Download or read book Liberal Modernism and Democratic Individuality written by Austin Sarat and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over thirty years, George Kateb--along with John Rawls, the late Judith Shklar, and Sir Isaiah Berlin--has been one of liberal political theory's most distinctive voices. An eloquent spokesman for the moral dimensions of individual rights and constitutional democracy, he is a fierce critic of statism and communitarianism and a staunch advocate of individualism in the struggle against all forms of paternalism, conformity, and group-think. Kateb's broad concern as a political theorist has been to unveil the cultural, moral, and existential dimensions of constitutionalism in America. The essays in this book are assembled in his honor, but they are not only celebratory; they pay him homage through their authors' effort to understand the fate of democratic individuality in the modern age. John Hollander and Cornel West contribute reflections on Kateb as a person and a political theorist. Dana Villa, Judith Shklar, and Thomas Dumm write on political theory and the claims of democratic individuality. Democratic individuality and the politics of identity are discussed by Tracy Strong, William Connolly, Benjamin Barber, and Leslie Theile; culture, sensibility, and the self, by David Bromwich, Helene Keyssar, Kim Townsend, and George Shulman. Democratic individuality and civic action are the subjects of essays by Amy Gutmann, Jeffrey Abramson, and Austin Sarat.
Download or read book Strong Liberalism written by Jason A. Scorza and published by UPNE. This book was released on 2008 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this age of "total" war on terrorism, many liberals fail to recognize the dangers of adopting the methods of their enemies--of meeting propaganda with propaganda, cruelty with cruelty, and violence with violence. Other liberals reject even modest efforts to teach and regulate good citizenship, fearing that in doing so they will come to resemble their enemies. Can liberal democracy be strengthened and secured without either compromising basic liberal principles or emasculating fundamental liberal purposes? The great totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century are gone, but the need for "strong liberalism" has never been more urgent. Jason A. Scorza argues that liberalism can generate an account of citizenship responsive to such pressing contemporary challenges as political fear, political apathy, and conformist political membership. Strong Liberalism is founded on understanding thoroughly the canonical defenders of liberal democracy (John Stuart Mill, John Rawls, and Judith Shklar), moving beyond the thinking of prominent contemporary theorists (Stephen Macedo, William Galston, and Thomas Spragens), and parrying the arguments of liberalism's critics (Benjamin Barber, Michael Sandel, and Mary Ann Glendon). Scorza imparts a sharp theory of "strong liberalism" that summons liberal philosophy to the battlefield of the inner life of politics and recalls it to its own essential but often overlooked strengths: civic friendship, political courage, political self-reliance, civic toleration, and political irreverence. The theory of strong liberalism accepts that civic strength is rooted in civic pluralism. Liberal democracy is best served by the cultivation of multiple examples of good citizenship rather than by the insistence that a single, ideal civic character can be identified and universally imposed through civic education.
Download or read book A Political Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson written by Alan M. Levine and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2011-09-16 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From before the Civil War until his death in 1882, Ralph Waldo Emerson was renowned—and renounced—as one of the United States' most prominent abolitionists and as a leading visionary of the nation's liberal democratic future. Following his death, however, both Emerson's political activism and his political thought faded from public memory, replaced by the myth of the genteel man of letters and the detached sage of individualism. In the 1990s, scholars rediscovered Emerson's antislavery writings and began reviving his legacy as a political activist. A Political Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson is the first collection to evaluate Emerson's political thought in light of his recently rediscovered political activism. What were Emerson's politics? A Political Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson authoritatively answers this question with seminal essays by some of the most prominent thinkers ever to write about Emerson—Stanley Cavell, George Kateb, Judith N. Shklar, and Wilson Carey McWilliams—as well as many of today's leading Emerson scholars. With an introduction that effectively destroys the "pernicious myth about Emerson's apolitical individualism" by editors Alan M. Levine and Daniel S. Malachuk, this volume reassesses Emerson's famous theory of self-reliance in light of his antislavery politics, demonstrates the importance of transcendentalism to his politics, and explores the enduring significance of his thought for liberal democracy. Including a substantial bibliography of work on Emerson's politics over the last century, A Political Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson is an indispensable resource for students of Emerson, American literature, and American political thought, as well as for those who wrestle with the fundamental challenges of democracy and liberalism.
