POL101Y1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Ochlocracy, Omnipotence, Montesquieu
29 Jan 2018
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Reading journal 1: power and the space of appearance by hannah arendt. The space of appearance is constructed by the speech and action of men who are gathered together. The only way to maintain this space is with power and with speech and action. Without power, political communities are dissolved, and once men disperse, the space of appearance disappears. Power like this depends on the combination of word (to disclose reality) and deed (to establish relations). While violence can defeat power, it cannot substitute it. With violence, tyrannical forces are formed based on the isolation of the tyrant from his subjects and the isolation of subjects from each other due to fear, as was noticed by montesquieu. As power preserves the public realm (the space of appearance) it needs speech and action as its reason to be. This is because without action, there is no new opportunity, and without speech, there is no remembrance.
