Blanket condemnation of Orientalists undermines critical theory of power and modernity

Evidence

The distinctly political commitment to a blanket condemnation of all Orientalists leads to a major theoretical difficulty, one that, carried to its logical conclusion, would have adverse effects on our conception of power, and hence on our understanding of modernity, on our ways of living in it, and more importantly on the possibilities of escaping its hegemonic grip. — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 45

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader engagement with postcolonial theory and the critique of totalizing critique (e.g., Foucault, Spivak, Chakrabarty). — connects to: Orientalism’s totalizing discourse critique erases all sites of resistance and liberation
• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that totalizing critique undermines the very tools needed to escape hegemony is a genuinely paradigm-level move — it turns the weapon of criticism on criticism itself.