ERNESTO LACLAU ErnestoLaclaublazedauniquetrailinpoliticaltheoryandphilosophysincetheearly1970s. In so doing, he has articulated a range of philosophical and theoretical currents into a coherent alternative to mainstream models and practices of conducting social and political science.Theeditors havefocusedonworkinthreekeyareas: Post-Marxist political theory: discourse, hegemony, signification Laclauhasdevelopedanoriginalconceptionofpost-Marxistpoliticaltheorythatisgrounded onamaterialisttheoryofdiscourse.Thelatterisconstructedfromarangeoftheoreticaland philosophical sources, including poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, linguistic theory and post- analyticalphilosophy.Thecentrepieceofthisapproachisthecategoryofhegemony,which develops Antonio Gramsci’s seminal contribution to Marxist theory, and is in turn con- nected to a web of related concepts, including articulation, dislocation, the logics of equivalence and difference, political identification, myth and social imaginary. These ideas have informed a number of empirical and theoretical studies associated with the Essex Schoolof DiscourseTheory. Analysing populism A central concern of Laclau’s writings has been the question of populism, both in Latin Americawherehebeganhisinterrogationofthephenomenon(especiallytheexperienceof Peronism), and then in his engagement with the “new social movements” and socialist strategy more generally. The concept of populism becomes a general way of exploring the “primacy ofpolitics”insociety. Critical engagements Laclau is first and foremost an engaged intellectual who has consistently sought to theorize contemporary events and reality, and to debate with the leading intellectual figures of the day, with respect to questions of political principle and strategy. His recent debates with JudithButlerandSlavojŽižekinContingency,Hegemony,Universality:ContemporaryDialogues ontheLeft,publishedin2000(London:Verso),exemplifythiscriticalethos.Hecontinuesto elaboratehisapproachbychallengingandarticulatingrelatedapproaches,andbysituatinghis workinconnectiontothedemocratic Left. David Howarth is a Reader in the Department of Government and Co-Director of the Centre forTheoretical StudiesattheUniversityof Essex,UK. Routledge Innovators in Political Theory Edited by Terrell Carver, University of Bristol and Samuel A. Chambers, The Johns Hopkins University Routledge Innovators in Political Theory focuses on leading contemporary thinkers in political theory, highlighting the major innovations in their thought that have reshapedthe field. Eachvolumecollectsboth publishedand unpublishedtexts, and combines them with an interview with the thinker. The editorial introduction articulates the innovator’s key contributions in relation to political theory, and contextualises the writer’s work. Volumes in the series will be required reading for both students and scholars of twenty-first century politics. 1 William E. Connolly Democracy, pluralism and political theory EditedbySamuel A.Chambers andTerrell Carver 2 Carole Pateman Democracy, feminism, welfare EditedbyTerrell CarverandSamuel A.Chambers 3 Michael J. Shapiro Discourse, culture & violence EditedbyTerrell CarverandSamuel A.Chambers 4 Chantal Mouffe Hegemony, radical democracy, and the political EditedbyJamesMartin 5 Ernesto Laclau Post-Marxism, populism, and critique EditedbyDavidHowarth ERNESTO LACLAU Post-Marxism, populism and critique Edited by David Howarth Firstpublished2015 byRoutledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN andbyRoutledge 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness ©2015selectionandeditorialmatterDavidHowarth;contributorstheir contributions. TherightofDavidHowarthtobeidentifiedaseditorofthisworkhasbeen assertedbyhiminaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentAct1988. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinany informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe publishers. Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksorregistered trademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintentto infringe. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Laclau,Ernesto [Essays.Selections] ErnestoLaclau:post-marxism,populism,andcritique/editedbyDavid Howarth. pagescm--(Routledgeinnovatorsinpoliticaltheory;5) Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. 1.Populism--Philosophy.2.Socialism--Philosophy.I.Howarth,DavidR., editorofcompilation.II.Title. JC423.L252014 320.01--dc23 2013049230 ISBN:978-0-415-87086-3(hbk) ISBN:978-0-415-87087-0(pbk) ISBN:978-0-203-76228-8(ebk) TypesetinBembo byIntegraSoftwareServicesPvt.Ltd. CONTENTS Acknowledgements vii Introduction: discourse, hegemony and populism: Ernesto Laclau’s political theory 1 David Howarth PARTI Post-Marxist political theory: discourse, hegemony, signification 21 1 Discourse (1993) 23 2 Dislocation and capitalism, social imaginary and democratic revolution (1990) 30 3 Why do empty signifiers matter to politics? (1994) 66 4 The death and resurrection of the theory of ideology (1996) 75 5 Ideology and post-Marxism (2007) 96 PARTII Analysing populism 109 6 Towards a theory of populism (1977) 111 7 Populism: what’s in a name? (2005) 152 vi Contents 8 Why constructing a people is the main task of radical politics (2006) 165 PARTIII Critical engagements 197 9 ‘The time is out of joint’ (1995) 199 10 Can immanence explain social struggles? (2003) 213 11 On ‘real’ and ‘absolute’ enemies (2005) 223 12 Bare life or social indeterminacy? (2005) 231 13 Community and its paradoxes: Richard Rorty’s “Liberal Utopia” (1991) 242 An interview with Ernesto Laclau: questions from David Howarth 257 Index 272 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the final stages of editing this volume, we learned that Ernesto Laclau died suddenly while attending a conference in Valencia, Spain. This book is dedicated to the memory of Ernesto—an inspirational thinker and generous teacher and mentor. I would also like to thank Terrell Carver, Sam Chambers and the editorial teamatRoutledgefortheirpatienceandgoodcheerinensuringthecompletionof this book. David Howarth University of Essex This page intentionally left blank INTRODUCTION Discourse, hegemony and populism: Ernesto ’ Laclau s political theory David Howarth Ernesto Laclau, an Argentinian political theorist and philosopher, has taught and conducted research at a number of leading universities in the UK, North America and in his native Latin America. He is the foremost exponent of a distinctively post-Marxist approach to social analysis, which has developed over the past thirty or forty years. In elaborating this approach, he has articulated currents within poststructuralist theory (e.g. Derrida and Foucault) and post-analytical philosophy (e.g.WittgensteinandRorty),togetherwithpsychoanalysis (e.g.Freud andLacan), so as to elaborate a novel method of discourse analysis. This approach is under- pinned by a materialist conception of discourse, which deconstructs the realism/ idealism opposition, as well as the traditional dichotomies between thought and reality, linguistic and non-linguistic practices and mind and matter. His work has inspired a number of scholars in the social sciences and humanities, who have endeavoured to apply and develop his theoretical and methodological approach in various ways.1 In general, his work can be divided into three basic phases: an initial attempt to develop a Marxist theory of ideology and politics, which draws upon and extends the work of Antonio Gramsci and Louis Althusser; the development of a post- Marxist theory of hegemony that incorporates poststructuralist philosophy, thus breaking decisively with the residual determinism and essentialism of the Marxist paradigm; and the further development of this post-Marxist approach through a deeper engagement with Jacques Derrida’s deconstructionist philosophy and Jacques Lacan’s interpretation of Freudian psychoanalysis. His work is indispensable for characterizing and explaining the emergence and dissolution of political ideologies and the social formations within which they are constructed, as well as the con- stitution of social subjects. On a more normative register, together with Chantal Mouffe, he has constructed and advocated a project for a radical and plural democracy (Laclau, 2005b; Laclau and Mouffe, 1985; Mouffe, 1993; 2000; 2005).