The Sentence is the Goal: Agambens Notion of Law Carlo Salzani

Abstract In Remnants of Auschwitz, Giorgio Agamben uses a little note about Primo Levi and his never-accomplished project of translating Kafkas Process, as an occasion to make some considerations about the nature of the la ! "he novel presents the la onl# in the form of a trial, and offers thus a profound intuition about its essence, hich resides not much in the norm, but rather in the judgement or sentence$ %if the essence of la , Agamben rites, %is the trial, if all la &and the moral contaminated b# it' is merel# prosecutive la &and (prosecutive) moral', then e*ecution and transgression, innocence and guilt, obedience and disobedience blur, become indistinct and lose all importance! %"he tribunal does not ant an#thing from #ou, Kafka famousl# rote$ %it receives #ou hen #ou come, and lets #ou go hen #ou leave! "he final goal of the norm, Agamben continues, is to produce the sentence$ but the purpose of the sentence is neither to punish nor to re ard, neither to do justice nor to ascertain the truth+ %"he sentence is in itself the goal, and this, as the# sa#, constitutes its m#ster#, the m#ster# of the trial! Agamben long-lasting and still-unfinished project begun ith Homo Sacer &,--.' centres in fact on a notion of la as self-reproducing circularit#, hich he derives from /chmitt, 0enjamin and Kafka &or from 0enjamins reading of Kafka', and hich is strictl# bound to violence and thus e*cluded from an# access to justice$ it is 1 to use 0enjamins e*pression 1 %m#thical, and as such belongs to the %demonic stage of human histor#! /tretching this interpretation, e could call it %evil! "he paper proposes to anal#se Agambens notion of la , particularl# in relation to 2uestions of justice and evil! Key Words: Giorgio Agamben, 3arl /chmitt, 4alter 0enjamin, 5ran6 Kafka, la , e*ception, violence, justice! ***** "ntrod#ction: the mystery of the trial In Remnants of Auschwitz &,--7', Agamben denounces the contamination of moral and religious categories 1 like guilt, responsibilit#, innocence, judgement, absolution 1 ith the la ! 8e rehearses thereb# hat !

"he /entence is the Goal

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 is the core tenet of his philosophical project at least from the publication of The Coming Community &,--:'+ the necessit# of re-founding ethics and politics be#ond and ithout the sphere of normative or regulative discourses! "his is not onl# because, as he rites in Homo Sacer &,--.', all normative traditions have entered a legitimation crisis, summed up in the formula of being in force ithout significance, and hich he calls %nihilism ,$ the problem lies, rather, in the ver# structure and essence of the la , hich %does not finall# aim at the ascertainment of justice or of truth! It aims uni2uel# at the judgement, independentl# from truth or justice!; "he production of the res judicata, of the verdict, is the final goal of the la , and in it the sentence substitutes for truth and justice, as it is proved b# the legal institution called %force of la &forza di legge, but in this case forza di giudicato', hereb# even an unjust sentence has force of la once it has been passed, despite its falsit# or injustice!< Kafkas novel Der Proze =The Trial> epitomises for Agamben the nature of la insofar as it represents la uni2uel# in the form of trial+ la is not much norm, but rather judgement, and thus trial! "his means that, If the essence of la 1 of ever# la 1 is the trial, if the hole juridical order &and the moral contaminated b# it' is onl# prosecutive la &and prosecutive moral', then e*ecution and transgression, innocence and guilt, obedience and disobedience blur, become indistinct and lose all importance!? "he final goal of the norm is to produce the judgement, but the judgement, the sentence, aims neither at punishing nor at re arding, neither at doing justice nor at ascertaining the truth$ %"he tribunal does not ant an#thing from #ou, Kafka rote$ %It receives #ou hen #ou come and releases #ou hen #ou go!. %"he sentence is itself the goal, Agamben glosses, %and this, it has been said, constitutes its m#ster#, the m#ster# of the trial!@ "he self-referential nature of judgement entails that punishment is not conse2uent to judgement, but that the sentence itself is the punishment, and the innocent is not the one ho has been ac2uitted, but the one ho manages to go through life ithout judgement! In a more recent te*t on Kafka he insists+ not guilt, but rather the charge =accusa> is perhaps the juridical %categor# par e cellence &!at"goria means in Greek %charge, %accusation' =A>! La =il diritto> is, in its essence, charge, %katBgoria!C

