Politiek of anti-politiek? De Kadt versus Ter Braak

Samenvatting

Politics or Antipolitics? De Kadt versus Ter Braak. The debate between reason and power in explaining intellectuals' attitudes toward politics cannot be solved by subordinating one to the other; rather, a simultaneous play of fusion and demarcation is needed in which the political nature of knowledge and culture is recognized. This complex balance between knowledge politics and antipolitics is illustrated through a critical review of the debate in the Netherlands during the 1930s between literary critic Menno ter Braak (Verzameld werk [Collected Works], 1980) and the political theorist Jacques de Kadt, (Het fascisme en de nieuwe vrijheid [Fascism and the New Freedom], 1939). Although both promote a form of intellectual politicization, de Kadt ultimately subordinates culture to politics, merging the role of the intellectual into that of the politician. In contrast, ter Braak seeks to maintain the independence of a thinking vs an acting elite. 41 References. Adapted from the source document.