Download or read book Liberalism Versus Conservatism written by François B. Gérard and published by Nova Publishers. This book was released on 2000 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everyone eschews labels yet we all seem to posses them in the minds of legions of politicians, marketers and even the ever-peering government. We are being targeted daily by flaming liberals, left-wing liberals, right-wing conservatives, compassionate conservatives, religious conservatives and liberals, pinko liberals, middle-of-the-road liberals conservatives and liberals, pinko liberals, middle-of-the-road liberals and conservatives and of course by neoconservatives and neoliberals. The search is on for kindred souls -- the types who will open their wallets to support whatever it is the hucksters are peddling. But what to these concepts mean and do their torchbearers grasp the underlying philosophies or do they care? This bibliography lists over hundreds of entries under each category which are then indexed by title an author.
Download or read book The Wandering Thought of Hannah Arendt written by Hans-Jörg Sigwart and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-09-15 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book interprets Hannah Arendt’s work as a “wandering” type of political theory. Focusing on the sub-text of Arendt’s writings which questions “how to think” adequately in political theory whilst categorically refraining from explicitly investigating meta-theoretical questions of epistemology and methodology, the book characterizes her theorizing as an oscillating movement between the experiential positions of philosophy and politics, and by its distinctly multi-contextual perspective. In contrast to the “not of this world” attitude of philosophy, the book argues that Arendt’s political theory is “of this world”. In contrast to politics, it refrains from being “at home” in any particular part of this world and instead wanders between the multiple horizons of the many different political worlds in time and space. The book explores how these two decisive motives of Arendt’s theoretical self-perception majorly influence her epistemological, methodological and normative frame of reference and inspire her understanding of major concepts, including politics, judgment, understanding, nature, and space.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought written by Paul Barry Clarke and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-12-16 with total page 776 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Containing almost 200 entries from 'accountability' to the 'Westminster model' the Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought explores all the ideas that matter to democracy past, present and future. It is destined to become the first port-of-call for all students, teachers and researchers of political science interested in democratic ideas, democratic practice, and the quality of democratic governance. The Encyclopedia provides extensive coverage of all the key concepts of democratic thought written by a stellar team of distinguished international contributors. The Encyclopedia draws on every tradition of democratic thought, as well as developing new thinking, in order to provide full coverage of the key democratic concepts and engage with their practical implications for the conduct of democratic politics in the world today. In this way, it brings every kind of democratic thinking to bear on the challenges facing contemporary democracies and on the possibilities of the democratic future. The Encyclopedia is global in scope and responds in detail to the democratic revolution of recent decades. Referring both to the established democratic states of Western Europe, North America and Australasia, and to the recent democracies of Latin America, Eastern and Central Europe, Africa and Asia, classical democratic concerns are related to new democracies, and to important changes in the older democracies. Supplemented by full bibliographical information, extensive cross-referencing and suggestions for further reading, the Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought is a unique work of reference combining the expertise of many of the world's leading political scientists, political sociologists and political philosophers. It will be welcomed as an essential resource for both teaching and for independent study, and as a solid starting point both for further research and wider exploration.
