Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
Introduction
27
socialorpoliticalarrangement,norisitidenticalwithsomeutopianprojects.As
Delantyargues,“communitymustbeunderstoodasanexpressionofahighly
fluidcommunitas-amodeofbelongingthatissymbolicandcommunicative-
ratherthananactualinstitutionalarrangement,andthatitisvariable,capable
ofsustainingmodernandradicalsocialrelationshipsaswellastraditionalones”
(2010:20).Tismeansthattoavoidtheideologizationorreductionoftheidea
ofthecommunity,thecommunitycannotbeturnedintoanothergrandnar-
rative,butshouldbekeptprovisionalandopentochange.AccordingtoTony
Blackshaw,onceWesternpeopleacceptthefactthattheycannotreturntothe
pre-modern,permanentandsolidcommunity,andoncetheyfullyrecognize
theresponsibilitythisno-returninvolves,theycanbegintoappreciatewhatthe
reinventionandreinterpretationofthecommunitymeans.
Tefateofcommunityisinthehandsofmenandwomen.Ithasbeensince
thebirthofthemodernworld,butwesimplyhavenotyetfullygrasped
theimplicationsofwhatthismeans.[łW]henwefoundCcommunity’,we
wallowedinitsnostalgiaanditsfeelingsofcloseness,andaferthat,ef-
fectivelyCdiscontinuedthedivinevocationofHermes’(Heller,1999:150),
whenwhatweshouldhavebeendoinginstead,wastryingtofindnewways
ofmeaningforcommunitythroughinterpretation.[ł]Inotherwords,
usinghermeneuticstointerpretcommunityinnewwaysthatarerichand
surprising,allthetimetryingtoseethroughourownideologicaland
emotionalexcesses,engagedinmakingmeaningthatisforeverunfinished,
perhapsunfinishable.(Blackshaw2010:31)
Tisfluidityandopen-endednessofthereimaginedcommunity,whichBlack-
shawunderstandsasopennesstowardstheunexpected,theunpredictable,the
other,andwhichherelateswithdiscourse,iswhatofenfiguresasthecentral
attributeofcommunitywhenitistheorizedtoday.Ratherthandependenton
asharedproperty,anattributeoranessence,communityisdescribedassome-
thing“unavowable”(Blanchot1988),“coming”(Agamben1993),or“inoperative”
(Nancy1991).Intheseconcepts,thecommunityisnolongerboundbyacom-
monorigin,subordinatedtothesameidea,dependentonfusion,crystalized
inadescription,butratherremainswithoutfoundations,allowsforitsown
unworkingandrupture,resistsarticulation.
Althoughthisrecentinsistenceonnegative(evenapophatic)termsmaybe
criticizedastooabstractorobscure,3itisaclearsignalthattheideaofcom-
munitysoughttodayisofenbuiltaroundadiferentunderstandingofbelonging
3KrzysztofPacewiczcallsthistendency“communegativism”(“komunegatywizm”,2017:55)
andproposestothinkofcommunitythroughthemoretangibleexchangeofbodyfluids.Delanty
observesthat“noconcreteexamplesaregiveninwhatisanabstractphilosophicaldiscussion”
(2010:109).
