Eschatology and Politics: the end of History

TOMAS BOROVINSKY

Santiago de Chile

Conferencia; XXI Internacional Political Science Association Conference (IPSA), “Global Discontent”; 2009

IPSA

The aim of this paper is to explore the theological matrices underlying the debates about the end of history—and the end of politics—also looking in depth at the theological fundamentals of the triumph of economics and administration over politics in the contemporary scene. Regarding this, Giorgio Agamben’s recent studies have been more than relevant in order to revisit that fundamental relation between theology and politics, which influences, perhaps shadowy, modern thought. Recent Agamben’s work, Il Regno e la Gloria, could be thought as an excuse to reaffirm the importance of this subject matter, as well as an alibi to immerse ourselves in the works of other authors that adopted—implicitly or explicitly—this theological-political perspective. Studying authors such as Karl Löwith, Leo Strauss, Alexandre Kojève, Carl Schmitt, Gershom Scholem, and Jacob Taubes—also from a biopolitical perspective—is that the relation between theology and politics will come to light, where every taking of sides concerning the end of history and politics implies a certain relation with theology. Because, even though it is true that the most significant concepts of the modern theory of State and politics are secularized, theological concepts, as the schmittian maxim indicates, it is also true that, as Jan Assmann states, “the most meaningful concepts in theology are theologized political concepts.” A statement that does not contradict the previous one but rather constitutes and completes it.