Social and political philosophy Books

Book SynopsisA persuasive manifesto for a better Britain.' Observer Book of the DayBritain needs a fresh start. This timely book by one of the stars of the new government shows how to achieve it.In this brilliant and accessible intervention, Lisa Nandy reveals how Britain can leave behind the mess in which we find ourselves. All In charts a course towards a fairer, more equal, more prosperous country by drawing on the greatest asset we have each other.Rapid global changes, political division and economic crisis have left Britain reeling. For decades, large swathes of the country have been shut out, condemned to low productivity, underinvestment and managed decline, and stripped of their voice. With most major cities now beset with high housing costs, air pollution and congestion, even the winners' are losing.All In shows how, by handing power and resources to people with a stake in the outcome, Britain can draw on the talent, assets and potential in every part of the country and start firing on alTrade Review‘Nandy makes a powerful argument for rethinking politics.’ New Statesman ‘A much-needed intervention. … This fast and accessible read [offers] a deceptively radical vision and one that Labour should embrace.’ Observer, Book of the Day ‘Gives a clear sense of Nandy’s ambitions for the Labour party’s future policy. … Bang on the political zeitgeist.’ The Sunday Times ‘Brilliant, brave and bursting with ideas.’ Jess Phillips MP ‘A humane and decent personal manifesto that does not shirk the challenges and dangers we face. Powerful and deeply authentic.’ Philippe Sands ‘Clear-eyed and compassionate, but caustic about the people and ideas that have let Britain down so badly, Lisa Nandy is a new kind of politician and a new kind of thinker. We have never needed voices like hers more urgently.’ Stuart Maconie ‘Nandy is a big thinker and a gifted story teller. A must-read.’ Frances O’Grady, former General Secretary of the TUC ‘Original, thought-provoking and exciting.’ Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former Prime Minister of Denmark ‘A positive agenda for change and renewal rooted in the best traditions of the Labour movement.’ Jon Cruddas MP ‘Informative, perceptive and at times inspiring. This is the kind of political vision the country so badly needs.’ Anand Menon, Director, UK in a Changing Europe ‘Wide-ranging, imaginative, practical and believable.’ Danny Dorling ‘A tour de force. All In outlines what a better world might look like.’ Professor Will Jennings ‘With a sharp eye for illustration, Nandy offers one of Labour’s more radical routes out of neoliberalism in her accessible book.’ The House

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Book Synopsis''The most prescient of British public intellectuals'' Pankaj Mishra, Financial TimesUpdated with a new foreword and two new chapters of John Gray''s writing.Why is progress a pernicious myth? Why do beliefs that humanity can be improved end in farce or horror? Is atheism a hangover from Christian faith? John Gray, one of the most iconoclastic thinkers of our time, smashes through civilization''s long cherished beliefs, overturning our view of the world and our place in it.Trade ReviewGray's dissection of modern delusion, cant and wishful thinking is to be welcomed in this moment of convulsion ... This is a book to learn from and argue with -- Ben Wilson * Literary Review *A thoroughly enjoyable book ... These essays cover a remarkable range of topics, from Isaiah Berlin to Damien Hirst, from torture to environmentalism. But their unifying theme is that our naïve belief in the idea of progress has turned modern life into a constant round of shadow-boxing -- David Runciman * Observer *A visionary ... one of the most reliably provocative and heterodox voices in British intellectual life today -- Jonathan Derbyshire * New Statesman *Gray has consistently anticipated the shape of things to come . . . he teaches us that true humanism is to be found in uncertainty and doubt -- Will SelfInvigorating...elegant, witty, incisive... Gray's assault on Enlightenment ideas of progress is timelier than ever -- John Banville * The Guardian *

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Book Synopsis''A must-read for psychotherapists, doctors and everyone else who enjoys connecting ideas'' Philippa Perry''Compassionate and challenging, warmly human and coolly rigorous. . . I am now thinking afresh about how I live in my own body, in a world where, as Clare Chambers argues, nobody''s body is ever allowed to be good enough, just as it is'' Timandra HarknessWhat would it take for your body to be good enough?The pressure to change our bodies is overwhelming. We strive to defy ageing, build our biceps, cure our disabilities, conceal our quirks. Surrounded by filtered photos and surgically-enhanced features, we must contort our physical selves to prejudiced standards of beauty. Perfection is impossible, and even an acceptable body seems out of reach.In this mind-expanding book, Cambridge philosopher Clare Chambers argues that the unmodified body is a key political principle. While defending our right to change our bodies, sTrade ReviewA pleasure to read because it's packed with new (to me) information and ideas and so absorbingly readable. A must-read for psychotherapists, doctors and everyone else who enjoys connecting ideas -- Philippa PerryA barnstormer. Intact is a timely, challenging, troubling work. Clare Chambers argues that the unmodified body is valuable in itself, that it is a morally privileged baseline, and that it is - and should be - a site of political resistance against unwanted social pressures to modify * TLS *A nuanced, subtle and thoughtful book . . . anyone who is remotely interested in these topics will get a lot out of it and understand just how important this debate is and how it touches on our lives often without our even noticing it -- Julian BagginiIntact shocks and startles with real human stories but is both compassionate and challenging, warmly human and coolly rigorous. It left me questioning so many assumptions - what is natural, or normal? Who should decide what's best for other people's bodies, and how? I am now thinking afresh about how I live in my own body, in a world where, as Clare Chambers argues, nobody's body is ever allowed to be good enough, just as it is -- Timandra Harkness, author of Big DataIn this cogently argued and insightful book, Clare Chambers calls for us all to reject the pervasive messages that our bodies aren't good enough and instead to accept and value the bodies we have. Intact is an essential read for all educators, policy makers, researchers and all those ready to call time on the beauty myths -- Nichola Rumsey OBE, Professor, UWE BristolA wonderfully rich book. It's not easy to combine complex, rigorous philosophy with clear and engaging prose. But Clare Chambers pulls this off brilliantly here -- David Edmonds, author of Wittgenstein’s PokerA bold and brilliant book. Clare Chambers lucidly challenges the unquestioned assumptions of our visual culture. Intact is unique in its breadth, considering body modifications from make-up, to body building, to surgery and tattooing. She does not question the individual's right to change their body, but does question the social positioning of such choices. For the naming of 'shametenance' alone this book should be a bestseller -- Heather Widdows, author of Perfect MeIntact is humane, generous, thought-provoking and sensible (great to see a mainstream philosopher discussing disability & Deafness too) -- Tom ShakespeareA beautifully written and thoughtful push back against all the people and powers that have made us, as a society, feel that our bodies need to be altered * Metro *

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Book SynopsisSomeone fails to shake your outstretched hand, puts you down in front of others, or makes a joke in poor taste. Should we take offence? Wouldn''t it be better if we didn''t? In the face of popular criticism of people taking offence too easily, and the social problems that creates, Emily McTernan defends taking offence as often morally appropriate and socially valuable. Within societies marred by inequality, taking offence can resist the day-to-day patterning of social hierarchies. This book defends the significance of details of our social interactions. Cumulatively, small acts, and the social norms underlying these, can express and reinforce social hierarchies. But by taking offence, we mark an act as an affront to our social standing. We also often communicate our rejection of that affront to others. At times, taking offence can be a way to renegotiate the shared social norms around what counts as respectful treatment. Rather than a mere expression of hurt feelings then, to take offence can be to stand up for one''s standing. When taken by those deemed to have less social standing, to take offence can be a direct act of insubordination against a social hierarchy. Taking offence can resist everyday inequalities. In unequal societies, the inclination to take offence at the right things, and to the right degree, may even be a civic virtue. These right things at which to take offence include many of the very instances that the opponents of a culture of taking offence find most objectionable: apparently trivial and small-scale details of our social interactions.Trade ReviewIn On Taking Offence, Emily McTernan develops a new, subtle, and compelling account of what it is to take offence and why taking offence is sometimes, but not always, morally justified. McTernan's admirably clear and judicious style, many vivid and timely examples, and significant moral sensitivity make this book a 'must read' for those who are interested in the nature and value of respect and, more generally, in central aspects of the moral life beyond rights and duties * Adam Cureton, Professor of Philosophy, University of Tennessee *Emily McTernan offers an analysis of taking offence that insightfully gets past the troubling public rhetoric around this emotion. McTernan provides a sorely needed repositioning of this emotion that encourages long overdue philosophical attention to social standing and status. She lucidly details how offence can serve both to defend and destabilize social status arrangements and suggests how each of these may stimulate important moral progress. * Amy Olberding, Presidential Professor of Philosophy, University of Oklahoma *Taking offence - how it feels, when it's appropriate, and when steps should be taken to make it less likely to happen - are familiar components of day-to-day moral and political interactions. Yet political philosophers have tip-toed around the subject, rarely engaging beyond questions of legal regulation. In her nuanced, entertaining, clear sighted and highly original analysis Emily McTernan relates taking offence to the idea of social standing and demonstrates that it should attract the attention of anyone concerned with questions of equality. * Jonathan Wolff, Alfred Landecker Professor of Values and Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction 1. Taking offence: An emotion reconsidered 1.1. Philosophers on taking offence 1.2. An analysis of taking offence 1.3. Distinguishing offence 1.4. Rethinking offence: Domestic, not catastrophic 1.5. The limits of offence 1.6. Towards a defence: From victimhood to social standing 2. What taking offence does 2.1. Social standing and the role of social norms 2.2. Taking offence and reinforcing norms 2.3. Taking offence and renegotiating norms 2.4. In defence of negotiating social norms 2.5. On negotiating through offence 3. Do sweat the small stuff: The nature and significance of social standing 3.1. Between excess and deficiency 3.2. Social standing as an equal part I: Why the 'small stuff' matters 3.3. Social standing as an equal part II: The power to set the terms 3.4. In defence of the significance of affronts 3.5. Resisting by taking offence 4. The limits of justified offence: On anger, intent, and uptake 4.1. Anger, offence, and the act 4.2. Contesting offence 4.3. 'But I didn't mean it': On intention and blame 4.4. 'But that's not offensive': Disagreement and the offensive 4.5. When offence lacks uptake 5. Only joking!: On the offensiveness of humour 5.1. Theories of humour and the offensive 5.2. Some linguistics of jokes 5.3. How offensive jokes function 5.4. The riskiness of humour 6. A corrective civic virtue: Weighing the costs and benefits of offence 6.1. Offence as a civic virtue: Arguments from equality and civility 6.2. The costs of offence to the offending party 6.3. Justifying the costs of offence 6.4. Burdens on the offended 7. A social approach, our lives online, and the social emotions 7.1. A regulatory turn 7.2. Taking offence online 7.3. The social emotions beyond offence Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn essential primer on capitalism, politics and how the world works, based on the hugely popular undergraduate lecture series ''What is Politics?''Is there an alternative to capitalism? In this landmark text Chomsky and Waterstone chart a critical map for a more just and sustainable society.''Covid-19 has revealed glaring failures and monstrous brutalities in the current capitalist system. It represents both a crisis and an opportunity. Everything depends on the actions that people take into their own hands.''How does politics shape our world, our lives and our perceptions? How much of ''common sense'' is actually driven by the ruling classes'' needs and interests? And how are we to challenge the capitalist structures that now threaten all life on the planet? Consequences of Capitalism exposes the deep, often unseen connections between neoliberal ''common sense'' and structural power. In making these linkages, we see how the current hegemony keeps social justice movements divided and marginalized. And, most importantly, we see how we can fight to overcome these divisions.Trade ReviewNoam Chomsky is indispensable. Just as it is impossible to imagine appreciating the dramatic arts without learning Shakespeare, or loving jazz trumpet without an appreciation of Louis Armstrong, it is inconceivable that one might study contemporary political thought without reading Chomsky * Los Angeles Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisJohn Gray is the author of a number of highly regarded and controversial books, including False Dawn, Straw Dogs and, most recently, The Silence of Animals. He has taught at Oxford, Harvard, Yale and the LSE. John Banville described The Silence of Animals as 'a marvellous statement of what it is to be both an animal and a human in the strange, terrifying and exquisite world in which we straw dogs find ourselves'.Trade ReviewA generous and energising tumble of ideas...he is inventive and penetrating -- Galen Strawson * Financial Times *Like Isaiah Berlin with a thing for sci-fi -- Tibor Fischer * The Spectator *We might believe that we are on a voyage towards a future of perfect freedom, but Gray is here to tell us that we are really only going round in circles, repeating ancient heresies, and retelling old myths in modern cant -- Stephen Cave * Literary Review *Gray must be one of the best read of contemporary philosophers, trawling insouciantly through high-, middle- and low-brow literature with the sharp-eyed eclecticism of a magpie of genius -- John Banville * The Guardian *A brain-twisting meditation on freedom...a brief, elliptical inquiry designed to raise more questions than anyone could answer * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisThe most complete picture to date of the moral worlds of the political left and right and how their different views relate to specific political issuesTrade Review“This cogent, brilliant book reveals the morality at both ends of the political spectrum. Janoff-Bulman is one of the smartest people in the room, and she says we need both. Listening to her might save our democracy.”—Susan T. Fiske, author of Social Cognition“Ronnie Janoff-Bulman expertly debunks recent canards in moral psychology: that liberals are more individualistic than conservatives; that conservative morality is broader or more extensive than liberal morality; and that we, as a society, can hope to succeed on the basis of a social order that is lacking in social justice.”—John T. Jost, author of Left & Right: The Psychological Significance of a Political Distinction“What’s the fundamental difference between conservatives and liberals? Ronnie Janoff-Bulman delivers a cogent, evidence-based answer that challenges the received wisdom and dissipates the partisan fog—an illuminating book.”—Joshua Greene, author of Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them

