I Am The People: Reflections On Popular Sovereignty Today

208 Pages·2020·3.071 MB·English

by  Pārtha Caṭṭopādhyāẏa, Partha Chatterjee

I A M
T H E P E O P L E
REFLECTIONS ON
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY TODAY
PARTHA CHATTERJEE
I AM THE PEOPLE
RUTH BENEDICT BOOK SERIES
Edited by David Scott and Elizabeth A. Povinelli
Named after one of the found ers of American anthropology and the Columbia
Department of Anthropology, the Ruth Benedict Book Series is inspired by
Benedict’s passionate engagement with the critical po liti cal, aesthetic, and theo-
retical prob lems of the twentieth century but places them in the global condi-
tions of the twenty-f irst. Contributions to the series explore cont emporary criti-
cal thought in politics and aesthetics through a deep knowledge of the global
condition in specific localities and regions. The scope of the series is capaciously
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tions in a multiplicity of disciplines, but are also statements whose reckoning cuts
across the critical humanistic and social sciences.
Secular Translations: Nation- State, Modern Self, and Calculative Reason, Talal Asad
I A M
T H E P E O P L E
REFLECTIONS ON
POPU LAR SOVEREIGNTY TODAY
PA R T H A C H AT T E R J E E
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS New York
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Publishers Since 1893
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Caṭṭopādhyāẏa, Pārtha, author.
Title: I am the people : reflections on popu lar sovereignty today / Partha
Chatterjee.
Description: New York : Columbia University Press, [2020] | Series: Ruth
benedict book series | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019028666 (print) | LCCN 2019028667 (e-book) |
ISBN 9780231195485 (hardback) | ISBN 9780231195492
(trade paperback) | ISBN 9780231551359 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Pop u lism. | Liberalism. | Democracy. | Legitimacy of
governments. | Sovereignty. | World politics—1989–
Classification: LCC JC423 .C366 2020 (print) | LCC JC423 (e-book) |
DDC 320.56/62— dc23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2019028666
LC e-book rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2019028667
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable
acid- free paper.
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca
Cover design: Chang Jae Lee
In memory of Arup Mallik (1944–2017)

CONTENTS
preface ix
1. Even Justice 1
2. The Cynicism of Power 31
3. “I Am the People” 73
Afterword: The Optimism of the Intellect 123
notes 153
bibliography 167
index 175

PREFACE
T here is much discussion these days in the acad emy and in
public forums on the threats that have suddenly appeared
before Western liberal democracies. Since the end of World War
II, t hese countries had enjoyed an unpre ce dented and unbro-
ken spell of economic prosperity, social peace, and po liti cal legit-
imacy. Why is it that in the United States, Britain, and virtu-
ally every country in western Eu rope there is today, on the one
hand, the rise of populist movements, authoritarian leaders, and
a vis i ble fragility of liberal institutions and, on the other, the fail-
ure of established po liti cal parties and representative govern-
ments to build consensus and maintain the legitimacy of the
prevailing order? To many, the pre sent situation has revived
memories of the turmoil that ran through Eu rope in the period
between the two world wars, ultimately plunging the whole
world into the deadliest war in h uman history. Not surprisingly,
there is urgent and deep concern in intellectual circles today on
what should be done to preserve demo cratic institutions and lib-
eral values from yet another menacing onslaught.
This book, based on the Ruth Benedict Lectures delivered
at Columbia University in April 2018, points out the narrow