Single Idea 21936

[catalogued under 24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / c. A unified people]

Full Idea

In Derrida's modal reversal (where the only possible forgiveness is forgiving the unforgivable), the only possible community is the impossible community, which is a 'community of singularities' without anything in common.

Gist of Idea

A community must consist of singular persons, with nothing in common

Source

report of Jacques Derrida (later work [1980]) by Simon Glendinning - Derrida: A Very Short Introduction 7

Book Reference

Glendinning,Simon: 'Derrida: a Very Short Intro' [OUP 2011], p.82


A Reaction

Since this seems to go beyond multiculturalism, I can only see it as hyper-liberalism - that isolated individuals have an absolute status. Sounds like Nozick, but Derrida saw himself as a non-Marxist left-winger.