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On the political

TLDR
On the Political by Chantal Mouffe, a globally recognized political author, presents a timely account of the current state of democracy, affording readers the most relevant and up-to-date information.
Abstract
Since September 11th, we frequently hear that political differences should be put aside: the real struggle is between good and evil. What does this mean for political and social life? Is there a 'Third Way' beyond left and right, and if so, should we fear or welcome it? This thought-provoking book by Chantal Mouffe, a globally recognized political author, presents a timely account of the current state of democracy, affording readers the most relevant and up-to-date information. Arguing that liberal 'third way thinking' ignores fundamental, conflicting aspects of human nature, Mouffe states that, far from expanding democracy, globalization is undermining the combative and radical heart of democratic life. Going back first to Aristotle, she identifies the historical origins of the political and reflects on the Enlightenment, and the social contract, arguing that in spite of its good intentions, it levelled the radical core of political life. Contemporary examples, including the Iraq war, racism and the rise of the far right, are used to illustrate and support her theory that far from combating extremism, the quest for consensus politics undermines the ability to challenge it. These case studies are also highly effective points of reference for student revision. On the Political is a stimulating argument about the future of politics and addresses the most fundamental aspects of democracy that will aid further study.

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Citations
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An agenda for sustainability transitions research: State of the art and future directions

TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an extensive review and an updated research agenda for the field, classified into nine main themes: understanding transitions; power, agency and politics; governing transitions; civil society, culture and social movements; businesses and industries; transitions in practice and everyday life; geography of transitions; ethical aspects; and methodologies.
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Apocalypse Forever? Post-political Populism and the Spectre of Climate Change

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the relationship between the consensual presentation and mainstreaming of the global problem of climate change on the one hand and the debate in political theory/philosophy that centers around the emergence and consolidation of a post-political and post-democratic condition on the other.
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The Just City

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Neoliberalism and education

TL;DR: The discourses and practices of neoliberalism, including government policies for education and training, public debates regarding standards and changed funding regimes, have been at work on and in schools in capitalist societies since at least the 1980s as discussed by the authors.
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The Antinomies of the Postpolitical City: In Search of a Democratic Politics of Environmental Production

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the present consensual vision of the urban environment presenting a clear and present danger annuls the properly political moment and contributes to what a number of authors have defined as the emergence and consolidation of a postpolitical and post-democratic condition.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness

TL;DR: In this article, the extent to which economic action is embedded in structures of social relations, in modern industrial society, is examined, and it is argued that reformist economists who attempt to bring social structure back in do so in the "oversocialized" way criticized by Dennis Wrong.
Posted Content

Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth

TL;DR: The authors showed that countries with a high ratio of natural resource exports to GDP tended to have low growth rates during the subsequent period 1971-89, even after controlling for variables found to be important for economic growth, such as initial per capita income, trade policy, government efficiency, investment rates, and other variables.
Posted Content

Whiteness as Property

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace the origins of whiteness as property in the parallel systems of domination of Black and Native American peoples out of which were created racially contingent forms of property and property rights.
Journal ArticleDOI

The Ethnography of Infrastructure

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors ask methodological questions about studying infrastructure with some of the tools and perspectives of ethnography, which is both relational and ecological, and they propose a methodology for studying infrastructure that is both ecological and relational.
Book

Neoliberalism as exception

Aihwa Ong
TL;DR: In this article, Aihwa Ong offers an alternative view of neoliberalism as an extraordinarily malleable technology of governing that is taken up in different ways by different regimes, be they authoritarian, democratic, or communist.
Trending Questions (2)
Is politics good or evil; political theory?

The paper discusses the current state of democracy and argues that political differences should not be put aside. It does not explicitly state whether politics is good or evil.

Is politics good or evil?

The answer to the query "Is politics good or evil?" is not explicitly mentioned in the paper. The word "politics" is used in the paper to discuss the current state of democracy and the challenges it faces. The paper explores the idea that political differences should be put aside in the face of a struggle between good and evil. However, it does not provide a definitive answer to whether politics itself is good or evil.