What makes individuals what they are? How should they judge their social and political interaction with the world? What makes them authentic or inauthentic? This original and provocative study explores the concept of "authenticity" and its relevance for radical politics. Weaving together close readings of three 20th century thinkers: Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers and Jean-Paul Sartre with the concept of authenticity, Stephen Eric Bronner illuminates the phenomenological foundations for self-awareness that underpin our sense of identity and solidarity. He claims that different expressions of the existential tradition compete with one another in determining how authenticity might be experienced, but all of them ultimately rest on self-referential judgments. The author's own new framework for a political ethic at once serves as a corrective and an alternative. Wonderfully rich, insightful, and nuanced, Stephen Eric Bronner has produced another bookshelf staple that speaks to crucial issues in politics, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Existentialism, Authenticity, Solidarity will appeal to scholars, students and readers from the general public alike.

Global society has been analyzed in any number of ways: books dealing with its economic and cultural implications flood the market. But Planetary Politics highlights something unique. It explores globalization with an eye on the transformation of politics into a planetary enterprise. Unifying this collection is a political purpose: the attempt to engage in progressive fashion the dominant trends, the terrible excesses, and the positive prospects in a decidedly new era marked by the transition from a corrosive interplay between nation-states to a burgeoning planetary politics. Bringing together the work of major scholars with national and international reputations, this exciting new work offers perspectives for dealing with the complexity of power in the planetary life of the new millennium.

This volume is an appraisal of the past ten years of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Particularly following Israeli Operation Cast Lead in 2009, prospects for a viable Palestinian state existing alongside a secure and independent Israel seem increasingly out of reach. Nonetheless, peace initiatives remain largely limited to the prevailing two-state solution, without much serious attention paid to that paradigm's feasibility in the aftermath of: the Israeli separation barrier, rampant settlement of the West Bank, the crippling of Palestinian civil society by Israeli economic sanctions (and military campaigns), or growing loyalties among disillusioned Palestinians to militant groups like Hamas. Rather than attempt to articulate a new or more viable peace paradigm, this volume seeks to encourage more informed discussion of the present peace process by elaborating on its limitations in the aftermath of the past ten years. Featuring chapters from scholars of international law, political science, philosophy, history, and Middle East Studies, this interdisciplinary volume seeks to analyze the vicissitudes of the Israel-Palestine conflict over the past ten years, in a truly holistic manner.

Progressive politics has long been in crisis in the United States. As the radical Left realizes the dire consequences of defining themselves solely by what they are against, this collection challenges leading engaged academics and activists to show how radical politics can lead to a more fruitful democracy. Dealing with pressing issues of the day such as health care, race, immigration, religion, foreign policy, unions, feminism, liberalism, education, and the media, this edited volume looks at the prospects for a progressive turn in U.S. politics. In doing so, it hopes to inspire the radical imagination by showing where we can go from here. As technology continues to enable greater access to ideas around the world, the power of intellectuals is greater than ever. And given that the world is full of crushing poverty, sexism, uneven development, environmental degeneration, religious fanaticism, racism, and imperialism, the need for intellectuals to inspire the radical imagination by championing principles of economic and social justice, democracy, and universality is also greater than ever. However, political visions are required to guide that struggle. This is the aim of this book.

German Scholars in Exiledeals with intellectuals who fled Nazi Germany and found refuge in either the United States or in American Services in Great Britain and post-WWII Germany. The volume focuses on scholars who were outside the commonly known Max Horkheimer-Hannah Arendt circles, who are less well-known but not less important. Their experiences ranged from an outstanding career at an Ivy-League university to a return to the German Democratic Republic and a position as an economic advisor to East Berlin's party leadership. None had actual political power, but many asserted some degree of influence. Their intellecutal legacies can still be seen in today's political culture.

