
Freedom Beyond Sovereignty
Reconstructing Liberal Individualism
Sharon R. Krause(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Published on 13. March 2015
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-226-23469-4 (ISBN)
Description
What does it mean to be free? We invoke the word frequently, yet the freedom of countless Americans is compromised by social inequalities that systematically undercut what they are able to do and to become. If we are to remedy these failures of freedom, we must move beyond the common assumption, prevalent in political theory and American public life, that individual agency is best conceived as a kind of personal sovereignty, or as self-determination or control over one's actions. In Freedom Beyond Sovereignty, Sharon R Krause shows that individual agency is best conceived as a non-sovereign experience because our ability to act and affect the world depends on how other people interpret and respond to what we do. The intersubjective character of agency makes it vulnerable to the effects of social inequality, but it is never in a strict sense socially determined. The agency of the oppressed sometimes surprises us with its vitality. Only by understanding the deep dynamics of agency as simultaneously non-sovereign and robust can we remediate the failed freedom of those on the losing end of persistent inequalities and grasp the scope of our own responsibility for social change.
Freedom Beyond Sovereignty brings the experiences of the oppressed to the center of political theory and the study of freedom. It fundamentally reconstructs liberal individualism and enables us to see human action, personal responsibility, and the meaning of liberty in a totally new light.
Freedom Beyond Sovereignty brings the experiences of the oppressed to the center of political theory and the study of freedom. It fundamentally reconstructs liberal individualism and enables us to see human action, personal responsibility, and the meaning of liberty in a totally new light.
Reviews / Votes
"Krause remaps the very concept of freedom, which she persuasively argues is a concept that can't be reduced to any one of the familiar models. Freedom Beyond Sovereignty is thoughtful, well-written, well-argued, and engaging, its argument clear and compelling." (Clarissa Rile Hayward, Washington University in St. Louis)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 24 mm
Width: 16 mm
Thickness: 2 mm
Weight
510 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-23469-4 (9780226234694)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2024
1st Edition
University of Chicago Press
from
€30.24
Available for download
Person
Sharon R. Krause is professor in and chair of the Department of Political Science at Brown University. She is the author of Civil Passions and Liberalism with Honor.