Deleuze and the liberal tradition

Normativity, Freedom and Judgement

Bibliographic Data

ID2159346
AuthorsDaniel W Smith (0000-0001-5890-0923), Daniel Smith (0000-0001-6294-1269, Purdue University West Lafayette, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume32
Issue2
Pages299-324
Publication date2003-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEconomy and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-5147 • E-ISSN: 1469-5766
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0308514032000073455
OpenAlexW2020264609
LanguageEN
Citations received15

This paper is a critical review article of Paul Patton's book, Deleuze and the Political , and analyzes the relationship between Deleuze and the 'liberal' tradition of political philosophy. It focuses on three concepts drawn from the liberal tradition - normativity, freedom and judgment - and in each case shows how these concepts are capable of being transformed in light of Deleuze's philosophy. For Deleuze, a truly 'normative' principle must be a principle of creation as well as critique: it must not only provide norms for condemning abuses of power, but also a means for transforming norms that have themselves become abuses of power. From a Deleuzian perspective, the normative is thus seen as the condition for the production of the new. The liberal notion of 'negative freedom' in turn finds itself transformed into the stronger notion of 'critical freedom' (Tully), which entails the freedom to critique and create, to transform (and not merely pursue) one's own interest and desires. This entails, finally, an exercise of a kind of judgement outside pre-existing rules or norms that would be truly creative of the new (e.g. the production of new rights). A concluding section of the concept of the 'social imaginary' shows how Deleuze's work might contribute to a transformation and rejuvenation of the liberal tradition itself

Democracy · Epistemology · Judgement · Liberal democracy · Normative · Political philosophy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Law · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism · Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics

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