The argument that I present is that Arendt falls short of providing a mitigation of the political crisis of modernity. She commits what I see as a fundamental error, that of confusing an existential self for a political self. Her primary goal, I believe, is to establish a means by which we may exercise the existential self safely, from within a virtuous community. The concern I have with Arendt’s political work is that it does not provide a political solution to political problems, but rather relies on an existential self-exposure that lacks the values of political commitment. Despite all of her good intentions, the result is a politics without direction. Arendt is unwilling to allow human civilization to be thrown onto the rubbish heap, and she attempts to indicate the ways in which humanity can actively create and maintain the world: we need not succumb to fate. Arendt wants to strip the individual of both narcissism and hubris, of the compulsion toward authenticity, and wants Self and community to recognize that both are man-made. Because of the artifice of both, each requires a constant vigilance and care. Her political thought relies upon an insistence on the human ability to create and respond, to actively generate the world in which we live. Public space is to be valued as that which allows individuals to overcome their sense of superfluousness, and thus, public space is valued not as a political starting point, but for its own being-ness. She attempts to substitute the yearning of existentialism into an expressly political domain. Ultimately, it is Arendt’s narrow reading of ‘ideology’ on which her theory flounders. She fails to recognize that ideologies can be viewed as either ‘progressive’ or ‘reactionary,‘ viewing all instead as part of a single Tradition. However, as I argue, without ideology, we cannot translate political goods into political goals. Arendt refuses to view ideology as a freely-chosen position that represents my choices about the ‘best society,’ of what I wish to attach myself to in order to see my principles and interests met.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Political Science
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_4495
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
v, 199 p.
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Marilyn LaFay
Subject
Name (authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart (type = personal)
Arendt, Hannah,--1906-1975--Criticism and interpretation
Subject
Name (authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart (type = personal)
Arendt, Hannah,--1906-1975.--Origins of totalitarianism.
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
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Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.