When the West Takes the

Dead Man's Place

9

W e s t e r n m i l i t a r y i m p o t e n c e i n t h e face o f S e r b i a n aggression e q u a t e s directly w i t h

t h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y of r i s k i n g t h e life of a single W e s t e r n soldier. In this sense, t h e s e
soldiers are hostages l o n g b e f o r e t h e Serbs actually c a p t u r e t h e m : t h e i r lives h a v e t o
be p r e s e r v e d a b o v e all else. Z e r o d e a t h : this is t h e l e i t m o t i f of clean warfare. It is t h e
p e r f e c t i o n of war, b u t also w a r r e d u c e d to a m o c k e r y w a r as faultless s p o r t i n g p e r f o r m a n c e , a s 'clear r o u n d ' . W e h a v e already s e e n this w i t h t h e G u l f War, w h e r e t h e
o n l y W e s t e r n d e a t h s o c c u r r e d b y a c c i d e n t . A t least t h a t w a r e n d e d i n a t e c h n o l o g ical d e m o n s t r a t i o n w h i c h p r o v i d e d t h e illusion o f p o w e r (of v i r t u a l o m n i p o t e n c e ) .
W h e r e a s B o s n i a offers a n e x a m p l e o f t o t a l p o w e r l e s s n e s s . A n d t h o u g h this p o w e r lessness, w h i c h gives t h e Serbs a free r e i n , in fact fits in w i t h t h e u n d i s c l o s e d
objective of the war, it a m o u n t s , nonetheless, to a symbolic castration of the

9.

Quand VOccident prend la place du mort. T h e t e r m 'la place du m o r t ' owes its currency to the

fact that it is used, in everyday parlance, to refer to the front passenger seat in a car. It is also occasionally e m p l o y e d as an image to represent t h e position of t h e analyst in t h e psychoanalytic
relationship. H e r e , however, Baudrillard is using the t e r m rather m o r e literally.

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W e s t e r n w a r m a c h i n e . T h e p o o r old West! I f o n l y i t c o u l d joyfully a n d v i c t o r i o u s l y

fulfil its m i s s i o n of establishing w o r l d O r d e r (by l i q u i d a t i n g all t h e p o c k e t s of resist a n c e ) , b u t i t still has t o l o o k o n i m p o t e n t l y , from t h e d e p t h s o f its r i v e n c o n s c i e n c e ,
w h i l e t h a t d i r t y little j o b i s c a r r i e d o u t a t t h e g l o b a l level b y m e r c e n a r i e s . T o l o o k
o n i m p o t e n t l y w h i l e i t i s itself h u m i l i a t e d a n d sidelined.
T h e r e is, h o w e v e r , n o t h i n g s u r p r i s i n g a b o u t this m i l i t a r y paralysis. I t i s l i n k e d
t o t h e m e n t a l paralysis o f t h e civilized w o r l d . W e m i g h t t h i n k t h a t t h e fact t h e
W e s t can n o l o n g e r risk t h e life o f a single o n e o f its soldiers r e p r e s e n t s s o m e
h i g h e r stage o f civilization, i n w h i c h e v e n t h e m i l i t a r y has b e c o m e c o m m i t t e d t o
h u m a n i t a r i a n i s m a n d r e s p e c t for t h e sacred r i g h t s o f h u m a n life. I n fact, q u i t e t h e
o p p o s i t e i s t h e case. T h e d e s t i n y o f this v i r t u a l s o l d i e r - this s o l d i e r w h o n o
l o n g e r i s a s o l d i e r - reflects t h e d e s t i n y o f civilized m a n . T h e t h i n g s h e f o u g h t for
a n d his collective values have largely d i s a p p e a r e d ; his e x i s t e n c e c a n n o t be sacrificed
for a n y t h i n g w h a t e v e r . O n l y a t h i n g w h i c h has s o m e v a l u e i n itself c a n b e p u t 'at
stake'.
T h e i n d i v i d u a l w e h a v e p r o d u c e d , t h e a b s o l u t e l y self-regarding i n d i v i d u a l w e
glorify, t h e i n d i v i d u a l w e p r o t e c t i n his i m p o t e n c e w i t h t h e w h o l e legal p a n o p l y o f
h u m a n r i g h t s i s t h e 'last m a n ' N i e t z s c h e speaks of. H e i s t h e e n d - u s e r o f his o w n
self a n d his o w n life, t h e t e r m i n a l i n d i v i d u a l , w i t h n o real h o p e e i t h e r o f d e s cendants or transcendence. He is the end-of-the-line man, d o o m e d to hereditary
sterility a n d t h e c o u n t d o w n . T h i s i n d i v i d u a l i s t h e e n d o f t h e cycle a n d o f t h e
species. All t h a t r e m a i n s for h i m i s t o a t t e m p t d e s p e r a t e l y t o o u t l i v e h i m s e l f b y
b e i n g spectralized, fractalized, pluralized, b y b e c o m i n g his o w n c r e a t i o n a n d his
o w n c l o n e . T h i s last m a n c a n n o t , t h e n , b e sacrificed, precisely b e c a u s e h e i s t h e last.
O n c e life i s r e d u c e d t o its u s e - v a l u e , t o its survival i n real t i m e , t h e n n o o n e has t h e
r i g h t to risk his life for a n y t h i n g . T h i s is t h e destiny or, rather, t h e a b s e n c e of d e s tiny - of t h e last m a n . T h i s is t h e w a y his i m p o t e n c e has d e v e l o p e d , reflecting t h e

