Extremes and Extremism

Studies in Social and Political Thought Annual Conference June 5th 2014.
University of Sussex.

Theme: Extremes and Extremism

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Andrew Bowie


Extremes and Extremism of many different forms have become central questions
of social and political thought in the past few years. Often a way to
discredit an opponent or social movement, to be in the extreme has carried
with it many loaded connotations. The rise of both the far right and far
left have challenged the liberal consensus of political pragmatism. Taken
together with the ‘war on terror’ and the perceived necessity of austerity,
governments have sought ever more extreme measures. The recent NSA and GCHQ
revelations demonstrate the lengths governments are willing to go in the
name of national security. Austerity legislation in many countries has been
seen as an attack on the most vulnerable. The reactions to these measures,
in the wake of the financial crisis, have included mass protest, political
gains for parties on the margins and a huge increase in state sponsored
violence.

To say that we live in times of extremity appears to be a way of shifting
meaning and understanding into pre-existing intellectual discourse. To for
example label the Assad regime in Syria as extreme does not aid greater
understanding but perhaps merely pushes discourse into ideology. To counter
terrorist organisations by describing them as forms of extremism does not
illuminate but rather makes opaque the reasons behind such organisations.

Extremes and extremism cannot only be seen in terms of the obviously
political; philosophically the idea of the extreme is well documented and
can be seen in writes as diverse as the Stoics, Nietzsche and Marxism. It
could also be argued that economic theories such as Hayek could be
understood in extreme terms.

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/cspt/index.php and