The Social Question pt 1

Mar 12, 2025

Lecture on Hannah Arendt's "On Revolution" - The Social Question

Introduction

  • Speaker: Roger Berkowitz, Founder and Academic Director of the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College.
  • Purpose: Discuss the chapter "The Social Question" from Hannah Arendt's "On Revolution."
  • Controversy: This chapter is controversial and often misunderstood, similar to Arendt's essay on Little Rock.

Key Arguments and Concepts

Poverty vs. Misery

  • Distinction: Poverty is different from misery.
    • Poverty: General lack of wealth.
    • Misery: Extreme poverty, leading to dehumanization due to bodily necessity.
  • Politicization of Misery:
    • Karl Marx: Theorized misery as a political force, claiming poverty results from exploitation.
    • French Revolution: Brought attention to poverty as something addressable, not natural.

Compassion, Pity, and Hypocrisy

  • Compassion to Pity: Compassion becomes perverted into pity.
    • Compassion: Emotional, individual-focused.
    • Pity: Abstract, mass-focused, leading to cruelty.
  • Political Implications:
    • Rulers' compassion becomes legitimized for political power.
    • Hypocrisy emerges from feigned goodness.
    • Pity leads to terror in revolutions under mass poverty.

American Revolution

  • Unique Case: Avoided terror by ignoring the social question, due to ignorance of slavery.
  • Solidarity vs. Pity: Revolution driven by solidarity (community of interest) rather than pity.
  • Slavery: Overlooked misery of slaves; considered the "primordial sin" of America.

The Role of Hypocrisy

  • Revolutionary Hypocrisy: Political movements aim to expose hypocrisy.
  • Arendt's View: Hypocrisy is an integral part of politics; revolutions face terror when trying to solve the social question.

Alternative: Solidarity

  • Definition: Establishing a community interest with the oppressed, as opposed to acting out of pity.
  • Characteristics:
    • Focused on shared human dignity and honor.
    • Includes both the oppressed and the powerful.
    • Governed by reason and generality, not just emotion.
    • Allows for a broader, inclusive interest encompassing all mankind.

Conclusion

  • Arendt's Warning: Revolutions under mass poverty risk terror due to the drive by pity rather than solidarity.
  • Hope for Future: Recognizing and confronting misery without being consumed by it politically, to avoid hypocrisy and maintain solidarity.

Further Reading

  • Hypocrisy: Explored in the last two sections of the chapter, encouraging personal reading for deeper understanding.

This lecture provides a deep dive into Arendt's exploration of the social question in revolutions, focusing on the dangers of pity and the potential of solidarity. The discussion raises important questions about how to address poverty and misery in a way that promotes genuine solidarity, rather than hypocritical pity.