Modern Liberty and Its Discontents by Manent Pierre. Mahoney Daniel J. Seaton Paul

Author:Manent, Pierre.,Mahoney, Daniel J.,Seaton, Paul.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780585120157
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
Published: 2013-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

Translated by Daniel J. Mahoney and Paul Seaton

Part Four

Understanding Totalitarianism

In “Totalitarianism and the Problem of Political Representation,” Pierre Manent offers a distinctive contribution to the necessary and noble task of thinking about the totalitarian phenomenon. And in his essay on Aurel Kolnai, he highlights the distinctive achievement of the too little known Hungarian-born philosopher in analyzing “the utopian mind.”

One of the original features of these essays is Manent’s use of Marx’s “On the Jewish Question” to analyze the liberal democratic state’s ambiguity vis-à-vis democratic society and “the moral contents of life” it officially authorizes and protects. Without in the least sympathizing with revolutionary illusions, Manent draws on Marx in understanding the distinctive character of liberal representative politics and the discontent these politics necessarily engender in many segments of society.

This discontent needs the illumination of analyses such as Kolnai’s. Genuinely human consciousness is structured around reflection on the relationship between the “is” and the “ought.” The improper articulation of this relationship in the utopian project is a sobering reminder of the essential place of conscience in human thought and points to the need for responsible political action rooted in a recognition of the permanent limits that frame human thought and action.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.