Ernesto Laclau
Encyclopedia
Ernesto Laclau is an Argentine
political theorist often described as post-Marxist
.
He studied History in Buenos Aires, graduating from the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires in 1964, and received a PhD from Essex University in 1977.
Since the 1970s he has been Professor of Political Theory at the University of Essex
, where he founded and directed for many years the graduate programme in Ideology and Discourse Analysis, as well as the Centre for Theoretical Studies in the Humanities and the Social Sciences. Under his directorship, the Ideology and Discourse Analysis programme has provided the suitable research framework for the development of a distinct type of discourse analysis that draws on post-structuralist theory (especially the work of Lacan
, Foucault
, Derrida, Barthes, etc.) in order to articulate innovative analyses of concrete political phenomena (identities, discourses and hegemonies). This theoretical and analytical orientation is today known as the ‘Essex School of discourse analysis
'.
Over the years, Laclau has lectured extensively in many universities in North America, South America, Western Europe, Australia, and South Africa. Most recently he has held positions at SUNY Buffalo and Northwestern Universities, both in the US.
(Socialist Party of the National Left) until 1969, when the British historian Eric Hobsbawm
supported his entrance to Oxford. He had close links with Jorge Abelardo Ramos, the founder of the PSIN, although he declared in 2005 that the latter then evolved in a direction he did not appreciate. In the same interview, he stated that he came from a Yrigoyenista
family, and that the peronist politician Arturo Jauretche
, a strong opponent of Justo
's dictatorship during the Infamous Decade
of the 1930s, was a close friend of his father.
, which he co-authored with Chantal Mouffe
. Their thought is usually described as post-Marxist as they were both politically active in the social and student movements of the 1960s and thus tried to link new emerging political identities with a democratic socialist imaginary. They rejected Marxist
economic determinism
and the notion of class struggle
being the only determining antagonism
in society
. Instead, on the basis of recognising the plurality of antagonisms operating in society, they put forward a project of "radical and plural democracy". In his more recent work and under the increasing influence of Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, Laclau has returned to a topic preoccupying him from his early years, that of populism.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
political theorist often described as post-Marxist
Post-Marxism
Post-Marxism has two related, but different uses: the socio-economic circumstances of Eastern Europe, especially in the ex-soviet republics after the Soviet Union's end; and the extrapolations of the philosophers and social theorists basing their postulations upon Karl Marx's writings and Marxism...
.
He studied History in Buenos Aires, graduating from the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires in 1964, and received a PhD from Essex University in 1977.
Since the 1970s he has been Professor of Political Theory at the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
, where he founded and directed for many years the graduate programme in Ideology and Discourse Analysis, as well as the Centre for Theoretical Studies in the Humanities and the Social Sciences. Under his directorship, the Ideology and Discourse Analysis programme has provided the suitable research framework for the development of a distinct type of discourse analysis that draws on post-structuralist theory (especially the work of Lacan
Lacan
Lacan is surname of:* Jacques Lacan , French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist** The Seminars of Jacques Lacan** From Bakunin to Lacan: Anti-Authoritarianism and the Dislocation of Power, a book on political philosophy by Saul Newman** Lacan at the Scene* Judith Miller, née Lacan...
, Foucault
Foucault
Foucault can refer to:People:*Jean-Pierre Foucault , French television host*Léon Foucault , French physicist*Michel Foucault , French philosopher and historian...
, Derrida, Barthes, etc.) in order to articulate innovative analyses of concrete political phenomena (identities, discourses and hegemonies). This theoretical and analytical orientation is today known as the ‘Essex School of discourse analysis
Essex School of discourse analysis
The Essex School constitutes one of the most dynamic and promising varieties of discourse analysis, one that combines theoretical sophistication – mainly due to its reliance on the post-structuralist and psychoanalytic traditions and, in particular, on the work of Lacan, Foucault, Barthes, Derrida,...
'.
Over the years, Laclau has lectured extensively in many universities in North America, South America, Western Europe, Australia, and South Africa. Most recently he has held positions at SUNY Buffalo and Northwestern Universities, both in the US.
Biography
He was a member of the PSINNational Left (Argentina)
The Socialist Party of the National Left was a political party in Argentina, founded in 1962 by Jorge Abelardo Ramos, Jorge Enea Spilimbergo and others, representative of the National Left Argentine political tradition....
(Socialist Party of the National Left) until 1969, when the British historian Eric Hobsbawm
Eric Hobsbawm
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm , CH, FBA, is a British Marxist historian, public intellectual, and author...
supported his entrance to Oxford. He had close links with Jorge Abelardo Ramos, the founder of the PSIN, although he declared in 2005 that the latter then evolved in a direction he did not appreciate. In the same interview, he stated that he came from a Yrigoyenista
Hipólito Yrigoyen
Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Irigoyen Alem was twice President of Argentina . His activism became the prime impetus behind the obtainment of universal suffrage in Argentina in 1912...
family, and that the peronist politician Arturo Jauretche
Arturo Jauretche
Arturo Martín Jauretche was an Argentine writer, politician, and philosopher.-Early years:...
