{"product_id":"the-cultural-contradictions-of-democracy-political-thought-since-september-11-9780691171203","title":"The Cultural Contradictions of Democracy","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Philosophers and policy experts often look for answers by drawing strong conceptual oppositions. The Cultural Contradictions of Democracy, however, shows the shared dilemmas of writers who may themselves think they have nothing in common. This book-length essay tries to make sense of these philosophical and political contradictions by seeing them as necessary tensions in our attempts to reconcile competing values. For Brenkman, the contradictions of our political discourse reveal aspirations for freedom and democracy, for liberty and community. When we strive for freedom, we must learn to live with contradictions...Brenkman is that rare academic who can write well about both contemporary political practice and theory. His description of how the Bush administration was seized by power is insightful, and his critique of contemporary theory star Giorgio Agamben is concise and compelling.\"--Michael Roth, San Francisco Chronicle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: Political Thought in the Fog of War 1  War and Democracy 1  Hobbes versus Kant? 4  Leviathan 6  The Neoconservative Illusion 9  The Frailty of Human Affairs 12  Crises of the Republic 14  The Argument 19  Seized by Power 24  Death and the Governor of Texas 24  The New American Exceptionalism 28  The Cold Warrior Myth 34  Kant with Arendt 37  Targeting Iraq 41  Al Qaeda and Ultimate Ends 43  A Grammar of Motives 46  The Imagination of Power 51  State of Exception 51  Arendt versus Agamben 55  Schmitt and Hobbes 59  Decision and Covenant 64  The Ordeal of Universalism 71  September 11 and Fables of the Left 78  First Response 78  Multilateral Ambivalence 81  Terrorism as Symptom 84  Chomskian Certitudes 87  Hardt and Negri's Empire 94  The Multitude and Prophecy 98  Iraq: Delirium of War, Delusions of Peace 103  The Idealism of Means 103  The Idealism of Ends 106  Neither Left nor Right 110  The Atlantic Misalliance 117  Diplomatic Intrigues and Political Truths 122  Repudiations of the UN Left and Right 126  The Hobbesian Nightmare: Occupied Iraq 131  The Ordeal of Universalism 137  Democracy and War 137  Postnational Cosmopolitanism versus Liberal Nationalism? 141  Kant with Hobbes 144  Habermas's Agon with Schmitt 146  Hobbes with Kant 152  Europe, or, the Empire of Rights 157  Islam's Geo-Civil War 165  Global Neoliberal Religious Conservatism? 170  No Exit 177  Conclusion: Prelude to the Unknown 182  Ideas and Errors 182  Arendt with Berlin 183  Liberty without Democracy versus Democracy without Liberty? 188  Democratic Striving and Sectarian Mobilization 191  Untimely Meditation 195  Index 201","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51455992496471,"sku":"9780691171203","price":25.2,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780691171203.jpg?v=1755033358","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-cultural-contradictions-of-democracy-political-thought-since-september-11-9780691171203","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}