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The Political Viewpoint Of Friend-Enemy

Posted on:2010-08-01Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:Z M LiuFull Text:PDF
GTID:1116360272999164Subject:Marxist philosophy
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Schmitt is Germany and even the universally accepted renowned public law scientist, simultaneously he is also a renowned political philosopher, not only that, his writings also involve aspects of music, poetry, drama and so on. While overseas study on Schmitt's writings coming like a raging fire, domestic research also presents the tendency which is on the rise. The reason why it is so popular studying Schmitt's works in the entire world is his inimitable understanding on politics, law and so on, and the survival fact which his understanding also profoundly promulgated a generation of society to present human oneself which is hard to avoid, as well as the modern nation-state politics survival faced with the difficult position which is hard to solve. All these facts and the difficult position, it seems in Schmitt there had the very close connection how we understood the politics, thus, how to understand politics had a significance on how to understand the modern society which we live in, then may also understand the human society realizes the historic course, including the so-called modernity difficult position and the critique appearing at the contemporary society.Contemporary some scholars value ideas and justice, equality, freedom as the core question of political philosophy research ,on the contrary , Schmitt took his unique understanding on politics----viewpoint of friend-enemy politics as an important angle of view of his political philosophy research. In his representative work "The Concept of the Politics", he proposed that the standard of politics lied in differentiating enemy and friend, politics is the premise for nation-state with the understanding and annotation. Based on this unique understanding of politics and nation-state, Schmitt has held key words such as political unity, resolution, natural state. There are two reasons why Schmitt takes the viewpoint of friend-enemy politics as the core fields of modern nation-state political survival. On the one hand, it was related to the Germany located historical situation; On the other hand, also there were close connection with the theoretical background then. Anarchism, the liberalism, the Marxism were all the important ideological trends which Schmitt had to oppose, in the process of opposing these ideological trends, Schmitt gradually established the authoritative theory of friend-enemy politics, and had insisted this viewpoint for his several decades in his career.Schmitt's political philosophy displays obvious characteristic of"the strong country", this is obviously different with the thought"strongly society"advocated by Marx. Schmitt thought that friend-enemy politics is the substantive domain for humanity lives, the human order can only be born in friend-enemy politics of before the cultural condition. Accordingly, Schmitt held that the friend-enemy politics had guaranteed the moral solemnity. Based on this kind of thought, Schmitt opposed Marx who attempted to lead the humanity to non- national, non-political communistic society, even also put the class conflict theory of Marxism under the logic of friend-enemy politics. If we want to respond to Schmitt's question and the critique, we must discriminate the real implication of class struggle in the Marxist philosophy. Through making a thorough explanation of the theory of class struggle, we know that the Marxism political philosophy was the dialectical entity between the real politics and the ideal politics, the Marxism political philosophy still has very theoretical and the practical significance in the present age. This article is mainly divided into three chapters to discuss Schmitt's viewpoint of friend-enemy politics except the introductions of the first chapter:In the second chapter, we concentrated on inspecting the intrinsic connection between Schmitt's viewpoint of friend-enemy politics and the west traditional political ideas. Because the Western country and the ancient China have obvious difference in understanding the human nature, thus, there is difference in political understanding between East and West. The Western nation has the very strong tradition of religious belief, there exists very intimate relationship between their theology, the philosophy and politics, particularly the more intimate relation between the theology and the politics. According to Christianity "Holy Bible" records, because the human's ancestors had not observed God's warning, therefore they were full of the evil, the succeeded generations also could not get rid of this kind of"pardoned crime"since the human's ancestors, the heaven and this mortal world separated clearly. The wicked human nature hypothesis was the solid foundation for Schmitt's viewpoint of friend-enemy politics, Schmitt had also extended the hostility, the conflict and the aggression in the human themselves, he also thought that the human was dangerous and had the question according to the above. Schmitt and many Western philosophers have a similar idea that the theology was the origin of human's order in this life, moreover display a"force conduct"image on their body.To the belief for the doctrine of "pardoned crime", the friend-enemy politics causes dual resistance characteristic, as well as to make simulation from theology tradition. While following the Western theology tradition, Schmitt also returned to the theory of natural state of Hobbes, a British philosopher. The natural state theory is also a confirm of the risk and the hostility of human, but Schmitt paid attention to the hostility between organizations or community, this kind of hostility mainly displays the realistic possibility for erupts war between nation-states. For this reason, the friend -enemy politics has a very significant impact on nation-state which maintains the independence of sovereignty. In fact, when Schmitt paid attention to the politics and nation-state seriously, his theory of friend-enemy politics already displayed the bright characteristic of political mythology. In the times of Schmitt, the anarchism, the liberalism and the Marxism had influences on people, Schmitt based on Germany's historical situation at that time, chose the Fascism resolutely, moreover he also had the experience of cooperating with the Nazi. Even though, we should cut into Schmitt's authority principle theoretically, and should not criticize that he was the accomplice for the