There’s no shame in a continental philosopher saying they are a Marxist, but it’s almost impossible to admit to being an anarchist. Silently, perhaps even unknowingly, philosophical anarchism “borrows” its definition from political anarchism, but the two remain strangers to each other. What do Reiner Schürmann, Emmanuel Levinas, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben and Jacques Rancière have in common? Each of them ascribed a determining ontological, ethical, or political value to anarchy – yet not a single one ever called themselves an “anarchist.” It is as if anarchism were unmentionable and had to be concealed, even though its critique of domination and of government is poached by the philosophers.

In a semantic revolution, anarchists redefined anarchy not as disorder but as organization free of the “governmental prejudice.” Without this definition – taken directly from political anarchist Joseph Proudhon – none of the philosophical concepts of anarchy would have been possible.

Stop Thief! Anarchism and Philosophy calls out the plundering of anarchism by philosophy. It’s a call that is all the more resonant today as the planetary demand for an alternative political realm raises a deafening cry. It also alerts us to a new philosophical awakening. Catherine Malabou proposes to answer the cry by re-elaborating a concept of anarchy articulated around a notion of the “non-governable” far beyond an inciting of disobedience or common critiques of capitalism. Anarchism is the only way out, the only pathway that allows us to question the legitimacy of political domination and to unsettle our confidence that we need to be led if we are to survive.

Catherine Malabou is Professor of Philosophy at Kingston University London.

Translator’s Note



1    Surveying the Horizon

2    Dissociating Anarchism from Anarchy

3    On the Virtue of Chorus Leaders: Archy and Anarchy in Aristotle’s Politics

4    Ontological Anarchy. From Greece to the Andes: Traveling with Reiner Schürmann

5    Ethical Anarchy: The Heteronomies of Emmanuel Levinas

6    “Responsible Anarchism”: Jacques Derrida’s Drive for Power

7    Anarcheology: Michel Foucault’s Last Government

8    Profanatory Anarchy: Giorgio Agamben’s Zone

9    Staging Anarchy: Jacques Rancière Without Witnesses



Conclusion: Being an Anarchist



Notes

Index