The global triumph of democracy was announced thirty years ago, promising an age of consensus in which the dispassionate consideration of objective problems would give birth to a world at peace. Today, these grand hopes lie in ruins, and the era touted as new has turned out to be remarkably similar to the old order. To understand why this might be so, we need to examine the nature of the consensus itself, which is not the peace that it promised but rather the map of a territory on which new forms of warfare are being waged. The objective reality that imposed itself at the end of the 1990s was an absolutized and globalized capitalism which has produced ever more inequality, exclusion and hate.
In this book Jacques Rancière delivers a frank and piercing critique of the globalized capitalist consensus. The invasion of Iraq, the riots on Capitol Hill and the rise of the European far right all attest to the true nature of this consensus, as does the current state-sanctioned racism which exploits the disenchanted progressive tradition and is led by an intelligentsia that claims to be left-wing. At the same time, Rancière praises the dynamism of social movements which affirm the power of the assembly of equals and its capacity for worldmaking: autonomous protest collectives have proven themselves capable of opening breaches in the consensual order and challenging the post-1989 system of domination.
By:
Jacques Ranciere
Translated by:
Andrew Brown
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 137mm,
Spine: 15mm
Weight: 227g
ISBN: 9781509558681
ISBN 10: 1509558683
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 17 June 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Part One. The violence of consensus Chapter One. The new racism: a passion from above Chapter Two. A modest proposal to help the victims Chapter Three. An elusive populism Chapter Four. Unravelling the confusions serving the dominant order Chapter Five. On freedom of expression Chapter Six. The Hatred of Equality Chapter Seven. Fools and sages. Reflections on the end of the Trump presidency Chapter Eight. A golden opportunity? Reflections in the time of lockdown Part Two. Moments of democracy Chapter Nine. The pandemic and inequality Chapter Ten. Interpreting the event 68: politics, philosophy, sociology Chapter Eleven. Occupation Chapter Twelve. Nuit Debout: Desire for Community or Egalitarian Invention? Chapter Thirteen. The virtues of the inexplicable. On the Gilets Jaunes Chapter Fourteen. Beyond the hatred of democracy Chapter Fifteen. Speech at the assembly of railway workers Notes
Jacques Rancière is a leading French philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Paris-St. Denis. He is the author of many books on politics and aesthetics including Hatred of Democracy, The Emancipated Spectator, The Politics of Literature and The Edges of Fiction.
Reviews for Uncertain Times
‘One of our most original radical philosophers explores why the post-Cold War consensus anticipating global liberal democracy unfolded its opposite. Critically interrogating idioms of populism, secularism, class struggle, democracy, and more, this timely and brilliant collection tracks the domination in consensus itself, placing all bets for an emancipatory, egalitarian future on uprisings that break it.’ Wendy Brown, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
