Entrapment
The brief dispatch below notes the ways in which my readings of detective stories have inspired the (De-/Re-)Constructing Worlds project.
Detective fiction has been my favorite genre of fiction since I was a young boy. I have read and reread the books, and I have watched and rewatched the films in which the exploits of the great fictional detectives are dramatized — the greatest of these, in my opinion, being the books and films of the exploits of Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, and Hercule Poirot.
The great fictional detective solves a given whodunnit by discovering who had the motive, the means, and the opportunity to commit the crime under investigation. While all three of the fictional detectives that I count as “the greatest” excel at discerning all three of these factors, I find that Hercule Poirot is the greatest when it comes to discerning motives, that Sherlock Holmes is the greatest when it comes to discerning means, and that Auguste Dupin is the greatest when it comes to discerning opportunities.
To have motive to commit a crime is to have “the right reasons” to commit a crime; and to discern who has motive is to attend to the statements that have enabled a crime to occur. Hercule Poirot’s great mysteries are defined by his close regard for statements that bear witness to crimes. To cite one of his most masterful performances: in the novel Cards on the Table, Hercule Poirot uses the score sheets of different players from a bridge game as statements to discern who has committed a murder.
To have the means to commit a crime is to have “the right tools” to commit a crime; and to discern who has the means is to attend to the implements that have enabled a crime to occur. Sherlock Holmes’s great mysteries are defined by the manner in which Holmes closely regards implements. To cite one of his most masterful performances: in the opening chapter of The Sign of the Four, titled “The Science of Deduction”, Holmes describes the character and life circumstances of Dr. Watson’s elder brother after examining an old watch that once belonged to Dr. Watson’s brother, demonstrating to Dr. Watson that “it is difficult for a man to have any object in daily use without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in such a way that a trained observer might read it.”
To have opportunity to commit a crime is to be “in the right place at the right time” to commit a crime; and to discern who has opportunity is to attend to the environments that have enabled a crime to occur. Auguste Dupin’s great mysteries are each defined by their environments: "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is about finding the opportunity to commit a crime in warren of city streets; "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" is about finding the opportunity to commit a crime in the great outdoors; and "The Purloined Letter" is about finding the opportunity to commit a crime in an enclosed private space.
While it is certainly fun to attend to how the great detective discovers the criminal by deducing motives, means, and opportunities from statements, implements, and environments, I find that the detective work is never the most interesting part of a detective story for me. As I see it, before the criminal can be discovered by the detective, the crime and the criminal must themselves be produced by the power formations that constitute the world in which the detective novel is set. What I love to do when considering detective fiction is to read between the lines and consider how it is that power formations have produced the criminal that the great detective will discover.
A power formation manufactures a criminal by manufacturing motives, means, and opportunities for criminals to commit crimes. When an individual or group is discovered to have intentionally manufactured motives, means, and opportunities for criminals to commit crimes, we call it entrapment. But when pre-individual processes and supra-individual structures manufacture such motives, means, and opportunities, it is taboo to call it entrapment, although that is precisely what it is. If we do not call it entrapment when pre-individual processes and supra-individual structures are at work, it is because we do not want to acknowledge the fact that the world that we have made for ourselves is responsible for most crimes, not the criminal. Indeed, I wager that most criminals are made such by their worlds: they are not “true criminals” in and of themselves. I hold that the only “true criminal” is the one who has self-consciously made themself into a criminal: who has self-consciously manufactured motives, means, and opportunities for themselves in order to enable themselves to commit crimes.
Now, what I would like to do here is generalize the concept of entrapment further and to argue that entrapment is, in essence, the modus operandi of all stable power formations. Most people who dominate others by way of ruling, disciplinary, normalizing, and optimizing powers have been entrapped: they are the victims of pre-individual processes and supra-individual structures that have furnished them with motives, means, and opportunities to dominate others. Indeed, I wager that most tyrants are made such by their worlds: they are not “true tyrants” in and of themselves. I hold that the only “true tyrant” is the one who has self-consciously made themself into a tyrant: who has self-consciously manufactured motives, means, and opportunities for themselves in order to enable themselves to dominate others.
We who would counter power must, like the great detectives, attend to the statements, implements, and environments that provide motives, means, and opportunities for domination and exploitation. However, unlike the great detectives, we are not interested in simply apprehending who is dominating and exploiting whom at any given time. Rather, we are interested in preventing domination and exploitation from taking place: we aim to deconstruct the statements, implements, and environments that enable domination and exploitation and to (re-)construct statements, implements, and environments that enable people(s) to commune with one another.
Imagine, if you will, a great detective who did not concern themselves with being able to identify and apprehend murderers or thieves. Imagine that this detective chose to concern themselves with providing people with motives, means, and opportunities to live otherwise than becoming murderers and thieves. Instead of taking a world of murderers and thieves for granted, such a detective would be someone who endeavors to make a world in which fewer people might become murderers and thieves
In and through the (De-/Re-)Constructing Worlds project, I am advocating for a similar approach to dealing with power and its addicts. Instead of identifying and condemning people for being power addicts, hooked on the potent power-cocktail that is imperialist white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy, I am concerned with furnishing persons who are vulnerable to becoming power addicts with motives, means, and opportunities to live otherwise than becoming power addicts. Instead of taking a world of power addicts for granted, I would endeavor to make a world in which fewer people might become power addicts.
