Violence and civility
Subtitle: on the limits of political philosophy
By: Étienne Balibar ; translated by G.M. Goshgarian
Contributors: Goshgarian, G. M., translator
Series: Wellek Library lectures
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2015
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 212
ISBN-13: 9780231153980; 9780231527187
Subjects: Political violence; Philosophy; War (Philosophy); Marxist Philosophy; Political science
Work titles: Violence et civilité
Description: In 'Violence and Civility', Étienne Balibar boldly confronts the insidious causes of violence, racism, nationalism, and ethnic cleansing worldwide, as well as mass poverty and dispossession. Through a novel synthesis of theory and empirical studies of contemporary violence, the acclaimed thinker pushes past the limits of political philosophy to reconceive war, revolution, sovereignty, and class. Through the pathbreaking thought of Derrida, Balibar builds a topography of cruelty converted into extremism by ideology, juxtaposing its subjective forms (identity delusions, the desire for extermination, and the pursuit of vengeance) and its objective manifestations (capitalist exploitation and an institutional disregard for life). Engaging with Marx, Hegel, Hobbes, Clausewitz, Schmitt, and Luxemburg, Balibar introduces a new, productive understanding of politics as antiviolence and a fresh approach to achieving and sustaining civility. Rooted in the principles of transformation and empowerment, this theory brings hope to a world increasingly divided even as it draws closer together.--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: From extreme violence to the problem of civility; title: Hegel, hobbes and the "conversion of violence"; title: "Inconvertible" violence? an essay in topography; title: Strategies of civility.