Radical Thought in Italy
A Potential Politics
Radical Thought in Italy provides an original view of the potential for a radical democratic politics today that speaks not only to the Italian situation but also to a broadly international context.
Contributors: Giorgio Agamben, Massimo De Carolis, Alisa Del Re, Augusto Illuminati, Maurizio Lazzarato, Antonio Negri, Franco Piperno, Marco Revelli, Rossana Rossanda, Carlo Vercellone, Adelino Zanini.
Collectively, the 15 essays presented by Marxist theorists Virno and Hardt act as a survey of contemporary Italian radical political theory. The essays critique the culture of postmodernism, analyze the economic and social conditions of contemporary capitalist production, and propose new forms of political theorizing. The editors have added to foundational essays of Italian radical political theory in an appendix: 1983’s “Do You Remember Revolution?” an overview of the political landscape penned by Virno, Antonio Negri, and nine others imprisoned for their politics by the Italian state, and Virno’s “Do You Remember Counterrevolution?” which took stock of the trajectory of political and social developments following the earlier essay. Also included is a glossary defining some of the terminology peculiar to the Italian leftist tradition.
Reference and Research Book News
Over the past several decades, Italian revolutionary politics has offered a model for new forms of political thinking. Radical Thought in Italy continues that tradition by providing an original view of the potential for a radical democratic politics today that speaks not only to the Italian situation but also to a broadly international context.
First, the essays settle accounts with the culture of cynicism, opportunism, and fear that has come to permeate the Left. They then proceed to analyze the new difficulties and possibilities opened by current economic conditions and the crisis of the welfare state. Finally, the authors propose a series of new concepts that are helpful in rethinking revolution for our times.
Contributors: Giorgio Agamben, U of Verona and Collège Internationale de Philosophie, Paris; Massimo De Carolis, U of Salerno; Alisa Del Re, U of Padua; Augusto Illuminati, U of Urbino; Maurizio Lazzarato; Antonio Negri, U of Paris VIII; Franco Piperno, U of Calabria; Marco Revelli, U of Turin; Rossana Rossanda; Carlo Vercellone; Adelino Zanini.
Collectively, the 15 essays presented by Marxist theorists Virno and Hardt act as a survey of contemporary Italian radical political theory. The essays critique the culture of postmodernism, analyze the economic and social conditions of contemporary capitalist production, and propose new forms of political theorizing. The editors have added to foundational essays of Italian radical political theory in an appendix: 1983’s “Do You Remember Revolution?” an overview of the political landscape penned by Virno, Antonio Negri, and nine others imprisoned for their politics by the Italian state, and Virno’s “Do You Remember Counterrevolution?” which took stock of the trajectory of political and social developments following the earlier essay. Also included is a glossary defining some of the terminology peculiar to the Italian leftist tradition.
Reference and Research Book News
Contents
chapter 1. Introduction: Laboratory Italy Michael Hardt
Part I: Antidotes to Cynicism and Fear
chapter 2. The Ambivalence of Disenchantment Paolo Virno
chapter 3. Toward a Phenomenology of Opportunism Massimo De Carolis
chapter 4. Weak Thought between Being and Difference Adelino Zanini
Chapter 5. Be Communist in the 1990s Rossana Rossanda
Part II: Working in Post-Fordism
chapter 6. The Anomaly and Exemplariness of the Italian Welfare State Carlo Vercellom
chapter 7. Women and Welfare: Where Is Jocasta? Alisa Del Re
Chapter 8. Desert Marco Revelli
chapter 9. Technological Innovation and Sentimental Education Franco Piperno
Chapter 10. Two Hundred Questions for Anyone Who Wants to Worker Identity in the Factory Immaterial Labor Maurizio Lazzarato
Part III: Concepts for a Potential Politics
Chapter 11. Form-of-Life Giorgio Agamben
Chapter 12. Beyond Human Rights Giorgio Agamben
chapter 13. Unrepresentable Citizenship Augusto Illuminati
chapter 14. Virtuosity and Revolution: The Political Theory of Exodus Paolo Virno
Chapter 15.
Appendix: A Future History
chapter 16. Do You Remember Revolution? Lucio Castellano, Arrigo Cavallina, Giustino Cortiana, Mario Dalmaviva, Luciano Ferrari Bravo, Chicco Funaro, Antonio Negri, Paolo Pozzi,Franco Tommei, Emilio Vesce, and Paolo Virno
chapter 17. Do You Remember Counterrevolution? Paolo Virno
Glossary of Concepts
Contributors
Index
