Responsibility Without Reciprocity

The structure of ethical responsibility in Levinas's account is asymmetric. The claim the Other's face makes upon me is not contingent upon any reciprocal claim I make upon the Other. Before I know who the Other is, before I have formed any concept of the Other's nature, I am already responsible—summoned by the face to a responsibility I did not choose and cannot discharge. This asymmetry violates the logic of exchange that governs nearly every domain of human interaction. In economics, value is exchanged for value. In politics, rights balance obligations. In ordinary morality, the golden rule establishes reciprocity. Levinas breaks this structure at its root. My responsibility to the Other is conditioned only by the face—by the vulnerability that presents itself and makes a demand I did not solicit. The radicality becomes visible when applied to the builder and the people affected by what the builder creates: the users do not owe gratitude, the displaced workers do not owe forgiveness, yet the builder owes them