It has seemed to me for some time now that Zizek has been drawing his political inspiration and some of his main themes from Badiou (and I’d be anxious to hear others’ thoughts on this). But in Zizek these themes acquire a different spin and go in quite another direction than that which they have [...]
Posts under ‘Philosophy’
John Steele: Marxism, Politics, and Evil
Is Marxism, or revolutionary politics generally, sufficient for human emancipation? In Ethical Marxism, Bill Martin argues that Marxism requires ethics as the necessary foundation of any politics which may actually be capable of leading to this goal. The following essay critically examines this book and this thesis. Khukuri features several essays by Bill Martin, and [...]
Badiou’s new book
A nice little review, originally appearing in the Irish Left Review, of Badiou’s new book. A paragraph at the end (about two other books) has been cut. Reading Badiou Seán Sheehan Alain Badiou could be the most important philosopher alive today – time will tell – and his work is gradually reaching English-speaking readers. His magnum [...]
Studying Badiou
A group of us in Chicago have begun what we’re calling the Communist Hypothesis Study Circle. The name, of course, comes from Badiou’s recent (and quite excellent) book of that title. Someone suggested it might be useful to post our schedule of readings here, for possible use by others who may be interested in doing [...]
Marxism, politics, and evil, part 3
This is the final portion of an examination of some principal themes in Bill Martin’s book, Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation. The first two parts of this essay have been published over the past two days and can be found below. Marxism, Politics, and Evil: A Critical Engagement with “Ethical Marxism” John Steele [...]
Marxism, politics, and evil, part 2
This is the second part of an essay on the book Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation, in which Bill Martin argues that Marxism requires morality in order to guide a revolutionary politics. Part I, which was posted yesterday, was principally concerned with exposition. Today’s post takes up the principal line of argument of [...]
Marxism, Politics, and Evil, part 1
Is Marxism, or revolutionary politics generally, sufficient for human emancipation? In Ethical Marxism, Bill Martin argues that Marxism requires ethics as the necessary foundation of any politics which may actually be capable of leading to this goal. Following is the first part of an essay critically examining this book and this thesis. The entire piece [...]
‘Dialectical voluntarism’ as a basis of politics
What is the basis of an emancipatory politics? In what does collective human freedom consist? Although he doesn’t phrase it in these terms, these are the questions (I would say) that underlie Hallward’s investigation in this essay, which originally appeared in Radical Philosophy. ‘Voluntarism’ refers to a theory giving some sort of primacy to the [...]
John Steele: Badiou — Another Take on Revolutionary Theory
By John Steele What about Alain Badiou, the contemporary philosopher? Like Zizek, he has attracted much attention among people looking for new avenues both intellectually and politically. A friend in Latin American studies has told me his name is everywhere in Latin American intellectual circles. Badiou’s background is within Marxism and Maoism. He was a [...]
John Steele: When Everything Seems to Change — Badiou and the Event
Both structure and conjuncture deeply impact politics — and the tension between them runs through revolutionary theory and debates. How much is it the very structure of class society that gives rise to a revolutionary people, and how much is it exceptional moments and crisis within particular societies? Why did a great eruption of consciousness [...]
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