Paper Short Abstract:

In this paper, I argue for the relevance of philosophers Alain Badiou and Slavoj Žižek, who disconnect hope from optimism, to inspire and revive a militant approach to anthropology. Based on my research in Recife, Brazil, I reflect on the approach of hope as a method for knowledge production.

Paper Abstract:

In this paper, I explore the relationship between hope and politics in the work of Alain Badiou and Slavoj Žižek, two prominent philosophers who have not received sufficient attention in anthropology. Badiou considers hope an ethical principle to persevere in a “truth procedure,” holding fidelity to an Event. Politics, for him, is one such procedure, along with Art, Science, and Love. Žižek, on the other hand, considers “the privatization of hope.” Drawing on Giorgio Agamben’s statement that “thought is the courage of hopelessness,” Žižek argues that it is only by admitting hopelessness that we can initiate radical change. Politics, for him, is about “the art of the impossible,” insisting on a completely realistic demand that disturbs the core of hegemonic ideology and implies a much more “impossible” change.

These two philosophers, who disconnect hope from optimism, can inspire and revive a militant approach to anthropology. I make this point based on my PhD research on struggles for the Right to the City in Recife, Brazil. In this city, Liberation Theology was crucial in advancing a “preferential option for the poor.” Part of the Catholic Church sided with a strong popular movement that played an essential role in the 1980s for the establishment of an internationally lauded participatory slum governance system. Over time, this movement and program has lost much steam. In the current disoriented times, I show fidelity to this movement, approaching hope as a method for knowledge production.