Description
If every period in human history is defined by a horizon (Maleuvre 2011), the horizon of the Anthropocene appears to be that of humanity itself. On one hand, this horizon refers to humanity as the centre of all life on earth, a life that is lived primarily by man and for man. On the other hand, it refers to the temporal finitude of this life, exposed to the threat of extinction due to man’s destructive behaviour towards the planet. To prevent extinction, redefining life in less anthropocentric terms is often proposed as the only viable solution. In this paper, I problematize such ideas by turning to another horizon: that of the international state system. The international is a particularly pervasive horizon, within which the political value of humanity has been grasped for the past centuries, defining its purpose as well as end point, to live and die as citizens of states. Any attempts to transcend the Anthropocene as meaningful horizon of life on earth, I argue, must begin by grasping the conditions of this international life. In particular, they must come to terms with how the international already defines the purpose of human life in relation to the threat of reaching an end. I conclude by suggesting that since this threat gives meaning to all international life, the idea of overcoming it might, paradoxically, not even be desirable in the first place.
