Re: Human Rights + Empire

Well the passage I was thinking of relates to the potentialities
of 'naked life' (366-7):

"In Empire, the political struggle over the definition of machinic
virtuality, or really the over the different alternatives of the
passage between the virtual and the real, is a central terrain of
struggle." (367)

At the CSAA conference last year one of the USyd postgrads, Shane
McGrath (I hope I am paraphrasing correctly!!), discussed the Aussie
refugee situation in terms of 'naked life', the impossibility of
agency, and the need for the left in politics to reconstruct their
conception of what is a refugee. He gave a paper about how both sides
of the politics constructed refugees as having absolutely nothing other
than their own bodies. Any act of agency would therefore give
them 'bare humanity + 1' which the conservative govt argued no longer
equals refugee or, at the very minimum, equals 'bad refugee'. 'Good
refugees' did not have an existence. The left was arguing that all
refugees have a set of inalienable rights so help these people. Govt
argued set of inalienable rights or not they do not need our help
because they protest against their detention so they are not even
refugees (but illegal aliens/entrants/etc). The potential of 'naked
life', for example, actualised in some good way during the 1980's Band
Aid, was actualised only through its negation, 'non-naked life', by the
Aust federal govt.

>
> "Negri and Hardt relate to this in Empire where they discuss the
passage from the virtual to the actual (i do not have my copy hear, so
no reference!)."
>
> --Here is Empire on-line : http://textz.gnutenberg.net/text.php?
text=hardt_michael_negri_antonio_empire&id=1024356557438
>
> Justice first has
> to be actualised, that is, in the situation 'requiring' justice
(creating
> the 'requirement' of justice is the first step of its actualisation),
before
> the instruments of that justice can be deployed.
>
> Cheers,
> Glen.
>
> PhD Candidate
> Centre for Cultural Research
> University of Western Sydney
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "McIntyre"
> To:
> Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 4:52 AM
> Subject: Re: Human rights
>
>
> > Is Deluze really saying anything here other than accusing as idiots
those
> > who advocate human rights? What right can he be talking about
creating if
> > not a human right? The discourse of human rights has caused immense
> problems
> > for those who have abused them. Why surrender the weapon?
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Arianna"
> > To:
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 6:08 PM
> > Subject: Re: Human rights
> >
> >
> > > yes, we put it here:
> > >
> > > http://www.generation-online.org/p/fpdeleuze10.htm
> > >
> > > and also recently published it on makeworld paper#4
> > > the pdf for it should come online soon.
> > >
> > > arianna
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Glen Fuller"
> > > To:
> > > Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 2:08 AM
> > > Subject: Re: Human rights
> > >
> > >
> > > > Arianna,
> > > >
> > > > Thankyou for the article, I enjoyed it! Can it be found online?
> > > >
> > > > Glen.

--
PhD Candidate, Centre for Cultural Research
University of Western Sydney


Partial thread listing: