Description
Book SynopsisThe French scholar Marc Abélès is one of the leading political and philosophical anthropologists of our time. He is perhaps the leading anthropologist writing on the state and globalization. Thinking beyond the State, a distillation of his work to date, is a superb introduction to his contributions to both anthropology and political philosophy.
Abélès observes that while interdependence and interconnection have become characteristic features of our globalized era, there is no indication that a concomitant evolution in thinking about political systems has occurred. The state remains the shieldfor both the Right and the Leftagainst the turbulent effects of globalization. According to Abélès, we live in a geopolitical universe that, in many respects, reproduces alienating logics. His book, therefore, is a primer on how to see beyond the state. It is also a testament to anthropology's centrality and importance in any analysis of the global human predicament. Thinking beyond the S
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His message is that social scientists need to broaden their organizing perspective in order to capture the dynamics of all the local, national, and international forces at play in contemporary society. He draws on traditional political philosophy and a broad scope of social sciences. In elevated but precise language, Abélès challenges contemporary social scientists to develop this inclusive framework, which mirrors more accurately the contemporary 21st-century world. Most useful for university libraries with graduate programs.
* Choice *
[German language review]
* Anthropos *
Table of ContentsForeword
Introduction
1. Society against the State
2. The Stalemate of Sovereignty
3. Biopolitics and the Great Return of Anthropos
4. Infrapolitics and the Ambivalence of Compassion
5. Scenes from Global Politics
6. The Anthropology of Globalization
References
Notes
Index
