The Fall of Public Man

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Dayan D., 2000, « Télévision, le presque-public », Réseaux. Communication, technologie, société, 100, pp. 429-456. However, Sennett also points out deeper problems implicit in this way of thinking. In particular, he describes how the intimate society tends towards de-politicization- if 'impersonal forces' are not emotionally gratifying, then they are not considered important in the way personal things are. A person may not wish to conceive of the position they occupy in a social class hierarchy because that would undermine their 'personality'. This prevents them from acting in concert with others to improve their conditions. But Sennett's work can also be understood as a life-long attempt to come to terms with his radical heritage, to both honour the idealism of an old left and re-mould it in the light of contemporary realities. Born in Chicago in 1943, he was a classic child of the left. His father and all his uncles were in the Communist party and his mother "was always involved in the labour movement", he says. His father and uncle fought in the Spanish Civil War, first against the fascists, and then against the communists. Proudly he shows me a portrait on his study wall of the Lincoln section of the International brigade. It includes his father and uncle, upright men in caps prepared to die to defend someone else's freedom. Public expression rests upon an idea of “human nature” or “character,” that might be informed by a religious world view, for instance. Personality, which came to replace character, is spawned from an atomistic secular point of view whose belief lies within an immanent interpretation of the world which attempts to grasp an unmediated point of view (this, of course, is a grand illusion…). In a paradoxical way, we put a premium on being able to express your so-called inner self, but this self is constantly isolated and lost since society no longer provides a set of queues which would allow the individual to act politically. What results is a world where the individual is an isolated spectator from their fellow beings, easily swayed and subdued by charismatic moments where, if only for a split second, they “identify” with another. In this society, there is no agency since community is defined as mutual personal disclosure rather than an act where a community produces meaning together, impersonally. The former has no public life—or, rather, public life consists almost exclusively of a set of similar “kinds” of people whose authenticity (are you really our “kind”?) is constantly being put into question—proving authenticity, then, usually comes in the form of an attempt to purify their community. A true public life has little concern for authenticity or purity. What matters is the common impersonal currency of expression.

To demonstrate the irrationality of considering politics in personal terms, Sennett also gives an entertaining and very perceptive analysis of Zola's J'Accuse. I'd always considered this a rather strange document, but had not considered it in the way Sennett described. Darnton R., 1984, Le Grand Massacre des chats. Attitudes et croyances dans l’ancienne France, trad. de l’anglais (États-Unis) par M.-A. Revellat, Paris, R. Laffont, 1985. Ginzburg C., 1980, « Signes, traces, pistes. Racines d’un paradigme de l’indice », Le Débat, 6, pp. 3-44.Perelman C., Olbrechts-Tyteca L., 1958, Traité de l’argumentation. La nouvelle rhétorique, Bruxelles, Éd. L’Université de Bruxelles, 1976. Arendt H., 1958, Condition de l’homme moderne, trad. de l’anglais (États-Unis) par G. Fradier, Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 1961. Licoppe C., 2013, « Formes de la présence et circulations de l’expérience », Réseaux. Communication, technologie, société, 182, pp. 21-55. Allard-Huver F., 2017, « Fake news », in : Publictionnaire encyclopédique et critique des publics. Accès : http://publictionnaire.huma-num.fr/notice/fake-news/. Consulté le 22/11/2019. A truly remarkable book. Sennett dives into the depths of (Western) cultural and behavioural change during the last three centuries. This book has been published in the 1970ies, but has lost nothing of its applicability to modern times. The majority of a previously politically engaged public has slowly morphed into spectators, organised in groups of secularised believers, who cannot be argued with.

I have the most loyal people. I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and (...) The work takes a view of public performance on the stage, in civic and political capacities, and in general social encounters. Settings for consideration range from the courts of Versailles to cafes and gentlemen's clubs in London. Thoroughfares, promenades, and the home are all given due attention as well.Kaufmann L., 2016, « La “ligne brisée” : ontologie relationnelle, réalisme social et imagination morale », Revue du Mauss, 47, pp. 105-128.