On difference. Lack and politics in Pierre Clastres

This article addresses Pierre Clastres’ analysis of what he called “societies against the State”. Its goal is to engage in a discussion of the way in which Western political theory considered the notion of difference. First, the article shows the way in which Clastres deals with the idea of lack amo...

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Main Author: Sebastián Barros
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Published: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede Ecuador 2013-09-01
Series:Íconos
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/851
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author Sebastián Barros
author_facet Sebastián Barros
author_sort Sebastián Barros
collection DOAJ
description This article addresses Pierre Clastres’ analysis of what he called “societies against the State”. Its goal is to engage in a discussion of the way in which Western political theory considered the notion of difference. First, the article shows the way in which Clastres deals with the idea of lack among the peoples he studied. Instead of presenting them as societies lacking something (faith, king, law), he describes these peoples as societies against the State. Then, the article tackles Clastres’ idea of politics as the matrix for all differences. For him, politics operates on the limits of the demos, defining which differences will be legitimately articulated within the community. Finally –and briefly–, the article puts forward a way in which the analysis of contemporary political processes like Latin America populisms or the Indignants Movement in Europe could benefit from Clastres’ conception of politics and difference.
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language Spanish
publishDate 2013-09-01
publisher Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede Ecuador
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-e2143157096443d283a482029871f4c32025-02-02T10:25:14ZspaFacultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede EcuadorÍconos1390-12492224-69832013-09-01174712113310.17141/iconos.47.2013.851On difference. Lack and politics in Pierre ClastresSebastián BarrosThis article addresses Pierre Clastres’ analysis of what he called “societies against the State”. Its goal is to engage in a discussion of the way in which Western political theory considered the notion of difference. First, the article shows the way in which Clastres deals with the idea of lack among the peoples he studied. Instead of presenting them as societies lacking something (faith, king, law), he describes these peoples as societies against the State. Then, the article tackles Clastres’ idea of politics as the matrix for all differences. For him, politics operates on the limits of the demos, defining which differences will be legitimately articulated within the community. Finally –and briefly–, the article puts forward a way in which the analysis of contemporary political processes like Latin America populisms or the Indignants Movement in Europe could benefit from Clastres’ conception of politics and difference.https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/851differencepoliticspierre clastreslackpeople
spellingShingle Sebastián Barros
On difference. Lack and politics in Pierre Clastres
Íconos
difference
politics
pierre clastres
lack
people
title On difference. Lack and politics in Pierre Clastres
title_full On difference. Lack and politics in Pierre Clastres
title_fullStr On difference. Lack and politics in Pierre Clastres
title_full_unstemmed On difference. Lack and politics in Pierre Clastres
title_short On difference. Lack and politics in Pierre Clastres
title_sort on difference lack and politics in pierre clastres
topic difference
politics
pierre clastres
lack
people
url https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/851
work_keys_str_mv AT sebastianbarros ondifferencelackandpoliticsinpierreclastres