic
reason is to have any legitimate force, a*ditors m*st 'elieve that advocates are arg*ing from conviction and not
from greed, desire or na(ed self/interest- 7f a*ditors 'elieve that advocates are insincere, they will not afford legitimacy to their claims and will o)t to settle dis)*tes
thro*gh force or some seemingly ne*tral mod*s vivendi s*ch as voting or ar'itration- 6ence, sincerity is a necessary element of )*'lic reason
and, therefore, a necessary condition of critical deli'eration in a democratic society- For 2*r)hy, the ass*m)tion of sincerity is
intimately artic*lated to the notion of ethical arg*mentation in a democratic )olitical c*lt*re- 7f a s)ea(er were to re)*diate this ass*m)tion 'y advocating contradictory
)ositions in a )*'lic for*m, it wo*ld com)letely *ndermine her or his ethos and res*lt in the loss of the means of identification with an a*dience- "he real danger of
*ndermining the ass*m)tion of sincerity was not that individ*al s)ea(ers wo*ld 'e rendered ineffective cM altho*gh this certainly did ma(e training st*dents to
de'ate 'oth sides 'ad rhetorical )edagogy- "he *ltimate danger of switch/side de'ating was that it wo*ld engender a distr*st of )*'lic
advocates- "he )*'lic wo*ld come to see the de'aters who wo*ld come to occ*)y )*'lic offices as R)*'lic liarsN more interested in )olitics as
vocation than as a calling- Ae'ate wo*ld 'e seen as a game of )ower rather than the method of democracy-
There wouldn,t )e one side de)ate > the wording of the resolution leads a su)stantial amount of
speakers on )oth sides
7reene and 8icks F ($onald 4alter <reene, &ssociate Professor at the University of 2innesota/"win Cities, and Aarrin 6ic(s, Professor at the University of
Aenver, Lost Convictions3 Ae'ating :oth Sides and "he Bthical Self Fashioning of Li'eral S*',ects, !an*ary DCC9, #nline, PAF%
Free s)eech had already emerged as a )oint of stasis organi0ing the interaction 'etween &- Craig :aird and $ichard 2*r)hy- For :aird, de'ating 'oth sides
contri'*ted to the )romotion of de'ate as a relay )oint in )romoting free s)eech as imagined 'y !ohn St*art 2ill (1?99% in #n
Li'erty - For 2*r)hy, to defend the )ractice of switch/side de'ating as the em'odiment of the mar(et)lace of ideas was to serio*sly misre)resent !ohn St*art 2illNs thesis-
2ill, 2*r)hy (199>% s*ggested, fo*nd the morality of )*'lic disc*ssion to rest in so*nd arg*ment, a faithf*l rendering of the facts, and an honest re)resentation of the
o))onentNs case- ;et, 2*r)hy contended, 2ill never arg*ed that )ersons sho*ld go as far as to advocate views that they did not 'elieve- &ccording to 2*r)hy, 'eca*se
de'ate )ro)ositions are deli'erately worded so good arg*ments can 'e made on 'oth sides, there sho*ld never 'e a shortage of
s)ea(ers on 'oth sides of the iss*e, s)ea(ers who really 'elieve in what they were arg*ing- "he real 'enefit of hearing 'oth sides of an
iss*e, 2*r)hy claimed, is that it enco*rages individ*als to o)en their minds to other )ers)ectives and to modify their
'eliefs if so warranted- ;et, alternative views will not 'e ta(en serio*sly, *nless we Rhear them from )ersons who act*ally 'elieve them, who defend them in earnest,
and do their very *tmost for themN (2*r)hy 199>, )- G%- Switch/side de'ating, 2*r)hy arg*ed, is not ,*stified 'y the )rinci)les of free s)eechE rather, those )rinci)les s*))ort
revo(ing the )ractice-
*ivorcing speech from conviction is the pre(re?uisite to promoting democratic deli)eration
7reene and 8icks F ($onald 4alter <reene, &ssociate Professor at the University of 2innesota/"win Cities, and Aarrin 6ic(s, Professor at the University of
Aenver, Lost Convictions3 Ae'ating :oth Sides and "he Bthical Self Fashioning of Li'eral S*',ects, !an*ary DCC9, #nline, PAF%
"wo )ractical o'ligations are entailed in the acce)tance of this ethic3 First, the for*ms for )*'lic deli'eration m*st 'e
f*lly incl*siveE enco*ragement and incentive m*st 'e )rovided to those who hold *n)o)*lar views to e.)ress themselves- Second, and more im)ortant, Rall
m*st recogni0e and acce)t )ersonal res)onsi'ility to )resent, when necessary, as forcef*lly as )ossi'le, o)inions and
arg*ments with which they may )ersonally disagreeN ()- >%- Few are li(ely to challenge the first entailment, '*t the second )rovided Aay with a
radical redefinition of the ethics of conviction- Aay arg*es that )ers*asively )resenting a )osition that contradicts oneNs )ersonal
conviction is the Rhighest ethical act in democratic de'ateN ()- >%- 2oreover, to arg*e forcef*lly for a )osition one a'hors is the hallmar( of
democratic citi0enshi)- "o set aside oneNs convictions and )resent the arg*ment for the other side demonstrates that the citi0en has forsa(en her or his )ersonal interests and
)artic*lar vision of the good for the 'enefit of the commonweal- "hat is, the citi0en recogni0es the moral )riority of democratic de'ate when she or he agrees to 'e 'o*nd 'y its
res*lts regardless of )ersonal conviction- Ae'ating 'oth sides, then, is necessitated 'y the ethical o'ligations intrinsic to the technology of democratic de'ate- :oth of 2*r)hyNs
