THE SUBJETCS OF THE ABSOLUTE WRONG AND ITS OPPSPRING The notion of the proletariat as the historical subject has disappeared in radical left-wing theory since the late 1960's. By comparing Guy Debord and the young Marx’s notion of the proletariat with the later notions of transgressive subjectivities, proposed by Alain Badiou, Jacques Rancière and Antonio Negri respectively, the article analyses a split between ‘interior’ and ‘exterior’ in contemporary Marxist and post-Marxist theory.

The article brings together three short texts by Giorgio Agamben: “What is a people?” from Means without Ends from 1996, the third chapter from The Time that Remains from 2000 and the oral presentation “What is a movement?” from 2005. It analyzes Agamben’s idea of the people as internally divided. Through a juxtaposition with Marx’ notion of the proletariat, the article discusses Agamben’s attempt to develop a inoperative, but nonetheless revolutionary counter-paradigm to the biopolitical power paradigm of the West.