The perils of utopia: Between ‘ethical static’ and moral perfectionism in Iran

IF 1.5 3区社会学 Q2 ANTHROPOLOGY

Critique of Anthropology Pub Date : 2023-05-26 DOI:10.1177/0308275X231175986

Simon Theobald

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Following the Iranian Revolution, ideologues within the Republican system promised the possibility of ethical perfection so long as Iranians adhered to guidelines promulgated by the state. Drawing on a case study of both critics and supporters of the government living in Mashhad, I argue that one of the inadvertent outcomes of this commitment to perfectionism has been its instrumentalization by government critics as a tool to condemn the behaviour of state supporters. Inconsistencies of behaviour demonstrated by state supporters were interpreted by these government critics as gross indecencies and major evils, rather than as part of a modality of ‘ethical static’ that has been advocated for as an understanding of everyday morality. The ethnographic tension in this article illuminates both the impacts of state-led projects of moral utopianism, and their ramifications for anthropology.

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乌托邦的危险:在伊朗的“道德静态”和道德完美主义之间

伊朗革命后，共和体制内的理论家承诺，只要伊朗人遵守国家颁布的指导方针，就有可能实现道德上的完美。通过对生活在马什哈德的政府批评者和支持者的案例研究，我认为，这种对完美主义的承诺的一个无意的结果是，它被政府批评者作为谴责国家支持者行为的工具。国家支持者表现出的不一致行为被这些政府批评者解释为严重的不雅行为和重大罪恶，而不是作为“道德静态”形态的一部分，这种形态一直被提倡作为对日常道德的理解。本文中的民族志张力阐明了国家主导的道德乌托邦主义项目的影响及其对人类学的影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Critique of Anthropology ANTHROPOLOGY-

CiteScore

3.50

自引率

8.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Critique of Anthropology is dedicated to the development of anthropology as a discipline that subjects social reality to critical analysis. It publishes academic articles and other materials which contribute to an understanding of the determinants of the human condition, structures of social power, and the construction of ideologies in both contemporary and past human societies from a cross-cultural and socially critical standpoint. Non-sectarian, and embracing a diversity of theoretical and political viewpoints, COA is also committed to the principle that anthropologists cannot and should not seek to avoid taking positions on political and social questions.