Progressive politics has long been in crisis in the United States. As the radical Left realizes the dire consequences of defining themselves solely by what they are against, this collection challenges leading engaged academics and activists to show how radical politics can lead to a more fruitful democracy. Dealing with pressing issues of the day such as health care, race, immigration, religion, foreign policy, unions, feminism, liberalism, education, and the media, this edited volume looks at the prospects for a progressive turn in U.S. politics. In doing so, it hopes to inspire the radical imagination by showing where we can go from here. As technology continues to enable greater access to ideas around the world, the power of intellectuals is greater than ever. And given that the world is full of crushing poverty, sexism, uneven development, environmental degeneration, religious fanaticism, racism, and imperialism, the need for intellectuals to inspire the radical imagination by championing principles of economic and social justice, democracy, and universality is also greater than ever. However, political visions are required to guide that struggle. This is the aim of this book.

In its portrayal of Judaism as a worldwide conspiracy dedicated to the destruction of Christian civilization, the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion remains one of the most infamous documents ever written. Despite being proven a crude forgery, the pamphlet managed to pervade twentieth-century thinking, often being twisted to suit its handlers' purposes, and to justify the most extreme persecution of the Jews. In A Rumor About the Jews, Stephen Eric Bronner provides a history of this notorious fabrication-one which has renewed salience in a "post truth" society dominated by "fake news"-and explores its influence on right-wing movements throughout the twentieth century and the ongoing appeal of bigotry. This new edition of Bronner's 2000 classic (described by Kirkus as "the best short book on anti-Semitism") expands the arguments of the first edition, bringing the work up to date in a new political context.

This book includes a collection of 190 letters that show the personality of Rosa Luxemburg in its political as well as in its personal dimensions. It presents the spirit of her time as it is reflected in her political thinking, activism, and personal concerns.

What makes individuals what they are? How should they judge their social and political interaction with the world? What makes them authentic or inauthentic? This original and provocative study explores the concept of "authenticity" and its relevance for radical politics. Weaving together close readings of three 20th century thinkers: Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers and Jean-Paul Sartre with the concept of authenticity, Stephen Eric Bronner illuminates the phenomenological foundations for self-awareness that underpin our sense of identity and solidarity. He claims that different expressions of the existential tradition compete with one another in determining how authenticity might be experienced, but all of them ultimately rest on self-referential judgments. The author's own new framework for a political ethic at once serves as a corrective and an alternative. Wonderfully rich, insightful, and nuanced, Stephen Eric Bronner has produced another bookshelf staple that speaks to crucial issues in politics, philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Existentialism, Authenticity, Solidarity will appeal to scholars, students and readers from the general public alike.

Sovereignty is among the most important phenomena for making sense of political life. But there are many mistaken assumptions associated with the concept. This book provides a new and somewhat unorthodox interpretation of it from the standpoint of a theory of practice. The Sovereign responds to pressing political issues of our time, like immigration and refugees, transnationalism and populism, the prospects for democracy, and the relationship between civil society and the state. The chapters trace the concept of sovereignty from its origins in political theory, providing perspective and insights that leave the reader with a phenomenological sketch of the sovereign. Bronner transforms our ideas about political power, what it is, how it has been used, and how it can be used. His new theory of sovereignty concludes with twenty-five provocative theses on the sovereign's role in modern capitalist society. The Sovereign is a novel and unparalleled overview of a crucial concept by an influential thinker. It is especially and particularly recommended to scholars and student of comparative politics, international relations, contemporary political theory, and the wider general public.

Sovereignty is among the most important phenomena for making sense of political life. But there are many mistaken assumptions associated with the concept. This book provides a new and somewhat unorthodox interpretation of it from the standpoint of a theory of practice. The Sovereign responds to pressing political issues of our time, like immigration and refugees, transnationalism and populism, the prospects for democracy, and the relationship between civil society and the state. The chapters trace the concept of sovereignty from its origins in political theory, providing perspective and insights that leave the reader with a phenomenological sketch of the sovereign. Bronner transforms our ideas about political power, what it is, how it has been used, and how it can be used. His new theory of sovereignty concludes with twenty-five provocative theses on the sovereign's role in modern capitalist society. The Sovereign is a novel and unparalleled overview of a crucial concept by an influential thinker. It is especially and particularly recommended to scholars and student of comparative politics, international relations, contemporary political theory, and the wider general public.

