Peter Dula
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195395037
- eISBN:
- 9780199894451
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395037.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
A key concept in the later work of Sheldon Wolin is “fugitive democracy.” Wolin argues that, throughout history, democracy has rarely been able to endure through time but instead comes and goes in ...
More
A key concept in the later work of Sheldon Wolin is “fugitive democracy.” Wolin argues that, throughout history, democracy has rarely been able to endure through time but instead comes and goes in evanescent, fugitive moments. Much recent work in ecclesiology, especially that of radical orthodoxy, but also that of Stanley Hauerwas and John Howard Yoder, seems to be convinced that the same is true of church. Just to the extent that is true, theologians may find it fruitful to talk about companionship as well as, and sometimes instead of, community.Less
A key concept in the later work of Sheldon Wolin is “fugitive democracy.” Wolin argues that, throughout history, democracy has rarely been able to endure through time but instead comes and goes in evanescent, fugitive moments. Much recent work in ecclesiology, especially that of radical orthodoxy, but also that of Stanley Hauerwas and John Howard Yoder, seems to be convinced that the same is true of church. Just to the extent that is true, theologians may find it fruitful to talk about companionship as well as, and sometimes instead of, community.
Jeffrey Robbins
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231156363
- eISBN:
- 9780231527132
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231156363.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Alexis de Tocqueville once wrote that “the people reign over the American political world like God over the universe,” unwittingly casting democracy as the political instantiation of the death of ...
More
Alexis de Tocqueville once wrote that “the people reign over the American political world like God over the universe,” unwittingly casting democracy as the political instantiation of the death of God. According to this book, Tocqueville's assessment remains an apt observation of modern democratic power, which does not rest with a sovereign authority but operates as a diffuse social force. By linking radical democratic theory to a contemporary fascination with political theology, the book envisions the modern experience of democracy as a social, cultural, and political force transforming the nature of sovereign power and political authority. The text joins this work with Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's radical conception of “network power,” as well as Sheldon Wolin's notion of “fugitive democracy,” to fashion a political theology that captures modern democracy's social and cultural torment. This approach has profound implications not only for the nature of contemporary religious belief and practice but also for the reconceptualization of the proper relationship between religion and politics. Challenging the modern, liberal, and secular assumption of a neutral public space, this text conceives of a postsecular politics for contemporary society that inextricably links religion to the political. While effectively recasting the tradition of radical theology as a political theology, this book also develops a comprehensive critique of the political theology bequeathed by Carl Schmitt.Less
Alexis de Tocqueville once wrote that “the people reign over the American political world like God over the universe,” unwittingly casting democracy as the political instantiation of the death of God. According to this book, Tocqueville's assessment remains an apt observation of modern democratic power, which does not rest with a sovereign authority but operates as a diffuse social force. By linking radical democratic theory to a contemporary fascination with political theology, the book envisions the modern experience of democracy as a social, cultural, and political force transforming the nature of sovereign power and political authority. The text joins this work with Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's radical conception of “network power,” as well as Sheldon Wolin's notion of “fugitive democracy,” to fashion a political theology that captures modern democracy's social and cultural torment. This approach has profound implications not only for the nature of contemporary religious belief and practice but also for the reconceptualization of the proper relationship between religion and politics. Challenging the modern, liberal, and secular assumption of a neutral public space, this text conceives of a postsecular politics for contemporary society that inextricably links religion to the political. While effectively recasting the tradition of radical theology as a political theology, this book also develops a comprehensive critique of the political theology bequeathed by Carl Schmitt.
