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140 | THe Puttosopuy or Eco-Pozrrics seeking political means for saving the physical and mental conditions for an existence worthy of man. ‘The ecological aspect of the matter would be strengthened if I were to support my claim with argumentation taken from the theory of living systems. I could, but I must confess that it does not originate there. I took it from the notes left behind by Simone Weil. Thus, as a postscript, I shall attempt to reconstruct the train of thought that led her here. Her starting point was the same question that occupied Horkheimer and Adorno in their work on the nature of rational rule: how did man become the slave of his own work? What trap have we fallen into? “Capitalism”, Weil writes, “has brought about the emancipation of collective humanity with respect to nature. But this collective humanity has itself taken on with respect to the individual the oppressive function formerly exercised by nature.” From this, she draws a simpler (one might say naive) and definitely more radical conclusion than the philosophers of alienation of the Frankfurt school. “By the nature of things, the person is subdued to collectivity and rights are dependent upon force. ‘The lies and misconceptions which obscure this truth are extremely dangerous because they prevent us from appealing to the only thing which is immune to force and can preserve us from it: namely, that other force which is the radiance of the spirit.”'*' Well, these lies and misconceptions, to which Weil refers, are the presuppositions of modern political philosophy. For the concept of the “dot-like” individual detached from his social relations fails to take into account the fact of our original interdependence: that freedom does not divide us, but rather unites us with our companions. If we remove this bond from consideration, we cannot arrive at any other conclusion than the ever-newer utopias connected to compelling the rights of the repressed individual. The attempt at realising them merely intensifies man’s isolation and increases his vulnerability to the impersonal power of the ever-newer institutions promising “the order of freedom” or “social justice”. According to Weil, the anarchist philosopher — Christian mystic, persecuted Jew, French resistance fighter — all attempts to eradicate oppression and violence from human social relations through the introduction of new, more just rules, are in vain. The attempt of enlightened modernity to humanise the forces that direct history has proved self-deceptive. “Utilitarianism was the fruit of one of these attempts. 130 Simone Weil: Gravity and Grace p.154. Routledge, London, 2002. 181 Sian Miles ed: Simone Weil — an Anthology. Virago Press, London, 1986, p.61.
