Modern totalitarianism can be defined as the establishment, by means of the state of exception, of a legal civil war that allows for the physical elimination not only of political adversaries but of entire categories of citizens who for some reason cannot be integrated into the political system
Interpretation
The quote discusses how modern totalitarianism creates a legal framework to justify the suppression and elimination of dissenting individuals and groups.
In this quote, Giorgio Agamben reflects on the nature of modern totalitarianism by asserting that it uses a state of exception—a legal condition that suspends normal laws—to enable a form of civil war. This radical political framework allows for not only the repression of political opposition but also the removal of entire groups of people deemed incompatible with the prevailing political order, thus highlighting the dangers of a legal system that can justify extreme measures against perceived threats.
In practice
In a speech addressing the dangers of authoritarianism, one might reference this quote to emphasize the need for vigilance against the erosion of civil rights.
To believe that will has power over potentiality, that the passage to actuality is the result of a decision that puts an end to the ambiguity of potentiality (which is always potentiality to do and not to do) — this is the perpetual illusion of morality.
Remembrance restores possibility to the past, making what happened incomplete and completing what never was. Remembrance is neither what happened nor what did not happen but, rather, their potentialization, their becoming possible once again.
One day humanity will play with law just as children play with disused objects, not in order to restore them to their canonical use but to free them from it for good.
To be contemplative we must remove the clutter from our lives, surround ourselves with beauty, and consciously, relentlessly, persistently, give clutter away until the tiny world for which we ourselves are responsible begins to reflect the raw beauty that is God.
Racial prejudices are indication of a disturbed and potentially unstable society.
To ask "Where in your brain is intelligence?" is like asking "Where is the voice in the radio?"
Here we have the paradox, the potentially tragic paradox, that our relatedness to others is an essential aspect of our being, as is our separateness, but any particular person is not a necessary part of our being.
Since I do not believe that there should be different recommendations for people living in the Bronx and people living in Manhattan, I am uncomfortable making different recommendations for my patients in Boston and in Haiti.
That's a spiritual lifestyle, being willing to admit that you don't know everything and that you were wrong about some things. It's about making a list of all the people you've harmed, either emotionally or physically or financially, and going back and making amends. That's a spiritual lifestyle. It's not a fluffy ethereal concept.
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