On Impotence

An incisive and urgent book that explores the hidden roots of our contemporary powerlessness.

Contemporary life is marked by a paradoxical form of impotence. Whether in love, labour, or political struggle, we often find ourselves locked in a state of frenetic paralysis — unable to act as we wish or to endure what confronts us. This impotence is not born of lack, but of excess: an abundance of skills, capacities, and opportunities that, instead of taking form as coherent actions or speech, stagnate and turn in on themselves. In this thought-provoking meditation, philosopher Paolo Virno examines this strange impotence through the lens of classical thought, drawing especially on Aristotle and Marx.

To overcome this troubling state, Virno calls for a collective search for a shared spiritual and practical exercise aimed at reclaiming agency. He argues that only by learning to renounce renunciation can we cultivate deliberate words and timely decisions.