Hannah Arendt and the Specter of Totalitarianism

This work positions Arendt as a political writer attempting to find a way in which humanity, poised between the Holocaust and the atom bomb, might reclaim its position as the creators of a world fit for human habitation.

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hed by Palgrave Macmillan: Subterranean Politics and Freud’s Legacy: Critical Theory and Society Amy Buzby Politics and Theatre in Twentieth-Century Europe: Imagination and Resistance Margot Morgan

Rosa Luxemburg: Her Life and Legacy Edited by Jason Schulman Hannah Arendt and the Specter of Totalitarianism Marilyn LaFay

Hannah Arendt and the Specter of Totalitarianism

Marilyn LaFay

HANNAH ARENDT AND THE SPECTER OF TOTALITARIANISM

Copyright © Marilyn LaFay, 2014. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-39295-4 All rights reserved. First published in 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978–1–349–48347–1 DOI 10.1057/9781137382245

ISBN 978–1–137–38224–5 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data LaFay, Marilyn. Hannah Arendt and the specter of totalitarianism / Marilyn LaFay. pages cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Arendt, Hannah, 1906–1975—Political and social views. 2. Civilization, Modern—Philosophy. 3. Totalitarianism—Philosophy. I. Title. JC251.A74L32 2014 320.53—dc23

2013033219

A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: February 2014 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For mum and dad

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Contents

Acknowledgments

ix

Introduction

1

Love and Saint Augustine: The Abstracted Neighbor

25

Chapter 2

Rahel Varnhagen: The Strangeness of Me

49

Chapter 3

The Origins of Totalitarianism: A Surfeit of Superfluousness

71

Eichmann in Jerusalem: The Crisis of Conscience

99

Chapter 1

Chapter 4 Chapter 5

On Revolution: The Fragility of Rights

Chapter 6 Arendt’s Public Sphere: Locating a Political Existential Chapter 7

The Encumbrance of History

115 137 155

Notes

167

Bibliography

183

Index

191

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Acknowledgments

F

irst and foremost, I want to thank Stephen Eric Bronner for his constant encouragement and support for this project. I also want to give special recognition to Peter Dennis Bathory and Drucilla Cornell at Rutgers University—New Brunswick for their wise and wonderful mentorship. Carol Pal provided smart comments on early drafts, without which this book would not have found its final form. Brian O’Connor, Scarlet Neath, and Devon Wolfkiel at Palgrave have been both gracious and helpful as I stumble my way into my first publication. Finally, I would like to give my deepest appreciation for Andr