Critical Theory in Times of Crisis

The inflationary use of the term crisis in public discourse and media to pinpoint particular events in the most divergent branches of society (finance and debt, economy, climate, migration, national and supranational political institutions, to name only a few of many examples) should make us suspicious. Critical Theory at a Crossroads deals with these crisis situations, as well as the manifold forms of resistance and theoretical analyses provoked by them. The book consists of eleven interviews with a well-considered sample of established thinkers across a variety of disciplines. Among the interviewees we find Rosi Braidotti, Jacques Rancière, Joseph Vogl, Wendy Brown, Antonio Negri, Tariq Ali, Saskia Sassen, Maurizio Lazzarato, Angela McRobbie, and Jean-Luc Nancy. The book concludes with a letter exchange between Zygmunt Bauman and Roberto Esposito on the latter’s theorem of immunity. In a thought-provoking and engaging introduction, Stijn de Cauwer, the editor of the volume, ties the divergent and at times conflicting threads of the interviews neatly together. De Cauwer also equips his reader with additional context and insight in the debates about crisis and resistance in which these critical thinkers intervene.

The term crisis originates in medical discourse, where it calls for immediate action in the “critical” moment that is decisive of life and death. However, the current use of the word often obscures the complexity of and the systemic connections between social phenomena. Its metaphorical transposition evokes a constant sense of urgency that, in the words of Joseph Vogl in the chapter “The History of the Notion of Crisis,” reduces people’s power to act “in the face of certain political, economic, and social processes where the turn for the better or worse cannot truly be recognized” (65). As noted in the introduction, this is a rhetorical trick that suggests “an organic or processual character” and demands immediate and exceptional measures, presented as remedies of experts whose legitimacy depends on the crisis discourse itself (xiv). An infamous example is the austerity program imposed on Greece by the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund and implemented by the Syriza government. The crisis situation solicited immediate, drastic measures and even trumped the results of a referendum. This book also scrutinizes the attempts at political renewal and critically examines the emergence of new modes of political resistance and grassroots experiments as reactions to these crises, both within and parallel to traditional party politics, highlighting the problems protest movements may face if they want to effectuate real, immediate change. DiEM 2025, an initiative of former Greek finance minister Iannis Varoufakis to democratize the EU, shows that it is not an easy task to create a transnational organization. The crystallization of Indignados in Podemos shows that the transition of a horizontal movement to a traditional political party can cause some friction with the original principles. The main question this book tries to confront from different angles is “what political action should be undertaken to counter the huge problems that some try to frame by calling them a ‘crisis’?” (xxii).

All interviewees agree on the importance of rhetorical critique to expose the “framework in which a certain problem is posed” (xxiv), with regard to both crisis discourse and critical theory. Crisis is etymologically related to critique. We need criticism to read the signs and connect the dots, “to make judgments” and “assess a situation,” in some cases to imagine alternatives to an “infernal” choice between two evils forced on us by neoliberal, right, conservative crisis discourse (xvi). Accordingly, Critical Theory at a Crossroads lives up to its imperative of “horizontality” by virtue of the interview format: there is no master narrative or answer that is given a preferential treatment. The modest “conversations” in the subtitle promise “dialogue” rather than “confrontation,” “coming together” rather than “parting ways.” Speakers are invited to shed light on contemporary political, social, and cultural phenomena and the ensuing forms of resistance through the lens of their own conceptual framework and...