This book includes a collection of 190 letters that show the personality of Rosa Luxemburg in its political as well as in its personal dimensions. It presents the spirit of her time as it is reflected in her political thinking, activism, and personal concerns.

A collaboration of more than 45 thinkers who form the "canon" of contemporary political thought--from John Dewey and Walter Benjamin to Malcolm X and Judith Butler.
Twentieth Century Political Theory fuses the needs of the more traditional course with the rapidly changing and extremely influential new approaches to the field. Designed for undergraduate and graduate students, this volume includes essays by major figures like Hannah Arendt, Simone de Beauvoir, Sir Isaiah Berlin, John Dewey, W.E.B. Dubois, Frantz Fanon, Michel Foucault, Antonio Gramsci, V.I. Lenin, Jurgen Habermas, Adolph Hitler and others. Its range and innovative character will assuredly make this anthology the major primary work in political theory for many years to come.

Contents:
1. Introduction: From the First Edition to the Second 2. Sketching the Lineage: The Critical Method and the Idealist Tradition 3. Karl Korsch: Western Marxism and the Origins of Critical Theory 4. Philosophical Anticipations: A Commentary on the "Reification" Essay of Georg Lukacs 5. Utopian Projections: In Honor of Ernst Bloch 6. Horkheimer's Road 7. Reclaiming the Fragments: On the Messianic Materialism of Walter Benjamin 8. Political Aesthetics: Reflections on the Expressionism Debate 9. Dialectics at a Standstill: A Methodological Inquiry into the Philosophy of Theodor W. Adorno 10. Fromm in America 11. The Anthropological Break: Aesthetics and Politics in the Work of Herbert Marcuse 12. Jurgen Habermas and the Language of Politics 13. Critical Theory and Civil Society 14. Points of Departure: Sketches for a Critical Theory with Public Aims

Of Critical Theory and its Theorists is an intelligent, accessible overview of the entire Critical Theory Tradition, written by one of the leading experts on the subject. Filled with original insights and valuable historical narratives, Of Critical Theory and Its Theorists covers the work of major philosphical thinkers such as Benjamin, Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse and Habermas and revisits the contributions of lesser known figures such as Karl Korsch and Ernst Bloch. Bronner measures the writing of these theorists against each other, postmodernist philosophers and the critical tradition reaching back to Hegel. Of Critical Theory and Its Theorists presents new insights useful to experienced scholars and offers clear summaries for students making this book an ideal introduction to the debates surrounding one of the most important intellectual traditions of the 20th Century.

Jean-Paul Sartre originally made the term 'engagement' part of the existentialist vocabulary following WWII. It implies the responsibility of intervening in social or political conflicts in the hope of fostering freedom. Imagining the Possible opens different windows upon this particular engagement.

A collaboration of more than 45 thinkers who form the "canon" of contemporary political thought--from John Dewey and Walter Benjamin to Malcolm X and Judith Butler.
Twentieth Century Political Theory fuses the needs of the more traditional course with the rapidly changing and extremely influential new approaches to the field. Designed for undergraduate and graduate students, this volume includes essays by major figures like Hannah Arendt, Simone de Beauvoir, Sir Isaiah Berlin, John Dewey, W.E.B. Dubois, Frantz Fanon, Michel Foucault, Antonio Gramsci, V.I. Lenin, Jurgen Habermas, Adolph Hitler and others. Its range and innovative character will assuredly make this anthology the major primary work in political theory for many years to come.

