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contradictions" of capita li m g row from the logic of capitalist
developme nt - a s the vices of wealth undermine the virtues of
wo rk - ra ther tha n from the mi schi ef of modern intell ec tua ls . "Will
you tell me how to preve nt riches from becoming the eHec ts of
tempera nce a nd indu stry?" Adam asked J efferson. "Will you tell me
how to prevent riches from producing luxury? Will you tell me how
to preve nt luxury from producing effeminacy, intox ica tion , ex trava–
gance, Vi ce a nd foll y?"
Like J ohn a nd H enry Adams, the la te H a nna h Arendt also
des pa ired of the future of the Ameri can republic because she too
knew that a uthority cannot live without truth . Authority is the
tribute tha t reason pays to powe r , a nd as such it mu st constitute a
judgment on the moveme nt of power by virtue of sta nding a part
from it. T oday we a re living in a society th a t lacks a ny coll ec tively
sha red a ims tha t mi ght engende r meaning a nd judgme nt a nd hence
make genuine authority acceptable . We a re a lso expe riencing an
inte ll ec tu al impasse as we ponde r why modern culture canno t bring
forth a compelling mora l a nd philosophical justifica ti on fo r the
ex iste nce of authority. And we a re li ving under a political system
who e leaders dema nd respec t (or reelecti on) but canno t give a
convincing rea on fo r it. The three dil emmas could be summed up
as H enry Adams's ni ghtma re: power without a uthority, knowl edge
without truth , society without spirit. All these dil emmas require a
concept of truth . But the in ability to exe rci e a uthority provides
almos t ce rta in proof tha t the truths do not exist. There are no
reasons fo r ma n either to comma nd with convicti on or to obey with
devo ti on . In the a bsence of mora l truth or obj ec ti ve value , authority
rema ins unjustifia ble, incapa ble of e nj oy ing the ve rdict of rea on
whe n its power is felt. Ri chard Se nnett's book
Authority
demon strates
the futili ty of trying to a nalyze the meaning of powe r without a
concept of tru th .
In Se nnett's reading, autho ri ty expresse the "emoti ona l bonds"
of society . "The bond of authority is built of images of strength a nd
weakness; it is the emo ti onal ex press ion of power. " Tradi tiona ll y,
the political philosopher has used reason to tra n la te power into
legit ima te authority, but Se nnett a ims a t something quite different.
He wa nts to show us how we ex peri ence a uthority a nd how it could
be reconstituted so tha t we mi ght ex perie nce it mo re ju tl y a nd
huma nely. Sennett sta rt hi s ca e by asse rting, with Freud a nd
Weber , that a uthority mu t be understood as a n emotional
phe nome non . Freud a nd Weber did indeed beli eve tha t subj ec ti ve
