Is an ontological-political theory possible? Reflections around Poderes de la abyección by Ricardo Laleff Ilieff

Abstract

The present essay is a reflection based on Laleff Ilieff’s book around the appellation to categories taken from psychoanalytical theory, particularly Jacques Lacan’s, to apply them to political theory. As it intends to show, categories such as those of the “abject” and the “Real” has proved particularly productive since they permit to shed light on key issues around which debates in the field of political theory have revolved in recent years and, particularly, to approaching the ontological dimension of politics. However, in the course of it, the inherent limitations for all theory in this regard would become manifest.