Abstract

The essay discusses some important contributions to the critical debates surrounding the issues of political subjectivity and subjectivation (A. Badiou, J. Rancière, Ch. Mouffe, E. Laclau, É. Balibar). According to the authors the main limit of these contributions lies in the idea of a «pure politics» (S. Žižek), constructed upon the model of the modern State. This is clear both in theories of political subjectivity focused on the absolute present of an event and in theories that stress the importance of political and institutional articulation. Against the background of an analysis of current political developments in Latin America, the authors outline a different theory of political subjectivation, attempting to take stock of the crisis and transformations both of the State and of contemporary capitalism.