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Abstract
In his new book The Fragility of Things, William Connolly imagines the possibilities of micro-political encounter as we experience the 'crocodile death roll' of late capitalism and neoliberalism. To navigate the fragility born of modern uncertainties, he simultaneously calls for a subtle and nuanced marriage of enhanced sensitivity and militant democratic politics. In this paper, I will argue that Connolly's attention to these metaphorical narratives via his call "to extend our political and cosmic sensibilities"1 is useful in addressing some of the most pressing challenges faced by humans on the planet now and in the future(s).
In the past six months alone we have seen almost complete depletion of the Ogallala aquifer which waters most of the US breadbasket, a two-fold increase in Antarctic ice sheet melting, genetically modified mosquitos released in Brazil to combat dengue fever and a devastating renewal of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These are just a few of the more drastic stories of rapid and chaotic change happening on the planet at the present moment. In his new book, The Fragility of Things, William Connolly embroils the reader in a cacophonous mélange of non-human force fields, complexity theory, and micro-political imaginings. As Connolly argues that we are in the 'crocodile death roll' of late capitalism and neoliberalism, he simultaneously calls for engaging with a subtle and nuanced marriage of both enhanced sensitivity and militant democratic politics. His sustained attention to these narratives via the call "to extend our political and cosmic sensibilities" is useful in addressing some of the most pressing challenges faced by humans on the planet now and in the future(s).2
In a state of fragility, enhanced sensitivities become both critical defensive and crucial offensive tactical capacities. Despite the seemingly mutually exclusive nature of the two stances, one requisite of a deep slowness and the other demanding decisive action, there is in fact a delicate tension between them, a space within which we are being challenged to embrace the calm serenity of fluid and aware movement alongside the speed of instinct and spontaneous creativity. The militancy required to address Connolly's notion of 'fragility', rather than connoting a violence or lack of sensitivity, is one that comes from wisdom gained in dedicated, committed, insistent practice. The image is one of...