Deconstructive justice and the "critique of violence": On Derrida and Benjamin

Robert Sinnerbrink*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    15 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This essay presents a critical interpretation of Derrida's deconstructive reading of Walter Benjamin's text, "Critique of Violence." It examines the relationship between deconstruction and justice, and the parallel Derrida draws between deconstructive reading and Benjamin's account of pure violence. I argue that Derrida blurs Benjamin's distinction between the political general strike (which simply inverts state power relations) and the proletarian general strike (which non-violently disrupts such power relations). As a consequence, Derrida criticises Benjamin's metaphysical complicity with the violence that lead to the Holocaust. Derrida's deconstructive reading of Benjamin, I conclude, underplays its Marxist dimensions, privileging the theological and textual dimensions of Benjamin's thought over the political and historical.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)485-497
    Number of pages13
    JournalSocial Semiotics
    Volume16
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Sept 2006

    Keywords

    • Benjamin
    • Deconstruction
    • Derrida
    • Justice
    • Politics
    • Violence

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