Anonymous Comrade writes "translation ; Erik erikempson@wanadoo.fr

Bible lessons: the Empire Debate

Audit after 3 years of discussion on Hardt and Negri's "Empire"

"Empire has arrived" Tocotronic announce on their latest record, the Asian
Dub Foundation brings into place the words "Exodus" against "fortress
Europe", and Johny Cash inadvertently speaks of the 'multitude'. "Empire"
is pop. The book of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri can, like no other left
wing theoretical book before it, and three years after being published, show
substantial sales and bestseller placings as well as numerous citations.

The recognition that Empire receives can also be seen from the reviews that
have by now reached substantial number. It seems that no one can fail to
notice this book. By now almost every somehow politically orientated
magazine has published a discussion, so it seems now is the right time to
make an interim audit of the debate. What are, next to applause and
enthusiasm, the most important points of critique brought against H&N? The
authors have already had their say (see MALOME CLIPBOARD 3/2000 and MALOME
03/2002,) and here now follows, service orientated that we are, an overview
without commentary of the most central objections to Empire that come from
the most diverse of directions.

The multitude of criticism

Empire thesis: Nation states are changing their function, sovereignty goes
increasingly towards a world embracing empire of which nation states are
only a part. Criticism: The loss of importance of the nation state, in
particular the USA, is exaggerated (Henwood, Hirsch), the representation of
Empire is rather lacking in contours (Wissel/Buckel). The imperialist phase
is not over, this is shown especially by the conduct of the USA after 9/11
(Brand, Castronovo, Callinicos, Chingo, Jahnke, Petras, Post, Wark)

Empire thesis: Empire is a new phase of capitalism, this is shown by the
postmodern way of life, postfordist production and control society's methods
of rule.

Criticism: there is no new phase replacing an old one, but rather the old
methods of rule continue to exist alongside new forms. (Bensaid, Hauer,
Lemke) The division of capitalist development into specific phases or
paradigms suggests a stability, order and inner cohesion within these
paradigms, an approach that seriously underestimates their contradictions,
inconsistencies and instability (Bonnet, Hauer, Holloway) With the
announcement of a new phase, criticism of the past left movements is
cleverly evaded - what happened then was according to Empire right for its
time, but today everything is new. With that every lesson from the past can
be navigated around. (Bernhard)

Empire thesis: there are no longer clear divisions between first and third
world, riches and misery can be found everywhere.

Criticism: there are still many drastic geographical differences; capital
gives different areas different significance. The global south is too little
analysed in Empire, and the analysis is generalised from the conditions of
the industrialised countries. (Arrighi, Boron, Callinicos, Chingo,
Diefenbach, Ludmer, Moore, Mutman)

Empire thesis: Empire obeys a principle that follows the US constitution
(openess, the ability to integrate the new)

Criticism: This transfigures the US constitution as well as its use in
practice (Panitch) Here political juridical theory is declared to be the
motor of real phenomena instead of these being driven by political economy
and social power. (Bamyeh, Beasley-Murray, Dyer, Hartmann)

Empire thesis: the development of capitalism is driven in particular by the
resistance of the multitude, and on this basis capital has to react over and
over again with reorganisation of the conditions of production.

Criticism: concentrating on the conflict between capital and labour leaves
aside the fact that the competition between enterprises is also an important
driving force behind innovation and development. (Callinicos, Coates,
Kittsteiner, Chingo, Panitch, Wolf) By focusing only on the struggle they
deny the laws of movement of things within capital (Callinicos, Jahnke). And
also in the book they do not consistently apply their own thesis with regard
to all the historical periods (Panitch). The definition of multitude is
unclear and changes in the book (Rapp) Every detailed analysis of its
composition, its contradictions, its origin, and the potential of
opposition, is thrown together and covered up by the shimmering concept of
'Multitude'. The concept gives only gives a glossy name to existing
movements, no criteria of evaluation or analysis. (Panitch, Bernhard,
Wildcat) The necessity of organisation and leadership of the movement as
well as the potential positive role of the state are being underestimated.
(Proyect, Bischoff)

Empire: multitude and empire stand antagonistically against one another.

