Recognition as a counter hegemonic strategy

In: Filozofija i društvo, Band 34, Heft 2, S. 257-272

Abstract

Building on the analyses of cultural hegemony in the works of Nancy Fraser
and Wendy Brown, I argue in the paper that the historic bloc (order of
cultural hegemony) of post-Fordist capitalism is characterized by a
particular dynamic between several ?axes? of hegemony that gives rise to the
?paradox of engagement/disengagement?. The ?progressive-expertocratic? axis
of hegemony creates a subject-position of the ?engaged self?, a figure
embodying a certain promise of political agency that is simultaneously
obstructed by other, depoliticizing axes of hegemony. This dynamic is
conducive to the rise of contemporary right-wing authoritarianism, which
purports to fulfill this promise of political agency through a series of
displacements - the counterhegemonic left, I argue, has so far not
formulated an effective alternative to this strategy. In the second part, I
explore the potential of Axel Honneth?s theory of recognition, in particular
his concept of ?interpersonal respect?, for grounding a left strategy of
connecting (mutually articulating) the hegemonic figure of the ?engaged
self? with a progressive politics of social transformation. To that end, I
elaborate Honneth?s perspective by means of an argument about the role of
trust in the context of societal crises that Igor Cvejic, Srdjan Prodanovic
and I have recently formulated.