Virilio's Electronic Dérive

In: Cultural politics: an international journal ; exploring cultural and political power across the globe, Band 1, Heft 3, S. 365-378

Abstract

"Virilio's Electronic Dérive" provides a summary of Ville panique. It shows that the culture critic joins a contemporary debate on the city, democracy, and citizenship. It argues that by writing at the limit of a shift in style and mode of communication, the critic takes what is a tendency for truth. Virilio's apocalyptic style refuses any kind of nuancing. He argues for general disaster under the impact of technologies. Thus, he does not bring out economic injustices, on the one hand, and, on the other, risks losing credibility by being seen as technophobic.