Political intellectuals are tempted to treat theory as transparent and foundational rather than strategic

Evidence

There is a belief that if he goes on thinking about Heidegger and Derrida long enough, he will come to a moment when all will be transparent, and that will hold. I don’t believe that. But as I say, I don’t believe it, but I know it is a strong temptation among political intellectuals to talk in that way. You know, I take what you’re saying strategically, although they take it foundationally. — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 1025

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines Hall’s critique of ‘theoreticism’ — believing theory will eventually make everything transparent — versus his own strategic treatment of theoretical claims.
• XREF: connects to: Political engagement creates an irresolvable tension for leftist intellectuals seeking critical distance. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 73; Defending intellectuals requires exposing their own ideological husk. — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1068; Western radical intellectuals must choose between granting oppressed expressive subjectivity or declaring them unrepresentable — Donna Landry and Gerald MacLean, The Spivak Reader: Selected Works of…, 1777