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d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e civilized n a t i o n s , i n c a p a b l e e v e n o f t a k i n g t h e risk o f facing u p

to t h e i r e n e m i e s - or saving face.
A t a d e e p level t h e t w o t h i n g s are c o n n e c t e d : t h e e l i m i n a t i o n o f a n y foreign c u l t u r e , a n y singular m i n o r i t y i n t h e n a m e o f e t h n i c cleansing, a n d t h e e l i m i n a t i o n o f
d e a t h itself as singularity, as i r r e d u c i b l e fact - t h e m o s t singular of singularities in
t h e n a m e o f p r o t e c t i o n a n d survival a t all costs. O u r lives are also b e i n g cleansed o r
p u r i f i e d in a sense. T h e y are increasingly b e i n g played o u t inside a v i r t u a l c a r a p a c e
p r o t e c t i n g t h e m from d e a t h , i n m u c h t h e s a m e w a y a s t h e virtual soldier o f t h e U N
g o e s a r o u n d i n his t e c h n i c a l c a r a p a c e . E v e n w h e n h e i s t a k e n h o s t a g e , t h a t d o e s n ' t
m a k e h i m any m o r e real. H e m e r e l y b e c o m e s a t r a d i n g i t e m i n t h e p o t l a t c h o f illus o r y d i v e r g e n c e s a n d collusions b e t w e e n t h e W e s t a n d t h e Serbs, i n t h e i m p r o b a b l e
c h a i n of collusion a n d c o w a r d i c e that is this military m a s q u e r a d e , in w h i c h t h e place
o f t h e u n k n o w n soldier i s t a k e n b y t h e v i r t u a l soldier - t h e o n e w h o d o e s n o t die,
b u t w h o , paralysed a n d i m m o b i l i z e d , takes t h e d e a d m a n ' s place. S o w e are s e e i n g
a r e d e p l o y m e n t o f d e a t h i n all t h e s e f o r m s w h e r e w e n o l o n g e r e x p e c t e d t o find it.
Take U N P R O F O R and the R a p i d R e a c t i o n Force: they t o o immediately t o o k
t h e d e a d m a n ' s p l a c e ( w h i c h t h e y d e f e n d t o o t h a n d nail!) i n t h e B o s n i a n conflict.
W e ourselves, all o f u s b e h i n d o u r T V screens, are s u r r e p t i t i o u s l y t a k i n g t h e p l a c e
o f t h e d e a d . T h e Serbs, t h e m u r d e r e r s , are alive i n t h e i r o w n way. T h e p e o p l e o f
Sarajevo, t h e v i c t i m s , are in a p l a c e of real d e a t h . B u t we are in a s t r a n g e s i t u a t i o n :
n e i t h e r d e a d , n o r alive, b u t s t a n d i n g i n for t h e d e a d . A n d i n this sense t h e B o s n i a n
conflict is a global test; e v e r y w h e r e in t h e p r e s e n t w o r l d , t h e W e s t has t a k e n t h e
place of the dead.
A n d yet this is n o t for w a n t of t r y i n g to avert this s i t u a t i o n by all available
m e a n s . W e a l m o s t p u l l e d off t h e old t r i c k o f t h e Swiss w h o , for years, s u p p l i e d t h e
w h o l e o f E u r o p e w i t h m e r c e n a r i e s a n d t h e r e b y m a n a g e d t o k e e p free o f w a r s . T h i s
i s w h a t all t h e r i c h c o u n t r i e s d o t o d a y - p r o v i d i n g w e a p o n s for t h e w h o l e w o r l d

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a n d s u c c e e d i n g i n t h a t w a y i n exiling, i f n o t v i o l e n c e , t h e n a t least war, f r o m t h e i r

territories. B u t there is n o t h i n g to be d o n e ; just w h e r e we h o p e to drive out
d e a t h , i t surfaces again t h r o u g h all t h e p r o t e c t i v e screens, e x t e n d i n g t o t h e furthest
reaches of o u r culture.
O u r h u m a n i t a r i a n a n d e c o l o g i c a l i d e o l o g i e s all s p e a k t o u s o f n o t h i n g b u t t h e
h u m a n species a n d its survival. We can see h e r e t h e great difference t h e r e is b e t w e e n
h u m a n i t a r i a n i s m a n d h u m a n i s m . H u m a n i s m was a system o f s t r o n g values l i n k e d t o
t h e c o n c e p t o f t h e h u m a n race, w i t h its p h i l o s o p h y a n d morality. I t was c h a r a c t e r istic of a h i s t o r y t h a t was b e i n g m a d e . W h e r e a s h u m a n i t a r i a n i s m is a system of w e a k
values, l i n k e d t o t h e safeguarding o f t h e t h r e a t e n e d h u m a n species a n d c h a r a c t e r istic o f a h i s t o r y t h a t i s b e i n g u n m a d e , t h a t i s c o m i n g a p a r t ; a n d t h e r e i s n o
perspective here other than the negative o n e of an optimal m a n a g e m e n t of waste
waste w h i c h we k n o w to be, by definition, n o n - d e g r a d a b l e . Seen in t e r m s of
survival or, i n o t h e r w o r d s , o f life s u p e r s t i t i o u s l y p r o l o n g e d a n d p r o t e c t e d f r o m
d e a t h , life itself b e c o m e s a w a s t e - p r o d u c t w e c a n n o l o n g e r r i d o u r s e l v e s of,
d o o m e d , as it is, to i n d e f i n i t e r e p r o d u c t i o n .
N o w , it is j u s t s u c h indefinite r e p r o d u c t i o n we see in Bosnia, j u s t s u c h a m a c a b r e
p a r o d y a n d t h e sinister c o n f u s i o n of a h i s t o r y c o m i n g apart a farce in w h i c h t h e
m i l i t a r y a n d t h e h u m a n i t a r i a n are m e r g e d .
H i s t o r y r e p r o d u c i n g itself b e c o m e s Farce.
Farce r e p r o d u c i n g itself b e c o m e s H i s t o r y
17 July

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1995