Publics, Politics and Participation

LeVine and Salvatore 77

of mobilization—is a philosophy, and thus a potential launching pad for
a philosophy of praxis. Indeed, the concept of religion as the opium of
the people was one of the points of departure of Gramsci’s thought from
Marx’s. That is, while religion can express an alienated and illusionary ide-
ology, it can also be a stimulus for revolutionary action—at least a “passive
revolution,” when the hegemonic power oppressing the masses is too great
for active resistance.^41

Foucault’s “political spirituality”: Beyond the post-colonial
paradigm?

Gramsci believed that cultural dependence is always an indication of
political dependence. This realization has been shared by leading Muslim
critics of the West and of capitalist modernity for two centuries, including
Iranian thinkers such as Shariati and Jalal Al-e Ahmad. In making sense
of the revolutionary events in Iran Foucault took an approach quite differ-
ent from his wider work, where he privileged the prism of agential moti-
vation more than the goal of building up an alternative hegemony based
on ethical-political claims to the common good. During his stay in Iran
he saw his role as “[showing] people that they are much freer than they
feel” when they accept as permanent and absolute situations and truths
which are of quite recent vintage.^42

When a colonial people tries to free itself of its colonizer, that

is truly an act of liberation, in the strict sense of the word. But

we also know that ... this act of liberation is not sufficient to

establish the practices of liberty that later on will be necessary

for this people, this society and this individual to decide upon

receivable and acceptable forms of their existence or political

society.^43

Foucault has been criticized by scholars, especially from a postcolonial
perspective, as devoting little attention to the colonial situation. We would
not defend Foucault on this count, but would like to point out, via the
quote above, and through his direct engagement with the early Iranian
revolution, that while the colonial was not a major theme in his work, he