charges that de'ating 'oth sides is *nethical cM that re+*iring st*dents to de'ate 'oth sides is a form of 'lac(mail and that the se)aration of s)eech and conviction co*rts
so)histry cM are answered 'y this )osition- #n the one hand, if de'ating 'oth sides of a +*estion is an ethical d*ty, re+*iring st*dents to do so as a condition of )artici)ation is
not an immoral im)osition '*t rather an ethical and )edagogical d*ty- #n the other hand, given the )olitical dangers that )rivileging
)ersonal conviction over democratic )rocess co*rts, divorcing s)eech from conviction is a )rere+*isite to
democratic legitimacy- 7n so doing, oneNs convictions sho*ld 'e reassigned so as to )romote a commitment to
de'ate as the f*ndamental )rocess of a democratic form of )*'lic deli'eration-
5erformance 7ood
*iversit- in arguments is good > helps with skills )uilding
#ehta .I President of the Centre for Policy $esearch, a New Aelhi/'ased thin( tan(-I1J "he Centre for Policy $esearch is one of 7ndiaNs most disting*ished thin(
tan(s- 6e is also a 'een a))ointed to N;U Law SchoolNs <lo'al Fac*lty- 6e was )revio*sly @isiting Professor of <overnment at 6arvard UniversityE &ssociate Professor of
<overnment and of Social St*dies at 6arvard, and for a 'rief )eriod, Professor of Philoso)hy and of Law and <overnance at !awaharlal Nehr* University- 2ehta o'tained a
:-&- from St !ohn8s College, #.ford in Philoso)hy, Politics and Bconomics (PPB% and a Ph-A in Politics from Princeton University- (Pra'h* :han* 2ehta, Aemocracy,
Aisagreement, and 2erit, Bconomic and Political 4ee(ly, @ol- G1, No- DG (!*n- 1>/DF, DCC=%, ))- DGD9/DGD>, htt)3MMwww-,stor-orgMsta'leMGG1?FGD5origine!S"#$/)df% $aPa
7t wo*ld 'e too easy and tem)ting to give a moral )sychology for why disagreements on this s*',ect are so dee) and )assionate, '*t 7 thin( it is time that we
reflected on one as)ect of the way in which this de'ate is str*ct*red- Part of what gives the reservation de'ate s*ch an edge is the
fact that it has 'ecome an all or nothing affair- 7t )roceeds on the ass*m)tion that there is one correct model of
affirmative action )olicies, and this model sho*ld a))ly more or less to all instit*tions across the 'oard- 4hether
this model is n*merical +*otas, or n*merical +*otas min*s creamy layer or whatever, the ass*m)tion is that almost all instit*tions, other than minority instit*tions sho*ld
ado)t this model- 7t is a 1winner ta(es all1 a))roach to )*'lic )olicy- So the sta(es in the de'ate are e.tremely high-
Perha)s more than arg*ments for or against reservation, we need to wor( o*t mechanisms for lowering the sta(es in this de'ate- :y
lowering sta(es 7 do not mean minimising the im)ortance of the +*estion a'o*t how to '*ild socially incl*sive ed*cational systemsE
'y lowering 7 mean sim)ly that different sides have s)ace to try o*t different e.)eriments, and not feel instit*tionally
sh*t o*t- Aiversity 7t is something of a mystery that the one thing we seem not to ac(nowledge is that a concern for diversity is a concern for a diversity of instit*tional
forms- Aiversity need not 'e limited to a diversity of o)inion where we say to each other, witho*t +*ite meaning
it, that we res)ect each others8 views- S*rely there is more room to have those views, within some 'aseline
limits, e.)ress themselves in diverse instit*tional forms- 4hat those 'aseline limits are can 'e a s*',ect of
de'ate- "hey sho*ld not 'e set so low that serio*s moral val*es li(e non/discrimination are com)romised- :*t they sho*ld not 'e set so high either
that the range of )ermissi'le o)tions shrin(s to 0ero- 4hy sho*ld all instit*tions ado)t e.actly the same model of admissions5 4hy sho*ld they
all )erform e.actly the same social role5 Co*ld we not thin( of different instit*tions as )erforming different roles and catering to different needs and demands5 For instance,
there co*ld 'e instit*tions where the state feels n*merical +*otas are im)ortant, there co*ld 'e instit*tions were other (inds of de)rivation inde.es are *sed, there co*ld 'e
instit*tions that have o)en admissions and ta(e it *)on themselves to admit anyone who cares to show *), and there co*ld 'e instit*tions that have very stringent criteria of
entry- "he lac( of diversity in instit*tional forms in higher ed*cation e.tends 'eyond access )olicies as wellE arg*a'ly o*rs is amongst the most homogenised large ed*cation
systems in the world- For a co*ntry that )rides itself on its diversity, there is a s*r)rising fear of instit*tional diversity on any meas*re of the term diversity- 4e have red*ced
the idea of diversity to the idea of recognising different identities, '*t not recognising that they can 'e accorded recognition in different ways- 6ow might 'ringing
this form of diversity into the de'ate hel)5 For one thing, it wo*ld 'e a more honest ac(nowledgement of the
standing of all the )arties in the de'ate as citi0ens- 7t will 'e a tr*er reflection of views in society- 7t a))ears to
me that this wo*ld 'e a more honest way of not only dealing with o*r gen*ine disagreements, '*t will foster
more creativity and enco*rage )edagogic honesty