Philosophical Reflections on American Politics

Professor Lawrence Hatab

In his lecture entitled "Democracy and Conflict: Reflections on American Politics and the Prospects for Democracy in the Arab and Muslim World," Nietzsche scholar Lawrence Hatab argued that America's commitment to democracy has not been concomitant with equality or egalitarianism. Held on March 11 in West Hall, Hatab's talk was organized by the Prince al Waleed bin Talal Center for American Studies and Research.

Hatab said that universal egalitarianism is relatively rare in theory, because it stems from an elitist white male ideology. Historically speaking, he explained, the struggle of the white colonialists with the Indians populating the American continent shifted the meaning of the redemptive "we are all equal" statement into the discriminatory epigram "we are all equally not them."

Given the discriminatory culture fostered by the United States, "we need to rethink the concept of American democracy without resorting to the notion of equality," Hatab said. It is this polarity, he added, which was already structurally polarized, that gave impetus to resistance and liberation movements throughout history and across different regions in the world.

A martial country par excellence, the United States depicts democracy itself in martial terms. However, even as a struggle between opposing forces, democracy should be understood as "open competition for unequal results," one that transforms "the material machinations of power, like bribery, into transparency and accountability," said Hatab. He added that Gandhi, the renowned Indian humanist, succeeded in "deconstructing the coercive power of the state by passive, non-violent resistance." Democracy should therefore be steeped in "a competitive spirit that is aggressive but not violent," he said.

Disparaging President George Bush as "an empty Republican suit, democratically elected," Hatab invoked Nietzsche's political theory about the importance of active oblivion and forgiveness, casting a ray of hope on the political future of the turbulent Middle East.

Chair of the Philosophy Department at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Professor Hatab received his PhD from Fordham University in 1976. In addition to his forthcoming publication, Nietzsche on the Genealogy of Morality, he is the author of five other books. Hatab has also received numerous nominations and awards for outstanding teaching.