To believe or not to believe: Revolutionary politics between desire and belief

Résumé 0

The student protests that have been ongoing in Serbia since November have brought about a significant shift in the perceptions and beliefs of the citizens. One widely observed change among those who follow and participate in these events is the transition from a thirteen-year-long state of apathy and resignation to a newfound sense of hope—even a certainty—about the possibility of change. This transformation resonates with one of Deleuze and Guattari’s central insights: that revolution is not merely a matter of political change but a fundamental shift in the way we think—and, as I will argue in my presentation, in the way we believe. To this end, I aim to explore the significance of belief in Deleuze and Guattari’s oeuvre, focusing on the transition in their understanding of belief between Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus. In Anti-Oedipus, belief is framed in an exclusively negative light as a molar instance of representation that stabilizes the flows of desire. This is why Deleuze and Guattari insist that “schizoanalysis must devote itself with all its strength to the necessary destructions… of beliefs and representations” (AO, 314) as a precondition for revolutionary politics. However, I will show that even in Anti-Oedipus, under the influence of Pierre Clastres and in relation to the primitive territorial machine, belief serves a function in state-prevention mechanisms, particularly through ritual. This potential emancipatory role of belief disappears, however, in the despotic formations and, most notably, in the capitalist “age of cynicism,” where belief is reduced to a purely repressive function. Yet, in A Thousand Plateaus, Deleuze and Guattari reevaluate belief, particularly through their engagement with Gabriel Tarde. This shift stems from a reconceptualization of belief’s function: whereas in Anti-Oedipus, belief is treated as a molar fixation of desire, in A Thousand Plateaus, it is understood in molecular terms, as a constitutive force alongside desire within assemblages. Based on this, I will argue that belief plays an essential—and ultimately positive—role in any revolutionary politics.