Politics on the Edges of Liberalism: Difference, Populism, Revolution, Agitation

Benjamin Arditi

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In this innovatice challenge to liberal assumptions, Benjamin Arditi tackles four key areas in contemporary politics that work at "the edges of liberalism:" difference, populism, revolution, and agitation. Each chapter discusses the intellectual background and position of these phenomena in relation to liberalism. Difference is explored in the context of the culture wars and its celebration of particularism over universalism. Populism is portrayed as a specter that both accompanies and haunts liberal democracy, and agitation is considered in tandem with emancipatory politics and in relation to revolutionary politics. The final chapter vindicates the use of revolution for contemporary thought, challenging the existing liberal-democratic consensus. Arditi's engagement with major thinkers helps him develop a novel interpretation of contemporary politics.

Related Subjects

• Politics and Political Theory

About the Author

Benjamin Arditi is a professor of political theory at the National University of Mexico. He is the author of Polemicization and editor of Fidelity to the Disagreement: Jacques Ranciere and Politics. He is the editor, with Jeremy Valentine, of Edinburgh University Press’s series, Taking on the Political.

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