Can something take place?

Abstract

First, starting from a text Deleuze and Guattari wrote in 1984 on the aftermath of May 1968 in France (“May 68 Did Not Take Place”), this article tries to analyze in what way this diagnosis - made in the middle of the 1980s, when what is now commonly called neo-liberalism was unfolding both in America and in Europe - can apply to our current political situation. Secondly, this analysis shows that maybe the very conditions of social critique and social engagement are endangered today more than yesterday, because of the new patterns of social restraint embodied by the evolution of communication (especially television). Thirdly, the author asks the question: therefore, under which conditions social critique and engagement are now possible?

Keywords

• engagement
• Deleuze
• Guattari
• May 68
• event
• critic
• television
• communication