Ranciere - The Cause of the Other, Ranciere
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,1998,vol.4,no.2,25±33
TheCauseoftheOther
1
JacquesRancie
Myargumentdoesnotexactlycorrespondtothethemeoftheexchangeofgazes
betweenFranceandAlgeria.ItwillnotinfactdealwithlookingatAlgeriaorwith
abodyofknowledgeaboutmodernAlgerianthought.Myconcernis,rather,with
there¯exivegazeweturnbackonourselveswhenweconsideran
other
whosepresence
orabsencemodi®esthemeaningoftheadjective`French’anddistancesthe`French’
politicalsubjectfromhimorherself.Iwillthereforebespeakingofwhatcan,without
provocation,becalled`French’Algeria,andofthewayinwhichthetiesthatwere
knottedandthenunknottedbetweenthetwotermsatthe
State
levelknottedthem
togetheratthe
political
level,andthusgaverisetoaspeci®corderingoftherelation-
shipbetweentheterms`Citizen’,`French’,`people’,`man’,or`proletarian’.Iwill
attempttoshowhowthisknottingtogetherhasdeterminedarelationshipofalterity,
aparticularrelationshipbetweensameandotherthatliesattheheartofourcitizen-
ship:aconcernfortheotherthatisnotethical,buttrulypolitical.
Thelatteroppositionisenoughtoindicatethatmyintentionistore¯ectonthe
relationshipbetweenthisrecentpastandourpresent,tocomparetwowaysof
orderingrelationsbetweensameandother,nationalandforeign,includedand
excluded.Iwouldliketoprojectafewofthequestionsthatarisewhenweconsider
theknottingtogetherofFranceandAlgeriaontothecontemporaryorderingofthe
®guresofalterity(thehomeless,theimmigrant,theexcluded,thefundamentalist,
manandhumanitarianism)thatde®nesourpolitical®eld,orourabsenceofa
political®eld.
Thataradicalbreakhasoccurredbetweentwocosmologiesofthepolitical,or
betweenthetwosystemsofrelationsbetweenworld,history,truthandhumanity
thatde®netherationalityofthepolitical,issoobviousthatitisnowdi
æ
culttospeak
oftherelationshipbetweensameandother.Ifwerereadthewritingsofthosewho
supportedtheAlgeriancausein1960,wearestruckbythefactthatwhenthe
philosopherJean-PaulSartrecommentsonthethesesofFrantzFanon,andwhen
thesociologistPierreBourdieuspeaksonthebasisofhis®eldwork,theyarguein
termsofcategoriesbelongingtothesamecosmology.Thewarisseenasalanguage,
andasalanguagethatspeaksthetruthofahistoricalprocess.Andthattruth-process
islikenedtoade®nitesystemofrelationsbetweenthesameandtheother:inthe
courseofthestruggle,a`people’whoseidentityhasbeensnatchedawaybycolonial
oppressionbecomesthatalterity’sother.That`people’isnotreturningtoaparticular-
itythathasbeendenied;itisconqueringanewhumanity.Waristheunveiledand
invertedtruthofoppression,anditiscompletingthebreakwithaprimalidentity.
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1998Taylor&FrancisLtd 25
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Insofarasitendsthenegationthatwascolonialism,thewarisanegationofthe
negation.Colonialdegradationendswiththeconquestofaselfwhichisnew,which
cannolongergobacktooldparticularismsandwhichleadstothenewcitizenship
oftheuniversal.`Likesometimebomb’,writesPierreBourdieu,
thewariscompletelydemolishingsocialrealities;itiscrushingand
scatteringtraditionalcommunitiessuchasthevillage,theclanorthe
family¼Thepeasantmasseswhorejectedtheinnovationso
å
eredby
theWestinthenameofasturdytraditionandconservatism,have
beencaughtupinthewhirlwindofviolencewhichisabolishingthe
remainsofthepast.
2
Thevoiceofthemilitantandthatofthescientist,likethoseoftheuniversalist
philosopherandthespecializedscientist,canspeakasonebecausetheirpronounce-
mentsrelatetothesamesystemofreferencepoints.Withinthissystem,thewar
constitutesanemergentpeople;theemergentpeopleidentifywiththevoiceofa
truth;historyisthemomentofatruththatassertstheclosureofahistoricalform
(colonialism)asthesubjectthatcolonialismhadwrestedasunderbecomesavoice
andapeople.Thissystemofrelationsbetweentruth,time,identityandalterityis,
ofcourse,farremovedfromthesystemsthatgoverntoday’sanalyses.Thatmuchis
obviousfromthewayinwhichacontemporarysociologistofIslamdescribesand
interpretsforusasimilarphenomenonof`deracination’.ThisishowBrunoEtienne
nowexplainstheriseofradicalIslamism:
TheNation-stateisdestroyingcommunitarianstructuresandacceler-
atingthe¯ightfromthecountrysidebutcannoto
å
eranycredible
welfareprovisionforindividuals,whobecomeanonymouscitizens.
