Political Philosophy in Borges: Fallibility, Liberal Anarchism, and Civic Ethics

Abstract

The political philosophy latent in Borges's works rests on the belief in a self-sufficient individual, the preeminence of liberty, a distrust of government, and nostalgia for anarchy understood as a self-organized order. Yet Borges also emphasizes the fallibility of individuals and warns against the civic indifference brought about by an isolated individualism. A paradox seems to emerge from these simultaneous convictions: would anarchy work if individuals are unable to do much in and by themselves? Can an individualistic disposition be conducive to a rich and orderly civic life? Borges's notion of fallibility is consistent with his defense of liberal anarchism because fallibility carries less pernicious effects under liberal anarchism than it does under alternative political arrangements. Thus, his notion of liberal anarchism is compatible with his concern for civic order if we look at the ethics of self-restraint that sustains Borges's simultaneous advocacy of a self-organized order and a stable civic life.