"The centre cannot hold"

Derrida’s claim that “the center [of the structure] is, paradoxically, within the structure and outside it” (279) can be applied to the way in which leaders of political and corporate institutions often react to reports of illegal activities carried out by a lower-ranking member of their institution (structure). They express sentiments of surprise and naiveté; a general lack of knowledge as the scandal was transpiring. Using Derrida’s terminology, it can be said that the leader (the center) is claiming to be outside the power of the institution (the structure). A recent example is the phone-hacking scandal associated with the Rupert Murdoch-owned company News Corp. His response to the situation, indicated below, suggests his “being outside” the structure of his company when the wrongdoings occurred over a period of several years.    

·         "Perhaps I lost sight of (News of the World) because it is so small in the general frame of our company,” Murdoch explained. “

          (http://news.yahoo.com/quotes-trenches-murdoch-scandal-145900305.html)

·         “Rupert Murdoch said that as the head of a company with 53,000 employees around the world, he could not have been expected to follow every decision made at The News of the World”
          (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/world/europe/20hacking.htmlpagewanted=all)

According to Derrida, the center allows “freeplay” to exist within the structure, but also “closes off the freeplay it opens up and makes possible,” therefore limiting certain possibilities of the structure (278-9). When the structure is rightfully governed, stability and order are more likely. Murdoch allowed too much “freeplay” within the company and should be faulted for not restricting the unethical structurality of the structure. Murdoch’s neglect for both the place and function of the center can be attributed to the phone-hacking scandal.  

 Derrida also alludes to the relation between metaphor, metonymy, and the center. Metaphors and metonymies, he claims, are simply descriptions of an object in reference to a particular structural center. There always exists a difference in meaning between the metaphor/metonymy and the center it is relating to. Derrida  points out that a “rupture” occurs when people begin to understand and recognize the structure as being different from the metaphor. People will then see past the metaphor and see how the structure truly functions.