Thereceptionfacilitieso
å
eredbythepiouscommunities,insofaras
theyarespiritualcommunities,doallowindividualstotranscendtheir
deracinationandsublimatetheirfrustration.
3
Thistextdescribesaprocessofbreakingwithtraditionsimilartothatarguedforby
SartreandBourdieuthirtyyearsago.Butthewayinwhichitestablishesitscause,
andthee
å
ectsitdeducesfromit,invertstherelationshipbetweenpoliticsandtruth
thatunderpinnedtheirwords:therelationshipbetweenwhatknowledgecansay
abouttheworld,andwhatpoliticscanapprehendofit.The`cause’ofthederacin-
ationisnolongeroppressionandliberation.Itisnowane
å
ectthatisequivalentto
both:theNation-statewhich,asamodalityofthesocialbond,isthetypicalformof
modernity.Deracinationnolongerproducestheuniversalityofadisappropriation
thathasbeeninvertedintoanappropriationoftheuniversal.Itisnomorethana
lossofidentity,andaneedtorecoveranidentity.Andthespiritualcommunity
respondstothatneed.Theprocesswhich,thirtyyearsago,wassupposedlyforging
arevolutionaryman,isnowsupposedlyforgingamanwhowantstotransformthe
religiouslawintothelawofthepoliticalworld.Thisinversionofe
å
ectsinvertsthe
politicalstatusoftheobjectofsocialscience:whereashistorywasonceaprocess
thatturnedalienationintotruth,localcommunitiesbaseduponbeliefareallthat
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remain.Thesocialisnolongertheinstanceofthe`manifest’,orthesitewherethe
truthbecomesameaningfulpoliticalmovement.Itistheinstanceofobscurityonce
more.Buttheobscurityofthebeliefthatcanestablishbondsisnowseenastheonly
thingthatcanconfermeaning.Itsuppliessocialsciencewithbothitsrawmaterial
anditsmodeofvalidity,namelytherelativitythatdistinguishesitfromphilosophical
teleologiesoftruth.BrunoEtiennegoeson:`Itisbecausegroupsrequirecohesionif
theyaretosurvivethatmeaningexists,andnottheotherwayround’.
4
Onecouldsimplytakenoteofthefactthattheworldhaschanged,orofthefact
thatitisnowimpossibletobindthefourterms`history’,`truth’,`people’and`univer-
sal’intoaprocessthatallowstruthtoforgeaworld.Wewouldthenhavetoconclude
thatthepossibilityofconstitutingpoliticalobjectsandutteranceswasboundupwith
acosmologyandatruth-regimethathavebecomeforeigntous.Andwewouldthus
condemnourselvestohavingtospeakofthatpoliticalcon®gurationinpurelyhistor-
icalterms.AndyetIwonderifitmightnotbepossibletokeepthequestionwithin
thelimitsofthepoliticalbyde®ningadi
å
erentlineofapproach.Thebasichypothesis
isasfollows:beliefinatruth-regimeisatleastasmuchane
å
ectasthecauseofa
givenmodeofpoliticalsubjectivation.Ifthatisthecase,wenolongerhavetosimply
comparetheillusionsanddisenchantmentsofhistory’srelationshipwiththetruth
thatde®nespossiblepoliticalutterances.Wecanarriveatapositionalcomparison
ofthepoliticalrelationshipsbetweensameandotherthatdeterminebeliefinagiven
historicaltruthregimeorregimeofuntruth.
Iamthereforesuggestingthatwedisplacetheargumentawayfroma`historical’
analysiscentredonthewar/truthrelationshipandonthecauseoftheuniversal
producedbythetwofoldnegationofthealterityoftheother,andinthedirection
ofapoliticalanalysiscentredonwhatmadeitpossibletoinscribethepoliticalstruggle
againstthewar,namelyacertainsenseofthecauseoftheother.Iamusingaterm
whichis,forus,o
å
ensive.Butithasalwaysbeeno
å
ensive.Tospeakofthecauseof
theotherappearstoreferpoliticstosomethingitdoesnotwanttobe,andwhichit
isrightnottowanttobe,namelyethics.Thewholepointis,however,toseethat
theothercanbeincludedinpoliticsinanon-ethicalway.Ethicsandpoliticsthus
ceasetobepolaropposites,astheyareinthenormalorderingoftherelationship
betweentheseterms,orwhenpoliticsisseenasarealmofself-interestedcommunities
governedbytheirownlogicsofself-preservation,andethicsastherealmofarespect
fortheothergovernedbyprinciplesthattranscendpoliticallimitations.
