Theoretical violence has replaced truth as the only remaining political resource

Evidence

If being a nihilist, is carrying, to the unbearable limit of hegemonic systems, this radical trait of derision and of violence, this challenge that the system is summoned to answer through its own death, then I am a terrorist and nihilist in theory as the others are with their weapons. Theoretical violence, not truth, is the only resource left us. — Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 537

Categorization

• SEED: The essay ‘The Precession of the Real’ was born here — Baudrillard’s nihilism as a distinct, arguably romanticized political stance invites critical comparison with what actual terror accomplishes.
• XREF: Resonates against Jameson’s insistence that postmodernity forecloses radical critique; Baudrillard paradoxically re-arms radicality in purely theoretical form. — connects to: Law and truth disguise the historical violence that produced them — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 73; Historico-political discourse claims partisan truth that functions as a weapon, excluding juridical universality — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 283; Ideologies are crafted as political weapons, not theories — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 433

Broader Connections

• Law and truth disguise the historical violence that produced them #expands (0.82) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 73
• Ideologies are crafted as political weapons, not theories #expands (0.78) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 433
• Historico-political discourse claims partisan truth that functions as a weapon, excluding juridical universality #complicates (0.72) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 283