Negattive Politics as Resistance

This research seeks to elucidate a theory of resistance through Byung-Chul Han's theory of negative politics or philosophy. Firstly, I present his critique of neoliberal capitalism vis-à-vis his theory of violence. Secondly, I explore his theory of infocracy within the context of global politics and crises. Given the dominance of algorithmically manipulated information in this new regime, the cult of positivity assumes more invincibility. Thirdly, I delineate and elucidate the praxiological vocabularies that animate his negative politics. I begin by discussing his reconstruction of the vita contemplativa—an act of deactivation from the cults of hypercommunication and hyperproduction. However, I claim that this concept is insufficient if one seeks to critically navigate the contemporary world. Accordingly, I activate other philosophical concepts in his writings—namely rage, parrhēsia, idiotism, eroticism, and friendship—to reconfigure his project not merely as a philosophy of deactivation, but also as one of contestation. These Hanian philosophical concepts, ultimately, may serve as vectors through which contemporary politics can be rehabilitated and, more importantly, atomized communities reconstituted—thereby recovering people’s capacity to contemplate, to interrogate the status quo, and to envision futurity.