(Re)turning derrida to Heidegger: Being-with-others as primordial politics

For decades two questions have dogged Derrida and his account of deconstruc tion: What is his relation to Heidegger? And, is deconstruction political? While Derrida has always acknowledged his debt to Heidegger, and claimed th at deconstruction is political in nature, these two issues have been treate d separately. However, I think they are related. Locating Derrida's critiqu e of modern subjectivity within Heidegger's notion of being-with-others mak es explicit the political implications of deconstruction. I argue that Heid egger's analysis of Dasein's fall into the "they" provides the philosophica l (con)text in which to situate Derrida's deconstruction of the self-presen ce and autonomy that grounds the political agency of the modern subject. Wh ile Heidegger's analysis of the "they" seeks to recover authentic identity, Derrida's critique of logocentrism asks as to recall our inescapable respo nsibility to others. In politicizing Heidegger's ontology of Dasein, I cont end that Derrida seeks to replace the desire for authenticity with the call for Justice.