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What
is
Radical Politics Today?
‘This is a bold, brave and timely book. As we emerge, blinking into the light after
three decades of neo-liberal darkness, Jonathan Pugh has put together a collection
of essays that will provoke and provide clues to the question of what comes next;
what indeed
is
radical politics today?’
Neal Lawson (Chair, Compass)
‘Jonathan Pugh gathers some of the most innovative and insightful voices from
Britain and beyond to stage a series of debates on the central issues facing radical
politics today. This collection is a model for the kinds of discussion we need to
move forward.’
Michael Hardt, co-author of
Empire, Multitude
and
Commonwealth
‘At a time when all ideologies are either exhausted or have become irrelevant,
the need for a truly radical politics can hardly be exaggerated. Radical politics
is about rethinking the common sense, the taken for granted assumptions, of
the age. This timely and well-planned collection of essays by distinguished and
concerned scholars throws much new light onwhere we should be looking for new
ideas. It represents a major contribution to the ongoing debate on the problems
of our times.’
Lord Bhikhu Parekh
‘In the present moment of rapid and fundamental political and economic change
we need sustained critical discussion of the kinds of alternative politics available to
us. In
What
is
Radical Politics Today?
leading political theorists initiate this timely
discussion by addressing both possibilities and obstacles from a wide range of
perspectives.’
James Tully (University of Victoria)
‘As the most immediate effects of a global economic and financial crisis seem to be
ebbing from our consciousness, the authors in this collection reaffirm the urgent
need for a different kind of politics. One after the other they draw a picture of
a world ill at ease with itself: addicted to consumption yet unjust in its rewards;
obsessed with the idea of the global at the expense of an engagement with the real;
aware yet narcissistic. Helpless with fear, paternalism and debt. But the book is,
above all, in the words of one contributor “a challenge to fatalism”. The chapters
sketch out a radical politics for the 21st century based on the rediscovery of our
human powers to invent and adapt – a rebuilding of the state’s management
and redistributive capacities, a revaluing of autonomous behaviour and critical
judgement, the prioritising of a “social planet” over a “social state” and even,
a repudiation of near-sacrosanct institutions. No doubt some injunctions will
rile, but though this book may fail to comfort, it will not fail to challenge or
provoke.’
Catherine Fieschi (Director, Counterpoint,
The Think Tank of the British Council)
‘With impeccable timing, this volume provides a stimulating range of perspectives
onwhat radical politics can offer during this period of crisis and change. It deserves
to be widely read and debated.’
Ruth Lister (Loughborough University)
‘There’s a world to win, but only if the Left is possessed of bright ideas, inspiring
aspirations and brilliant strategies. This book – rich in insight – assembles some
of our leading thinkers to consider what sort of Left can unlock the progressive
potential contained in this moment of early 21st-century crisis. Has the main-
stream Left conceded far too much to the liberals and conservatives this last 30
years? If so, what sort of Left can win hearts and minds in this moment of crisis?
The answers to these important questions are the stuff of this excellent book.’
Noel Castree (Manchester University)
‘The current era presents a mixed picture for the possibility of radical politics.
Old radical solutions are failing, the Left is on the retreat in many countries and
regions, and urgent global problems, from financial market regulation to climate
change threaten to disrupt and disorganise progressive coalitions. On the other
side, the Western economic and political consensus of the last 30 years is in dis-
array. In this context, the task of renewing the nature and form of radical politics
is both pressing and demanding. This new book is a welcome step in the right
direction.’
David Held (London School of Economics)
‘This is a wonderfully salutary and visionary collection of widely different
opinions on how we can think about our world in these “interesting” times.’
Emily Young (Sculptor, and of Penguin Café Orchestra)
‘Like an exploding star, the radical Left in the UK has disintegrated and its frag-
ments have flown off in all directions. People who once thought they were
engaged in a common project can no longer agree about where they are going,
let alone how they should get there. If you feel radical but confused read these
essays. They may make you even more confused, but they may also help you
decide where to go next.’
Bob Rowthorn (Cambridge University)
‘With the aim of understanding the forces and boundaries of a genuinely radical
politics, this volume begins to interrogate the models, figures and reach of the
structureless moment that currently commands political tropology and life.’
Avital Ronell (New York University)
‘If you are looking for a rich diversity of views and fierce arguments about radical
politics today, then this is the book for you!’
Achin Vanaik (Delhi University)
‘Timely, engaging and bold. This book provides intellectual, moral and political
challenge for any reader on a question which urgently needs lucid answers: what
is
it to be radical today?’
Tom Bentley (Policy Director for
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister)
What
is
Radical Politics
Today?
Edited by
Jonathan Pugh
Senior Academic Fellow in Territorial Governance
Newcastle University, UK
© Editorial matter, selection and introduction © Jonathan Pugh 2009
Individual chapters © contributors 2009
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified
as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2009 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, NewYork, NY 10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978–0–230–23625–7 hardback
ISBN 978–0–230–23626–4 paperback
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
10987654321
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Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne
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