“Friendship of Postmodern/Utopianism” by Leela Gandhi: Summary and Critique

·  Utopianism’s Decline and Revival:

• Key Point: Utopianism was declared “dead” by Max Nordau and Engels in the late 19th century, but it resurfaced in Europe in May 1968 as a persistent force.
• Quote: “Yet believers insist that the ghost of utopianism returned to Europe in May 1968, and that it has been haunting the ruins of ‘the political’ ever since.”

·  Postmodernism’s Critique of Hybridity:

• Key Point: Postmodernism reacted against essentialist ethics, such as Kant’s or Marx’s concepts of political agency, by embracing the hybrid subject, but this led to nihilism.
• Quote: “Principally, its departure from the Kant–Marx dyad has relied on the wild conjuration of an empirical or hybrid subject of desire.”

·  Crisis of the Hybrid Subject:

• Key Point: The hybrid subject of desire leads to fragmentation and instability, contributing to the political chaos but is unable to positively reconstruct the social fabric.
• Quote: “The hybrid subject of new left, queer, and postcolonial theories … has performed admirably, leaving in its wake ‘splinters’, ‘fragments’, ‘instability’, ‘disarray’.”

·  Ethics of Insufficiency and Communication:

• Key Point: Postmodernism moves towards an ethics of insufficiency, relying on relationships and communication with others for self-awareness, as explained by Maurice Blanchot.
• Quote: “A being achieves its ‘awareness of … insufficiency … from the fact that it puts itself in question, which question needs the other or another to be enacted.”

·  The Politics of Friendship:

• Key Point: Postmodernism explores the idea of an “anti-communitarian community,” where relationships are based on openness and risk, not similarity or kinship, inspired by Derrida’s ideas of friendship.
• Quote: “Friendship seems to be the bond that holds communities together, and lawgivers seem to attach more importance to it than justice.”

·  Hospitality and Risk in Friendship:

• Key Point: Epicurean and Derridean ideas of friendship as hospitality emphasize a commitment to strangers and others, introducing risks of vulnerability and ethical self-exile.
• Quote: “The stranger, here the awaited guest, is not only someone to whom you say ‘come’, but ‘enter’ … come within me, not only toward me, but within me.”

·  Postmodern Utopianism and Cosmopolitanism:

• Key Point: Postmodern utopianism envisions a form of cosmopolitanism, always open to strangers and those not covered by existing social structures, allowing for a continuous openness to new solidarities.
• Quote: “A utopian mentality shows the way forward to a genuine cosmopolitanism, always open to the risky arrival of those not quite, not yet, covered by the privileges which secure our identity and keep us safe.”

·  Postmodernism’s Critique of Essentialism

• Contribution: Gandhi highlights postmodernism’s departure from the a priori essentialism of Kantian and Marxist ethics, framing it as a movement toward a more fluid and hybrid subject of desire, rejecting fixed categories like sex, race, and class.
• Quote: “Principally, its departure from the Kant–Marx dyad has relied on the wild conjuration of an empirical or hybrid subject of desire.”

·  Crisis of the Hybrid Subject in Politics

• Contribution: Gandhi argues that while postmodernism’s hybrid subject destabilizes traditional political frameworks, it leads to fragmentation and is unable to provide the foundation for a positive political reconstruction.
• Quote: “On account of its radical unsocialisation, the hybrid subject has, I submit, proved ill-equipped to undertake the task of ‘positive reconstruction’.”

·  Politics of Friendship as an Alternative to Communitarianism

• Contribution: Gandhi develops the concept of the “politics of friendship,” drawing on Derrida, as a response to the limitations of both Kantian individualism and Hegelian communitarianism. This politics reconfigures relationships and community beyond identity and recognition.
• Quote: “The hybrid subject starts to replicate the crippling solipsism of its ethical antagonist … postmodernism begins its significant negotiations with the idea of communication/community.”