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Book SynopsisHistories of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Australia provides a history of fascist movements and anti-fascist resistance in Australia over the past century.In recent years, the far right has become a resurgent force across the globe, resulting in populist parties securing electoral victories, social movements organising on the streets, and acts of right-wing terrorism. Australia has not been immune to this. However, this is not merely a recent phenomenon; it has a long history of fascist and far-right groups and individuals. These groups have attempted to situate themselves within the wider settler colonial political landscape, often portraying themselves as the inheritors of a violent and exclusionary colonial past. Concurrently, these groups have linked into globalised anti-communist and white supremacist networks. At the same time, Australia has often seen resistance to fascism and the far right, from the political centre to the far left. Covering the period from tTrade Review"This is an original and timely book with a stellar line-up of scholars. While research on the far right and fascism in Australia has grown over the years, anti-fascism and resistance have remained under explored and this book fills this significant gap magnificently."Aurelien Mondon, University of Bath, UK"This collection brings together the leading authorities on fascism and anti-fascism in Australia with a new generation working in the archives. It challenges our inherited understanding of the militant anti-fascism of the 1930s, and the early movements against the White Australia immigration regime. Lively and accessible, it documents the immediate predecessors to the racial populists of our own times, and the generations who resisted them."David Renton, author of No Free Speech for Fascists"In a world where right wing extremism continues to flourish, this history of fascism and anti-fascism is both timely and illuminating. There is an impressive depth of empirical research together with insights drawn from global fascism and anti-fascism studies, and it’s all told with clarity and style. The chapters, by both well-established and emerging scholars, explore in depth the shifting relationships between extremist and mainstream political movements. A key theme is the manner in which Australia’s distinctive forms of racism – expressed in Indigenous and immigration policies, public discourse, and popular culture – have shaped its historical experience of fascist ideas and movements. Histories of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Australia also explores the achievements as well as the limitations and failures of anti-fascist movements in the past, making for a multi-faceted and nuanced work of history with both scholarly and practical value."Ann Curthoys, Professor Emerita, Australian National University, and co-author with Shino Konishi and Alexandra Ludewig of The Lives and Legacies of a Carceral Island: A Biographical History of Wadjemup/Rottnest IslandTable of Contents1. Introduction: Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Australian History 2. An Uncomfortable Past: Historiographical Reflections on Fascism and Interwar Australia 3. Labour ‘Armies’ in the 1930s Depression: From Industrial Disputes to Anti-Fascism 4. Egon Kisch and Black Australia 5. ‘The Renaissance of our Fatherland’: Fascist Rhetoric and Intra-Communal Tension, Loveday Internment Group Camp 14A, 28 October 1942 6. ‘War on the Whiteman’: Australia in the Racial and Political Imagination of Britain's Far Right, 1945–1970 7. Fascism in Exile: Ustasha-Linked Organisations in Australia 8. European and Australian Fascisms: The Case of Ferenc Molnár and National Socialism in Cold War Australia 9. Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Perth in the 1980s 10. Far Right, Far Left and Australian Engagement with Libya in the 1980s 11. ‘I cop this shit all the time and I’m sick of it’: Pauline Hanson, the Far Right and the Politics of Victimhood in Australia 12. Discourses of Western Civilisation in the Australian Federal Parliament 13. Fascists In and Out of Uniform: Situating Street Fascism in the Broader Context of White Supremacy

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Book SynopsisThe essays in this book address a variety of foundational questions about democracy: How effective is it? How stable can it be in a pluralist society? Does it deserve its current popularity? Can it successfully guide a socialist society?Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. The Point of Democracy: 1. Tocqueville and democracy Stephen Holmes; 1a. Tocqueville, commerce and democracy Debra Satz; 2. Making truth safe for democracy David Estlund; 2a. Could political truth be a hazard for democracy? David Copp; 3. Democratic rights at national and workplace levels Richard J. Arneson; 3a. Justified to whom? Robert Sugden; Part II. Democracy and Preferences: 4. Public choice versus democracy Russell Hardin; 4a. Social choice and democracy Thomas Christiano; 5. Democracy and shifting preferences Cass R. Sunstein; 5a. Must preferences be respected in a democracy? John Ferejohn; Part III. Democracy and Public Reason: 6. The domain of the political and overlapping consensus John Rawls; 6a. Moral pluralism and political consensus Joshua Cohen; 6b. The moral commitments of liberalism Jean Hampton; 7. Constituting democracy David Gauthier; 7a. On contractarian constitutional democracy Christopher W. Morris; Part IV. Democracy and Economics: 8. The possibility of market socialism John E. Roemer; 8a. Alternative conceptions of feasibility Michael S. McPherson; 9. A political and economic case for the democratic enterprise Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis; 9a. Contested power Karl Ove Moene; Part V. Democracy: Case Studies: 10. Capitalist development and democracy: empirical research on the social origins of democracy John D. Stephens; 10a. Comments on John D. Stephens 'Capitalist development and democracy' Pranab Bardhan.

