Quand le Peuple se fait eau

Usages scientifiques, littéraires et politiques des métaphores aquatiques dans les discours démocratiques

Abstract

We are interested in the aquatic metaphors that organize political action. We are dealing here with comparisons that can be summarized as follows: PEOPLE IS WATER. When did this metaphor first appear? How did it spread? What does this characterization of the qualities of the people based on those of water mean? We base our analysis on a corpus of recent political and social science texts and press articles. We propose a genealogy of this connection from the early nineteenth century, from the formation of the working class to the growing interest in migrant populations. We seek to identify the spread of this association between aquatic matter and the political representations of the population in the contemporary world, both in terms of electoral behavior and public policy. Finally, we look at ways of subverting the metaphor.