1. **Refusal: Saying "no" to the power of a regime and the role, benifits, and rules it gives you.**
1.1. Governmentalization
1.1.1. governmentalization is the phenomenon that occurs when a higher power tries to conduct our conduct
1.1.1.1. Foucault argues that this is the way modern government operates, it forces us to see ourselves as specs of captial that must me maximized
1.1.1.1.1. we can disrupt this by refusing to recognize ourselves as such, and creating a new way of life with new identities
1.1.1.2. this leads to subjection
1.1.1.2.1. Kant argues that we see the world around us and that allows us to synthesize the world and create perceptions of ourselves in a world of appearances
1.1.1.2.2. Foucault says the opposite, and that we constitute the world around us and that all refusal is circumscribed
1.1.2. Governmentalization can turn into domination when we no longer have a choice in our actions
1.2. identity and misrecognition
1.2.1. Recognition is central to identity, and misrecognition is harmful to opressed peoples.
1.2.1.1. mutual recognition is central to Hegel's theory of refusal, and the idea that by recognizing eachother, the lord and Bondsman can become self conscious and have their own identities
1.2.1.1.1. Hegel's *Phenomenology of Spirit* is meant to target Nihilism as understood in 1800's Germany
1.2.1.1.2. Hegel thinks that in subjection, recognition allows us to be aware that we are free, but also highlights how we need mutual recognition
1.2.1.2. Coulthard (Dine tribe) writes about how Hegel's theories play a big role in contemporary politics about liberal pluralism
1.2.1.2.1. how can we navigate pluralism liberally in a way that values human rights?
1.2.1.2.2. Taylor sees recognition as an improvemnt from assimilation, but argues that pluralism leads to misrecogntion and imprisoning indigenous into false modes of being
1.2.1.3. Fanon thinks Hegel's theory of mutual recognition is impossible in the modern era because it is action from only one side
1.2.1.3.1. Ex: France granting liberation to Algeria is a unilataral recognition in that they control the terms of their freedom
1.2.1.3.2. ex: African American's struggle in the civil rights movement allows for a more full, long term mutual recognition on both sides
1.2.1.4. George Orwell in *Shooting an elephant* is a prime example of the significance of misrecognition on identity
1.2.1.4.1. By using the symbol of the Sahib's mask, Orwell highlights how misrecognition by both the colonial power, and the Burmese harm his self conciousness and force him to act in a way that goes against his moral system.
1.3. Bare refusal
1.3.1. Bare refusal is saying no to all aspects put upon you
1.3.1.1. Bartleby is a prime example of a bare refuser because he refuses the power of money, the law, and the regieme within the office
1.3.1.1.1. it is also important to recognize the power in his stationary existence
1.3.1.2. Moten and Harney call for a raidical, and extreme refusal of politics
1.3.1.2.1. politics and policy is a continued attack on the existience of the undercommons, a pre existing sociality, the essence of politics is corrective, and its goal is to conduct
1.3.1.2.2. they call for the use of planning as an alternative to politics
1.3.1.3. Practicing mutual aid is a powerful way to completly refuse the governments subjection, and assistance. By creating a new culture of service to others, mutual aid practicioners show the government that they do not need their assistance, and that they have their own identity and lives away from their subjection
1.3.1.3.1. creates new social relations via participation
1.3.1.4. some other examples include the bike group and zeocracy practices
1.3.1.4.1. this is considered a Foucault refusal because it is generative
1.3.2. bare refusal can also include the creation of a new language/ dialauge and identity
2. resistance: Active opposition to power, often seeking to overthrow or directly challenge systems, or an alteration of an existing system to include/ accept them
2.1. resistance embedded in power relations
2.1.1. because power is held in relations, resistance and refusal stems from within
2.2. reactive and non reactive applications
2.2.1. Reactive: Overthrowing power structures as a direct response.
2.2.1.1. foucault and counterplayers
2.2.1.2. ex) when Italian imigrants demanded the implementation of Columbus Day to highlight the importance of Italians in American history
2.2.1.2.1. refused the recognition given by the government and giving an alternative so that they were included in the way they desired
2.2.2. Non-Reactive: Creating alternative systems without focusing solely on opposition.
2.2.2.1. non playing actors- this kind of refusal usually requires physical distance or seperation
2.3. civil disobedence
2.3.1. Thoreau's moral refusal to the war and refusing the poll tax was a form of non violent resostance that allowed him to share his position
2.3.1.1. Gandhi and MLK jr. cite his refusal
2.3.1.2. while often praised, Thoreau's works are often criticised becasue of his position in society. Because Thoreau could be bailed out, go to a firencds island, and not work for months on end, his resistance feels selfish, and not rooted in misrecognition, putting it in the resitance category rather than refusal
2.3.2. civil disobediance to me is more resistance than refusal becuase it legitimizes the power of the regime by directly opposing it
2.3.2.1. I see Gandhi's work as a civil disobediant kind of refusal because while it creates a new way of life, it is in direct opposition to the British colonial power
2.3.3. Thoreau's ideology that respect for the law is not a virtue is significant to my understanding of contemporary refusal because it can signify counter conduct
2.3.4. Loud exits and expressive protest are often at the heart of civil disobediance,. because the goal is to change the regime to include your position, it dosen't create a new way of life
3. **types of refusers/ actors**
3.1. players
3.1.1. participate in the regime for the benefits
3.2. Counter players
3.2.1. protest the regieme via direct resistance, often legitimizes the power of the regieme because their dissent becomes an ornament of the regime
3.3. non players
3.3.1. when a refuser works on their own terms, often with their own tools in a seperate sphere
4. **Language and Dialauge**
4.1. The creation of a new language or new way to speak about something is a central piece of refusal because it allows a refuser to control their identity and how they are percieved
4.1.1. Moten and Harney are concerned with dialauge surrounding black life
4.1.1.1. Many people associate Black like with resistance and reaction, which is dangerous because it takes so much away from their identity, including their sociality in the undercommons
4.1.2. by using a language of prefrence, Bartleby creates a new way of thinking inside his law office
4.1.3. Gandhi uses a language of non violence and restructures traditional Hindu teachings to highlight the importance of *ahisma *
4.1.4. Orwell believes that language can be a form of domination, and that by altering language you can change values
4.2. Many thinkers have different opinions about the use of dialogue in refusal.
4.2.1. Gandhi rejects dialogue and prefers to lead by example
4.2.1.1. by practicing spinning, chastity, and fasting he hopes that others will see the significance of the little pieces of everyday life
4.2.1.2. Gandhi also sees debate and dialogue as a way of forcing opinion on others and is a type of violence
4.2.1.2.1. this highlights his belief of how the means justify the ends. Meaning that if you use violence as the means to create change, your changes can only be violent.
4.2.2. Nietzsche/ Zarathustra dislike the dialogue of debate
4.2.2.1. at the end of *Thus Spoke Zarathustra/ On Passing By * when Zarathustra is debating with his copy cat, he realized how unproductive it is
4.2.3. James Baldwin flip-flops on his opinion of dialogue
4.2.3.1. In *The Fire Next Time* he highlights the role that African American's play in helping white america see the problem of the origins of their identity, it is very different from Hegel's theory of mutual recognition because this more profound recognition lies in changing the language white america uses to identify themselves
4.2.3.2. then in an interview, Baldwin says that white America must save themselves from their own misrecognition
4.3. Silence and Quiet
4.3.1. Silence is the intentional refusal to engage, different from quiet
4.3.2. Quiet – a state of being in the spacious interior of thoughts, desires, feelings, not determined entirely by publicness or resistance