Václav Havel, Politician and Intellectual: The Idea of Non-Political Politics

Non-political politics, ergo an alternative approach to the classical politics of power engineering, is one of the major philosophical themes of Václav Havel. Havel is placing this concept against the communist post-totalitarian regime, which forces the society to live in ideological lies. This post- totalitarian regime claims the absolute control over the society, its behavior and thinking, by which it suppresses natural identity of every man. Solution to this situation is the life in truth, integral part of the non-political politics. The life in truth is a defence against lies of the regime and it allows people to preserve their identity. Post-totalitarian regime in its core seek to control everything and cannot ignore such existential mutiny. It attempts to suppress it and thus making dissidents its political oposition. Dissidents only declare truth by which they obtain respect of western countries and consequently some influence over the communist regime. Havel is further developping this concept since 70's into separate approach to the politics in general, which makes it still current even nowadays. Although the possible naivety, this concept definitely played its role as we can see on Charter 77, which became the first swallow of freedom in the normalization Czechoslovakia