Since the publication of this Open Review edition of the first draft of this book manuscript, the manuscript has been significantly revised and has now entered production with Columbia University Press. Please search here soon for information on the publication of the book, Critique & Praxis.
Part III: Praxis — Remaking Critical Practice
In line with a pure theory of illusions and of values, it is time for a new understanding of critical praxis liberated from its foundational constraints. Critical praxis cannot be wedded to absolutes—whether they consist in a vanguard party or leaderlessness. A reconstructed critical theory must go hand-in-hand with a purely tactical approach that seeks not to realize a preconceived foundational praxis, but to find the best way to push against really-existing forms of oppression and inequity, cognizant of the need to constantly reexamine how power recirculates through our own practices.
The central point is that critical praxis is situated. What is to be done, in the end, does not call for abstract categories, but requires instead an individually tailored, specific assessment and tactical engagement in each different context. There is no one size fits all, and nothing is off the table. There is no portability or universality to critical praxis. Praxis must be determined in a highly contextualized manner. We need single answers to the question “What is to be done here?” with unique date, location, and time stamps. Praxis must always be situated, decided in situ, responsive to the unique time and place constraints, since there is no identifiable end point and no single utopian foundation, but rather always another place where power is recirculating, often in unprecedented ways. In this sense, a reconstructed critical praxis calls for a pure theory of tactics.
