The master’s tools : : prefigurative politics and the abolition of violence

Abstract: In the course of the past decade, radical political theory has seen an increased interest in ‘prefiguration’. Stemming from anarchist and feminist traditions, this idea prescribes a high measure of consistency between the means and ends of revolutionary practice. But what is the place of violence in a prefigurative politics? Does it imply nonviolence as a moral or strategic principle? Or should its practitioners at least be prepared to engage in self-defence? After reconstructing various positions on this matter, this paper seeks to offer an alternative perspective. Rather than to see violence as a means or instrument that one willingly employs in a revolutionary situation, it should instead be understood as a social given: something that is often already implied in such a context. The question, then, is not whether or how prefiguration and violence are compatible, but rather how violence could be dealt with in a prefigurative way

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: The master’s tools ; volume:14 ; number:3 ; pages:47-59 ; Behemoth ; 14, Heft 3, 47-59

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie, Anthropologie
• Keyword: Präfiguration ; Gewalt ; Anarchismus ; Feminismus ; Soziale Bewegung

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: van de Sande, Mathijs

Further information

• DOI: 10.6094/behemoth.2021.14.3.1067
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2242863
• Rights: Kein Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:33 AM CEST