Download or read book Weimar Thought written by Peter E. Gordon and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive look at the intellectual and cultural innovations of the Weimar period During its short lifespan, the Weimar Republic (1918–33) witnessed an unprecedented flowering of achievements in many areas, including psychology, political theory, physics, philosophy, literary and cultural criticism, and the arts. Leading intellectuals, scholars, and critics—such as Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Bertolt Brecht, and Martin Heidegger—emerged during this time to become the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century. Even today, the Weimar era remains a vital resource for new intellectual movements. In this incomparable collection, Weimar Thought presents both the specialist and the general reader a comprehensive guide and unified portrait of the most important innovators, themes, and trends of this fascinating period. The book is divided into four thematic sections: law, politics, and society; philosophy, theology, and science; aesthetics, literature, and film; and general cultural and social themes of the Weimar period. The volume brings together established and emerging scholars from a remarkable array of fields, and each individual essay serves as an overview for a particular discipline while offering distinctive critical engagement with relevant problems and debates. Whether used as an introductory companion or advanced scholarly resource, Weimar Thought provides insight into the rich developments behind the intellectual foundations of modernity.
Download or read book Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness written by Jenny Davidson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-05-06 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness, Jenny Davidson considers the arguments that define hypocrisy as a moral and political virtue in its own right. She shows that these were arguments that thrived in the medium of eighteenth-century Britain's culture of politeness. In the debate about the balance between truthfulness and politeness, Davidson argues that eighteenth-century writers from Locke to Austen come down firmly on the side of politeness. This is the case even when it is associated with dissimulation or hypocrisy. These writers argue that the open profession of vice is far more dangerous for society than even the most glaring discrepancies between what people say in public and what they do in private. This book explores what happens when controversial arguments in favour of hypocrisy enter the mainstream, making it increasingly hard to tell the difference between hypocrisy and more obviously attractive qualities like modesty, self-control and tact.
Download or read book African Democracy written by Jonathan O. Chimakonam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-09-21 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are numerous different democratic systems in Africa, from the Igbo institutions that date back to the 15th century to Western-style democracy introduced by colonial powers. But what does democracy really mean for African nations? And what effect does it have on the lives of their people? This is the first comprehensive examination of the social and political consequences of democracy in Africa. Written from an African philosophical perspective, leading and emerging scholars explore the impact of democracy in a continent dealing not only with the perennial issues of leadership failure, poverty and corruption but also with contemporary global concerns such as immigration, digital media and COVID-19. With a focus first and foremost on the African people, this pioneering volume investigates how the challenges of democracy as a system affect their lived experience. Looking in particular at the sub-Sahara, it reveals the influence that the failures of democracy have on fundamental needs, including allocation of primary resources, autonomy, welfare, free speech and women's rights. African Democracy: Impediments, Promises, and Prospects gives an unflinching insight into the struggles caused by democratic governance in Africa, whilst also, crucially, pointing to its accomplishments and the future possibilities for African nations.
Download or read book A Politics of the Ordinary written by Thomas L. Dumm and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 1999-07 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Politics of the Ordinary, Thomas Dumm dramatizes how everyday life in the United States intersects with and is influenced by the power of events, on the one hand, and forces of conformity and normalcy on the other. Combining poststructuralist analysis with a sympathetic reading of a strain of American thought that begins with Emerson and culminates in the work of Stanley Cavell, A Politics of the Ordinary investigates incidents from everyday life, political spectacles, and popular culture. Whether juxtaposing reflections about boredom in rural New Mexico with Emerson's theory of constitutional amendment, Richard Nixon's letter of resignation with Thoreau's writings to overcome quiet desperation, or demonstrating how Disney's Toy Story allegorizes the downsizing of the American white-collar work force, Dumm's constant concern is to show how the ordinary is the primary source of the democratic political imagination.
Download or read book The Urban Lifeworld written by Peter Madsen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-06-29 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume of scholarly essays, the results of detailed research, contributes to our understanding of the cultural role of cities by offering a new approach to the analysis of urban experience.
