Contemporary ideology

Summary

Dominique Pagani characterizes contemporary ideology first by what it rejects: the dominant discourse repudiates what he calls an "accursed triangle", namely man, the universal and progress1. He places part of it on the side of counter-revolution and names Lévi-Strauss as a reactionary thinker, though one he considers respectable. In his view, structuralism made Marxism look outdated at a time when capitalism was believed to be immortal. He links this development to the Cold War: the French philosophical school turned to Nietzsche and Heidegger against Marx and Hegel2, and these two authors remain the reference points of today's intellectual authorities3. He also points to a closing-off effect: the only choice left would be between the official theory and "conspiracy"4. He notes unexpected convergences, such as that of the libertarian and the liberal against the State5. Finally, he describes a shift from the ideology of desire, "it is forbidden to forbid", towards fascism and rising military budgets6.

1. 1Adotevi: Negritude and negrologists (2017)8 Jun 2017 · 48:50
2. 2#7 Harnessed to confinitude5 May 2020 · 1:03:29
3. 3#7 Harnessed to confinitude5 May 2020 · 1:37:02
4. 4#15 Return to the logics of the subject23 Jul 2020 · 29:38
5. 5#15 Return to the logics of the subject23 Jul 2020 · 1:07:08
6. 6State and state apparatus: the conflict between public and private29 Aug 2025 · 30:14

Summary produced automatically from 8 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.