Âsdelaterre
.Itisaparaodoxicalprefaceinthatitintroduces
ustoabookbywarningusthatthisbookisnotaddressedtous.Thewarofliberation
wagedbythecolonizedistheirwar,Sartretellsus.Thisbookisaddressedtothem.
Theywantnothingtodowithus,andespeciallynotwiththehumanisticprotestsof
ourbeautifulsouls.Ourprotestsarethelastformofthecolonialliethatisbeing
shatteredbythewar:thetruthofviolenceisitsnegation.Thetruthofthewarcan
thusbeseenasadenunciationofthelieofethics.Theparadoxicalthingaboutthis
anti-ethicalassertionisthat,byexcludingacauseoftheother,itactuallyde®nesa
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ThequestionofthestruggleagainsttheAlgerianwar,orthewayinwhichsuccessive
Frenchgovernmentswagedit,didposeadilemma:inwhatsense,ifnotanethical
sense,couldthecauseoftheAlgeriansbeourcause?RememberSartre’sprefaceto
FrantzFanon’s
LesDamne
purelyethicalandindividualisticrelationshipwiththewarassuch.Thus,thedeserter
MauriceMaschinojusti®eshisactionintermsoftheethicsofabsolutefreedomand
responsibilityestablishedbytheverysameSartrein
L’EtreetleneÂant
:`IfIammobilized
inawar,thatwarismywar.ItismadeinmyimageandIdeserveit’.
5
Two
con¯ictingSartreanismscometogetherhere:anotionofhistory-as-truththatdis-
missesanyethicsofaconcernfortheother,andanotionoffreedomthatmakes
theFrenchgovernment’swareveryone’sbusiness.Thepossibilityofatrulypolitical
mobilizationthatcouldbreakoutofadialoguebetweenwarandethicsalone,was
thereforeboundupwiththepossibilityofathirdutterance,anutterancecapableof
saying:`thiswaris
and
isnotourwar’.
Theworkofcertainhistorianshasrecentlyremindedusthatthestartingpointfor
thebigdemonstrationsthattookplacetowardstheendoftheAlgerianwarwas
17October1961.Onthatday,anAlgeriandemonstrationcalledbytheFLNin
Pariswasmarkedbysavagerepressionandanewsblackoutonthenumberofvictims.
Thatday,withitstwofoldaspect(manifestandhidden),wasaturningpoint,a
momentwhentheethicalaporiaoftherelationshipbetwen`mine’andtheotherwas
transformedintothepoliticalsubjectivationofaninclusiverelationshipwithalterity.
Thecrucialthingaboutthee
å
ectofthatdaywasthewayinwhichthequestionsof
thevisibilityandinvisibilityofrepressionbecameinterwovenintothethreerelation-
shipsthatwereinplay:therelationshipbetweenAlgerianmilitantsandtheFrench
state;thatbetweentheFrenchStateand`us’;andthatbetweentheAlgerianmilitants
and`us’.
6
FromtheFrenchState’spointofview,thedemonstrationmeantthat
AlgeriansinstrugglehademergedwithintheFrenchpublicspaceaspoliticalparticip-
antsand,inacertainsense,asFrenchsubjects.Theresultsofthatintolerableevent
arewellknown:savagebeatingsanddrownings.Inaword,thepoliceclearedthe
publicspaceand,thankstoanewsblackout,madeitsownoperationsinvisible.For
us,thismeantthatsomethinghadbeendoneinourcountryandinourname,and
thatitwastakenawayfromusintwoways.Atthetime,itwasimpossibleevento
countthevictims.AphraseusedbySartreinhisprefaceto
LesDamne
Itwasnottheblindingsunthatlitupthepoliticalscenein1961.Onthecontrary,
itwasaninvisibility,theremovalofsomethingbytheactionofthepolice.Andthe
policearenotprimarilyastrong-armrepressiveforce,butaformofintervention
whichprescribeswhatcanbeseenandwhatcannotbeseen,whatcanbesaidand
whatcannotbesaid.Andpoliticsisconstructedinrelationtothatprescription.
Politicsisnotsomethingthatisdeclaredinthefaceofawarthatisseenasthe
emergenceintotruthofsomethingtrulyhistorical.Politicsissomethingthatis
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Âsdelaterre
helpsustounderstand,
acontrario
,themeaningofthattwofolddisappearance:`The
blindingsunoftorturehasnowreacheditszenith,anditislightingupthewhole
country’.
