Political Philosophy and Public Purpose

This book sets out a new reading of the early Marx. This book argues that, during the period of his first critique of political economy, Marx developed a way of critique that targets social contradictions themselves—by making them explicit—rather …

This book considers the work of Erich Fromm as it can be applied to radical Left political strategy. It aims primarily to demonstrate the relevance of his ideas to contemporary radical Left strategy and to contribute to the revitalization of …

This book argues why Critical Theory – as first developed in the Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung – must be updated to help us tackling today’s capitalist polycrisis, from economic via political to ecological crises. Yet, following the dissolution …

This book proposes an original reading of Foucault’s theory of the state in relation to the social sciences. In this text, Skornicki deconstructs the pseudo-obviousness in Foucauldian thought, namely that Michel Foucault’s new approach in …

This book presents a contractualist theory of intergenerational justice that avoids deficiencies in existing IGJ theories, e.g., the non-identity problem and the under-defining of "generations." The inability of social contract theory to provide a …

This book examines what the justification of political power and the character of a liberal political community in the conditions of pluralism should look like, with the aim of equal respect for all. Sylvie Bláhová argues that if those who …

This book demonstrates that Rousseau offers a distinctive critical voice which is worthy of listening to. Rousseau is shown to target not merely social ‘injustices’, but the very dynamics central to the ‘form of life’ itself. As such we are able …

This book proposes a new interpretation of Claude Lefort’s thought focusing on his phenomenological method. Although all scholars recognize the influence of Merleau-Ponty, so far no one has demonstrated the fundamental coherence between …

This book extends the approach that Murray and Schuler develop in their companion volume, False Moves in Philosophy and Social Theory: Losing Public Purpose. The chapters form a connected inquiry into consequences of capital, a far-reaching social …

This book considers diverse philosophical topics unified by the identification of false moves commonly found in modern philosophy, mainstream Anglo-American philosophy, and social theory. The authors expose the sources of fundamental problems that …

This book builds on the recent revival of interest in Marx and Marxism, calling for a renewal and refinement of Marxist state theory. It aims to provoke and encourage new debates and critiques that build on—but also update and extend—the rich …

This book brings together leading academics and activists to address the possibilities for qualitative social change beyond neoliberalism, providing introductory essays on alternative societies, transition, and resistance. Bringing together …

Interrogating Modernity returns to Hans Blumenberg's epochal The Legitimacy of the Modern Age as a springboard to interrogate questions of modernity, secularisation, technology and political legitimacy in the fields of political theology, history …

The critical theory of the Frankfurt School has undergone numerous and at times fundamental changes over the last ninety years. Since the late 1960s, it has been characterized primarily by Jürgen Habermas’s “communicative turn” and a focus on …

This book offers a radical new interpretation of Georg Lukács’s History and Class Consciousness, showing for the first time how the philosophical framework for his analysis of society was laid in the drafts of a philosophy of art that he planned …

This book examines the lasting influence of the academic culture wars of the late 20th century on the humanities and progressive politics, and what to make now of those furious debates over postmodernism, multiculturalism, relativism, critical …

Deliberative democracy is an embattled political project. It is accused of political naiveté for it only talks about power without taking power. Others, meanwhile, take issue with deliberative democracy’s dominance in the field of democratic …

The Marxian Legacy, first published in 1977 and released in a second edition in 1988, was and remains distinct in its view of Marxian theory as 'critique, ' aware of its own origins and limitations and self-conscious about its own historical …

This book constitutes a critical intervention in the theoretical discussion over the political relationship between democracy and communism. Shedding light on the philosophical origins of the democracy debate, it draws a clear demarcation line …

This book provides close readings of primary texts to analyze the linkage between G.W.F. Hegel’s philosophy and Karl Marx’s critical social theory of necessity and freedom. This is important for three reasons: first, to understand the significance …