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Book SynopsisA radical biography of the author of the classic anti-colonial text Black Skin, White Masks.Trade Review'An iconoclastic exegesis of Fanon's life and work. In what is sure to become a classic text, Hudis shows himself to be one of the most important thinkers of our generation' -- Peter McLaren, Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies at Chapman University'If you are new to Fanon or you are returning to his work, Peter Hudis' biography is a must read!' -- Lenore Daniels, PhD, theorist, writer, activist'A lively and provocative reading of Fanon's life and work that challenges many of the more recent interpretations of this major figure' -- Paget Henry, Professor of Sociology at Brown University'A wonderful introduction to the life and work of Frantz Fanon' -- Morning StarTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction: Fanon in Our Time 1. The Path to Political and Philosophical Commitment 2. Self and Other: The Dialectic of Black Skin, White Masks 3. The Engaged Psychiatrist: Blida and the Psychodynamics of Racism 4. The Engaged Philosopher: The FLN and the Algerian Revolution 5. The Strategist of Revolution: Africa at the Crossroads 6. Toward a New Humanity: The Wretched of the Earth Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn his major investigation into the nature of humans, Peter Sloterdijk presents a critique of myth - the myth of the return of religion.Trade Review"Breathtaking.... A superb and wide-ranging analysis of those moderns who have refused to be pampered or to dwell in capitalist decadence."—The Guardian "Make(s) it possible to begin to come to grips with Sloterdijk as a stirring and eclectic thinker, who addresses himself boldly to the most important problems of our age."—New Republic "A tour de force that engages the history of philosophy, religion, and thought, both Western and Eastern, in ways that make you think deeply about the evolution of the human being these past few thousand years."—Los Angeles Review of Books "Sloterdijk is both seriously learned and brilliantly creative, and he has a talent for wit. He deserves shelf-space alongside Nietzsche, Heidegger and Foucault."—New Humanist "Sloterdijk has constructed in this beautiful text a supreme heterotopology - a place from which to think and see differently."—Eduardo Mendieta, Stony Brook University "A challenging, powerful, and at times frustrating read. Sloterdijk ranges widely across literatures and topics, inspiring and provoking in equal measure. He is fortunate to have Wieland Hoban as his excellent translator. A very good antidote to the chicken-soup banalities of other life-changing philosophy."—Stuart Elden, Durham University "Challenging the pious and self-righteous alarm of those who have declared war on the return to religion, Sloterdijk – in his typically original irreverence – argues that we cannot see today’s religiosity as any sort of return. What is really at stake is the formation of the self through practices. Charting a path beyond liberal critiques of religion and post-secular pseudo-returns to spirit, Sloterdijk provides a genuinely twenty-first century approach to the problem of life-formation. This book opens up new ways of thinking about life after humanism without lapsing into the simple affirmations of the post-human."—Claire Colebrook, Penn State University "Peter Sloterdijk has assembled in this book the most amazing series of practices invented in history to hold humans souls suspended to a virtual hook slightly above their head. The result is a totally original analysis of religion by the most important philosopher or rather educator of today."—Bruno Latour, Ecole des mines, ParisTable of ContentsIntroduction: On the Anthropotechnic Turn 1 The Planet of the Practising 1 The Command from the Stone 19 Rilke’s Experience 2 Remote View of the Ascetic Planet 29 Nietzsche’s Antiquity Project 3 Only Cripples Will Survive 40 Unthan’s Lesson 4 Last Hunger Art 61 Kafka’s Artistes 5 Parisian Buddhism 73 Cioran’s Exercises Transition: Religions Do Not Exist 83 From Pierre de Coubertin to L. Ron Hubbard I The Conquest of the Improbable: For an Acrobatic Ethics Programme 109 1 Height Psychology 111 The doctrine of Upward Propagation and the Meaning of ‘Over’ 2 ‘Culture Is a Monastic Rule’ 131 Twilight of the Life Forms, Disciplines 3 Sleepless in Ephesus 160 On the Demons of Habit and Their Taming Through First Theory 4 Habitus and Inertia 175 On the Base Camps of the Practising Life 5 Cur Homo Artista 190 On the Ease of the Impossible II Exaggeration Procedures Backdrop: Retreats into Unusualness 211 6 First Eccentricity 217 On the Separation of the Practising and Their Soliloguies 7 The Complete and the Incomplete 243 How the Spirit of Perfection Entangles the Practising in Stories 8 Master Games 271 Trainers as Guarantors of the Art of Exaggeration 9 Change of Trainer and Revolution 298 On Conversations and Opportunistic Turns III The Exercises of the Modern Prospect: The Re-Secularization of the Withdrawn Subject 315 10 Art with Humans 331 In the Arsenals of Anthropotechnics 11 In the Auto-Operatively Curved Space 369 New Human Beings Between Anaesthesia and Biopolitics 12 Exercises and Misexercises 404 The Critique of Repetition Retrospective From the Re-Embedding of the Subject to the Relapse into Total Care Outlook: The Absolute Imperative 442 Notes 453 Index 487

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Foucault in Iran is a courageous and thought-provoking invitation to understand the Iranian revolution, and Foucault’s reaction to it, in an original way. A splendid work that goes beyond simple binaries, it has no sympathy for the clichéd vocabulary used by Progressivists to describe these events—or to criticize Foucault for his alleged romanticisation of the Iranian revolution."—Talal Asad, City University of New York "Foucault in Iran is absorbing and integral. Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi deftly situates his analysis within the currents of the protest movements that galvanized Iranians across wide ideological, economic, and class spectrums."—Nasrin Rahimieh, University of California, Irvine"Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi shows that the Iranian revolutionary movement was a socio-political source of creativity with historical significance. Foucault in Iran is a devastating critique of self-righteous Enlightenment rationality, and a must-read for anyone interested in Iranian political history, revolutionary action, and Foucault’s later writings."—Babak Rahimi, University of California, San Diego"Through a meticulous presentation of events, reading, and engagement with Foucault’s reportage, and the subsequent critiques of his writings on the topic, Foucault in Iran marvelously recaptures the unfolding unpredictability of the events and brings out vividly how this was a revolution without a known script, even to its participants."—Afsaneh Najmabadi, Harvard University"This book presents an intimate portrait of the events and conditions that led to the revolution, coupled with a fascinating account of Foucault’s engagement with that moment. Historically rich and theoretically nuanced, Foucault in Iran advances a scathing critique of previous works on this subject that charged Foucault with having endorsed Islamist violence by supporting the revolution. This book offers a more complicated reading of Foucault’s views on the revolution that disrupts binaries like secular/Islamist while also providing a riveting analysis on questions of time, history, and revolution."—New Books Network"Highly recommended, not only as a counter to Afary and Anderson (and many like-minded detractors of Foucault), but for all interested in Foucault’s work in general."—CHOICE"Foucault in Iran is not simply a good work or even a brave one, it is a thoroughly necessary exemplar of contemporary academia. Every book should be this good."—Hong Kong Review of Books"An exemplary book for our time."—SCTIW Reviews"An impressively meticulous reading of Michel Foucault’s writings on the events that preceded the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy in early 1979."—Contemporary Political Theory"It distinguishes itself foremost as a welcome provocation to Afary and Anderson’s labeling of Foucault as an unwitting, “bad leftist.”"—Milestones"A significant critical work in the fields of Foucault studies, comparative revolutions, and political philosophy, Foucault in Iran has already become and will surely remain a must-read in these fields."—Canadian Journal of HistoryTable of ContentsContents Preface Introduction: Foucault’s Indictment 1. Thinking the Unthinkable: The Revolutionary Movement in Iran 2. How Did Foucault Make Sense of the Iranian Revolution? 3. Misrepresenting the Revolution, Misreading Foucault 4. The Reign of Terror, Women’s Issues, and Feminist Politics 5. Was ist Aufklärung? The Iranian Revolution as a Moment of Enlightenment Conclusion: Writing the History of the Present Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn the era of far-reaching technological innovation, from artificial intelligence to Big Data, it is possible that there will be conscious machines in our lifetime. This book establishes a foundation for the philosophy of technology and investigates how the digital age might alter our most basic political practices and ideas.Trade Review'Human beings are unprepared for the consequences of artificial intelligence and big data analysis - consequences for human rights, democratic government, public spheres, distributive justice, individual dignity, pursuit of meaningful human lives, and the moral status of potentially self-guided artificial intelligence itself. Drawing on a range of political theories and welcome common sense, Mathias Risse briskly frames the agenda to prepare for a world of 'deepfakes,' surveillance capitalism, and machines that alter human lives while operating without human supervision. Especially helpful in challenging assumptions such as that those who gather our data also own it, this book points the way toward preserving both individual and social lives of meaning and deliberate choices.' Martha Minow, Harvard Law School'In this outstanding book, Harvard's Mathias Risse explores hitherto uncharted terrain of political theory. The liberal-egalitarian tradition, with Rawls as its central figure, has by and large ignored the political nature of technology, thus condemning itself to irrelevance with regard to one of the most pressing political questions of our time: How will digital technology affect human life in the decades to come? [Without appropriate political steps, it is imaginable that humanity will not survive the further development of artificial intelligence. So we, ordinary citizens of the world, had better pay close attention.] Starting from the Rawlsian idea of public reason, Risse's explorative study draws on intellectual traditions ranging from Marxism to science and technology studies in order to toughen up liberal-egalitarian philosophy for the challenge. I hope this well-written book will find a broad readership and inspire much- needed work on this topic of topics.' Michael Schefczyk, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology'Risse could not be more right that we need to do political theory for a digital age, to come to grips with the political dimensions of our social lives as the very notion of social life is transformed by advances in AI in both the near and far terms. Weaving together insights from the philosophy of technology, rights theory, science and technology studies, and traditional political theory and political philosophy, Risse reveals both the depth of challenges we face across a spectrum of issues in the immediate and distant future, and the promise of a reconfigured political theory for resolving them. The breadth and care that Risse takes with both the technological possibilities and the philosophical and political foundations is remarkable. This is a must-read!' John Basl, Northeastern UniversityTable of Contents1. Introduction: digital lifeworlds in human history; 2. Learning from the Amish: political philosophy as philosophy of technology in the digital century; 3. Artificial intelligence and the past, present, and future of democracy; 4. Truth will not set you free: is there a right to it anyway? Elaborating on the work public reason does in life 2.0; 5. Knowing and being known: investigating epistemic entitlements in digital lifeworlds; 6. Beyond porn and discreditation: epistemic promises and perils of deepfake technology; 7. The fourth generation of human rights: epistemic rights in life 2.0 and life 3.0; 8. On surveillance capitalism, instrumentarian power, and social physics: securing the enlightenment for digital lifeworlds; 9. Data as social facts: distributive justice meets big data; 10. God, Golem, and gadget worshippers: meaning of life in the digital age; 11. Moral status and political membership: toward a political theory for life 3.0; Epilogue.

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Book SynopsisThis Element describes the fundamental principle of modernity that is the functional differentiation of society, how, under conditions of globalisation, market thinking came to hoist itself to the position of privileged site of societal rationality, what sustains law's own 'reflexive intelligence' under conditions of globalization.Table of Contents1. The differentiation of the legal system; 2. Asymmetric developments: the spectre of de-differentiation; 3. The autonomy of law and the challenge of globalisation; 4. Conclusion; References.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the complex web of Strategic Digital Information Operations (SDIOs) - defined as deliberate efforts by state and non-state actors to manipulate public opinion and emotions using digital technologies - intersect with political ambitions to create a complex environment ripe for manipulation.Drawing from extensive research and case studies, the book examines how actors ranging from authoritarian regimes to extremist groups such as ISIS, and even political entities in democratic countries, leverage digital platforms to further their agendas. As such, it provides a comprehensive overview of SDIOs, their evolving tactics, and implications for democracy, governance, and international relations. It examines the diverse tactics employed by these actors, from spreading half-truths and distractions to leveraging historical and religious narratives in the form of conspiracy theories or non-conspiracy narratives, aiming to control the discourse and shape the online environment to their advantage. This research challenges the conventional focus on disinformation, highlighting the shift towards more sophisticated and less discernible means of digital manipulation globally, and argues that SDIOs have become a pivotal tool for influencing public opinion, shaping political narratives, and even undermining democratic processes.This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners in communications/media studies, political sociology, comparative politics, security studies, political science and international politics.