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<

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 "he criti2ue of la , and of the political order built on it, constitutes the core of Agambens project! It is also the most controversial, and the most critici6ed, aspect of his philosoph#! 7 Dot onl# because, as Eainer Faria Kieso points out, Agamben %never offers a definition, idea, or a theor# of hat he understands to be (la ), and proposes thus a %negative legal theor#-$ more importantl#, this indeterminac# encompasses all normative or regulative discourse, thus all social and cultural forms,:+ as he states in Homo Sacer, hat he means b# %la is %the entire te*t of the tradition in its regulative aspect, hether the Ge ish Torah or the Islamic Shariah, the 3hristian dogma or the profane nomos!,, I ill leave here aside the 2uestionabilit# of Agambens argument, and the huge literature it has produced, and ill rather focus on its structure and on the three main sources from hich Agamben construes his notion of la + 3arl /chmitt, 4alter 0enjamin, and 5ran6 Kafka! 4hereas /chmitt unveils the true nature of the la in the e*ception, 0enjamin sho s its intimate connection to violence, and Kafka describes its emptiness and self-referentialit#$ from these three sources Agamben construes the picture of a la that %presupposes itself, retrospectivel# legitimating its o n, non-legal, foundation and establishing a circle in hich la s authorit# stems from la itself! ,; "his circular structure is hat must be de-activated and rendered inoperative, and 0enjamin and Kafka also offer a redemptive route in their profane messianism! $! %arl Schmitt: the e&ce'tion as originary form of law /chmitts doctrine of sovereignt# constitutes the fundament upon hich Agamben construes his hole philosophical argument! According to /chmitt, %sovereign is he ho decides on the e*ception,,< and guarantees thereb# the legal order through its suspension! "his constitutes, for Agamben, the %parado* of sovereignt#+ the sovereign is, simultaneousl#, ithin and ithout the legal order$ or, since the sovereign has the legal po er of suspending the validit# of the la , %the la is outside itself! ,? "his entails that %the rule applies to the e ception in no longer applying# in withdrawing from it,,. and this is hat Agamben calls the %relation of e*ception+ the relation that includes something uni2uel# through its e*clusion! "his relation constitutes the indeterminac# bet een fact and la , bet een life and la ! "he originar# structure of the la is %if A, then 0, hereb# %a fact is included in the juridical order through its e*clusion and the transgression seems to precede and determine the la ful case! "he juridical order %does not originall# present itself simpl# as sanction of a transgressive fact, but rather constitutes itself through the repetition of the same act ithout an# sanction, that is, as e*ception$ the sanction does not mean the punishment of the act, but rather its inclusion 1 through e*clusion 1 in the juridical order, and in this sense %the e*ception is the originar# form of la !,@ "he cipher of the relation of e*ception is guilt, in the originar# sense of being-in-debt, in

"he /entence is the Goal

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 culpa esse+ %guilt refers not to transgression# that is# to the determination of the licit and illicit# $ut rather to the pure force of the law# to the law%s simple reference to something!,C "he %sovereign structure of the la presents the form of a state of e*ception, in hich life and la are indistinguishable! Eecurring to a suggestion b# Gean-Luc Danc#, Agamben calls the originar# relation of e*ception $an =$ando>+ he ho has been banned is not simpl# outside the la , but is rather a$andoned b# it, that is, e*posed to the threshold of indifference in hich e*terior and interior, life and la become indistinguishable, and this is la s originar# relation to life!,7 In The Time that Remains &;:::', Agamben recaps the argument in < points+ ,' "he relation of e*ception presents an absolute indeterminac# of inside and outside! In the state of e*ception, the la is in force in the form of its suspension, it applies in ithdra ing itself, and thus includes hat it rejects$ this means that there is no outside of the la , that the la , b# including its outside in the form of e*ception, coincides ith realit# itself! ;' "his means that in the state of e*ception it is impossible to distinguish bet een compliance and transgression! In this sense, the la , since it coincides purel# and simpl# ith realit#, is absolutel# unenforceable+ unenforceabilit# is thus the originar# figure of the norm!

<' "herefore, in the state of e*ception, the la

is absolutel# nonformulable, it no longer 1 or not #et 1 presents the form of a prescription or a prohibition! In the state of e*ception the la acts uni2uel# through its non-formulabilit#!,-

/chmitts account of the e*ception, b# isolating the decisionistic and thus anomic core of all juridical and political s#stems, tells the truth about the political and the nature of la ! 4e leave toda#, even in 4estern so-called democracies, in a /chmittian orld!;: (! Walter )en*amin: law+ ,iolence and life Agamben complements and completes /chmitts theor# ith the account of the la proposed b# 0enjamin in four seminal te*ts+ %3riti2ue of Hiolence &,-;,', %5ran6 Kafka &,-<?', 0enjamins correspondence ith Gershom /cholem apropos of the Kafka essa# &,-<?-,-<7', and thesis HIII of %In the 3oncept of 8istor# &,-?:'! %3riti2ue of Hiolence moves essentiall# along /chmittian lines;, and proposes an account of the la as ine*tricabl# bound to violence, both in the moment of its foundation

