Abstract

ExcerptThis essay considers those aspects that, for lack of a better term, I call ongoing founding events in the work of Carl Schmitt and its interpretation by Giorgio Agamben. This term is meant to refer to decisive “events” in Schmitt that, although they may be exceptional (or perhaps because they are), play a continual role in generating and maintaining the political order. It is important that these events are not merely mythic or imaginary devices to describe politics, as are the social contract and the veil of ignorance. These events are crucial also, in Schmitt's terms, in understanding “concrete reality.”