Criticism: Capital or rather Empire is not a subject, but a social
relationship, in which everything is interwoven (Hirsch) Therefore the
multitude can not be a pure subject that can go its own way from the ruling
relationships unpolluted. With that the interwoveness of all opposition to
the existing power is under- stated as can be seen in real life, not all
oppositional struggles are emancipatory but are often effected by governing
relationships like power struggles, racism and sexism (Anne, Arrighi, Dyer,
Hauer, Lemke, Ricos). The restructuring of capitalism also produces new
divisions and hierarchies between working people. The power of the affect of
the neo-liberal ideology and the competition between individuals is
underestimated (Coates). Empire also avoids every discussion/debate/argument
with regards to historical fascism as well as the power that actual right
populist movements have (Benl, Bischoff, Olma) The construction of two
opposing blocs actually states that power is something which is external to
man, and this stands in opposition to another Empire thesis which is that we
live in a phase of real-subsumption where all areas of life are permeated by
capitalism. (Balakrishnan, Hauer). The argument in Empire is so far driven
forward by the representation of empire as an external, unproductive
parasite, which takes the profit from the productive cooperation in the
multitude - that it approaches a structural anti-Semitism. (Kurz, Hartmann,
Benl) Generally Empire uses simple dichotomies instead of analysing things
in their ambivalence (Lemke). Therefore the question is whether emancipatory
changing potential inheres in its circumstances and constellations, which
H&N describe today as typical, rather than in the specific properties of the
subject [***trans*** cant quite get the meaning of this] (Diefenbach)

Empire thesis: civil society as an autonomous sphere has broken down, Empire
and Multitude suddenly stand opposed to one another.

Criticism: Intermediaries are as they have always been, extremely important,
(Coates) struggles within existing institution are important, as they
prepare the terrain for more aggressive and further reaching struggles.
(Brand)

Empire thesis: today immaterial labour is central to the production process,
predominantly cooperation offers liberating potential to self-organisation

The concept immaterial labour is overstated and not statistically proven,
the representation relies too much on the unchecked appropriation of the new
economy propaganda, the analysis of the information society in Empire is at
times rather weak. (Galagher, hauer, Henwood, Panitch, Wildcat) The concept
immaterial labour subsumes too much what is heterogeneous. (Deifenbach,
Dyer, Levinson). And that immaterial labour is today central to capitalism
does not automatically mean that in the fight against it, it will have a
decisive role. (Dyer) The thesis has an elitist touch, which undervalues the
role of the broad masses of material working people. (Callini-cock, Olma).
Also the question of the contents of the creativity of the producing
multitude is not being asked, the self-determination potential in the
communicative ability is over-valued and the governing/ruling aspects of
communication are faded out. (Benl, Hauer, Jappe, Kurz, Wassmer)

Empire thesis: "Basic (unconditional) income for everyone is a foundational
demand of the multitude.

Criticism: at one level Empire criticises struggles that defend a national
state against globalisation, but at the same time it defends a universal and
unconditional wage. Who will pay this money other than the state? (Rapp,
Henwood)

Empire thesis: Capital shall recognise the reality of migration and its
dependence on it by establishing a form of world citizenship.

Criticism: the demands for basic income and global rights, are being argued
for with the productivity of the already involved, the multitude. With that
the individual is not put into the centre but his usefulness is, and with
that the reactionary 'who doesn't work shall not eat' saying is not being
fought against, but the concept of work is stretched so far that the
tendency is that all fall into that category. (Wissel,/ Buckel, Kurz, Hauer)
Also they pass by the fact that the illegalisation of migrants becomes a
precondition for their stronger exploitation by capital.

The celebration of the liberating aspect of migration overlooks that the
migration usually occurs unwilling (Anne) and that most people are not
mobile (Mishra) and that the experience of migration does not contribute to
emancipatory thinking. (Jappe)

Empire thesis - Differences between production and reproduction are getting
blurred, at earlier times attributed to women, 'affective labour' is
nowadays for all areas of work a basic claim.

Criticism - domestic labour is being idealised as egalitarian and community
orientated. But analysis of gender relationships and gendered division of
labour is missing (schultz). The spreading out of unpaid reproductive work,
which is mainly done by women, is being ignored. Concrete conditions of life
as basis for or impediments to political activity remain un -analysed.
(Bernhard)

The optimistic and visionary tone in Empire:

Criticism: Instead of criticising government and authority, in Empire they
are reinterpreting it, and thinking into it an optimistic potential.
Optimism is not appropriate here and it only offers an apology for the
existing circumstances (Brand, Castronovo, Callinicusp, Conert, Fulberth.
(***trans***seems to say here that Empire proposes is to refuses to work
with what we have and posits that we have gone beyond it****) (Hartmann)

Too many metaphors, imprecision, exaggerations, religious aura and theory
(in addition these are wrongly misappropriated), too little political
economy and facts. (Arrighi, Balakrishnan, Benl, Brand, Burgio, Conert,
Flood, Panitch, Wissel/Buckel) Theory serves H&N only to justify their way
of handling things, not as a means of political analysis (Maniglier).

