The Possibility of a “Minor Discourse” that Deterritorialises Neoliberalism Politically

Abstract

In their work on Kafka, Deleuze and Guattari elaborated on the meaning of and criteria for a “minor literature”, that represents a people instead of a genre, has a directly political and collective function, and “deterritorialises” existing literatures. In this article the question is posed, whether their insights may be transposed to the broader field of language, specifically in the sense of discourse, to help one understand the possibility of a “minor discourse” – a particular way of using discourse – that would be “directly political”, as opposed to the dominant discourses of the present, which tend to disguise their political effectivity behind an economic façade. Moreover, what are the chances that such a minor discourse could deterritorialise the existing, dominant discourse of neoliberalism to the point where fissures may appear within which a “minor discourse” might be strengthened? The contra-capitalist, radically democratic “minor discourse” on the part of Naomi Klein is examined as demonstration of its discursive efficacy in deterritorialising neoliberalism. 

Opsomming

In hul werk oor Kafka brei Deleuze en Guattari uit op die betekenis en kriteria vir ’n “mindere letterkunde”, wat ‘n volk eerder as ‘n genre verteenwoordig, ’n direk-politiese en kollektiewe funksie het, en bestaande literature “deterritorialiseer”. In hierdie artikel word die vraag geopper, of hul insigte na die breër veld van taal uitgebrei kan word, spesifiek in die sin van diskoers, om ’n mens te help om die moontlikheid te verstaan van ’n “mindere diskoers” – ‘n besondere wyse waarop diskoers benut word – wat “direk polities” sou wees, in teenstelling met die dominante diskoerse van vandag (wat hul politieke uitwerking agter ’n ekonomiese masker verberg). Verder: wat is die kanse dat ’n sodanige mindere diskoers die bestaande, dominante diskoers van neo-liberalisme tot op die punt sou kon deterritorialiseer waar krake daarin sou verskyn, waarbinne ’n “mindere diskoers” bevorder en versterk sou kon word? Die kontra-kapitalistiese, radikaal-demokratiese “mindere diskoers” van Naomi Klein word verder ondersoek om te demonstreer hoe die diskursiewe effektiwiteit daarvan neoliberalisme deterritorialiseer.