·  Anti-Communitarian Community

• Contribution: Gandhi introduces the idea of an “anti-communitarian community”—a community that resists closure and self-identical unity, existing in a perpetual state of openness to the “other” and to risk.
• Quote: “If, notwithstanding its necessity, the very idea of community is, from a postmodern perspective, inevitably unworkable, inoperative, negative, then we can only speak, under erasure, of an impossible community: perpetually deferred, yet-to-come.”

·  Hospitality and Risk in Friendship

• Contribution: Drawing from Derrida and Epicurus, Gandhi emphasizes hospitality and the risks of ethical relationships with strangers, positioning this as a foundation for postmodern ethics and politics.
• Quote: “The open house or open heart of hospitality and friendship … can never know guests/friends in advance, as one might a fellow citizen, sister or comrade.”

·  Critique of Traditional Political Thought

• Contribution: Gandhi critiques the way traditional Western political thought has historically been organized around a “schematic of filiation”—family, nation, and sameness—arguing for a more open and inclusive form of sociality.
• Quote: “Western political speculation … finds its origin in a system of thought in which the idea of friendship is the major principle in terms of which political theory and practice are described.”

·  Movement from Nihilism to Utopianism

• Contribution: Gandhi suggests that postmodernism’s rejection of grand narratives and traditional political structures does not end in nihilism but opens up the possibility for a new utopianism, grounded in relational ethics and community.
• Quote: “Postmodernism’s journey from nihilism to utopianism … relies on two factors: a subject/agent open to forms of sociality capable, contra Kant, of exacerbating the condition of its insufficiency.”

·  Lack of Practical Application:

• Criticism: While Gandhi’s ideas about “anti-communitarian communitarianism” and the “politics of friendship” are theoretically compelling, critics might argue that they remain too abstract or utopian, offering little in terms of practical guidance for real-world political action or social organization.
• Response: Gandhi might argue that the point of postmodern utopianism is not to provide a concrete roadmap but to inspire alternative ways of thinking about community and solidarity.

·  Over-reliance on Postmodern Theory:

• Criticism: Gandhi’s work is deeply rooted in postmodern thought, which some critics view as overly pessimistic or deconstructive. Postmodernism’s tendency to focus on fragmentation and rejection of grand narratives could be seen as weakening any effort to create cohesive political change.
• Response: Gandhi’s focus is on postmodernism as a necessary critique of existing systems, and her goal is to explore new forms of sociality that go beyond traditional structures, even if they seem unstable or unfinished.

·  Ambiguity of the Politics of Friendship:

• Criticism: The concept of a “politics of friendship,” inspired by Derrida, could be critiqued as being too vague or metaphorical. Critics might argue that it lacks clear definitions or concrete proposals for how such a politics would be implemented or sustained in practice.
• Response: Gandhi’s emphasis on friendship as a political and ethical tool is meant to remain open-ended, allowing for diverse interpretations and applications, rather than providing rigid frameworks.

·  Idealism of Utopianism:

• Criticism: The utopianism Gandhi defends may be criticized as being overly idealistic and impractical, especially in a world marked by deeply entrenched inequalities and conflicts. Critics might argue that utopian thinking can distract from immediate, achievable political goals.
• Response: Gandhi might counter that utopian thinking is not about creating perfect societies overnight but about keeping alive the imagination of alternative possibilities and the constant questioning of power structures.

·  Exclusion of Economic Realities:

• Criticism: Some critics might argue that Gandhi’s discussion of postmodernism and utopianism does not sufficiently engage with economic factors, such as capitalism, class struggle, or material conditions, which are often central to political change.
• Response: While Gandhi addresses the commodification of the hybrid subject, her focus is on broader cultural and philosophical critiques rather than economic analyses. She might respond that postmodern critiques complement, rather than replace, materialist critiques.

·  Nihilism of the Hybrid Subject:

• Criticism: Gandhi’s critique of the hybrid subject as ultimately leading to nihilism and fragmentation might be seen as too dismissive of the positive potential of hybridity and fluid identities, especially in postcolonial or feminist contexts where such identities are empowering.
• Response: Gandhi acknowledges the early achievements of the hybrid subject but critiques its inability to construct lasting political or social frameworks. Her argument focuses on moving beyond hybridity towards new forms of community-building.