7
Now,thetruthisthatthisblindingsunneverlitupanything.Markedand
torturedbodiesdonotlightupanything.Weknowthatnow,nowthatimagesfrom
Bosnia,Rwandaandelsewhereshowusmuchmorethanwewereshowninthose
days.Atbest,ourexposuretotheminspiresmoralindignation,apowerlesshatred
ofthetorturer.Itofteninspiresamoresecretfeelingofreliefatnotbeinginthat
other’sshoes,andsometimesitinspiresannoyancewiththosewhoareindiscreet
enoughtoremindusoftheexistenceofsu
å
ering.Fearandpityarenotpolitical
a
å
ects.
declaredinthefaceofpolicing,de®nedasthelawthatprescribeswhatemergesand
whatisheard,whatcanbecountedandwhatcannotbecounted.
8
Now,ithasto
berememberedthat,o
æ
cially,theAlgerianwarwasnotawar.Itwasapolice
operationonalargescale.Thepoliticalresponsewasthereforearesponsetothe
`police’aspectofthewar,andthatisnotthesamethingasarecognitionofthe
historical
validityofawarofliberation.Fromthatpointonwards,therebecame
possibleapoliticalsubjectivationthatdidnottaketheformofexternalsupportfor
theother’swar,orofanidenti®cationoftheother’smilitarycausewithourcause.
Thispoliticalsubjectivationwasprimarilytheresultofadisidenti®cationwiththe
Frenchstatethathaddonethisinournameandremoveditfromourview.We
couldnotidentifywiththeAlgerianswhoappearedasdemonstratorswithinthe
Frenchpublicspace,andwhothendisappeared.Wecould,ontheotherhand,reject
ouridenti®cationwiththeStatethathadkilledthemandremovedthemfromall
thestatistics.
Insofarasitisapolitical®gure,theprimarymeaningofthecauseoftheotherisa
refusaltoidentifywithacertain
self
.Itistheproductionofa
people
di
å
erentfrom
thepeopleseen,namedandcountedbytheState,ofapeoplede®nedbythewrong
donetotheconstitutionofacommonalitythatwasconstructinganothercommunal
space.Apoliticalsubjectivationalwaysimpliesa`discourseoftheother’inthree
senses.Itis,®rstly,arejectionofanidentityestablishedbyanother,adegradingof
thatidentity,andthereforeabreakwithacertain
self
.Secondly,itisademonstration
addressedtoanotherthatconstitutesacommunityde®nedbyacertainwrong.
Thirdly,italwayscontainsanimpossibleidenti®cation,anidenti®cationwithan
otherwithwhomonecannotinnormalcircumstancesidentify:the`wretchedofthe
earth’orsomeotherobject.InthecaseoftheAlgerianwar,therewasnoidenti®ca-
tionwiththose®ghters,whosemotiveswerenotours,orwiththosevictims,whose
veryfaceswereinvisibletous.Butanidentitythatcouldnotbeassumedwasincluded
inapoliticalsubjectivation±inarejectionofanidentity.
Thisrejectionofanidentitycouldbecometheprinciplebehindapoliticalaction,
andnotmerelysomeformofcompassion,foronespeci®creason.The
political
self-
di
å
erencecorrespondedtoanotherdi
å
erence,namelythejuridico-Statistdi
å
erence
thathadbeeninscribedforhundredsofyearsasthedi
å
erenceinternaltoFrench
identity.Irefertothedi
å
erencebetweenaFrench
subject
andaFrench
citizen
which
wasinscribedbythecolonialconquestasthedi
å
erenceinternaltothejuridical
determinationofbeingFrench.TheFrenchstatehadproclaimedtheendofthat
di
å
erenceatthebeginningofJune1958.Thepointisthatitspolicemenoncemore
underlineditheavilyonthatdayinOctober1961bymeetingoutarepressionthat
di
å
erentiatedbetweensome`Frenchpeople’andothers,andbydistinguishing
betweenthosewhodidanddidnothavetherighttoappearwithintheFrenchpublic
space.TheStatethereforemadeitpossibletosubjectivatetheself-di
å
erenceofour
citzenship,oragapbetweenjuridicalcitizenshipandpoliticalcitizenship.Thatself-
di
å
erenceofFrench/Algeriancitizenscouldnot,however,besubjectivatedby®ghters
involvedinawarofliberationwhowerenowdeterminedtowintheirAlgerian
identitythroughwar.We,ontheotherhand,couldsubjectivateitaswewerecaught
betweentwode®nitionsofcitizenship:thenationalde®nitionofmembershipofthe
Frenchnation,andthepoliticalde®nitionofcitizenshipasawayofcountingthe
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