The State and its Critics is an authoritative selection of recent essays in normative political philosophy on the state as a form of political institution, focusing on its role with respect to such values as freedom, justice, well-being, economic efficiency, community, democracy and peace. These essays represent a variety of views about the state, from anarchist to statist and a variety of philosophical orientations, conservative, libertarian, Marxian and liberal.

"The American Ideology" explicates and criticizes two notions of reason in society: efficiency and the concept of "the reasonable." Despite their considerable appeal, these notions nowadays underwrite an orientation towards public policy that is both inadequate and beneficial to elite interests; an orientation that constitutes a distinct "American Ideology."
To make this case, Levine traces the history of the concept of efficiency, from Hobbes, through the utilitarian tradition, to contemporary economic and philosophical paradigms; and examines the strengths and weaknesses of the democratic theory implicit in John Rawls's pioneering work on justice and political legitimacy.

"The American Ideology" explicates and criticizes two notions of reason in society: efficiency and the concept of "the reasonable." Despite their considerable appeal, these notions nowadays underwrite an orientation towards public policy that is both inadequate and beneficial to elite interests; an orientation that constitutes a distinct "American Ideology."
To make this case, Levine traces the history of the concept of efficiency, from Hobbes, through the utilitarian tradition, to contemporary economic and philosophical paradigms; and examines the strengths and weaknesses of the democratic theory implicit in John Rawls's pioneering work on justice and political legitimacy.

This bold and unabashedly utopian book advances the thesis that Marx's notion of communism is a defensible, normative ideal. However, unlike many others who have written in this area, Levine applies the tools and techniques of analytic philosophy to formulate and defend his radical, political programme. The argument proceeds by filtering the ideals and institutions of Marxism through Rousseau's notion of the 'general will'. Once Rousseau's ideas are properly understood it is possible to construct a community of equals who share some vision of a common good that can be achieved and maintained through cooperation or coordination that is at once both voluntary and authoritative. The book engages with liberal theory in order to establish its differences from Rousseauean-Marxian political theory. This provocative book will be of particular interest to political philosophers and political scientists concerned with Marxism, socialist theory and democratic theory.

This bold and unabashedly utopian book advances the thesis that Marx's notion of communism is a defensible, normative ideal. However, unlike many others who have written in this area, Levine applies the tools and techniques of analytic philosophy to formulate and defend his radical, political programme. The argument proceeds by filtering the ideals and institutions of Marxism through Rousseau's notion of the 'general will'. Once Rousseau's ideas are properly understood it is possible to construct a community of equals who share some vision of a common good that can be achieved and maintained through cooperation or coordination that is at once both voluntary and authoritative. The book engages with liberal theory in order to establish its differences from Rousseauean-Marxian political theory. This provocative book will be of particular interest to political philosophers and political scientists concerned with Marxism, socialist theory and democratic theory.

"Nice idea, but it doesn't work in practice." How often have socialists had this claim thrown back at them? And now, after the events of 1989, many of the Left are openly wondering what a defensible idea of socialism would be. This work addresses this question, taking as its point of departure John Roemer's model of "coupon socialism". Roemer's model aims to combine the market with a commitment to equality through a simple, yet starkly radical, proposal: all citizens would receive an equal number of coupons with which to buy ownership rights (voting, dividends) in companies. These coupons would constitute a second, separate form of currency, but could not be exchanged for ordinary money, nor transferred to other people. Not all the contributors to this collection endorse Roemer's working model of market socialism, but they are all stimulated by his foray into a "real utopia".