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99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 &rechtsetzende &ewalt, la -making violence' and of its preservation &rechtserhaltende &ewalt, la -preserving violence'! La belongs thus to hat 0enjamin calls the realm of %m#th, a residue of the %demonic stage of human e*istence, the realm of natural necessit# here onl# sorro and guilt rule, and as such has no access to justice! ;; Jnlike /chmitt, though, 0enjamin posits the necessit# of de-posing =ent'setzen> the m#thic order of the la in order to accede to a messianic %ne historical epoch, a move essential for Agambens project!;< Kafka is, for 0enjamin, the one ho has portra#ed this m#thic and fateful character of the la in all its demonic ambiguit#, and his essa# on Kafka constitutes thus a fundamental reference for Agamben! ;? Kven more than the essa# itself, hat inspires Agamben is the debate bet een 0enjamin and /cholem that the essa# stirred+ /cholem disagreed ith 0enjamins interpretation on several points,;. but precisel# his counter-interpretation provides Agamben ith a definition of the essence of the la ! In a letter of /eptember ;:, ,-<?, /cholem defines Kafkas relation to la as (ichts of )ffen$arung &nothing of revelation', hereb# the la is in force &gilt' ithout signif#ing &$edeutet', and presents itself therefore onl# in the form of its unreali6abilit#;@$ this $eing in force without significance is precisel# hat describes, for Agamben, the $an hich characteri6es our age, but toda#s nihilistic crisis of all traditions merel# unveils the /chmittian originar# structure of the sovereign relation!;C La in this relation, in the state of e*ception, blurs its borders and comes to coincide ith life, ith that life, as 0enjamin argued in his repl# to /cholem, that is lived in the village at the foot of Kafkas castle, ith the life of Gosef K! hich coincides ith the trial!;7 0enjamins great intuition, contained in thesis HIII of %In the 3oncept of 8istor#, is to reali6e that %the (state of e*ception) in hich e live is the rule,;- that the nihilistic crisis of modernit# has e*ploded the boundaries that confined the /chmittian e*ception to times of constitutional crises and the e*ception no coincides ith ever#da# life!<: 0enjamin, ho ever, also proposes a counter-strateg#+ in the Kafka essa#, to a la in force ithout significance he counterposes a la that is studied but no longer applied! "his %stud# corresponds to the %de-position =*ntsetzung> of the la called for in %3riti2ue of Hiolence and constitutes thus the %gate to justice<,$ to /cholem 0enjamin again rites that %it is in the attempt to transform life into /cripture that I see the sense of the (inversion) to ards hich man# of Kafkas allegories tend!<; "hesis HIII, finall#, calls for the establishment of a %real =wir!lich> state of e*ception<< in hich, Agamben glosses, %la that becomes indistinguishable from life =A> is confronted b# life that, in a s#mmetrical but inverse gesture, is entirel# transformed into la , and %the absolute intelligibilit# of a life holl# resolved into riting corresponds to the impenetrabilit# of a riting that, having become indecipherable, no appears as life!<?

"he /entence is the Goal

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 -! .ran/ Kaf0a: before the law Agambens criti2ue of la , and his messianic gesture to ards its overcoming, are epitomised b# his interpretation of Kafkas legend %0efore the La ! "his legend, he argues, represents in an e*emplar# abbreviation the structure of the sovereign ban+ nothing prevents the man from the countr# to enter the door of the La $ the door is open and the doorkeeper merel# sa#s that he cannot, for the moment, grant him access, and arns him about the other doorkeepers, %each one more po erful than the other, he ould encounter on his a#!<. 8ere, Agamben states, Kafka represents the pure form of the la , in hich %la affirms itself ith the greatest force precisel# at the point in hich it no longer prescribes an#thing 1 hich is to sa#, as pure ban!<@ "he man from the countr# is delivered over to the po er of la precisel# because the la demands nothing from him and prescribes nothing other than its o n openness+ the la thus keeps him in its ban b# abandoning him outside itself, it includes him b# e*cluding him and e*cludes him b# including him in its openness, and this is the original structure of the nomos! Against most interpretations though, Agamben does not read the legend as the tale of a defeat, but rather focuses on its last sentence in order to propose a messianic t ist! "he man from the countr# spends his entire life and fortune in the al a#s-frustrated attempt to enter the door of the La , and hen he is about to e*hale his last breath, the doorkeeper reveals that that door as open onl# for him, and concludes+ %no I go and close it!<C "he la s openness constitutes its invisible po er, its specific %force, and therefore Agamben interprets the behaviour of the man from the countr# as a complicated and patient strateg# to have the door closed! "he last sentence of Kafkas legend tells thus of the mans final success+ the door of the La is closed and its being in force interrupted! "he man from the countr# can be read as a messianic figure, as a figure for the Fessiah, hose coming produces the %fulfilment of the la , that is, its closure, and this is a strateg# that Agamben reads in all of Kafkas characters, from the man from the countr# to Gosef K! in The Trial to the land-surve#or K! of The Castle!<7 1! %oncl#sion: the 2essiah dsoeuvr "he Fessiah is the figure in hich all monotheistic religions sought to master the problem of the la , and therefore constitutes their limitconcept! Its coming signifies the fulfilment of the la , but, Agamben asks, hat can be the fulfilment of a la that is in force ithout signif#ingL <- 8e finds the ans er in /t! Pauls messianism, hich he anal#ses in The Time That Remains &;:::'+ the term that /t! Paul uses in his epistles to indicate the fulfilment brought about b# the Fessiah is !at+rgesis, hich is a compound of the verb argeo, hich in turn comes from arg,s! Arg,s means %non-in-

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99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 ork &non'in'opera, a'ergos', %inactive, %inoperative, %d-soeu.r-, and thus the compound !atargein means %to make inoperative, %to de-activate!?: In the /eptuagint, the same term translates a 8ebre verb hich signifies the /abbath rest!?, "he fulfilment and the telos of the la means thus neither its substitution for a different la nor its destruction, but rather its de-activation+ the Fessiah makes the la inoperative and restores it to the form of potentialit#$ the messianic fulfilment of the la is its [Link]+-$ the opening to a justice ithout la !?< 0ut this is the subject for another paper!

