Title: Freedom after the critique of foundations : Marx, liberalism, Castoriadis, and agonistic autonomy /
Authors: Kioupkiolēs, Alexandros, 1975-
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan,
Year: 2012
Subjects: Marx, Karl,; Castoriadis, Cornelius,; Liberty; Philosophy, Marxist.; Liberalism & centre democratic ideologies.; Liberty; Liberty. Politics and Government.; Marxism & Communism.; PHILOSOPHY Free Will & Determinism.; Philosophy, Marxist; Political science & theory.; Politics and Government.; Social & political philosophy.
Abstract: Freedom After the Critique of Foundations engages with the work of the Greek-French thinker Cornelius Castoriadis, a founding member of the Socialisme ou Barbarie group whose ideas inspired the French May '68, in order to formulate an account of agonistic autonomy for individuals and societies. This is a critical conception of freedom which informs a broad spectrum of contemporary political thought and practice, ranging from theories of agonistic democracy and Foucault's ethic of 'care for the self' to the liberal pluralism of Joseph Raz, post-anarchist thought and contemporary movements for global justice and 'real democracy'. The discussion shows how agonistic autonomy brings together imagination, radical reflection, self-creation, pluralism and an ongoing struggle against closed identities in order to challenge and enhance Marxian and liberal ideas of freedom. The book tackles the problem of relativism and addresses a wider range of ontological, ethical and political questions raised by an agonistic outlook which dismisses objective foundations in science, history and morality.
Contents: Marx on a tightrope. the essence of freedom and the movement of becoming -- Kantian transcendence and beyond -- Knowledge and practice in trouble. a reasonable way out of ontological traps -- Liberal detours and their mishaps: negative liberty, I. Berlin, and J.S. Mill -- Agonic subjectivity and the stirrings of the new -- The social, the imaginary, and the real -- Freedom, agonism, and creative praxis -- Post-critical liberalism and agonistic freedom -- Post-foundational reason and sustainable affirmation -- Conclusion: past agonies and present openings of freedom.