The five strands of the criticism

The first phase of the debate around Empire is more or less concluded; the
central critical points are being presented. The inner-left (***trans*** or
interlinking?) critics can therefore be divided into several groups.

The first group in particular has stylistic problems. The manifesto manner
and visionary entrance of Empire as well as the rather particular (as in
idiosyncratic) use of sources contradict a scientific approach, which
involves putting meticulous stocktaking, critique of what exists as well as
the authentic interpretation of the theoretical classics in the forefront.
(***trans*** cant get last of this sentence). Opposed to that, the style H&N
use makes a different demand on the theory, with its exaggeration and
sketchiness with its attempt to create a space for action and to beat a path
through a fought over reality, and to see itself as a part of a political
theory.

A second group raised empirical opposition against the Empire thesis,
sometimes more or less sound.

A third important strain of critique comes from the direction of other
theoretical schools, from where first of all, all that is new is demarcated
off (other Marxist camps, people that are orientated to Party, Trade Union
or state orientated), and this has its expression in that the success of
empire can be seen as suspicious and even more could be seen of proof for
its lack of quality and its opportunism. Here they reproach Empire for those
things that in their own theories play important traditional roles. These
approaches fulfil an important function because they make the differences in
political positions transparent, and it is those that contribute, to pull
out what is new in Empire and offers the un-prejudiced observer
possibilities for comparison. A fourth interesting strand points towards the
internal contradictions within the book. No wonder that with such an
ambitious piece of work, inconsistencies appear, though sometimes it is only
ambivalences. To erase those is at times exaggerated counting of peas, but
also offers an appropriate hint to further thought for the author and the
reader. Up until now there is a rather weakly established fifth strain which
takes from Empire stimulus for further thoughts, and to introduce concepts
into other areas - to add to them and to develop them further.

Where now?

A final evaluation of Empire in the light of the criticism oversteps our
present intellectual possibilities. But does Empire really have to be
defended? In part the authors have responded to the criticisms raised, in
particular in the special edition of the journal Rethinking Marxism and in
the many interviews. The statement that immaterial labour is central, does
not refer to the number of immaterial work places and working persons but of
their qualitative dominant position. Empire does not state that the nation
state loses importance, but only that it changes its function. The theory of
the dissolution of the third world does not imply that the world has become
homogeneous, but that the hierarchies and the dividing lines no longer
follow national boundaries, but also go through states. And yes, after 9/11
there was an imperialistic backlash in the U.S. (the crisis which 11/9
pushed the Empire thesis into, can be read from what Michael Hardt made
himself recently publish a strange article in the British Guardian in which
he more or less asked the world elite to accept that a decentralised Empire/
ruling system would be better as an Imperialistic war would be funny
(***trans*** ????). To a degree the Empire 'thought world' has found
followers in political movements and theoretical circles. And those
followers are now arguing with the critics in the most different contexts
and forum. Also Hardt and Negri are working on a continuation of Empire
(part 2). Which is only proper for a blockbuster.

But why should one expect from these two to put forward a clean sound world
explanation that convinces all? There is much in the building of theory of
those two which is of course wobbly, as it is in all other outlines and
drafts, that is how the theory trade works. Not all arguments from Empire
have to be defended - though the beginning and the central impulse do very
much so. 'A theory is as good as what one can do with it' so says Katja
Diefenbach following Deleuze/ Guattari, "and with Empire you can do a lot'.
The call for disquiet, the undetering surge for breaks, connections and
interminglings, the offensive sounding out of possibilities and putting
forward to discussion political projects in new constellations. These
impulses must be taken further.

Now it will show, whether after the conclusion of the first phase during
which time all have brought forward their criticisms, a second phase will
follow, where there will be a productive discussion, further development of
these theories and the political effects of the Empire impulses. Such a
process will not be limited to books. Because of the most essential
questions only political movements can find an answer. Multitude, move
yourself!

Pinguin

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