Notes

3f! G! Agamben, Homo sacer/ 0l potere [Link] e la nuda .ita , Kinaudi, "urin, ,--., p! .- =trans! M! 8eller-Eoa6en, Homo Sacer1 [Link] Power and 2are 3ife, /tanford JP, /tanford, 3A, ,--7>! I ill use here m# o n translation of all Agambens te*ts$ hen Knglish translations are available, I ill point them out, but ill refer to the pagination of the Italian editions! ; %il diritto non tende in ultima analisi allaccertamento della giusti6ia! K nemmeno a 2uello della veritN! Ksso tende unicamente al giudi6io, indipendentemente dalla veritN o dalla giusti6ia, G! Agamben, 4uel che resta di Auschwitz/ [Link] e il testimone! 8omo sacer! Hol <, 0ollati 0oringhieri, "urin, ,--7, p! ,@ =trans! M! 8eller-Eoa6en, Remnants of Auschwitz, Oone, De Pork, ,--->! < Agamben uses alternativel# the terms diritto and legge, hich have close correspondences in 5rench &droit, loi', /panish &derecho, ley', and German &Recht, &esetzt', but are both usuall# translated in Knglish as %la ! As Kevin Attell points out in his translation of Agambens Stato di eccezione &State of * ception, Jniversit# of 3hicago Press, 3hicago, IL, ;::., p! ;Cn', diritto hints at la in the abstract, the entire sphere of la , hile legge refers rather to the specific bod# of rules established in a communit#! ? %Fa se lessen6a della legge 1 di ogni legge 1 Q il processo, se tutto il diritto &e la morale che ne Q contaminata' sono soltanto diritto &e morale' processuali, allora esecu6ione e trasgressione, innocen6a e colpevole66a, obbedien6a e disobbedien6a si confondono e perdono importan6a, Agamben, 4uel che resta di Auschwitz, pp! ,@-,C! . %Mas Gericht ill nichts von Mir! Ks nimmt Mich auf enn Mu kommst und es entlRSt Mich enn du gehst, 5! Kafka, Der Proze, in 6ritische Ausga$e, G! 0orn, G! Deumann, F! Pasle# and G! /chillemeit &eds!', 5ischer, 5rankfurt a!F!, ;::C, p! <:? =trans! 0! Fitchell, The Trial, De Pork+ /chocken 0ooks, ,--->! @ %Il giudi6io Q in sT stesso il fine e 2uesto 1 Q stato detto 1 costituisce il suo mistero, il mistero del processo, Agamben, 4uel che resta di Auschwitz, p! ,C! C %laccusa Q forse la %categoria giuridica per eccellen6a &!at"goria significa in greco %accusa' =A>! Il diritto Q, cioQ, nella sua essen6a, accusa, %categoria, G! Agamben, %K!, in G! Agamben, (udit+, Dottetempo, Eome, ;::-, p! <C! 7 3f!, as onl# a fe e*amples, G!-P! Merant#, %Agambens 3hallenge to Dormative "heories of Fodern Eights, in 2orderlands, vol! <!,, ;::?, http+UU !borderlands!net!auUvol<no,9;::?Uderant#9agambnschall!htm$ A! 0enjamin, %/pacing as the /hared+ 8eraclitus, Pindar, Agamben, in Politics# 7etaphysics# and Death1 *ssays on &iorgio Agam$en5s Homo Sacer, A! Dorris &ed!', Muke Jniversit# Press, Murham V London, ;::., pp ,?.-C;$ P! 5it6patrick, %0are /overeignt#+ Homo Sacer and the Insistence of La , in Politics# 7etaphysics# and Death, pp! ?--C<$ A! Kal#vas, %"he /overeign 4eaver+ 0e#ond the 3amp, in Politics# 7etaphysics# and Death, pp! ,:C-<?$ E!F! Kieso , %La and Life, in Politics# 7etaphysics# and Death, pp! ;?7-@,$ M! La3apra, %Approaching Limit Kvents+ /iting Agamben, in &iorgio Agam$en1 [Link] and 3ife, F! 3alarco and /! Me3aroli &eds!', /tanford Jniversit# Press, /tanford, 3A, ;::C, pp! ,;@@;$ K! Laclau, %0are Life or /ocial Indeterminac#L, in &iorgio Agam$en1 [Link] and 3ife, pp ,,-;;$ L! /chol6, %Genseits des Liberalismus+ Giorgio Agamben und die Kritik der modernen politischen Philosophie bei Leo /trauss und 3arl /chmitt, in Die &[Link] 7achine1 8ur Politischen Philosophie &iorgio Agam$ens, G! 0Wckelmann and 5! Feier &eds!', JDEA/", FXnster, ;::C, pp! ,@@-7@$ 3! Fills, The Philosophy of Agam$en, Acumen, /tocksfield, ;::7! Kieso , %La and Life, pp! ;.,, ;.;! ,: 3f! Fills, The Philosophy of Agam$en, p! -7! ,, Agamben, Homo sacer, p! .-! ,; G! 4h#te, %Its /ilent 4orking 4as a Melusion, in The 9or! of &iorgio Agam$en1 3aw# 3iterature# 3ife, G! 3lemens, D! 8eron and A! Furra# &eds!', Kdinburgh Jniversit# Press, Kdinburgh, ;::7, p! @7! ,< %/ouverRn ist, er Xber den Ausnahme6ustand entscheidet, 3! /chmitt, Politische Theologie1 :ier 6apitel zur 3ehre .on der [Link];nit;t, Muncker V 8umblot, Funich and Leip6ig, ,-<?, p! ,, =trans! G! /ch ab, Political Theology1 <our Chapters on the Concept of [Link], Jniversit# of 3hicago Press, 3hicago and London, ;::., p! .>! ,? %La legge Q fuori di se stessa, Agamben, Homo sacer, p! ,-! ,. %3a norma si applica all%eccezione disapplicandosi# ritirandosi da essa , Agamben, Homo sacer, p! ;;$ emphasis in the original! ,@ %un fatto Q incluso nellordine giuridico attraverso la sua esclusione e la trasgressione sembra precedere e determinare il caso lecito$ %lordine giuridico non si presenta in origine semplicemente come san6ione di un fatto trasgressivo, ma si costituisce, piuttosto, attraverso il ripetersi dello stesso atto sen6alcuna san6ione, cioQ come caso decce6ione$ %lecce6ione Q la forma originaria del diritto, Agamben, Homo sacer, pp! <,-<;! ,C %3a colpa non si riferisce alla trasgressione# cio= alla determinazione del lecito e dell%illecito# ma alla pura .igenza della legge# al suo semplice riferirsi a >ualcosa, Agamben, Homo sacer, p! <;$ emphasis in the original! ,7 3f! Agamben, Homo sacer, pp! <?-.$ G!-L! Danc#, 350mp-ratif cat-gori>ue, 5lammarion, Paris, ,-7<! ,3f! G! Agamben, 0l tempo che resta/ ?n commento alla @3ettera ai romaniA, 0ollati 0oringhieri, "urin, ;:::, pp! -7-,:: =trans! P! Maile#, The Time that Remains1 a Commentary on the 3etter to the Romans, /tanford Jniversit# Press, /tanford, 3A, ;::.!> ;: Merant#, %Agambens 3hallenge to Dormative "heories of Fodern Eights!