Contents:
Editors Introduction
Part I: The Institute for Social Research and Its Original Programme
1. The State of Social Philosophy and the Tasks of an Institute of Social Research, Max Horkheimer 2. Psychoanalysis and Sociology, Erich Fromm 3. On the Sociology of Literature, Leo Lowenthal 4. Notes on Science and the Crisis, Max Horkheimer 5. Philosophy and Critical Theory, Hebert Marcuse
Part II: Fragments of a Theory of Society
6. The Jews and Europe, Max Horkheimer 7. State Capitalism: Its Possibilities and Limitations, Frederick Pollock 8. From Ontology to Technology: Fundamental Tendencies of Industrial Society, Herbert Marcuse 9. The Culture Industry Reconsidered, T.W. Adorno 10. The Public Sphere, Jurgen Habermas
Part III: Cultural Criticism and the Critique of Mass Culture
11. The Mass Ornament, Siegfried Kracauer 12. Lyric Poetry and Society, T.W. Adorno 13. Surrealism: "The Last Snapshot of European Intelligentsia", Walter Benjamin 14. Historical Perspectives on Popular Culture, Leo Lowenthal 15. Perennial Fashion, T.W. Adorno
Part IV: Critical Theory and Psychology^HN
16. Politics and Psychoanalysis, Erich Fromm 17. Introduction to The Authoritarian Personality, T.W. Adorno 18. The Obsolescence of the Freudian Concept of Man, Herbert Marcuse 19. The Crisis of Psychoanalysis, Erich Fromm
Part V: Critical Visions
20. Theses on the Philosophy of History, Walter Benjamin 21. Notes on the Institute Activities, Max Horkheimer 22. Society, T.W. Adorno 23. Liberation from the Affluent Society, Herbert Marcuse 24. The Reification of the Proletariat, Herbert Marcuse 25. The Tasks of a Critical Theory of Society, Jurgen Habermas

In its portrayal of Judaism as a worldwide conspiracy dedicated to the destruction of Christian civilization, the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion remains one of the most infamous documents ever written. Despite being proven a crude forgery, the pamphlet managed to pervade twentieth-century thinking, often being twisted to suit its handlers' purposes, and to justify the most extreme persecution of the Jews. In A Rumor About the Jews, Stephen Eric Bronner provides a history of this notorious fabrication-one which has renewed salience in a "post truth" society dominated by "fake news"-and explores its influence on right-wing movements throughout the twentieth century and the ongoing appeal of bigotry. This new edition of Bronner's 2000 classic (described by Kirkus as "the best short book on anti-Semitism") expands the arguments of the first edition, bringing the work up to date in a new political context.

Stephen Eric Bronner revisits the modernist project's groundbreaking innovations, itsexperimental imagination, and its utopian politics. Reading the artistic and intellectual achievements of the movement's leading figures against larger social, political, and cultural trends, he follows the rise of a flawed yet salient effort at liberation and its confrontation with modernity. Modernism at the Barricades features chapters on expressionism, futurism, surrealism, and revolutionary art and includes fresh perspectives on the work of Arnold Schoenberg, Wassily Kandinsky, and Emil Nolde, among others. The volume illuminates an international avant garde intent on resisting bureaucracy, standardization, scientific rationality, and the increasing commodification of mass culture. Modernists sought new ways of feeling, new forms of expression, and new possibilities of experience while seeking to refashion society. Liberation was their aim, along with the invigoration of daily life -- yet their process entangled political resistance with the cultural.Exploring both the political responsibility of the artist and the manipulation of authorial intention, Bronner reconfigures the modernist movement for contemporary progressive purposes and offers insight into the problems still complicating cultural politics. He ultimately reasserts the political dimension of developments often understood in purely aesthetic terms and confronts the self-indulgence and political irresponsibility of certain so-called modernists today. The result is a long overdue reinterpretation and rehabilitation of the modernist legacy for a new age.

Stephen Eric Bronner revisits the modernist project's groundbreaking innovations, itsexperimental imagination, and its utopian politics. Reading the artistic and intellectual achievements of the movement's leading figures against larger social, political, and cultural trends, he follows the rise of a flawed yet salient effort at liberation and its confrontation with modernity.

