ACTIVE SUBJECTS, PASSIVE REVOLUTION Agility, cleverness and irony in contemporary society

Neoliberal politics can be defined with a Gramscian term as "passive revolution"; an act of making history, that is, without conveying to people the idea that they are an active part in its shaping. Apart from demoralization, this politics has also brought on a new active subject whose key...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCultural studies (London, England) Vol. 22; no. 6; pp. 837 - 849
Main Author Barfuss, Thomas
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 01.11.2008
Subjects
cunning
de Certeau
Dialectics
Gramsci
Gramsci, Antonio
Identity Politics
Irony
Modern Society
Neoliberalism
passive revolution
politics of culture
Revolutions
subject
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Summary:Neoliberal politics can be defined with a Gramscian term as "passive revolution"; an act of making history, that is, without conveying to people the idea that they are an active part in its shaping. Apart from demoralization, this politics has also brought on a new active subject whose key features are individual agility and cleverness. But how is it possible that a passive revolution should result in active subjects? The analysis is presented in three steps: part one casts a glimpse at the construction of a new, agile subject in theory, film and literature; part two refers to Gramsci for an analysis of neoliberalism as passive revolution; part three seeks to outline possible transitions from mere agility to strategy, from individual tricks to social experience, from irony to dialectics.
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ISSN:0950-2386
1466-4348
DOI:10.1080/09502380701702417