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In an &in'famous letter to /chmitt, dated - Mecember ,-<:, in hich he does homage to the %distinguished professor of his book ?rsprung des deutschen Trauerspiel ="he Irigin of German "ragic Mrama>, 0enjamin ackno ledges his indebtedness to him and especiall# to the book on dictatorship &Die Di!tatur1 :on den Anf;ngen des modernen [Link];nit;tsgedan!ens $is zum proletarischen 6lassen!ampf, Muncker V 8omblot, Funich V Leip6ig, ,-;,' &cf! 4! 0enjamin, &esammelte 2riefe, 3! GWdde and 8! Lonit6 &eds!', /uhrkamp, 5rankfurt a!F!, ,--.1;:::, vol! <, p! 77C'! Politische Theologie as published after %3riti2ue of Hiolence, but its general ideas are alread# present in Die Di!tatur and thus it can e argued that 0enjamin alread# kne them! In Stato di *ccezione &8omo sacer, Hol ;U,, 0ollati 0oringhieri, "urin, ;::< =trans! K! Attell, State of * ception>', Agamben argues in fact that /chmitt rote Politische Theologie in response to 0enjamins essa# &cf! pp! @7-7<'! Fuch has been ritten on the /chmitt-0enjamin relationship$ cf!, as onl# a fe e*amples, L! 4iesenthal, 8ur 9issenschaftstheorie 9alter 2enjamins, AthenRum, 5rankfurt a!F!, ,-C<$ F! Eumpf, %Eadikale "heologie+ 0enjamins 0e6iehung 6u 3arl /chmitt, in 9alter 2enjamin B 8eitgenosse der 7oderne, P! Gebhardt &ed!', /criptor, KronbergU"s, ,-C@, pp! <C-.:$ /! 4eber, %"aking K*ception to Mecision+ 4alter 0enjamin and 3arl /chmitt, Diacritics, vol! ;;!<-?, ,--;, pp! .-,-$ /! 8eil, C&ef;hrliche 2eziehungen%1 9alter 2enjamin und Carl Schmitt, G!0! Fet6ler, /tuttgart V 4eimar, ,--@$ 8! 0redekamp, %5rom 4alter 0enjamin to 3arl /chmitt, Hia "homas 8obbes, Critical 0n>uiry, vol! ;.!;, ,---, pp! ;?C-@@! ;; 3f! 4! 0enjamin, %/chicksal und 3harakter &,-,-', in &esammelte Schriften, E! "iedemann and 8! /ch eppenhRuser &eds!', /uhrkamp, 5rankfurt a!F!, ,-C;17-, vol! ;!,, pp! ,C?-. =trans! %5ate and 3haracter, in Selected 9ritings, F! 0ullock and F!4! Gennings &eds!', 0elknap Press, 3ambridge, FA, ,--@1;::<, vol! ,, pp! ;:<-?>! ;< 3f! 4! 0enjamin, %Our Kritik der Ge alt &,-;,', in &esammelte Schriften, vol! ;!,, pp! ,C--;:< =trans! %3riti2ue of Hiolence, in Selected 9ritings, vol! ,, pp! ;<@-.;>! 3f! Agamben, Homo sacer, pp! C;-@! ;? 3f! 4! 0enjamin, %5ran6 Kafka+ Our 6ehnten 4iederkehr seines "odestages, in &esammelte Schriften, vol! ;!;, pp! ?:-<C =trans! %5ran6 Kafka+ In the "enth Anniversar# of 8is Meath, in Selected 9ritings, vol! ;, pp! C-?-7,7>! ;. 3f! 4! 0enjamin and G! /cholem, 2riefwechsel DEFF'DEGH, /uhrkamp, 5rankfurt a!F, ,-7:, pp! ,.?-@;, ,@@-7, ,C,-C, ;@@-C<, ;7,-7! ;@ 0enjamin and /cholem, 2riefwechsel, p! ,C.! ;C Agamben, Homo sacer, pp! .7--! ;7 %Leben ie es im Morf am /chloSberg gefXhrt ird, 0enjamin and /cholem, 2riefwechsel, p! ,@C$ cf! Agamben, Homo sacer, pp! @,-;! ;%der %Ausnahme6ustand, in dem ir leben, die Eegel ist, 4! 0enjamin, %Yber den 0egriff der Geschichte &,-?:', in &esammelte Schriften, vol! ,!;, p! @-C =trans! %In the 3oncept of 8istor#, in Selected 9ritings, vol! ?, p! <-;$ translation modified>! <: 3f! Agamben, Homo sacer, pp! ,.-@, @<-?! <, %Mas Eecht, das nicht mehr prakti6iert und nur studiert ird, das ist die Pforte der Gerechtigkeit! Mie Pforte del Gerechtigkeit ist das /tudium ="he la hich is studied but no longer practiced is the gate to justice>, 0enjamin, %5ran6 Kafka, p! ?<C =7,.>! 0enjamin is here referring to Kafkas stor# %Mer neue Advokat, cf! 6ritische Ausga$e/ Druc!e zu 3e$zeiten, pp! ;.,-; =trans %"he ne Advocate, in The Complete Stories, /chocken 0ooks, De Pork, ,--.>! <; %In dem Hersuch der Her andlung des Lebens in /chrift sehe ich den /inn der %Jmkehr, auf elche 6ahlreiche Gleichnisse Kafkas =A> hindrRngen, 0enjamin and /cholem, 2riefwechsel, p! ,@C! << %Mann ird uns als unsere Aufgabe die 8erbeifXhrung des irklichen Ausnahme6ustands vor Augen stehen, 4alter 0enjamin, %Yber den 0egriff der Geschichte, p! @-C =<-;>! <? %Dello stato di ecce6ione effettivo, alla legge che sindetermina in vita fa riscontro, invece, una vita che, con un gesto simmetrico ma inverso, si trasforma integralmente in legge! AllimpenetrabilitN di una scrittura che, divenuta indecifrabile, si presenta ora come vita, corrisponde lassoluta intelligibilitN di una vita tutta risolta in scrittura, Agamben, Homo sacer, p! @?! 3f! also Agamben, Stato di eccezione, pp! 7,-;$ a longer and more detailed anal#sis of the Kafka essa# and the debate ith /cholem can be found in G! Agamben, %Il Fessia e il sovrano+ Il problema della legge in 4alter 0enjamin, in G! Agamben, 3a potenza del pensiero! Saggi e conferenze, Deri Po66a, Hicen6a, ;::., pp! ;@<-C: =trans! M! 8eller-Eoa6en, %"he Fessiah and the /overeign+ "he Problem of La in 4alter 0enjamin, in G! Agamben, Potentialities1 Collected *ssays in Philosophy, /tanford Jniversit# Press, /tanford, 3A, ,---, pp! ,@--C?>! <. %einer mRchtiger als der andere, 5! Kafka, %Hor dem Geset6, 6ritische Ausga$e/ Druc!e zu 3e$zeiten, p! ;@C =trans! %0efore the La , in The Complete Stories>! <@ Agamben, Homo sacer, p! .C! <C %Ich gehe jet6t6 und schlieSe ihn, Kafka, %Hor dem Geset6, p! ;@-! <7 Agamben, Homo sacer, pp! @?-.$ cf! also Agamben, %K!! <Agamben, Homo sacer, pp! @.-@! ?: Agamben, 0l tempo che resta, p! -,! ?, Agamben, 0l tempo che resta, p! -;! ?; "he 5rench term [Link] as first coined b# Ale*andre KojQve in the ,-.; essa# %Les romans de la sagesse, a revie of three novels b# Ea#mond Zueneau, Pierrot mon ami &,-?;', 3oin de Rueil &,-??' and 3e dimanche de la .ie

