Fiction and Realism

There is a rather surprising similarity between political realism, a long-standing tradition of political thought and fictional discourses that comes from the paradoxical nature of the epistemology of political realism. On the one hand, realism offers direct access to the reality of politics. This is exactly why it is often criticized for its naive positivism. On the other hand, realism fiercely criticizes other theories on the basis of their epistemological naivety because they believe that political practice can be satisfactorily described, explained and prescribed by theories. This paradox, however, should not be seen as a theoretical weakness, but a constitutive element of political realism. Properly understood, an analogy between fiction and political realism can help us better understand how this paradox makes political realism so attractive and successful. Whilst fiction is based on a no less paradoxical “fictional pact” having the reader accept fiction “as if ” it would be real and gives aesthetical pleasure in exchange for it, political realism is based on the above paradox of a theory both denying and promising direct access to the reality. “Realist pact” requires us to accept that a realist knows how politics works in reality and also knows why others do not. In exchange for it, realism offers a kind of “pleasure of recognition”, the happy thought of being an insider and a lot of other things.