, a strong opponent of Justo
Agustín Pedro Justo
General Agustín Pedro Justo Rolón was President of Argentina from February 20, 1932, to February 20, 1938...
's dictatorship during the Infamous Decade
Infamous Decade
The Infamous Decade in Argentina is the name given to the period of time that started in 1930 with the coup d'état against President Hipólito Yrigoyen by José Félix Uriburu...
of the 1930s, was a close friend of his father.
Works
Laclau's early work was influenced by Althusserian Marxism and focused on issues debated within Neo-Marxist circles in the 1970s, including the role of the state, the dynamics of capitalism beyond reductionist models, the importance of Gramsci's theory of hegemony, etc. Laclau's most important book is arguably Hegemony and Socialist StrategyHegemony and Socialist Strategy
Written in English in 1985 by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy is a work of political theory in the post-Marxist tradition...
, which he co-authored with Chantal Mouffe
Chantal Mouffe
Chantal Mouffe is a Belgian political theorist.-Work:Chantal Mouffe studied at Louvain, Paris and Essex and has worked in many universities throughout the world . She has also held visiting positions at Harvard, Cornell, Princeton and the CNRS...
. Their thought is usually described as post-Marxist as they were both politically active in the social and student movements of the 1960s and thus tried to link new emerging political identities with a democratic socialist imaginary. They rejected Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
economic determinism
Economic determinism
Economic determinism is the theory which attributes primacy to the economic structure over politics in the development of human history. It is usually associated with the theories of Karl Marx, although many Marxist thinkers have dismissed plain and unilateral economic determinism as a form of...
and the notion of class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
being the only determining antagonism
Antagonism
Antagonism is hostility that results in active resistance, opposition, or contentiousness.Additionally, it may refer to:*Antagonism , where the involvement of multiple agents reduces their overall effect...
in society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
. Instead, on the basis of recognising the plurality of antagonisms operating in society, they put forward a project of "radical and plural democracy". In his more recent work and under the increasing influence of Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, Laclau has returned to a topic preoccupying him from his early years, that of populism.
Books
- Politics and Ideology in Marxist Theory (NLB, 1977)
- Hegemony and Socialist StrategyHegemony and Socialist StrategyWritten in English in 1985 by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy is a work of political theory in the post-Marxist tradition...
(with Chantal MouffeChantal MouffeChantal Mouffe is a Belgian political theorist.-Work:Chantal Mouffe studied at Louvain, Paris and Essex and has worked in many universities throughout the world . She has also held visiting positions at Harvard, Cornell, Princeton and the CNRS...
) (Verso, 1985) - New Reflections on the Revolution of our Time (Verso, 1990)
- The Making of Political Identities (editor) (Verso, 1994)
- Emancipation(s) (Verso, 1996)
- Contingency, Hegemony, UniversalityContingency, Hegemony, UniversalityContingency, Hegemony, Universality: Contemporary Dialogues On The Left is a collaborative book written by the political theorists Judith Butler, Ernesto Laclau and Slavoj Žižek and published in 2000.- Background, structure and themes :...
(with Judith ButlerJudith ButlerJudith Butler is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. She is a professor in the Rhetoric and Comparative Literature departments at the University of California, Berkeley.Butler received her Ph.D...
and Slavoj ŽižekSlavoj ŽižekSlavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
) (Verso, 2000) - On Populist Reason (Verso, 2005)
- Elusive Universality (Routledge, forthcoming)
See also
- Essex School of discourse analysisEssex School of discourse analysisThe Essex School constitutes one of the most dynamic and promising varieties of discourse analysis, one that combines theoretical sophistication – mainly due to its reliance on the post-structuralist and psychoanalytic traditions and, in particular, on the work of Lacan, Foucault, Barthes, Derrida,...
- list of deconstructionists
- Richard JF DayRichard JF DayRichard J. F. Day is a Canadian political philosopher and sociologist. He is the undergraduate chair and professor in the department of global development at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada He was previously associate professor of sociology...
- Louis AlthusserLouis AlthusserLouis Pierre Althusser was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy....
- Antonio GramsciAntonio GramsciAntonio Gramsci was an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...
- IdeologyIdeologyAn ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
- MarxismMarxismMarxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
- Slavoj ŽižekSlavoj ŽižekSlavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
- Saul NewmanSaul NewmanSaul Newman is a political theorist and central post-anarchist thinker.Newman coined the term "post-anarchism" as a general term for political philosophies filtering 19th century anarchism through a post-structuralist lens, and later popularized it through his 2001 book From Bakunin to Lacan...
External links
- Centre for Theoretical Studies, University of Essex Includes Laclau papers on populism and the philosophical roots of discourse theory
- Ideology and Discourse Analysis network
- Hearts, Minds and Radical Democracy Interview with Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe
- Entrevista a Ernesto Laclau sobre el juego de la política
- Curriculum Vitae
- God Only Knows 1991 article in Marxism Today
- Socialist strategy: where next? 1981 article in Marxism Today