Butler discusses the role of grief and other powerful emotions in the making of ones autonomy and how these emotions should act as a humanizing process for politics. "Is there something to be gained from grieving, from tarrying with grief, remaining exposed to its apparent tolerability and not endeavoring to seek a resolution for grief through violence?" (Butler 23) Through shared experiences of grief and other emotions that make one seem alongside oneself we can cultivate a more humanistic approach to life and politics especially an aversion to violence. The way this politics differs is in the relation to a collective, humanistic, democracy and how that excludes autonomy by advocating to live beside oneself.
Dietz criticizes two forms of feminism, Marxist feminism and maternal feminism. The first looking at society by its modes of production and how they are entirely male dominated to the point that it would require a revolution for a entirely new system. Maternal feminism interprets through the lens of social importance, specifically that the maternal instincts of the woman should be the staple for the way we navigate the world. Dietz states that the real focus should not be on the economic or social sphere but rather on the political in the form of being a citizen.
I really like the connection you drew between the two pieces as being focused on humanizing politics. In its essence, politics and democracy should really be about the people, but those in power often get so caught up in rules and policy that sometimes this aspect of politics gets sidelined. As you mentioned, Butler approaches this humanizing process through the power of shared experiences of grief, while Dietz suggests something as drastic as a complete revolution of the system. Both of these approaches are theoretical responses to the issue of a lack of collective engagement in politics, but how exactly can we bring humanity into these processes? Grief is one experience that can bring people together, but I think the connection here is missing between that shared experience and a collective call to action- possibly because Butler did not clearly address it in her work. Overall, I liked the link you drew of the theme of humanity in autonomy.
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