From an Aesthetization of Politics to the "Inoperative" Community

This article shows that the notion of an "aesthetization of politics" entails much more than the mere translation of aesthetic criteria into politics. The task of thinking about a non-aesthetiziced political realm, therefore, demands even more radical readings than those suggested, for instance, by the proposal of the "politicization of art" Following Nancy, Lacoue-Labarthe and Esposito, we argue that an aesthetiziced notion of politics seeks to turn the political into a work of art. This idea has predominated through the western tradition since it is precisely in this context that community is understood as a "work" to be produced, as an activity proper to subjectivity (either individual or collective) that involves the "production" of its own essence. The article concludes that the urgent interruption of aesthetiziced politics demands a renewed consideration of our being-in-common, which takes into account the possibility of a radical alterity and our openness to finitude.