Girard's Criticism Essay - 1,159 words

Girard's Criticism (1) In his work State of Exception, Giorgio Agamben argues that the political dynamics of what is being referred to
as modern history, can be characterized by continuous attempts of figures of political authority to undermine the ideals of democracy,
as such that define the forms of political governing in civilized countries. Agamben discusses numerous examples from recent
history, when the proclaimed state of emergency, on the part of legitimate governments, which regard it as the tool of combating
social and political instability, would actually become prolonged in time and begin to be associated with something that has value in
itself. Author describes the political authority that functions outside of context of common law, as state of exemption, and suggests
that, even though the notion of democracy is still being cherished, within the context of Western politics, it does not have much in
common with how democratic governments actually function: Under the pressure of the paradigm of the state of exception, the entire
politico-constitutional life of Western societies began gradually to assume a new form, which has perhaps only today reached its full
development (Agamben, p. 13). The last sentence from this quote refers to the Patriot Act, which entitles FBI with the right to arrest
American citizens without receiving the consent from the Court of Law. Thus, Agamben argues that totalitarian fascism, as form of
governing, has never ceased to exist after the end of WW2, as it is being suggested by conventional politicians and historians.

What is the difference between Communist being thrown in concentration camp, because of his political views, during the time when
Nazis were in power in Germany, and a modern holocaust denier, such is Ernst Zundel, who is being sentenced to five years in jail in
todays democratic Germany, simply because of his insistence that Jews were not only the ones who suffered in WW2? We can say
that nowadays, fascism exists in the form of anti-fascism, which does not make it less dangerous to peoples well-being. After having
established that governments in democratic countries always strive to find an excuse to impose the state to exception upon citizens,
Agamben suggests that stabilization of state of exception is associated with institutionalized violence intruding into all spheres of
social life, while becoming less clearly defined. Therefore, he comes to conclusion that resorting to violence, on the part of ordinary
citizens, as the way to address institutionalized oppression, is perfectly understandable and even beneficial to the society, as whole.
The totalitarian political regimes strive to convince people that the fact that government maintains monopoly on violence is a natural
state of affairs. This is the reason why the rate of violent crimes, committed in totalitarian countries, is significantly lower then the
one in democratic countries. However, it is exactly because citizens in free countries think of themselves as mini-sovereigns, which
implies the subconscious conviction, on their part, that they do have the right to pursue their agenda with violent means, despite that
it is being forbidden by the law, that corresponds to their ability to attain metaphysical happiness. People in totalitarian states, on the
other hand, are deprived of such ability. Therefore, Agamben suggests that, in democratic countries, peoples violent behavior should
not be discussed as something ultimately evil, but as the mean of maintaining democracy; whatever illogical such idea might sound.

(2) The main conceptual difference between Rene Girards and Giorgio Agambens attitude towards the violence is the fact that,
whereas Agamben discuses it as having value in itself, Girard refers to violence as the tool, within a context of peoples existe
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