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Book SynopsisSelected as one of The Tablet's Books of the Year 2021Throughout history, different civilisations have given rise to many alternative worlds. Each of them was the enactment of a unique story about the structure of reality, the rhythm of time and the range of what it is possible to think and to do in the course of a life. Cosmological stories, however, are fragile things. As soon as they lose their ring of truth and their significance for living, the worlds that they brought into existence disintegrate. New and alien worlds emerge from their ruins.Federico Campagna explores the twilight of our contemporary notion of reality, and the fading of the cosmological story that belonged to the civilisation of Westernised Modernity. How are we to face the challenge of leaving a fertile cultural legacy to those who will come after the end of our future? How can we help the creation of new worlds out of the ruins of our own?Trade ReviewIt sets a new tone - but this tone is immediately recognizable as belonging to our time. * Boris Groys, Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies, New York University, USA *A brilliant meditation on the planetary debacle of Westernized Modernity and a radical evocation of the spiritual and imaginative realities that may just possibly lie beyond the ruins of our future. A lucid and urgent work. * Jonathan Crary, Meyer Schapiro Professor of Modern Art and Theory, Columbia University, USA *It’s not enough to realize that the world is ending; we need to learn how to dream up new ones. Federico Campagna’s Prophetic Culture— a worthy successor to his Technic and Magic— offers an eloquent, evocative and visionary map for drafting the cosmos to come. * John Tresch, Mellon Professor in History of Art, Science, and Folk Practice, The Warburg Institute, UK *A world does not simply exist from a human point of view. It needs to be maintained and even entertained by means of song and story. But how to perform this maintenance, or housekeeping if time and space break down, if the present becomes unpredictable, the past keeps changing, the future is past and the “house” as such becomes precarious, unstable and unavailable? Despite its wealth of historical references to prophetism and gnostic traditions Federico Campagna's book is in my view an intriguing experiment of how to turn something as mundane and pedestrian as housekeeping into a necessary tool of remaking the world, to turn housekeeping into world making so to speak. * Hito Steyerl, Filmmaker and writer *This is a visionary book, highly original in conception. It offers an eloquent series of meditations on the forms of cultural and political possibility embedded within Judaeo-Christian mysticism, and addresses the prevailing sense of cultural crisis with confidence. Like Giorgio Agamben, Federico Campagna is an eclectic thinker with an internally coherent and urgent message for our time. * Malcolm Bull, Professor of Art and the History of Ideas, Christ Church College, Oxford *Campagna has written the score for a piece that allows its own end. It dies within and in its death gives us life in form of a humble prayer. A prayer whose words we have forgotten long ago but whose rhythm we still sing to ourselves. * Nicolas Jaar, Composer *Something has ended. What comes next is still unclear. At a time when extrapolative futures designed for navigating more stable realities are proving inadequate, Prophetic Culture offers a possible angle of approach, through a new kind of worlding, for the hazy, futureless reality fast approaching from over the imaginative horizon. * Anthony Dunne, Professor of Design and Social Inquiry, The New School, USA *We are on the bridge between worlds: Federico Campagna shows us how we might remake the cartographies of the next. The ‘end of the world’, as seen through the prophetic attitude, becomes not apocalypse, but apocatastasis: a joyful restoration. Campagna offers the cosmic trip for our collective transformation, inadvertently becoming a prophet for our time. Prophetic Culture is the foundational book for the day after tomorrow. * Sarah Shin and Ben Vickers, Ignota Books *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Chapter 1: Time - Prologue: Jons the Squire - A Great Future Behind You - The Afterlife of Civilisations - Westernised Modernity Chapter 2: Otherworlds - Prologue: Anamorphosis - Aesthetics and Annihilation - A Chance to Lie - Archaic Adolescents - Tetrapharmakon Chapter 3: Prophetic Culture - Prologue: The Enigma - Stuttering - The Grotesque - The Prophet as a Position - Apocatastasis - A Memory of Having Forgotten - Prophecy as Therapy of Worlding Cosmography - 0 / 15 – Scheintür - 1 – The Island of Facts o 14 – Consciousness - 2 – Mundus Imaginalis - 3 – The World o 13 – Angel - 4 – The Point-Island of the Ineffable - 5 – The Dream o 12 – God - 6 – The Sleeping Gods - 7 – Being o 11 – Grammar - 8 – Non-Being o 10 – Death - 9 – Non-relationality Afterword: Sensuous Prophecy, by Franco Berardi ‘Bifo’ Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewExcavating and connecting layers of the ideological influences on Angela Davis's familial, educational, activist and academic experiences, Joy James provides an incisive transdisciplinary analysis of paths taken by the world-renowned human rights advocate, feminist and abolitionist. Adroitly avoiding hagiography while embracing inevitable contradictions, James offers nuanced context with which to reflect not only on an iconic progressive figure of our times, but indeed the imperative of critical praxis that planetary antiblackness permanently engenders. * João Costa Vargas, Professor in the Departments of Black Study and Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, USA *Joy James the activist, as well as Joy James the intellectual, is an indispensable thinker; one of five people who I trust to contextualize the 1960s/70s. This book is a compassionate biography of Angela Davis which does not slide into hagiography, written by the Ida B. Wells of our time. * Frank B. Wilderson III, Chancellor’s Professor of African American Studies, University of California, Irvine,USA *Joy James offers a crisply written intellectual and political biography of Angela Y. Davis, one of the world’s most iconic radical feminist leaders. Drawing on a range of materialist and transdisciplinary approaches, James’s argument is impeccably evidenced and thoughtful in its methods. James humanizes Davis through detailed attention to the trajectory of her life and work. This is a riveting work. * Falguni A. Sheth, Professor and Chair of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Emory University, USA *Table of ContentsSeries Editor Preface Preface: Cold War as Context Acknowledgments Introduction I. Socialization and Education 1. “Sweet Home Alabama” 2. Sallye Davis’s Red Diaper Babies 3. Student Assimilationists and Rebels 4. From “Bombingham” to the Big Apple 5. Traumatic Awakenings in Devastated Children II. University 6. Undergrad 7. Marcuse’s “Most Famous Student” 8. 1967 Entry Points 9. Philosophy Professor and Communist Target III. Political Activism 10. Not Your Mother’s CPUSA: The Che-Lumumba Club 11. Doppelganger Panther Women: Roberta Alexander, Fania Davis Jordan, Angela Davis 12. Queering Radicalism: On Tour with Oakland Panthers and Jean Genet 13. Crucibles Conclusion: Context and Democracy Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWhat if you didn''t have to read the 50 most important books on Politics to know the most important ideas?This is the thinking person''s guide to the big political texts from across the centuries, from the original pioneers to the contemporary. With insightful commentary for each of the 50 books, key quotes and biographical information on the authors and a guide to further reading, 50 Politics Classics gives a unique overview of the political writings that shaped history and are still shaping minds today. From Abraham Lincoln to Nelson Mandela, and from Aristotle to George Orwell, 50 Politics Classics distils the essence of the books, pamphlets, and speeches of the major leaders and great thinkers that drive real-world change. Spanning 2,500 years, left and right, thinkers and doers, Tom Butler-Bowdon covers activists, war strategists, visionary leaders, economists, philosophers of freedom, feminists, conservatives and environmentalists, right up to conTrade ReviewPraise for the 50 Classics series:A tremendous...book... Because the range and depth of the sources are so huge, the cumulative reading effect is amazing. Alternatively, it educates and edifies, affirms and inspires. Often both. * Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People *A terrific compendium of the best ... from famous classics to off-beat unknowns, distilled to the point of joyous clarity. * Richard Koch, author of The 80/20 Principle *

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Book SynopsisHow does Martin Luther King, Jr., understand race philosophically and how did this understanding lead him to develop an ontological conception of racist police violence? In this important new work, Mark Christian Thompson attempts to answer these questions, examining ontology in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s philosophy. Specifically, the book reads King through 1920s German academic debates between Martin Heidegger, Rudolf Bultmann, Hans Jonas, Carl Schmitt, Eric Voegelin, Hannah Arendt, and others on Being, gnosticism, existentialism, political theology, and sovereignty. It further examines King's dissertation about Tillich, as well other key texts from his speculative writings, sermons, and speeches, positing King's understanding of divine love as a form of Heideggerian ontology articulated in beloved community. Tracking the presence of twentieth-century German philosophy and theology in his thought, the book situates King's ontology conceptually and socially in nonviolent protest. In so doing, The Critique of Nonviolence reads King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (1963) with Walter Benjamin's "Critique of Violence" (1921) to reveal the depth of King's political-theological critique of police violence as the illegitimate appropriation of the racialized state of exception. As Thompson argues, it is in part through its appropriation of German philosophy and theology that King's ontology condemns the perpetual American state of racial exception that permits unlimited police violence against Black lives.Trade Review"Reading King with Heidegger and Benjamin, Thompson's study is a welcome and intellectually engaging contribution to the recent renaissance of scholarship devoted to King's philosophical thought."—Robert J Gooding-Williams, Columbia University"A tour de force! Essential for students of King, Black Power, and twentieth-century Africana and European philosophy. Thompson's King is an important counterweight to the simple, sanitized saint that haunts mainstream politics."—Paul C. Taylor, Vanderbilt University"Thompson invites us to rethink King's nonviolent strategy as a conceptually rigorous moral, philosophical, and racial commitment. Critical for scholars and students interested in King, peace studies, Black studies, history, religious studies, and philosophy."—James Haile III, University of Rhode IslandTable of ContentsIntroduction: Ontology and Nonviolence 1. Being and Nonviolence 2. Nonbeing and Nonviolence 3. Black Power as Nonviolence 4. Gnosticism and Nonviolence 5. Divine Nonviolence Conclusion: Eros as Nonviolence

