Postpolitical correctness?

Abstract

During the recent symposium ‘ Is Planning Past Politics?’, the notion of postpolitics and the question what the proper political could be in relation to planning became the main topic. The issue concerning the practices of politics in planning is pertinent, particularly when democratic politics is not necessarily seen to derive its legitimacy only through institutional and procedural arrangements. However, this article identifies a danger in the binary of postpolitics/proper political that it might develop into a kind of ‘postpolitical correctness’.

The Urban Injustices of New Labour's “New Urban Renewal”: The Case of the Aylesbury Estate in London

“…Indeed other authors on gentrification and social mix argue likewise: Loopmans, de Decker and Kesteloot () argue that social mix strategies can be encompassed within Gramsci's idea of “passive revolution” as they incorporate political resistance by internalising their claims. But I am concerned about what Bylund () calls “postpolitical correctness”. The assertions about a post‐political condition seem very real, but the orthodoxy of post‐political debate has perhaps gone too far.…”

“…The latter argue that the vocabularies of, for example, the carceral, revanchist and post‐justice city (Davis ; Mitchell ; Smith ) are incomplete analyses, inaccurate portrayals that fail to grasp the complexity of urban reality. I would not go that far because these often are very accurate portrayals, but I am concerned that such accounts actively produce a post‐political condition (cf Bylund :322) and that they leave little room for first, resistance, and second, alternative visions/possibilities. I would like a more open and hopeful grammar of urban injustice (see Lees , ; MacLeod ; Marcuse et al ).…”

“…

it might be fruitful to fend off the risk of postpolitical correctness, a situation in which there is just the true exegesis of words and not many empirical problems left in the discussion (Bylund :324).

The Aylesbury Estate is still in limbo, as indeed it has been for most of the past 15 years. The stock transfer and the mixed communities initiative (MCI) is largely on hold, exemplifying what Smith () called the “naked class politics of austerity”.…”

“…it might be fruitful to fend off the risk of postpolitical correctness, a situation in which there is just the true exegesis of words and not many empirical problems left in the discussion (Bylund :324).…”

Post‐political planning and community opposition: asserting and challenging consensus in planning urban regeneration in Newcastle, New South Wales

“…In a post-political landscape, politics is managed out, replaced by 'techno-managerial planning, expert management and administration' (Zizek, 2008, n.p.). At the core of post-political urban governance efforts is a desire to downplay citizen engagement and reduce scope for politics and contestation (Bylund, 2012). In a universe of consensual decision-making among diverse interests, spaces for democratic contest and antagonistic politics are downplayed as technocratic policy development is deployed to support market and development outcomes (Allmendinger & Haughton, 2012Inch, 2012Inch, , 2015Legacy, 2015Legacy, , 2016aMacDonald, 2015;Swyngedouw, 2010aSwyngedouw, , 2010b.…”