&,-.;'! KojQve argues that the three protagonists of the novels, hom he calls % .oyous d-soeu.r-s =la6# rascals>, embod#, in a sense, the isdom of man living after the end of histor#! "he article provoked a >uerelle ith Georges 0ataille, hich had a great impact on the follo ing generation in 5rance, and the term entered the philosophical debate, taking a central place in Gean-Luc Danc#s and Faurice 0lanchots reflections! In Homo Sacer, Agamben proposes a personal redefinition of [Link]+ it cannot be merel# read as absence of orkUactivit# =assenza di opera>, nor, as in 0ataille, as a form of negativit# hich is sovereign insofar as it has no use =senza impiego>$ rather, it must be read as %a generic mode of potentialit#, hich is not e*hausted &like the individual or collective action, intended as the sum of individual actions' in a transitus de potentia ad actum = %un modo di esistere generica della poten6a, che non si esaurisce &come la6ione individuale o 2uella collettiva, intesa come la somma delle a6ioni individuali' in un transitus de potentia ad actum, p! C,>! In 7ezzi senza fine &7ezzi senza fine/ (ote sulla politica, 0ollati 0oringhieri, "urin, ,--@ =trans! H! 0inetti and 3! 3asarino, 7eans without *nds1 (otes on Politics, Jniversit# of Finnesota Press, Finneapolis, FI, ;:::>, the argument takes the central place that it has retained in Agambens later orks+ human beings as potential beings have no proper ergon & ork', the# are argos, ithout opera, inoperative! "herefore, %politics is that hich corresponds to the essential inoperativeness of humankind, to the radical being- ithout- ork of human communities! "here is politics because human beings are argos 1 beings that cannot be defined b# an# proper operation 1 that is, beings of pure potentialit# that no identit# or vocation can possibl# e*haust = %la politica Q ci[ che corrisponde allinoperositN essen6iale degli uomini, allessere radicalmente sen6opera delle comunitN umane! Hi Q politica, perchT luomo Q un essere arg,s, che non Q definito da alcuna opera6ione propria 1 cioQ+ un essere di pura poten6a che nessuna identitN e nessuna voca6ione possono esaurire, p! ,:->! "he theme of the coming politics is therefore to interrogate these essential inoperativeness and potentialit# ithout transforming them into a historical task, b# simpl# assuming this e*position and this creative in-difference to an# task as a politics assigned to happiness! ?< Agamben, 0l tempo che resta, p! ,:,!

