Norman Birnbaum
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195158595
- eISBN:
- 9780199849352
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195158595.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History
The 20th century witnessed a profound shift in both socialism and social reform. In the early 1900s, social reform seemed to offer a veritable religion of redemption, but by the century's end, while ...
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The 20th century witnessed a profound shift in both socialism and social reform. In the early 1900s, social reform seemed to offer a veritable religion of redemption, but by the century's end, while socialism remained a vibrant force in European society, a culture of extreme individualism and consumption all but squeezed the welfare state out of existence. Documenting this historic change, this book looks at the course of social reform and Western politics after Communism. It traces in detail the forces that have shifted social concern over the course of a century, from the devastation of two world wars, to the post-war golden age of economic growth and democracy, to the ever-increasing dominance of the market. It makes sense of the historical trends that have created a climate in which politicians proclaim the arrival of a new historical epoch but rarely offer solutions to social problems that get beyond cost-benefit analyses. It goes one step further and proposes a strategy for bringing the market back into balance with the social needs of the people. It advocates a reconsideration of the notion of work, urges that market forces be brought under political control, and stresses the need for education that teaches the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. This book examines the state of social reform past, present, and future.Less
The 20th century witnessed a profound shift in both socialism and social reform. In the early 1900s, social reform seemed to offer a veritable religion of redemption, but by the century's end, while socialism remained a vibrant force in European society, a culture of extreme individualism and consumption all but squeezed the welfare state out of existence. Documenting this historic change, this book looks at the course of social reform and Western politics after Communism. It traces in detail the forces that have shifted social concern over the course of a century, from the devastation of two world wars, to the post-war golden age of economic growth and democracy, to the ever-increasing dominance of the market. It makes sense of the historical trends that have created a climate in which politicians proclaim the arrival of a new historical epoch but rarely offer solutions to social problems that get beyond cost-benefit analyses. It goes one step further and proposes a strategy for bringing the market back into balance with the social needs of the people. It advocates a reconsideration of the notion of work, urges that market forces be brought under political control, and stresses the need for education that teaches the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. This book examines the state of social reform past, present, and future.
Roberto Esposito
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780823276264
- eISBN:
- 9780823277001
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823276264.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This book explores the conceptual trajectories of two of the twentieth century's most vital thinkers of the political: Hannah Arendt and Simone Weil. Taking Homer's Iliad as the common origin and ...
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This book explores the conceptual trajectories of two of the twentieth century's most vital thinkers of the political: Hannah Arendt and Simone Weil. Taking Homer's Iliad as the common origin and point of departure for our understanding of Western philosophical and political traditions, the book examines the foundational relation between war and the political. Drawing actively and extensively on Arendt's and Weil's voluminous writings, but also sparring with thinkers from Marx to Heidegger, the book traverses the relation between polemos and polis, between Greece, Rome, God, force, technicity, evil, and the extension of the Christian imperial tradition, while at the same time delineating the conceptual and hermeneutic ground for the development of the notion and practice of “the impolitical.” Within the book, Arendt and Weil emerge “in the inverse of the other's thought, in the shadow of the other's light,” to “think what the thought of the other excludes not as something that is foreign, but rather as something that appears unthinkable and, for that very reason, remains to be thought.” Moving slowly toward their conceptualizations of love and heroism, the book unravels the West's illusory metaphysical dream of peace, obliging us to reevaluate ceaselessly what it means to be responsible in the wake of past and contemporary forms of war.Less
This book explores the conceptual trajectories of two of the twentieth century's most vital thinkers of the political: Hannah Arendt and Simone Weil. Taking Homer's Iliad as the common origin and point of departure for our understanding of Western philosophical and political traditions, the book examines the foundational relation between war and the political. Drawing actively and extensively on Arendt's and Weil's voluminous writings, but also sparring with thinkers from Marx to Heidegger, the book traverses the relation between polemos and polis, between Greece, Rome, God, force, technicity, evil, and the extension of the Christian imperial tradition, while at the same time delineating the conceptual and hermeneutic ground for the development of the notion and practice of “the impolitical.” Within the book, Arendt and Weil emerge “in the inverse of the other's thought, in the shadow of the other's light,” to “think what the thought of the other excludes not as something that is foreign, but rather as something that appears unthinkable and, for that very reason, remains to be thought.” Moving slowly toward their conceptualizations of love and heroism, the book unravels the West's illusory metaphysical dream of peace, obliging us to reevaluate ceaselessly what it means to be responsible in the wake of past and contemporary forms of war.
David McCrone and Michael Keating
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780748665822
- eISBN:
- 9780748693863
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748665822.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter examines the electoral performance of social democratic parties in western Europe and finds a pattern of steady, if uneven, decline. The authors argue that this may be true of all ...
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This chapter examines the electoral performance of social democratic parties in western Europe and finds a pattern of steady, if uneven, decline. The authors argue that this may be true of all mainstream political parties but that is scarce consolation for a movement committed to long-term, progressive change.Less
This chapter examines the electoral performance of social democratic parties in western Europe and finds a pattern of steady, if uneven, decline. The authors argue that this may be true of all mainstream political parties but that is scarce consolation for a movement committed to long-term, progressive change.
Nicole Westmarland and Geetanjali Gangoli
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861346728
- eISBN:
- 9781447302612
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861346728.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Comparative and Historical Sociology
The issue of prostitution brings to the fore many of the contradictions in feminist politics, and the ambivalence in dealing with issues of sexuality reflected both in Asian and Western feminist ...
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The issue of prostitution brings to the fore many of the contradictions in feminist politics, and the ambivalence in dealing with issues of sexuality reflected both in Asian and Western feminist politics. This chapter presents a brief insight into how our own personal views on prostitution have developed in order to ‘situate’ or ‘locate’ our knowledge about it. The rest of this book tries to move away from the individual perspectives on prostitution. It is divided into two parts: the first looks at prostitution in Europe, and the second in Asia. An overview of the chapters included in the book is also given.Less
The issue of prostitution brings to the fore many of the contradictions in feminist politics, and the ambivalence in dealing with issues of sexuality reflected both in Asian and Western feminist politics. This chapter presents a brief insight into how our own personal views on prostitution have developed in order to ‘situate’ or ‘locate’ our knowledge about it. The rest of this book tries to move away from the individual perspectives on prostitution. It is divided into two parts: the first looks at prostitution in Europe, and the second in Asia. An overview of the chapters included in the book is also given.
