No Conclusion: ‘Such People Do Not Exist’

Abstract

AbstractThe final chapter cautions against an unreflective propensity to view the current Western sociocultural sphere as marked by comforting ‘post-’s, each suggesting an evolution beyond a vanquished, barbaric past. Understanding the extent to which even the most ‘enlightened’ eras of the Global North’s history were founded upon brutalities and exploitations, as well as the continuation of masculinity as a driving, consolidating, metaepistemic force, the countless examples of ongoing depredation in contemporary society (from Wall Street to Chechnya) are argued as warranting heightened vigilance in order to prevent silence and silencing from equating with and engendering symbolic and material death.