Philosophy as Political Engagement: Revisiting Merleau-Ponty and Reopening the Communist Question

• Published in: Contemporary political theory Vol. 2; no. 3; pp. 327 - 350
• Main Author: Coole, Diana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Palgrave Macmillan 01.10.2003
• Subjects: Cold War; Communism; Existentialism; Marxism; Merleau-Ponty, Maurice (1908-1961); Modernity; Phenomenology; Philosophers; Philosophy; Political Philosophy; Politics; Rationalism; Society; Theory
• ISSN: 1470-8914; 1476-9336
• DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.cpt.9300108

In this article, I revisit the work of the French political philosopher, Maurice Merleau-Ponty. A colleague of Sartre's until their quarrel, he sought to combine existentialism, Marxism and phenomenology. I begin by considering why Merleau-Ponty thought it was important, in confronting the problems of the present, to reconsider past ideas as well as political regimes. I also develop his distinctive methodology of dialectical engagement, his view of politics as a strategic field of forces, and his insistence that philosophy and political action are severed at our peril. In order to illustrate and flesh out all these claims, I return to Merleau-Ponty's treatment of the communist question, placing it within a broader context of his antipathy towards modern rationalism: something he found exemplified by liberal as well as communist regimes. In the course of the discussion, I consider Merleau-Ponty's critiques of Kant, Hegel and Marx as well as his ideas about political agency. However, I also allude at key points in my argument to the relevance of his thinking for our contemporary international situation.