Violence and Civility

Resumen del libro

In this impassioned argument, Étienne Balibar boldly confronts the insidious causes of violence, racism, nationalism, and ethnic cleansing worldwide. Through a novel synthesis of theory and empirical studies of violence drawn from contemporary life, Balibar tests the limits of political philosophy to formulate new, productive conceptions of war, revolution, sovereignty, and class.
Using the pathbreaking thought of Derrida as a starting point, Balibar designs a topography of cruelty converted into extremism by ideology, juxtaposing its subjective forms (identity delusions, the desire for extermination, and the pursuit of vengeance) and its objective manifestations (capitalist exploitation and an institutional disregard for life). Through a lively engagement with Marx, Hegel, Hobbes, Clausewitz, Schmitt, and Luxemburg, Balibar advances a new understanding of politics as antiviolence and a fresh approach to achieving and sustaining civility. Rooted in the principles of transformation and empowerment, Balibar's versatile theory brings hope to a world increasingly divided by difference even as it draws closer together.

Biografía del autor

Né en 1942 à Avallon (Yonne). Philosophe, professeur émérite à l'Université de Paris 10, Nanterre, et Distinguished Professeur of Humanities à l'Université de Californie à Irvine, Etienne Balibar a également enseigné aux universités d'Alger, Leiden, Urbino, Columbia University of New York, Utrecht, Birkbeck College, London.<br>Après avoir participé en 1965 à Lire Le Capital (éditions François Maspero) avec Louis Althusser, Jacques Rancière, Pierre Macherey et Roger Establet, il a publié une vingtaine d'ouvrages.<br>Il a fondé et dirigé de 1981 à 2004, avec Dominique Lecourt, la collection "Pratiques théoriques" aux Presses Universitaires de France.<br>Ses intérêts concernent l'épistémologie, la philosophie politique, l'anthropologie philosophique. Il travaille actuellement sur les questions de la guerre et de la traduction.