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Book SynopsisUndertaken at the interface of critical theory and world literature, Moments of Capital sets out to grasp the unity and heterogeneity of global capital in the postcolonial present. Eli Jelly-Schapiro argues that global capital is composed of three synchronous moments: primitive accumulation, expanded reproduction, and the "synthetic dispossession" facilitated by financialization and privatization. These moments correspond to distinct economic and political forms, and distinct strands of theory and fiction. Moments of Capital integrates various intellectual traditions—from multiple trajectories of Marxist thought, to Weberian inquiries into the "spirit" of capitalism, to anticolonial accounts of racial depredation—to reveal the concurrent interrelation of the three moments of capital. The book's literary readings, meanwhile, make vivid the uneven texture and experience of capitalist modernity at large. Analyzing formally and thematically diverse novels—works by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Marlon James, Jennifer Egan, Eugene Lim, Rafael Chirbes, Neel Mukherjee, Rachel Kushner, and others—Jelly-Schapiro evinces the different patterns of feeling and consciousness that register, and hypothesize a way beyond, the contradictions of capital. This book develops a new conceptual key for the mapping of contemporary theory, world literature, and global capital itself. Trade Review"This book offers an exceptionally lucid synthesis of Marxist theory and postcolonial theory. Its informative, careful presentation should be transformative for critics of the contemporary—and make an effective primer for the Marx-curious and world-systems-wary. Wonderfully intelligent."—Anna Kornbluh, University of Illinois Chicago"Jelly-Schapiro's thoughtful, rigorous scholarship gives us new ways of thinking about (seemingly) vastly different texts in relation to the global life of capitalism. A formidable achievement."—Upamanyu Pablo Mukherjee, Oxford UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction: Moments of Capital 1. Primitive Accumulation 2. Expanded Reproduction 3. Synthetic Dispossession 4. Interrelations Conclusion: World Theory, World Literature

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Book SynopsisSome embrace the idea of white privilege as an important concept that helps us to make sense of the connection between race and social and political disadvantages, while others are critical or even hostile. Regardless of personal views, it can be difficult to agree on what 'white privilege' even means. Philosopher Shannon Sullivan cuts through the confusion and cross-talk to challenge what ‘everybody knows’ about white privilege. Using real-life examples, she offers a candid assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the term, to present a better understanding of how race functions in our societies. She argues that white privilege is about more than race, that not only white people can have white privilege, and that feeling guilty about privilege can have a negative effect on the very people you feel guilty towards. In the end, she offers practical solutions for eliminating white privilege and building a fairer society. Sullivan's forcefully argued book will inspire you to think again about white privilege and what it entails.Trade Review"Writing with verve and style, Shannon Sullivan confronts the complexity of everyday experiences and enactments of white privilege and what this entails not only for Black people and people of color, but for white people themselves."George Yancy, author of Backlash: What Happens When We Talk Honestly about Racism in America “White privilege is a concept more tossed around than seriously explored. In this valuable and concise text, Shannon Sullivan provides a detailed and illuminating analysis that everyone needs to read.”Charles Mills, City University of New York

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Book SynopsisA vivid first-person study of a notorious equine ritual—from the perspective of the wild horses who are its targets Wild horses still roam the mountains of Galicia, Spain. But each year, in a ritual dating to the 1500s called rapa das bestas, villagers herd these “beasts” together and shave their manes and tails. Shaving the Beasts is a firsthand account of how the horses experience this traumatic rite, producing a profound revelation about the durability of sociality in the face of violent domination. John Hartigan Jr. constructs an engrossing, day-by-day narrative chronicling the complex, nuanced social lives of wild horses and the impact of their traumatic ritual shearing every summer. His story generates intimate, individual portraits of these creatures while analyzing the social practices—like grazing and grooming—that are the building blocks of equine society. Shaving the Beasts culminates in a searing portrayal of the inspiring resilience these creatures display as they endure and recover from rapa das bestas. Turning away from “thick” description to “thin,” Hartigan moves toward a more observational form of study, focusing on behaviors over interpretations. This vivid approach provides new and important contributions to the study of animal behavior. Ultimately, he comes away with profound, penetrating insights into multispecies interactions and a strong alternative to humancentric ethnographic practices.Trade Review"Deftly pushing against three-quarters of a century of ethnographic tradition, John Hartigan Jr. creates an earnest multispecies anthropology rich with methodological and theoretical promise. He decenters the human, entangles ethological and ethnographic method and first-person narrative, and invites us to imagine a truly multispecies social theory. The horses remain the focus amid the enticing and challenging assertions about how we could (should) be ‘doing’ anthropology with other-than-humans in the Anthropocene."—Agustín Fuentes, Princeton University "In this sympathetic account of Galician wild horses and cultural rituals, John Hartigan Jr. offers an important multispecies intervention into how we conceptualize sociality and subjectivity. His clear and lively prose captures the nuance of horse interactions and relationships, making this book a pleasure to read and teach."—Laura A. Ogden, author of Swamplife: People, Gators, and Mangroves Entangled in the Everglades "Shavings the Beasts makes its fascinating and creative subject matter highly approachable and teachable. Hartigan renders rich philosophical and theoretical considerations in a clear and compelling voice that can support diverse readers to engaging these ideas."—General Anthropology

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Book SynopsisJoe Strummer was one of the twentieth century’s iconic rock’n’roll rebels. As frontperson, spokesperson and chief lyricist for The Clash, he played a major role in politicising a generation through some of the most powerful protest songs of the era, songs like ‘White Riot’, ‘English Civil War’ and ‘London Calling’. At the heart of this protest was the struggle for social justice and equality.The punk rock politics of Joe Strummer examines Strummer’s beliefs on a range of issues – including socialism, alienation, exploitation, multiculturalism and humanism - analysing their credibility, influence and impact, and asking where they came from and how they developed over time. Drawing on Strummer’s lyrics, various interviews and bootleg recordings, as well as interviews with those he inspired, The punk rock politics of Joe Strummer takes the reader on a journey through the political influences and motivations that defined one of the UK’s greatest punk icons.Trade Review'Ever wondered why UK punk rock was political and US punk rock wasn't? Two words: Joe Strummer. Gregor Gall takes a deep dive into the convictions and contradictions of the legendary Clash front man who tried to walk it like he talked it.'Billy Bragg, musician, writer and campaigner'With this book, Gregor Gall has written what must be the last word on Joe Strummer, the icon of rock politics. Examined from multiple perspectives, and drawing on the words of Strummer himself and of the many who followed and commented on him, The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer is a fine and fitting testimony to the complexity and contradictions of the man’s life, his music and his politics.'Professor John Street, University of East Anglia and author of Music and Politics'An absolute ”must read” for all those who believe ”it’s more important than just music".'Richard Chorley, Louder Than War 'Bringing together an impressive amount of research, Gall examines in meticulous detail many aspects of the political psyche and personality of the Clash frontman, charting his political development from his Clash heydays and then beyond. The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer is not just for hardcore Strummer fans (although, if you are, then this book is a must), but anyone interested in the political impact of music will find The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer insightful and comprehensive.'Molly Tie, Punktuation magazine 'This unique examination of Joe Strummer’s political outlook is exactly the kind of material that’s been missing from books on The Clash and its frontman.'Simon Whittle, Scottish Socialist Voice'A sober analysis of Strummer’s shifting political outlook and the influence he’s exercised on fans’ views and activism.'George Binette, Camden New Journal 'The punk rock politics of Joe Strummer proves to be an indispensable text for the student as well as the general reader interested in the politics of one of the great rock ‘n’ roll songwriters of the 20th century.'Richard Parfitt, Red Pepper 'A forensic examination of Strummer’s political trajectory.'Pat Carmody, Socialist Worker'When the subject is Joe Strummer you hope the music and message will shine through, and this book is a welcome and novel addition to the many words on the enigmatic and inspiring Clash frontman that was taken too soon.' Mik Sabiers, The Morning Star 'It’s a thoughtful, and highly readable, account – and not a hagiography – of the man, the band, and the politics of this country which sheds light on where we were and where we are today.'Keith Richmond, ASLEF Journal'Readers seeking another Strummer hagiography will be disappointed; those seeking an insightful, thought-provoking and inspiring analysis of popular music’s intersections with politics, and a critical dissection of the musician’s role in promoting political ideals, will be delighted.'James Peacock, Capital & Class -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 Studying Strummer: issues and approach 2 Perceptions of Strummer’s politics3 Strummer’s politics and philosophical perspectives4 Rebel rock and its ramifications5 Rocking against the rich6 Advocate not activist7 Straying from socialism8 Strummer’s influence: secondary sources 9 Follower testimony ConclusionIndex

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Book SynopsisA landmark work of political and legal philosophy, Ronald Dworkin's Taking Rights Seriously was acclaimed as a major work on its first publication in 1977 and remains profoundly influential in the 21st century. A forceful statement of liberal principles - championing the legal, moral and political rights of the individual against the state - Dworkin demolishes prevailing utilitarian and legal-positivist approaches to jurisprudence. Developing his own theory of adjudication, he applies this to controversial public issues, from civil disobedience to positive discrimination. Elegantly written and cuttingly insightful, Taking Rights Seriously is one of the most important works of public thought of the last fifty years.Table of ContentsIntroduction \ 1. Jurisprudence \ 2. The Model of Rules I \ 3. The Model of Rules II \ 4. Hard Cases \ 5. Constitutional Cases \ 6. Justice and Rights \ 7. Taking Rights Seriously \ 8. Civil Disobedience \ 9. Reverse Discrimination \ 10. Liberty and Moralism \ 11. Liberty and Liberalism \ 12. What Rights Do We Have? \ 13. Can Rights Be Controversial? \ Appendix: A Reply to Critics \ Index.