)ibliogra'hy
Agamben, G!, Homo sacer/ 0l potere [Link] e la nuda .ita/ Kinaudi, "urin, ,--. =trans! M! 8eller-Eoa6en! Homo Sacer1 [Link] Power and 2are 3ife! /tanford Jniversit# Press, /tanford, 3A, ,--7>! 111, 7ezzi senza fine/ (ote sulla politica! 0ollati 0oringhieri, "urin, ,--@ =trans! H! 0inetti and 3! 3asarino! 7enas without *nds1 (otes on Politics! Jniversit# of Finnesota Press, Finneapolis, FI, ;:::>! 111, 4uel che resta di Auschwitz/ [Link] e il testimone! 8omo sacer! Hol <! 0ollati 0oringhieri, "urin, ,--7 =trans! M! 8eller-Eoa6en! Remnants of Auschwitz! Oone, De Pork, ,--->! 111, 0l tempo che resta/ ?n commento alla @3ettera ai romaniA ! 0ollati 0oringhieri, "urin, ;::: =trans! P! Maile#! The Time that Remains1 a Commentary on the 3etter to the Romans! /tanford Jniversit# Press, /tanford, 3A, ;::.>! 111, Stato di *ccezione! 8omo sacer, Hol ;U,! 0ollati 0oringhieri, "urin, ;::< =trans! K! Attell! State of * ception! Jniversit# of 3hicago Press, 3hicago, IL, ;::.>! 111, %Il Fessia e il sovrano+ Il problema della legge in 4alter 0enjamin, in G! Agamben, 3a potenza del pensiero! Saggi e conferenze! Deri Po66a, Hicen6a, ;::., pp! ;.,-C: =trans! M! 8eller-Eoa6en! %"he Fessiah and the /overeign+ "he Problem of La in 4alter 0enjamin, in G! Agamben, Potentialities1 Collected *ssays in Philosophy! /tanford Jniversit# Press, /tanford, 3A, ,---, pp! ,@:-C@>! 111, %K!, in G! Agamben, (udit+/ Dottetempo, Eome, ;::-, pp! <<-.7! 0enjamin, A!, %/pacing as the /hared+ 8eraclitus, Pindar, Agamben, in Politics# 7etaphysics# and Death1 *ssays on &iorgio Agam$en5s Homo Sacer! A! Dorris &ed!', Muke Jniversit# Press, Murham V London, ;::., pp ,?.-C;! 0enjamin, 4!, %/chicksal und 3harakter, in &esammelte Schriften! E! "iedemann and 8! /ch eppenhRuser &eds!', /uhrkamp, 5rankfurt a!F, ,-C;17-, vol! ;!,, pp! ,C,-7 =trans! %5ate and 3haracter, in Selected 9ritings! F! 0ullock and F!4! Gennings &eds!', 0elknap Press, 3ambridge, FA, ,--@1;::<, vol! ,, pp! ;:,-@>! 111, %Our Kritik der Ge alt, in &esammelte Schriften, vol! ;!,, pp! ,C--;:< =trans! %3riti2ue of Hiolence, in Selected 9ritings, vol! ,, pp! ;<@-.;>!