"Modernism at the Barricades" features chapters on expressionism, futurism, surrealism, and revolutionary art and includes fresh perspectives on the work of Arnold Schoenberg, Wassily Kandinsky, and Emil Nolde, among others. The volume illuminates an international avant garde intent on resisting bureaucracy, standardization, scientific rationality, and the increasing commodification of mass culture. Modernists sought new ways of feeling, new forms of expression, and new possibilities of experience while seeking to refashion society. Liberation was their aim, along with the invigoration of daily life -- yet their process entangled political resistance with the cultural.

Exploring both the political responsibility of the artist and the manipulation of authorial intention, Bronner reconfigures the modernist movement for contemporary progressive purposes and offers insight into the problems still complicating cultural politics. He ultimately reasserts the political dimension of developments often understood in purely aesthetic terms and confronts the self-indulgence and political irresponsibility of certain so-called modernists today. The result is a long overdue reinterpretation and rehabilitation of the modernist legacy for a new age.

Critical theory emerged in the 1920s from the work of the Frankfurt School, the circle of German-Jewish academics who sought to diagnose - and, if at all possible, cure - the ills of society, particularly fascism and capitalism. In this book, Stephen Eric Bronner provides sketches of leading representatives of the critical tradition (such as George Lukacs and Ernst Bloch, Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse and Jurgen Habermas) as well as many of its seminal texts and empirical investigations. This Very Short Introduction sheds light on the cluster of concepts and themes that set critical theory apart from its more traditional philosophical competitors. Bronner explains and discusses concepts such as method and agency, alienation and reification, the culture industry and repressive tolerance, non-identity and utopia. He argues for the introduction of new categories and perspectives for illuminating the obstacles to progressive change and focusing upon hidden transformative possibilities. In this newly updated second edition, Bronner targets new academic interests, broadens his argument, and adapts it to a global society amid the resurgence of right-wing politics and neo-fascist movements. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

In its portrayal of Judaism as a worldwide conspiracy dedicated to the destruction of Christian civilization, the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion remains one of the most infamous documents ever written. Despite being proven a crude forgery, the pamphlet managed to pervade twentieth-century thinking, often being twisted to suit its handlers' purposes, and to justify the most extreme persecution of the Jews. As recently as 2002, a documentary was aired in Egypt falsely presenting the Protocols as fact--and the Protocols is still regarded as a historical document in many other parts of the world.

In A Rumor About the Jews, Stephen Eric Bronner systematically debunks the antisemitic assertions made in the Protocols. He also explores its history, its influence on right-wing movements throughout the twentieth century, and the ongoing appeal of bigotry. A work of intellectual history, A Rumor About the Jews takes the reader on a historical journey that provides a new and deeper understanding of an insidious ideology and its broader implications.

Bronner's sharp and penetrating analysis offers new insights into the nature of antisemitism, along with a warning against underestimating the power of this hateful tract.

Published more than twenty years ago, Stephen Eric Bronner's bold defense of socialism remains one of the best texts to reframe the movement for modern audiences. Treating socialism as an ethic and reclaiming its early intellectual foundations, while acknowledging and correcting its inherent flaws, Bronner advances a more robust theory of working-class politics for the twenty-first century.

Unfolding chronologically, Bronner's study revisits the labor movement's pivotal figures--Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Karl Kautsky, Eduard Bernstein, Vladimir Lenin, and Rosa Luxemburg--and the major themes governing their work. He identifies the contributions of these individuals but also their missteps, particularly the moments in which critical innovation gave way to dogma, muddying the meaning of core principles and practices. Bronner confronts a host of controversial issues, including the relationship between class and social movements, institutional accountability and participation, and economic justice and market imperatives; the problematic processes of revolution and reform; and the tensions between internationalism and identity. Adding a new introduction examining the revival of socialist theory and the evolution of labor politics over the past three decades, Bronner's classic treatise furthers the intellectual development of a genuinely progressive politics.