Ethics in resistance? From Totality to Infinity

Multiple bodies of literature in management and organization studies examine actions identified as resistance. Comparably diverse and extensive literatures attend to ethics. Yet, when instances of resistance are theorized, explicit reference to ethics is exceptional. To address and reduce this disconnect, the paper contributes to an evolving body of Levinasian scholarship that is distinguished by a radical ‘responsibility for the Other’. The relevance of Levinas’ thinking is demonstrated by reference to diverse examples of resistance that range from Daniel Ellsberg’s publication of the Pentagon Papers to the classic, fictional case of Antigone’s defiance of Creon in Sophocles’ play. These examples are employed to theorize how the dynamics of ethics in resistance comprise three key moments – contingency, commitment and universality – and three associated impediments – dogmatism, motivational deficit and egoism.