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Book SynopsisMarx's Capital is one of the most important texts of the modern era. The three volumes, published between 1867 and 1883, changed the destiny of countries, politics and people across the world - and continue to resonate today. In this book, David Harvey lays out their key arguments. In clear and concise language, Harvey describes the architecture of capital according to Marx, placing his observations in the context of capitalism in the second half of the nineteenth century. He considers the degree to which technological, economic and industrial change during the last 150 years means Marx's analysis and its application may need to be modified. Marx's trilogy concerns the circulation of capital: volume I, how labour increases the value of capital, which he called valorisation; volume II, on the realisation of this value, by selling it and turning it into money or credit; volume III, on what happens to the value next in processes of distribution. The three volumes contain the core of Marx's thinking on the workings and history of capital and capitalism. David Harvey explains and illustrates the profound insights and enormous analytical power they continue to offer in terms that, without compromising their depth and complexity, will appeal to a wide range of readers, including those coming to the work for the first time.Trade ReviewHarvey is a scholarly radical; his writing is free of journalistic clichés, full of facts and carefully thought-through ideas. -- Richard Sennett, Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of EconomicsA consistent and intelligent voice on the left * Financial Times *David Harvey provoked a revolution in his field and has inspired a generation of radical intellectuals. -- Naomi KleinOne of the most perceptive and intelligent thinkers the progressive movement has. -- Owen Jones, author of * The Establishment *

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Book SynopsisThis book describes the reception of the Nietzschean Death of God within the Italian philosophical debate, an ambit traditionally concerned with emphasising the practical-political meaning of philosophical thinking. Nietzsche's abyssal announcement of the Death of God - "mein Wort für Ideale" - highlights the necessity to rethink the connection between theory and praxis. This is particularly evident in the works of Italian thinkers such as Vattimo, Cacciari, Colli, Masini e Severino, who in large part have read Nietzsche's philosophy through the philosophical filter of Marxian culture, trying to show the emancipatory charge present in Nietzsche's work and the necessity to rethink the boundaries of the political, over the limits of political theology. Emilio Carlo Corriero demonstrates how the reception of Nietzsche's pronouncement, with its theoretical consequences, reveals the specific character of Italian philosophy, its eclectic attitude and its attention to the practical-political meaning of philosophical thought, but also its constant reflection on the concept of history and the origin of Being.Trade ReviewFar from being a pure and simple annotated bibliography of Italian studies of Nietzsche in recent decades, the work of Corriero has the breadth of a true and complete panorama of a large part of recent Italian philosophy, and can contribute significantly to the theoretical debate on issues and possibilities that are still open for discussion. -- Gianni Vattimo, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of TurinTable of ContentsPreface, Gianni Vattimo / Introduction: Thinking the Origin / 1. Nietzsche's Actuality or Untimeliness? / 2. Italian Philosophy from Idealism to the 'Crisis of Reason' / 3. The Death of God in the Italian Philosophical Debate / 4. Style and Grounding / 5. The Will to Power / 6. Nietzsche's Impolitical / 7. Destiny of Nihilism / 8. Conclusion / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisThe Republic is one of the earliest political treatises ever written and Plato''s most remarkable work. Through a fictional dialogue with Socrates, Plato examines the nature of justice, the character of the city-state, and what it means to be a just man. Plato argued that power corrupts and the only way to protect against this was through the rule of philosopher kings. In The Republic he also grapples with the questions of our senses and reality through the famous ''Allegory of the Cave''.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classics series brings together high-quality paperback editions of classics works, presented with contemporary graphic cover designs. Together they make a wonderful collection which is perfect for any home library.

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Book SynopsisWhat is knowledge? What makes me, me? Do we have free will? People have been asking such fundamental questions about the nature of reality for centuries, but how can they help us make sense of our existence in a 21st-century world of social media, cyber wars, cloning, artificial intelligence and virtual reality?Short Cuts: Philosophy provides the map you need to travel beyond traditional foundations and explore a diverse array of deep thinkers. Soul-searching questions prompt 'short cut' answers written by experts in their field, with each one the setting-off point for instructions that plot a path through the philosophical landscape.With 'one-stop' graphics visualizing a memorable theory or idea for each concept, and 'route map' glossaries explaining key words and their connections, Short Cuts: Philosophy will help you wrestle with the meaning of ancient and modern philosophical thought.

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Book SynopsisWhat should we do with the ideals of internationalism, the withering away of state and horizontality? Probably start by thinking seriously about them. That is to say, about their conditions of possibility (or impossibility), rather than sticking to the wishful thinking which believes that for them to happen it is enough to want them. Humanity exists neither as a dust cloud of separate individuals nor as a unified world political community. It exists fragmented into distinct finite wholes, the forms of which have varied considerably throughout history - the nation-state being only one among many, and certainly not the last. What are the forces that produce this fragmentation, engender such groupings and prevent them from being perfectly horizontal, but also lead them to disappear, merge, or change form? It is questions such as these that this book explores, drawing on Spinoza's political philosophy and especially his two central concepts of multitudo and imperium.Trade ReviewPraise for Willing Slaves of Capital:This ambitious but always lucid book aims to reopen the conceptual framework of capitalism. * Le Monde *Praise for Willing Slaves of Capital:This work is an initiatory voyage towards communism. * L'Humanité *Praise for Willing Slaves of Capital:Frédéric Lordon is one of the most audacious contemporary left-wing economists. * Le Nouvel Observateur *Praise for Willing Slaves of Capital:At a time when all workers are required to show 'passion' for their jobs, Willing Slaves of Capital is a crucial re-affirmation of the importance of Spinoza's philosophy for understanding contemporary forms of servitude. Lordon persuasively and elegantly shows that the only way to break free is to hold onto a cold and exceptionless determinism: hope is pointless, regret is meaningless, yet change can still be made to happen. -- Mark Fisher, author of Capitalist RealismPraise for Willing Slaves of Capital:Lordon effectively and brilliantly demonstrates that Spinoza is less a precursor to Marx than a necessary complement. Only Spinoza's examination of the production of desire can answer the question that is at the core of Marxism: Why do workers work for capital rather than their own liberation? -- Jason Read, University of Southern Maine

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Book SynopsisWe are seeing the rise of a populist moment around the world on both the left and the right. Movements like Bernie Sander, Jeremy Corbyn, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have emerged in the midst of the neoliberal crisis. In this book, leading political thinker Chantal Mouffe proposes a left-populist strategy that could bring together the manifold struggles against subordination, oppression and discrimination. In redrawing political frontiers, this "populist moment" points to a "return of the political" after years of postpolitics. This return may open the way for authoritarian solutions-through regimes that weaken liberal-democratic institutions-but it could also lead to a reaffirmation and extension of democratic values.Trade ReviewInfluencing left parties as they enter government, from Greece to Portugal to Mexico. It is a beach-sized introduction to a major left thinker of the twenty-first century. -- Paul Mason * Guardian *Refreshingly bereft of the sputtering outrage and bafflement that characterizes the growing genre of liberal self-help books, Mouffe channels populism's agonistic clarity. * n+1 *An admirable attempt to get us thinking again about what a worthwhile politics might look like, one based on notions of equality, ecology, sovereignty, solidarity and social justice. * New Statesman *Argues in favor of leftist populism as a means to combat both elitist, neoliberal technocracy and reactionary, xenophobic versions of populism. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisThis concise and accessible introduction brings the writings of Marx and Engels and later thinkers in the Marxist tradition including Althusser, Gramsci, the Frankfurt School as well as Liberation Theologians such as Gutierrez and Maduro, into focus in relation to questions of religion, social change and social justice. Marx was a nineteenth century thinker trying to develop a theory that could explain the dramatic social and technological changes that he lived through. Later thinkers modified and developed key elements of Marx' theoretical model, with religion - particularly Christianity - providing a vital point of critical self-reflection for thinkers in the Marxist tradition. This book tracks these modifications and developments to Marx' ideas, and their continuing relevance to contemporary debates about religion, social change and social justice.Table of ContentsPreface Chapter One: Introducing Marx Chapter Two: Marx: Religion, Ideology, Power and Change Chapter Three: Engels: The First Marxist Historian and Anthropologist of Religion Chapter Four: Ideology, Hegemony and Religion: Althusser, Gramsci and the Embrace of Uncertainty Chapter Five: The Frankfurt School: Horkheimer, Habermas and Religion Chapter Six: Marxism and Liberation Theology Chapter Seven: Conclusions Glossary

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Book SynopsisLenin's booklet The State and Revolution struck the world of Marxist theory like a lightning bolt. Written in the months running up to the October Revolution of 1917, Lenin turned the traditional socialist concept of the state on its head, arguing for the need to smash the organs of the bourgeois state to create a 'semi-state' of soviets, or workers' councils, in which ordinary people would take on the functions of the state machine in a new and radically democratic manner. This new edition includes a substantial introduction by renowned theorist Antonio Negri, who argues for the continued relevance of these ideas.Table of ContentsIntroduction by Antonio NegriPreface to First EditionPreface to Second Edition1: Class Society and the State The State: A Product of the Irreconcilability of Class AntagonismsSpecial Bodies of Armed Men, Prisons, etc.The State: An Instrument for the Exploitationof the Oppressed ClassThe 'Withering Away' of the State,and Violent Revolution2: The Experience of 1848-51The Eve of RevolutionThe Revolution Summed UpThe Presentation of the Question by Marx in 18523: Experience of the Paris Commune of 1871. Marx's AnalysisWhat Made the Communards' Attempt Heroic?What Is To Replace the Smashed State Machine?Abolition of ParliamentarismOrganization of National UnityAbolition of the Parasite State4: Supplementary Explanations by EngelsThe Housing QuestionControversy with the AnarchistsLetter to BebelCriticism of the Draft of the Erfurt ProgrammeThe 1891 Preface to Marx's The Civil War in FranceEngels on the Overcoming of Democracy5: The Economic Basis of the Withering Away of the StatePresentation of the Question by MarxThe Transition from Capitalism to CommunismThe First Phase of Communist SocietyThe Higher Phase of Communist Society6: The Vulgarization of Marxism by OpportunistsPlekhanov's Controversy with the AnarchistsKautsky's Controversy with the OpportunistsKautsky's Controversy with PannekoekPostscript

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Book SynopsisAN ACUTE, OVERARCHING ANALYSIS OF ALLAN SEKULA’S PHOTOGRAPHY, FILM AND PROSE, ILLUMINATING HIS CRITIQUE OF NEOLIBERAL CAPITALISMThe photographer, filmmaker and theorist Allan Sekula (1951–2013) was one of the most significant media intellectuals of the last fifty years, renowned for a sequence of compelling anti-capitalist artworks. This penetrating study pursues surprising paths through his practice, delineating the depicted top­ics as well as his dialectics of form. Posing new questions about the rela­tions between aesthetics and politics, Gail Day and Steve Edwards consider Sekula’s examination of image modes alongside his radical investigations of terraqueous capitalism.

