Citation

LeNabat M. Int. Crit. Thought 2012; 2(4): 456-471.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/21598282.2012.730373

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper borrows from Arendt's analysis in her 1969 essay 'On violence' to make an intervention in the debates about violence that have arisen in relation to new political movements such as Occupy Wall Street. While Arendt was writing against a tendency to overestimate the political value of violence, this paper argues against a current tendency to overvalue non-violence in the same manner. In both cases the point turns on Arendt's argument that the true source of political power is not to be found in one strategy or another, but rather in collective action as such. The ultimate value of Arendt's account of politics as collective action is that it shows how freedom can be operative in conditions of constraint, which is particularly relevant for contemporary movements facing state repression.