Download or read book Modernity And Consumption Theory Politics And The Public In Singapore And Malaysia written by Antonio Leopold Rappa and published by World Scientific Publishing Company. This book was released on 2002-03-25 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Enlightenment theorists involved in the public/private debate exposed the logical fallacies of theology and the philosophical weaknesses of metaphysics but left little room for understanding contemporary modes of consumption. What does it mean to be a consumer in the early 21st century? Do modern markets provide real choices for consumers in neoliberal capitalist democracies? Or are consumers ironically slaves to their own patterns of consumption? Rejecting Habermas' conceptualizations in The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (1991), Rappa offers an examination of modernity and consumption with a non-Marxist, modernity-Resistance-theoretical frame (mRf). He argues that late modernity — the ethos, experience, and consciousness of global and technological transformation today — is not about the fusion of “public and private” spaces. Rather, modernity and consumption involves the deep penetration of private space by public space to the extent that private space becomes dependent, conditional, and decrepit. The “Private” has become contingent on the “Public”. Decisions about what to consume no longer reflect the mindful choices of private, interest-seeking, and wealth-maximizing individuals but reveal a new kind of public control through foundational images of success, failure, horror, violence, and hope.
Download or read book The Trial That Never Ends written by Richard J. Golsan and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2017-03-17 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fiftieth anniversary of the Adolf Eichmann trial may have come and gone but in many countries around the world there is a renewed focus on the trial, Eichmann himself, and the nature of his crimes. This increased attention also stimulates scrutiny of Hannah Arendt’s influential and controversial work, Eichmann in Jerusalem. The contributors gathered together by Richard J. Golsan and Sarah M. Misemer in The Trial That Never Ends assess the contested legacy of Hannah Arendt’s famous book and the issues she raised: the "banality of evil", the possibility of justice in the aftermath of monstrous crimes, the right of Israel to kidnap and judge Eichmann, and the agency and role of victims. The contributors also interrogate Arendt’s own ambivalent attitudes towards race and critically interpret the nature of the crimes Eichmann committed in light of newly discovered Nazi documents. The Trial That Never Ends responds to new scholarship by Deborah Lipstadt, Bettina Stangneth, and Shoshana Felman and offers rich new ground for historical, legal, philosophical, and psychological speculation.
Download or read book Imagined Democracies written by Yaron Ezrahi and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-10-15 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In our era of mass electronic communications, political realities are produced by believable fictions that echo popular desires.
Download or read book The Limits of Politics written by Kyle Scott and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2016-09-21 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As political units grow it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain a shared sense of humanity and to recognize people as individuals rather than anonymous beings. To overcome our most pressing political issues we need to develop a moral imagination so that we may renew our sense of connectedness and responsibility to one another. Bringing together politics and art is one way this can be accomplished. This book draws upon political sources as well as works in literature, film and theater to show the limits of politics and the need for a moral imagination.
Download or read book Modernism and Democracy written by Rachel Potter and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2006-07-20 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anglo-American modernist writing and modern mass democratic states emerged at the same time, during the period of 1900-1930. Yet writers such as T. S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, Wyndham Lewis, and Ford Madox Ford were notoriously hostile to modern democracies. They often defended, in contrast, anti-democratic forms of cultural authority. Since the late 1970s, however, our understanding of modernist culture has altered as previously marginalised writers, in particular women such as Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, H.D., and Mina Loy, have been reassessed. Not only has the picture of Anglo-American modernist culture changed significantly, but the understanding of the relationship between modernist writing and politics has also shifted. Rachel Potter here reassess the relationship between modernism and democracy by analysing the wide range of different reactions by modernist writers to the new democracies. She charts the changes in the ideas of democracy as a result of the shift from liberal to mass democracies after the First World War and of women's entrance into the political and cultural spheres. By uncovering hitherto-unanalysed essays by a number of feminist writers she argues that in fact there was a widespread scepticism about the consequences of mass democracy for women's liberation, and that this scepticism was central to the work of women modernist writers.
Download or read book African Postcolonial Modernity written by S. Osha and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-09-04 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African cultures and politics remain significantly affected by precolonial and postcolonial configurations of modernity, as well as hegemonic global systems. This project explores Africa's conversation with itself and the rest of the world, critiquing universalist notions of democratization.