"Reconstructing Marxism" explores fundamental questions about the structure of Marxist theory and its prospects for the future. The authors maintain that the disintegration of the old theoretical unity of classical Marxism is in part responsible for what is commonly called the "crisis of Marxism." Only a reconstructed Marxism can come to terms with this disintegration.
Addressing a range of problems in historical materialism and class analysis, the authors compare historical materialism with Darwinian evolutionary theory, and identify what is distinctively "historical" in Marx's theory of history. Through an evaluation of G.A. Cohen's defense and Anthony Giddens's critique of historical materialism they suggest what a plausible, yet still Marxist, theory of history might be. They analyze the relationship of micro-analysis to macro theory and the assignment of causal primacy in explanations, and present a general assessment of the current state of Marxist theory and the prospects for its analytical reconstruction.
Distinguished by the clarity of its presentation, the analytical rigor of its argument and its concern with fundamental philosophical and sociological issues, "Reconstructing Marxism" advances, at this critical juncture in the history of Marxism, a challenging new research program.

This collection is the year's (2018-2019) documentation of emotional and creative channeling. It is intended to reveal the deepest parts of conscious/unconscious and subconscious elements of daily life as it comes in contact with the rich unseen substrates that feed us. This lyrical interconnection brings words out of the darkest realms into daylight.

When I was a child my Aunt Gloria named me B?dobo. She did not understand that it was a spiritual name. As B?dobo, I had the ability to write messages from the spirit realm. Over the years these dictations became part of my spiritual practice.

These poems are joined by common themes. They are a record of shedding the past and evidence of releasing the moment, hence, Moltings.

Bunny in the corn, message of hope at midnight of joy and beyond. Fifty-two new poems by Andrew Levine. Cover illustration by Eva Zack.

This exploration of the effects of sleep and the accompanying dreams are the most recent pieces from 2012-2013 of the "award winning" poet, Andrew Levine.

The recent literature on monetary policy in the presence of a zero lower bound on interest rates has shown that forward guidance regarding the path of interest rates can be very effective in preserving macroeconomic stability in the face of a contractionary demand shock; moreover, that literature apparently leaves little scope for any further improvements in stabilization performance via non-traditional monetary policies. In this paper, we characterize optimal policy under commitment in a prototypical New Keynesian model and examine whether those conclusions are sensitive to the specifiation of the shock process and to the interest elasticity of aggregate demand. Although forward guidance is effective in offsetting natural rate shocks of moderate size and persistence, we find that the macroeconomic outcomes are much less appealing for larger and more persistent shocks, especially when the interest elasticity parameter is set to values widely used in the literature. Thus, while forward guidance could be suffcient for mitigating the effects of a "Great Moderation"-style shock, a combination of forward guidance and other monetary policy measures - such as large-scale asset purchases - might well be called for in responding to a "Great Recession"-style shock.

This book was written during 2011 primarily. It includes the many issues and fantasies that poured out from me during this period. When I write, I most often don't know what it is that I am writing about. It is an act that consumes me, like an ague.

Afghanistan looms as the key foreign policy challenge for the Obama administration. Under the previous Bush administration, foreign policy was driven primarily by security considerations, and Afghanistan was viewed a frontline state in the Global War on Terror. The military had the key role in implementing the USG's foreign policy, and foreign assistance was integrated within the U.S. National Security Strategy. However, this approach may not be appropriate given Afghanistan's history, economic and social conditions. Afghanistan is an agrarian society and is one of the poorest countries in the world due to decades of conflict. In particular, the Soviet invasion and occupation from 1979-89 had a devastating impact on its rural economy. As a result, the country now cannot produce enough food to meet its needs, and farmers in insecure regions increasingly rely on opium as a cash crop to support their families. The exponential growth of opium has undermined the economy, government and social fabric of the country. While more than 80 percent of Afghanistan's population relies on agriculture, the USG's support to the sector has been provided primarily through the counter-narcotics program, which promotes alternatives to opium production. However, these efforts have had limited success. In order to promote conditions for long-term stability, a more balanced approach is needed. A key factor in Afghanistan's long-term stability is revitalization of the agriculture sector, which is the basis for food security, rural livelihoods, and growth of the national economy.

This selection of poems from 2010 and 2011 explores the following notions: what constitutes meaning, what cajoles the human being into realms of greater joy, and what absurdities constitute our personal cobbled reality. The poems move in the direction of describing how human beings illustrate, embellish, create, and hide from the rich realities that make up our earthly and spiritual existence.