Commercium
Critical Theory from a Cosmopolitan Point of View
1st Edition
Published on 21. October 2015
328 pages
979-8-216-32113-2 (ISBN)
Description
Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a wealth of discussion and controversy about the idea of a 'postnational' or 'cosmopolitan' politics. But while there are many normative theories of cosmopolitanism, as well as some cosmopolitan theories of globalization, there has been little attempt to grapple systematically with fundamental questions of structure and action from a 'cosmopolitan point of view.' Drawing on Kant's cosmopolitan writings and Habermas's critical theory of society, Brian Milstein argues that, before we are members of nations or states, we are participants in a 'commercium' of global interaction who are able to negotiate for ourselves the terms on which we share the earth in common with one another. He marshals a broad range of literature from philosophy, sociology, and political science to show how the modern system of sovereign nation-states destructively constrains and distorts these relations of global interaction, leading to pathologies and crises in present-day world society.
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
ISBN-13
979-8-216-32113-2 (9798216321132)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2015
Rowman & Littlefield International
€182.10
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Persons
Brian Milstein is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Goethe University Frankfurt. He completed his PhD at the New School for Social Research, where his dissertation was awarded the Hannah Arendt Award in Politics, and he has published articles in the European Journal of Philosophy and the European Journal of Political Theory.
Content
Preface, Nancy Fraser / Introduction: Idea for a Critical Theory Conceived with a Cosmopolitan Intention / Part I: Habermas's Critical Theory of Society / 1. The Theory of Communicative Action / 2. The Postnational Constellation / Part II: Lifeworld and Commercium / 3. Kant, Commercium and the Cosmopolitan Problematic / 4. The 'Boundaries' of the Lifeworld / 5. Commercium Beyond Kant / Part III: The Demospathic State and the International System / 6. Systematic Approaches to International Relations / 7. Between Functionalism and Path-Dependence / 8. The Reifying Effects of Reciprocal Force / Part IV: The Tasks of a Critical Theory Conceived with a Cosmopolitan Intention / 9. Critique and Crisis in World Society / Bibliography / Index