Nazism.The third chapter is the body of the paper, which occupied the most part, we attempt to carry on the comprehensive modem explanation about the viewpoint of friend-enemy politics of Schmitt. It should be mentioned that Schmitt tried hard to re-enter the ancient Rome Catholicism's political form to transform the modern politics, to prevent the danger by the neutralization and the non-politicization of modern politics. During Schmitt's decades of academic career, "The Concept of the Politics" had experienced several change, the revision itself also demonstrated the change of individual thought. Finally Schmitt thought that the intention of friend-enemy politics is to maintain the essential area, not to eliminate the enemy. The concept of enemy was the core concept in Schmitt's viewpoint of friend-enemy politics, Schmitt had carried on the distinction to it: The public enemy, the political enemy, the actual enemy and so on are the real original intention which he discussed. Schmitt stressed prominently the leader, the elite etc had absolute authority about make decision on who was the enemy, this will inevitably create over expansion of personal power, also easily lead to personal seizing power from state. Due to the friend-enemy distinction existed defects of the"emptiness"and"arbitrary", Schmitt's friend-enemy politics can hardly escape from the coercing of totalitarianism. Even if the viewpoint of friend-enemy politics has the inherent difficulties, but it is actually the essential domain of human life, thus, Schmitt recognized the friend-enemy politics as the substantive domain for human existence in the perspective. Putting the friend- enemy politics to the high status, inevitably produces the phenomenon of rule and submits to power, that would cause absolute control power when nation-state opposing individual life. Therefore, in Schmitt's political existentialism, it is hiding crises such as formalism, absolute dominance to individual life and mysticism, but this has the obvious difference with Marx'concern on the individual of concrete and reality.The theory of friend-enemy distinction that sets the existence of other nation-state, the enemy is nothing morn than that who has different survival mode from our own, with Schmitt's argument was"different national groups". Schmitt's thought that the enemy as the different existence which distinguished themselves, has the breath of modern philosophy. Because that one is"the different races", therefore has the necessity to make the guard, realizes the goal which protects oneself. But, when Schmitt was thrown into prison, he lead the enemy into the self-logical world, thus moved toward the region of"poor self"that Marx said.In the final three sections of the third chapter, we mainly discuss Schmitt's critiques on modernity, he took active steps to maintain his understanding of politics also. First, through to inspect several center regions of human history in the modern times, Schmitt has thought that although the four central regions have the respective time subject, but they attempt to seek neutrality field of peace for the humanity, the approaches of technology religious time has reached the extreme of the seeking. Even so, Schmitt thought that the friend-enemy politics was still core elements throughout each central region, the man who made a political decision still played the key role, the political religion is never far away from the people. Next, the modern capitalism displays the obvious characteristic that paying attention to the individual survival, this is consistent with the analysis of capitalist society's egotism from Marx. Schmitt similarly opposed resisting the power of nation-state by the individual survival, the liberalism who excessively paid attention to the personal interest still have the intense non-politicization tendency, it was not allowed in the theory of Schmitt's authority politics. Finally, Schmitt has made the thorough analysis on image of the political romanticism, the flaw of the political romanticism has the possibility which will dispels the friend-enemy politics. In the last section, Schmitt had pointed out explicitly union relations between the romanticism and the liberalism, simultaneously he also pointed out two fatal shortcomings of the romanticism: First, the lucky chance and non-decision; Second, aesthetic of politics. In the final analysis, Schmitt maintained his viewpoint of friend-enemy politics, and thought that this kind of theory is very necessary for the modern nation-state survival and the political independence.In the fourth chapter, through introducing the question and critique about the theory of class struggle of Marx from Schmitt, as well as the critique to the rational dictatorship of Marxism, we will re-discriminate the real implication the theory of class struggle of Marx. Schmitt accused the concept of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie of Marx's had still fallen into the logic of capitalist economy,"the final war"will be launched between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie which regarded as"the final enemy"by Schmitt, through this kind of war, friend-enemy politics will be gone, this was Schmitt not willing to see. Schmitt's accusation to the rational dictatorship of Marxism, is also to critique the diagnostic of Marx actually, he even thought that Marx still fell into the history frame of Hegel philosophy, thought that they are"rational self- guarantee". Because Marx restored the nature of revolutionary and the criticalness of diagnostic truly, through this negative diagnostics, the human history has realized its own process of dialectical exercise, finally heading toward to communism, without nation, non-political. For Schmitt, he emphasizes the affirmative diagnostic actually, or"the hostile diagnostic", because of this, there was such big difference between Schmitt and Marx. It can be said that Schmitt pondered all social life of humanity that based on the viewpoint of friend-enemy politics, making politics in a supreme position, but neglected the interaction between influential role of material life and the dialectical movement of human history, which is the superiority of Marxism. In the theory of class struggle, Marx stressed the basic position of the material life condition, paying great attention on the capitalism interior to disintegrate itself, finally as the transitional stage's dictatorship of the proletariat whose essence is proletarian democracy as a new democracy.
Keywords/Search Tags:Friend-enemy politics, nation-state, make a decision, realistic possibility, class struggle
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