Boundaries of the Political in Hannah Arendt’s Thought: Exclusion of the ‘Social Question’.

Article

Abstract

[In English]

Injustice and suffering had always been on the agenda probably since the beginning of the social life of humankind. It might be claimed that seeing others exposed to injustice and suffering somehow makes all of us uncomfortable and creates pity and compassion. That is why dealing with poverty and questions of distribution have been one of the basic concerns throughout human history. However, it might be also argued that in an age of globalization, different forms of injustice such as gender inequality, poverty, and malnutrition, economic and social inequality have come to the fore in an intensified manner at the global level. In this sense, political theorists who are concerned with the question of social justice have given much effort to conceptualize politics and the political in a way to deal with the problem of social and economic inequality. In this way, Arendt constitutes a striking and to a certain extent «odd» figure in excluding ‘the social question’ («liberation of men from suffering») from the realm of politics and the political. Under the light of these concerns, this paper aims to analyze the boundaries of what is called political in Arendt’s thought. By the help of such an analysis, I will try to reflect on if an Arendtian way of grasping the political and action is relevant in our age and if so, to what extent? It is assumed that the concept of action constitutes the basis of what she understands from the political since action is essentially connected to the political. Action is political and bound to be political. Thus, first, in very general terms, I will try to portray what action means in Arendt’s eyes by focusing on Human Condition. What are the characteristics of action? Secondly, I will focus on the conception of ‘the social question’ that she excludes from the category of action, so the political and will try to see if such a picture is helpful for us to imagine politics and the political in an age where the gap between rich and poor is being sharpened and claims of justice are being raised at the global level.