111, %5ran6 Kafka+ Our 6ehnten 4iederkehr seines "odestages, in &esammelte Schriften, vol! ;!;, pp! ?:--<C =trans! %5ran6 Kafka+ In the "enth Anniversar# of 8is Meath, in Selected 9ritings, vol! ;, pp! C-?-7,7>! 111, %Yber den 0egriff der Geschichte, in &esammelte Schriften, vol! ,!;, pp! @-<-C:? =trans! %In the 3oncept of 8istor#, in Selected 9ritings, vol! ?, pp! <7--?::!> 111, &esammelte 2riefe! 3! GWdde and 8! Lonit6 &eds!', /uhrkamp, 5rankfurt a!F!, ,--.1;:::, vol! <! 0enjamin, 4!, and G! /cholem, 2riefwechsel DEFF'DEGH! /uhrkamp, 5rankfurt a!F, ,-7:! 0redekamp, 8!, %5rom 4alter 0enjamin to 3arl /chmitt, Hia "homas 8obbes! Critical 0n>uiry, vol! ;.!;, ,---, pp! ;?C@@! Merant#, G!-P!, %Agambens 3hallenge to Dormative "heories of Fodern Eights! 2orderlands, vol! <!,, ;::?, http+UU !borderlands!net!auUvol<no,9;::?Uderant#9agambnschall!htm! 5it6patrick, P!, %0are /overeignt#+ Homo Sacer and the Insistence of La , in Politics# 7etaphysics# and Death, pp! ?--C<! 8eil, /!, C&ef;hrliche 2eziehungen%1 9alter 2enjamin und Carl Schmitt/ G!0! Fet6ler, /tuttgart V 4eimar, ,--@! Kafka, 5!, Der Proze, in 6ritische Ausga$e! G! 0orn, G! Deumann, F! Pasle# and G! /chillemeit &eds!', 5ischer, 5rankfurt a!F, ;::C =trans! 0! Fitchell! The Trial! /chocken 0ooks, De Pork, ,--->! 111, %Mer neue Advokat, in 6ritische Ausga$e/ Druc!e zu 3e$zeiten, pp! ;.,-; =trans %"he ne Stories, /chocken 0ooks, De Pork, ,--.>! Advocate, The Complete

111, %Hor dem Geset6, in 6ritische Ausga$e/ Druc!e zu 3e$zeiten, pp! ;@C-- =trans! %0efore the La , in The Complete Stories>! Kal#vas, A!, %"he /overeign 4eaver+ 0e#ond the 3amp, in Politics# 7etaphysics# and Death, pp! ,:C-<?! Kieso , E!F!, %La and Life, in Politics# 7etaphysics# and Death, pp! ;?7-@,! KojQve, A!, %Les romans de la sagesse! Criti>ue, vol! L\, ,-.;, pp! <7C--C! La3apra, M!, %Approaching Limit Kvents+ /iting Agamben, in &iorgio Agam$en1 [Link] and 3ife/ F! 3alarco and /! Me3aroli &eds!', /tanford Jniversit# Press, /tanford, 3A, ;::C, pp! ,;@-@;! Laclau, K!, %0are Life or /ocial Indeterminac#L, in &iorgio Agam$en1 [Link] and 3ife, pp ,,-;;! Fills, 3!, The Philosophy of Agam$en/ Acumen, /tocksfield, ;::7! Danc#, G!-L!, 350mp-ratif cat-gori>ue/ 5lammarion, Paris, ,-7<! Eumpf, F!, %Eadikale "heologie+ 0enjamins 0e6iehung 6u 3arl /chmitt, in 9alter 2enjamin B 8eitgenosse der 7oderne/ P! Gebhardt &ed!', /criptor, KronbergU"s, ,-C@, pp! <C-.:! /chmitt, 3!, Politische Theologie1 :ier 6apitel zur 3ehre .on der [Link];nit;t/ Muncker V 8umblot, Funich and Leip6ig, ,-<? =trans! G! /ch ab! Political Theology1 <our Chapters on the Concept of [Link] ! Jniversit# of 3hicago Press, 3hicago and London, ;::.>! /chol6, L!, %Genseits des Liberalismus+ Giorgio Agamben und die Kritik der modernen politischen Philosophie bei Leo /trauss und 3arl /chmitt, in Die &[Link] 7achine1 8ur Politischen Philosophie &iorgio Agam$ens/ G! 0Wckelmann and 5! Feier &eds!', JDEA/", FXnster, ;::C, pp! ,@@-7@! 4eber, /!, %"aking K*ception to Mecision+ 4alter 0enjamin and 3arl /chmitt! Diacritics, vol! ;;!<-?, ,--;, pp! .-,-!

4h#te, G!, %Its /ilent 4orking 4as a Melusion, in The 9or! of &iorgio Agam$en1 3aw# 3iterature# 3ife! G! 3lemens, D! 8eron and A! Furra# &eds!', Kdinburgh Jniversit# Press, Kdinburgh, ;::7, pp! @@-7,! 4iesenthal, L!, 8ur 9issenschaftstheorie 9alter 2enjamins! AthenRum, 5rankfurt a!F!, ,-C<! %arlo Sal/ani is Adjunct Eesearch Associate in the 3entre for 3omparative Literature and 3ultural /tudies at Fonash Jniversit# &Australia', and Ale*ander von 8umboldt Postdoctoral Eesearch 5ello at the Eheinische 5riedrich-4ilhelmsJniversitRt 0onn &German#'! 8e has published Constellations of Reading1 9alter 2enjamin in <igures of Actuality &I*ford+ Peter Lang, ;::-' and Crisi e possi$ilit+1 Ro$ert 7usil e il tramonto dell%)ccidente &0ern+ Peter Lang, ;:,:', and edited, ith 0arbara Malle Pe66e, *ssays on 2oredom and 7odernity &Amsterdam+ Eodopi, ;::-'!