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Book SynopsisWhere China's leadership and the sages of antiquity see eye-to-eye Since taking office, General Secretary Xi Jinping has promoted the 'Chinese Dream of National Rejuvenation' - a concept which neatly binds together past vitality and future prosperity. Accordingly, Xi has incorporated allusions to the classics as part of his signature style, prescribing the ideas of Confucius, Mencius, and others as cures for the vexations of modernity. From both a domestic and an international perspective this is a strikingly novel approach, well worthy of closer examination. Xi Jinping's Adages pairs 35 classical references from Xi Jinping's key speeches with expert analysis, affording the reader a fascinating perspective on the thinking of a leader who believes China's ancient past can - and should - shape its future.

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Book SynopsisThe Poverty of Ethics stands the usual moral-political dichotomy on its head. It argues that moral principles do not in fact underlie or inform political decisions. It is, rather, the conceptual primacy of political discourse that rescues ethics from its poverty. Our ethical convictions receive their substance from historical narratives, political analyses, empirical facts, literary-educational models, political activity and personal experience. Yet morality, essentially, doesn't leave room for relativity: not every ethos deserves to be titles 'moral'. Hence the book argues further, it is the left ethos, as it has evolved over years, which forms the basis for ethics: morality is left-wing! Clarifying and justifying this seemingly odd statement is the main purpose of this essay.Appealing to philosophical ideas on the essence of language, on meaning, on understanding and persuasion, this book scrutinizes the system of concepts and attitudes informing our common view of the relationship between the moral and the political. It argues that the traditional conception of morality is far too narrow to form a basis for political thought and political action. Its carefully unfolded argument concludes that none of the current philosophical accounts of morality can be translated into terms of political will, much less into direct political action. Being too general and elastic, neither abstract moral principles, ethical-aesthetic sensibilities, nor the ethical demand emanating from an Other, can fulfill these tasks. Instead, the false primacy of the ethical over the political and the infinite flexibility of vacuous moral discourse are often mobilized to launder wrongs and delegitimize radical left politics. Gratification of the moral high ground becomes an implement of de-politicization, and thus a powerful political instrument in the hands of those seeking to shore up the existing order.Trade ReviewThe Poverty of Ethics, Anat Matar's book, is a rich essay, full with insights, which manages to bridge the divide between a serious philosophical discussion and actions and values belonging to the political reality. The solidarity which Matar is interested in promoting ensues from the ability to detect historical-economical structures of injustice and to recognize their oppressed victims. Matar aims at establishing a kind of solidarity, whose model she finds in Karl Marx. But she also describes in detail the limitations of the explanatory power of the Marxist model. Matar has no presumption to prophesize that such a solidarity would indeed be established. Her optimism is the optimism of the political activist rather than the investigating philosopher. -- Dr. Rami Godovitz * Haaretz *It is not easy to explain how a philosophy book can be so relevant and biting, while it's based on close readings in philosophical texts. The Poverty of Ethics is a brave book, because it reminds us not only how important philosophy is for everyday political discussion, but also for the self-criticism of academia and its ties to the governing powers. In an exceptional manner, the book forges links between wide streams of thought and local action - and lack of action. Matar chooses to do this through a serious, non-compromising examination of the ideas and of the philosophers identified with them in the last hundred years. Unlike reference-loaded discussions in professional journals, she discusses these philosophers and their ideas in a direct and impartial manner; the intrigued reader will find here a fresh - almost respect-less - examination of "big names". If this sounds hard to digest, the book presents alongside its criticism a clear optimistic vision and a huge love - for philosophical thinking (especially that of Wittgenstein and Derrida); for Left thinking, to which the book is explicitly committed; and to the people who create, alongside Anat Matar, possibilities of solidarity. The Poverty of Ethics is not merely an intellectually brilliant book, but a political and humane spotlight, which warns us against the penetration of fascism to everyday life, including everyday academic life. This is an exciting and magnanimous book, and I hope that the future generation of researchers and thinkers will be directed by its light. -- Prof. Nitzan Lebovic, Chair of Holocaust Studies and Ethical Values, Lehigh University * Hazman Hazeh *In today's confusion, when the lowest form of political opportunism is regularly masked as the appeal to highest ethical principles, Anat Matar's book sets the record straight. It doesn't argue for the subordination of ethics to political pragmatism, quite the opposite. It demonstrates how authentic ethics are always grounded in a basic political decision. It is rare that one sees such a combination of progressive political engagement and deepest philosophical reflection as in The Poverty of Ethics. Matar's book is a guide for all those who are trying to survive with dignity in a topsy-turvy world that is our own. -- Slavoj ZizekAn unusually and attractively bold and passionate work that crosses the idioms of Analytical and European Philosophy, challenges the orthodoxies and complacencies of each tradition, while animating the subject of Ethics from within the urgencies of contemporary political debate and action -- Akeel Bilgrami, Sidney Morgenbesser Professor of Philosophy, Columbia UniversityA bracing and illuminating challenge to moral philosophy in its many guises. Matar offers philosophers a stark choice: to understand morality through the history and practice of radical left struggle, or to serve as an apologist for the dominant order. -- Amia SrinivasanPhilosophy can and should be a crucial component in the toolbox enabling our political struggles, Anat Matar argues compellingly in this elegant, erudite text. Indeed, bringing all her philosophical rigour to the question of the 'poverty of ethics', no-one is better placed than Matar to teach us the relevance of committed philosophical reflection to resisting injustice and oppression, situated as she is in the heart of Israel, and a supporter of Palestinian rights. This book is essential reading for all political thinkers and activists. -- Lynne SegalA learned and engaging work.Matar's greatest achievement in this book is to refute the too-widespread assumption that a 'Levinasian' ethics can precede our life with language - with each other, at large. Rather, politics goes all the way down.A powerful antidote to depoliticisations of ethics, a powerful paean to the power of community -- Rupert Read, author of Wittgenstein’s Liberatory Philosophy

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Book SynopsisIn this groundbreaking work, Ellen Meiksins Wood rewrites the history of political theory, from Plato to Rousseau. Treating canonical thinkers as passionately engaged human beings, Wood examines their ideas not simply in the context of political languages but as creative responses to the social relations and conflicts of their time and place. She identifies a distinctive relation between property and state in Western history and shows how the canon, while largely the work of members or clients of dominant classes, was shaped by complex interactions among proprietors, labourers and states. Western political theory, Wood argues, owes much of its vigour, and also many ambiguities, to these complex and often contradictory relations.In the first volume, she traces the development of the Western tradition from classical antiquity through to the Middle Ages in the perspective of social history - a significant departure not only from the standard abstract history of ideas but also from other contextual methods. From the Ancient Greek polis of Plato, Aristotle, Aeschylus and Sophocles, through the Roman Republic of Cicero and the Empire of St Paul and St Augustine, to the medieval world of Averroes, Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham, Wood offers a rich, dynamic exploration of thinkers and ideas that have indelibly stamped our modern world.In the second volume, Wood addresses the formation of the modern state, the rise of capitalism, the Renaissance and Reformation, the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, which have all been attributed to the "early modern" period. Nearly everything about its history remains controversial, but one thing is certain: it left a rich and provocative legacy of political ideas unmatched in Western history. The concepts of liberty, equality, property, human rights and revolution born in those turbulent centuries continue to shape, and to limit, political discourse today. Assessing the work and background of figures such as Machiavelli, Luther, Calvin, Spinoza, the Levellers, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, Ellen Wood vividly explores the ideas of the canonical thinkers, not as philosophical abstractions but as passionately engaged responses to the social conflicts of their day.Trade ReviewMeiksins Wood is a rare breed - an academic with the soul of a storyteller. * Morning Star *Few historians of comparative political thought are in the same league as Ellen Wood, who surveys the whole sweep of ancient and medieval thinkers with equal magisterial brilliance of insight. -- Professor Paul Cartledge, University of CambridgeA challenging analysis, which successfully integrates theory with historical changes. The clarity of the writing makes her account readily accessible to any reader ready to engage a fresh approach to the history of political theory. -- Sheldon WolinImmensely impressive, bold and erudite. Meiksins Wood's conclusions are undeniably nuanced, challenging and important. This book ought to be compulsory reading for us all. * Times Higher Education Supplement *This book is clearly written, incisively argued, and immensely informative. * CHOICE *A notable book, wide-ranging and perceptive. Wood addresses the heartland of the historiography of political thought from Machiavelli to Rousseau, the territory of its most successful recent practitioners. -- Jonathan Clark * Times Literary Supplement *The writing is so supple and accessible, and the argument so persuasive, it's like watching a cloudy mixture of ideas being turned into a clear solution. -- Adrienne RichWood was an extraordinarily rigorous and imaginative thinker, someone who breathed life into Marxist political theory and made it speak-not to just to me but to many others-at multiple levels: historical, theoretical, political. -- Corey Robin * Jacobin *

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Book SynopsisCollapsing stock markets, melting ice caps, floods, tornadoes, terrorism . . . When it comes to bad news, we've never had it so good. Perhaps it is time to be a little more optimistic? That's what Laurence Shorter decided. And that's why he set himself the challenge of meeting the world's most cheerful people. Surely with the help of Desmond Tutu, Richard Branson and Bill Clinton, Laurence can find the secret to inner happiness. But first things first - how on Earth is he going to get to meet them?Trade ReviewIf you're feeling pessimistic about the year ahead, this book does cheer you up. * * Sunday Times * *Witty writer . . . restore[s] a little faith in humanity's future. * * Financial Times * *Shorter is a snappy writer - fast, compelling, sympathetic and seemingly honest. * * Observer * *Deliciously quirky and enormously funny, it brims over with the sort of joie de vivre that would brighten the darkest day. * * Good Book Guide * *Amusing and intriguing. * * Mail On Sunday * *Learning how Richard Branson remains eternally cheerful or how a Buddhist monk became known as 'the happiest man in the world' is pretty inspiring. * * Metro * *[An] anti-misery memoir. * * Evening Standard * *Funny and inspiring . . . a book that's a reason to be cheerful in itself. * * Waterstone's Books Quarterly * *Shorter is a snappy writer - fast, compelling, sympathetic and . . . honest. * * Observer * *After depressing himself listening to the news, Laurence Shorter resolves to save the world and his sanity by reinventing optimism. * * Sunday Herald * *

