The criticism of liberal democracy in Carl Schmitt and Robert Kurz: a comparative study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31977/grirfi.v20i3.1902Keywords:
Carl Schmitt; Robert Kurz; Critique of Value; Liberal Democracy; Frankfurt School; Critical Theory.Abstract
This article aims at comparing the similarities contained in criticism of liberal democracy present in some selected works of Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) and Robert Kurz (1943-2012). In spite of the close association of the first author with the Nazi regime after 1933 and of the second being normally characterized as a Marxist thinker (although very critical to "orthodox" Marxism), numerous similarities between the two are verified when they attempt to analyze the characteristics of parliamentarian liberalism in twentieth-century democracies. One hypothesis that might explain such similarities would be the influence exercised by Schmitt on Frankfurt School theoreticians, from whom Kurz often draws inspiration in his writings – in particular, Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, although Schmitt also influenced Franz Neumann, Otto Kirchheimer, Karl Korsch and Herbert Marcuse. Another interpretation addressed here refers to the possibility that Schmitt found, in his theories about the State and about law, the epistemological limits of modern liberalism, which constitutes Kurz’s main research subject and was a recurring theme in the writings of the Frankfurt theorists.
Downloads
References
ADORNO, T. Prismas: crítica cultural e sociedade. São Paulo - SP: Ática, 1998.
BENHABIB, S. Critique, norm, and utopia: A study of the foundations of critical theory. New York (USA): Columbia University Press, 1986.
BIELEFELDT, H. Carl Schmitt’s critique of liberalism: systematic reconstruction and countercriticism. Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, v. X, n. 1, p. 65–75, 1997.
BRIVATI, B.; BUXTON, J.; SELDON, A. (EDS.). The contemporary history handbook. Manchester (UK); New York (USA): Manchester University Press, 1996.
CALINESCU, M. Five faces of modernity: modernism, avant-garde, decadence, kitsch, postmodernism. 8th. ed. Durham (USA): Duke University Press, 2003.
COOK, D. Adorno on late capitalism: totalitarianism and the welfare state. Radical Philosophy, v. 89, p. 16–26, 1998.
DUBIEL, Hulmet; DUBIEL, Helmut. Theory and politics: Studies in the development of critical theory. Massachusetts (USA): MIT Press, 1985.
FLECK, A. Necessária, mas não suficiente: sobre a função da crítica da economia na teoria crítica tardia de Theodor W. Adorno. Cadernos de Filosofia Alemã, v. 21, n. 2, p. 13–29, 2016.
HARVEY, D. Condição pós-moderna: uma pesquisa sobre as origens da mudança cultural. 25a. ed. São Paulo - SP: Loyola, 2014.
HOBSBAWN, E. J. A era do capital, 1848-1875. 21a. ed. São Paulo - SP: Paz e Terra, 2014.
HONNETH, A. The critique of power: reflective stages in a critical social theory. Massachusetts (USA): MIT Press, 1993.
HORKHEIMER, M.; ADORNO, T. W. Dialectic of Enlightenment. Stanford (USA): Stanford University Press, 2002.
JAMESON, F. Postmodernism, or, the cultural logic of late capitalism. 10th. ed. Durham (USA): Duke University Press, 2003.
JAPPE, A. As aventuras da mercadoria: para uma nova crítica do valor. Lisboa (Portugal): Antígona, 2006.
KENNEDY, E. Carl Schmitt and the Frankfurt School. Telos, n. 71, p. 37–66, 1987a.
KENNEDY, E. Carl Schmitt and the Frankfurt School: a rejoinder. Telos, n. 73, p. 101–116, 1987b.
KRISIS, G. Manifesto against labour. Disponível em: <http://www.krisis.org/1999/manifesto-against-labour/>. Acesso em: 29 jun. 2017.
KURZ, R. Barbárie, migração e guerras de ordenamento mundial. In: MIGRANTES, S. P. DOS (Ed.). Travessias na desordem global – Fórum Social das Migrações. São Paulo - SP: Paulinas, 2005a. p. 25–36. Disponível em: <http://www.obeco-online.org/rkurz281.htm>. Acesso em: 8 fev. 2019.
KURZ, R. Com todo vapor ao colapso. Juiz de Fora - MG: Editora UFJF; Pazulin, 2004a.
KURZ, R. Imperialismo de exclusão e estado de excepção. EXIT! Crise e Crítica da Sociedade da Mercadoria, n. 13, p. 123–169, 2016. Disponível em: <http://o-beco.planetaclix.pt/rkurz415.htm>. Acesso em: 8 fev. 2019.
KURZ, R. Não há Leviatã que vos salve – teses para uma teoria crítica do Estado (segunda parte). EXIT! Crise e Crítica da Sociedade da Mercadoria, n. 8, 2011.
KURZ, R. O colapso da modernização: da derrocada do socialismo de caserna à crise da economia mundial. 6a. ed. Rio de Janeiro - RJ: Paz e Terra, 2004b.
KURZ, R. Poder mundial e dinheiro mundial: crônicas do capitalismo em declínio. Rio de Janeiro - RJ: Consequência, 2015.
KURZ, R. Razão sangrenta: ensaios sobre a crítica emancipatória da modernidade capitalista e de seus valores ocidentais. São Paulo - SP: Hedra, 2010.
KURZ, R. Seres humanos não rentáveis. In: Jornadas Anuais da INTEGRAS (Schweizer Fachverband für Sozial- und Heilpädagogik) [Associação Profissional de Pedagogia Médica e Social], 2005. Anais… Brunnen (Schwyz): 2005b. Disponível em: <http://www.obeco-online.org/rkurz254.htm>. Acesso em: 8 fev. 2019.
LYOTARD, J.-F. A condição pós-moderna. 12a. ed. Rio de Janeiro - RJ: José Olympio, 2009.
MASSOLA, G. M. Mimese e crime em Adorno e Horkheimer: comentário sobre o “Fragmento de uma teoria do criminoso”. Estudos de Psicologia, v. 12, n. 2, p. 133–139, 2007.
MEHRING, R. Liberalism as a “metaphysical system”: the methodological structure of Carl Schmitt’s critique of political rationalism. Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, v. X, n. 1, p. 105–124, 1997.
NOBRE, M. A dialética negativa de Theodor W. Adorno: a ontologia do estado falso. São Paulo - SP: Iluminuras, 1998.
POSTONE, M.; GALAMBOS, L. Time, labor, and social domination: A reinterpretation of Marx's critical theory. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press, 1995.
PREUSS, U. K. The Critique of German Liberalism: Reply to Kennedy. Telos, v. 71, p. 97–109, 1987.
RUSCHE, G.; KIRCHHEIMER, O. Pena y estructura social. Bogotá (Colombia): Editorial Temis, 1984.
SCHMITT, C. Political theology: four chapters on the concept of sovereignty. Cambridge (USA); London (UK): MIT Press, 1985.
SCHMITT, C. Constitutional theory. Durham (USA): Duke University Press, 2008.
SCHMITT, C. O conceito do político. Lisboa (Portugal): Edições 70, 2016.
WEBER, S. Taking exception to decision: Walter Benjamin and Carl Schmitt. Diacritics, v. 22, n. 3/4, p. 5–18, 1992.
WIGGERSHAUS, R. The Frankfurt School: Its history, theories, and political significance. Massachusetts (USA): MIT Press, 1995.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 David Gonçalves Borges
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The authors who publish in Griot: Revista de Filosofia maintain the copyright and grant the magazine the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, allowing sharing and adaptation, even for commercial purposes, with due recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal. Read more...
