NCJ Number
62332
Journal
PARTISAN REVIEW Volume: 38 Issue: 1 Dated: (1971) Pages: 95-103
Date Published
1971
Length
9 pages
Annotation
THE NOTION OF THE 'AESTHETICIZATION OF POLITICS,' WHICH IMPLIES A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART AND TERROR, IS EXAMINED IN VIEW OF THE RADICALISM OF THE POLITICAL EXTREMISTS AND OTHER MODERN TERRORISTS.
Abstract
'AESTHETICIZED' POLITICS, OR POLITICS AS THEATER, IS A CONCEPT FIRST DEVELOPED BY WALTER BENJAMIN TO EXPLAIN THE FASCISTS' GLORIFICATION OF WAR. HOWEVER, THE AESTHETICIZATION OF POLITICS IS NOT CONFINED TO RADICALISM OF THE RIGHT BUT APPLICABLE TO ANY CAUSE OR MASTER. AS IN THE CASE OF THE ARTIST WHO EXTOLLED THE BEAUTIES OF BOMB THROWING, THE AESTHETICIZATION OF POLITICS EXPRESSES THE CONSUMMATION OF ART FOR ART'S SAKE, EXAGGERATING THE LATENT ANTIHUMANIST, NONETHICAL ASPECT OF ART. BECAUSE AESTHETICIZED POLITICS CEASES TO ASK SERIOUS MORAL AND PRACTICAL QUESTIONS, ITS PRIMARY PURPOSE SEEMS TO BE THE SELF-DEFINITION OF THE PARTICIPANT THROUGH ACTION. POLITICS IS THUS REDUCED TO AN EXERCISE IN PERSONAL REALIZATION WITH LITTLE REGARD FOR ITS OTHER CONSEQUENCES. FREQUENTLY, THE MOTIVATION OF THE NEW TERRORISTS APPEARS MORE PSYCHOLOGICAL THAN POLITICAL. THE GUILT-RIDDEN WHITE REVOLUTIONARIES OF THE WEATHERMAN ASSERTED, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THEY TOO HAVE STRUGGLED AND SUFFERED. ENTERING THE VOCABULARY OF THE NEW LEFT OF THE 1960'S WAS AN INCREASING AWARENESS OF THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOUGHT AND ACTION, AS PERSONIFIED BY THE INSIGHTS OF MARCUSE AND CARL OGLESBY. HOWEVER, MODERN TERRORISTS APPEAR TO BE DISMISSING THE NECCESSITY OF THEORY AS A STRATEGY FOR CHANGE BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE. INSTEAD, THESE TERRORISTS ARE BASING THEIR HOPES ON THE CONSUMMATION OF A GLOBAL CLASS STRUGGLE, EMPHASIZING CHAOS RATHER THAN CHANGE. TO BELIEVE THAT A WORTHWHILE REVOLUTION CAN BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT EXTENSIVE POPULAR SUPPORT IS TO IGNORE THE LESSONS OF BOTH THEORY AND HISTORY. HOWEVER, THE RADICALS' RESORT TO TERROR MAY ALSO REFLECT THE FAILURE OF 'REASONABLENESS' AS A POLITICAL FORCE AND THE DECLINE IN THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD. ALTHOUGH THE CONDITIONS FOR THE UNITY OF THEORY AND PRACTICE MAY NOT BE AT HAND, THE FUTURE OF THE NEW LEFT WILL ALWAYS BE DIM IF IT DOES NOT DISTINGUISH ITSELF FROM TERRORIST FACTIONS. THIS ESSAY SUPPLIES NO REFERENCES. (WJR)