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Book SynopsisThis volume brings Dig Where You Stand, Sven Lindqvist's classic text on history, power and politics, to English-speaking audiences for the first time. First published in 1978, Dig Where You Stand is a rallying cry for workers to become researchers, to follow the money, take on the role as experts on their job, and "dig" out its hidden histories in order to take a vital step towards social and economic transformation. A how-to guide that inspired an entire movement, it makes the case that everyone – not just academics – can learn how to critically and rigorously explore history, especially their own history, and in doing so find a blueprint for how to transform society for the better. In a world where the balance of power is overwhelmingly stacked against the working-class, Dig Where You Stand's manifesto for the empowerment of workers through self-education, historical research and political solidarity is as important and relevant today as it was in 1978.Trade Review"This pioneering work is as relevant today as it was on first publication, as capital continues to unceasingly move around the world, desperate to avoid accountability for its disastrous social and environmental consequences.""Sven Lindqvist’s call to Dig Where You Stand has been a lasting inspiration for me, an influence leading me to combine international oral history in parallel with local community projects, revealing the amazing richness of the life stories which – once you learn to listen - you can discover right around you.""This classic book is much more than a historic document. Its precious pages belong to our future. Dig Where You Stand is a practical primer which shows how we can change things for the better.""A sharp reminder that we are in danger of losing the art of research, bamboozled by the sheer immediacy of what passes for information and data today. This book is a gift for new generations of radical activists who grasp exactly how much we have to change.""Do not mistake this for an ordinary handbook or a dated analysis of working-class conditions. Lindqvist’s book shows with vivid clarity how capitalism permeates society, our homes, lungs, and children’s future. And yet, at the end, there is not despair and hopelessness but an empowering sense that things can and will be changed.""Dig Where You Stand has long had mythic status as a self-help manual for oral and community historians. Though forty-four years after its first publication, its appearance today can hardly be more timely or relevant. It should be on every activist's bookshelf.' Dig Where You Stand is a wonderful toolkit - a work of barefoot research - that shows us how to investigate our own jobs, communities and lives with one simple goal: social transformation.Half a century old but still vivid, Dig Where You Stand is to be welcomed as a fearless and ambitious manual on how to live and think as well as research, write and make connections in an apparently disjointed time.Half a century old but still vivid, Dig Where You Stand is to be welcomed as a fearless and ambitious manual on how to live and think as well as research, write and make connections in an apparently disjointed time.

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Book SynopsisThe Church is commonly spoken of as an institutional reality, but much less frequently recognized as a spiritual and heavenly reality called by God “to make disciples of all nations.” (Mt. 28:19) This modest work furthers the development of a structured and integrated Christian Orthodox political thought, whereby the Church is neither sidelined as having no relevance to this present life, nor dominated by temporal questions or popular movements at the expense of its eternal salvific mission.The author seeks to ground the mission of the Church in the present world both on an understanding of God as Trinity and in Her mission to baptize diverse cultures. To do this effectively the Church must recognize and adapt to local and contemporary political and social trends and patterns. It must exemplify the Gospel as a way of communal and social life, not allowing itself to be reduced to an impersonal ideology manifest within the sphere of either imagination, ideology, or a private individualistic existence.Drawing upon this philosophy he offers proposals for how the Church could view questions of both domestic politics and international relations with a view to bringing the world into the Kingdom of God. He also suggests specific steps that could be taken to heal and strengthen inter-Orthodox relations, addressing in particular the canonical challenges of the Orthodox diaspora and tensions between the Greek and Slavic components of the Church.Though these specific proposals will by no means enjoy universal acceptance, they will serve as a springboard for further dialogue as the Orthodox world seeks to apply these principles in all nations, no matter their current political circumstances.Extracts from The Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church are also included as an appendix to aid in further reflection on the questions raised by this book.Table of ContentsUnedited TOC INTRODUCTION The inspiration behind this book Aims of the Book Outline of the Book CHURCH AND WORLD Brief History of the Church The Church is the pre-fall world The fallen world is the same as the pre-fall world only now under demonic influence The relationship between the Church and the world after the fall Unto-the-world integration v Of-the-world secularization CHURCH AND NATION The nation as a post-fall phenomenon Nationalism as a post-fall ideology Ideology as division and heresy Sanctification and self-transcendence of the nation The Mission of the Jewish Nation to the World How Christ viewed his own nation The fall out of Christ with the national establishment How the Apostle Paul viewed his own nation The national self-transcendence of the Greek nation for the sake of a Christian World Christian Orthodoxy vis-a-vis national power, resistance, and liberation Conclusion: cohabitation, adoption and ecumenization of the nation by the Church within the Church, and through the Church CHURCH AND STATE The state as a post-fall phenomenon B. The recognition of the role of the state by the Church Relationship of the Church with political power A person-centered system of government – Monarchy The relationship of the Church with ideologies and parties Church and human rights Church and Person-centered Economic Policy A Person-centered Legislative System A Person-centered Judicial System RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCAL CHURCH, STATE, NATION AND UNIVERSAL WORLD Priority of local state-national consciousness over ‘supra-state’ national consciousness Coexistence of Local and Universal (Ecumenical) Awareness on an Ecclesiastical and National Level Church and national symbols Preference and support of the Church for the creation and/or strengthening of multinational Orthodox-majority states, upholding Orthodox ‘supranational’ identity above national identity (whether this coincides with state identity or constitutes ‘supra-state’ identity). ‘Covariation’ with a constructive and not negating effect Conclusion THE ORTHODOX DIASPORA Definition Diaspora and ecclesiastical disorder The principle of ‘covariation’ and the Orthodox Diaspora ORTHODOXY AND INTER-ORTHODOX, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS The Geopolitical division between Orthodox states Russia ‘Protector of Orthodox Peoples’ The granting of autocephaly to a local Church Transcending the diarchy between the Greek and Russian world CONCLUSIONS - PROPOSALS World unity in Christ Adaptation of the Church to political and state conditions in order to reinforce its spiritual work and influence The institutionalized protection and implementation of human rights within a person-centered and commune-centered context The Church should encourage the combined implementation of ideologies to strengthen the state and serve society The Church - institutionalized and official Advisor to the state but without institutionalized power The Church should encourage citizens, politicians, and political parties to resist and refrain from identifying with ideologies The Church in support of the institution of Monarchy within a democratic framework. The Church in support of a centrist, person-centered economic policy based on a mixed economy Establishment of advisory bodies with eligibility for membership to those who contribute to the state treasury over and above their tax obligations The creative ‘covariation’ of the Church with state administrations, and the coincidence and convergence of state, national, and local ecclesiastical jurisdiction, identity, and consciousness. The creation of multinational states or commonwealths, and the creation of a common national awareness based on Orthodox civilization The Orthodox Diaspora should become a field of healthy missionary competition and transcendence of nationalism M. Official recognition of the Russian Federation as the Geopolitical Protector of Orthodoxy BIBLIOGRAPHY Notes

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Book SynopsisThis book interrogates white responses to black-led movements for racial justice. It is a philosophical self-reflection on the ways in which ‘white’ reactions to Black Lives Matter stand in the way of the movement’s important work. It probes reactions which often prevent white people from according to black activists the full range of human emotion and expression, including joy, anger, mourning, and political action. Johanna C. Luttrell encourages different conceptions of empathy and impartiality specific to social movements for racial justice, and addresses objections to identity politics.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Getting my People 1.1 Whiteness and Self-Reflection 1.2 “We” White People: On the Possibility of Collective Identity 1.3 The Hate that we see Might be our Own: Distinguishing Black Anger from White Hate Chapter 2: Empathy and Racial Justice: Redefining Impartiality in Response to Social Movements 2.1 White Empathy and Black Lives Matter 2.2 Perspectives Against ‘Just Empathy’ 2.3 Managing Empathy Through Colorblindness 2.4 Empathy and Racial Justice: A Different Idea of Impartiality Chapter 3: How White People Refuse to Understand Black Mourning 3.1 White Responses to Black-led Political Mourning 3.2 Conservative Responses to Black Mourning: Militarization, Gas-lighting, Tone-policing 3.3 Liberal Responses to Black Mourning: Voyeurism and Appropriation 3.4 Recognizing Agency, Giving up the Idealized Victim 3.5 Mourning’s Potential: Undoing the Political Order in Antigone and the Book of Jeremiah Chapter 4: Respecting Black Lives Matter as Arendtian Political Action 4.1 How Political Action is Different from Scientific Inquiry 4.2 Political Action as Unprecedented 4.3 Political Action as Revelatory 4.4 Political Action as Knowledge-Creating 4.5 Arendt’s Failure to Respect Black-Led Social Movements as Political Action Chapter 5: Conclusion 5.1 Interrogating Allyship 5.2 Answering Objections to Identity Politics 5.3 White Feminism and Allyship 5.4 A Positive Prescription for Empathy?

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Book SynopsisElihu Root's Experiments in Government and the Essentials of the Constitution is a thought-provoking work. The book examines the principles and dynamics that underpin various forms of governance, with a focus on the essential characteristics of the United States Constitution. Elihu Root, a distinguished American lawyer, diplomat, and statesman, deconstructs the complexity of diverse governmental systems using their extensive legal and political understanding. He uses historical examples and current events to highlight the benefits and drawbacks of various kinds of government. The book revolves around Root's assessment of the United States Constitution. He dissects the basic sections of the Constitution, highlighting their importance in shaping the American nation and fostering democratic governance. Some stories are brutal and weird, while others creep up on you and draw you in slowly.

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