The collapse of the Soviet Union would seem to sound the death knell for Marxism as a blueprint for social change. Why has this doctrine--the repository of so many hopes and dreams--failed in its grand ambition to liberate the human race from poverty and oppression? Through a critical and systematic analysis of what Marx and his interpreters had to say about democracy, Joseph Femia sheds light on the reasons for this failure. His book explores the bewildering variety of Marxist attitudes to democracy, and relates this diversity to Marxism's inconsistent goals: active political participation...
The collapse of the Soviet Union would seem to sound the death knell for Marxism as a blueprint for social change. Why has this doctrine--the reposito...
Given the assumption that democracy is a "good thing," the goal of humankind, it is easy to forget that "rule by the people" has been vehemently opposed by some of the most distinguished thinkers in the Western tradition. This book attempts to combat collective amnesia by systematically exploring and evaluating anti-democratic thought since the French Revolution.
Given the assumption that democracy is a "good thing," the goal of humankind, it is easy to forget that "rule by the people" has been vehemently oppos...
"Pareto and Political Theory" offers a much-needed reappraisal of Vilfredo Pareto's often ignored or misunderstood contribution to the theory and philosophy of politics. Joseph V. Femia disputes the depiction of Pareto as a proto-fascist and locates him in a clear tradition of 'sceptical liberalism', which eschews metaphysical abstractions and adopts a 'realist' approach to practical politics
"Pareto and Political Theory" offers a much-needed reappraisal of Vilfredo Pareto's often ignored or misunderstood contribution to the theory and phil...
This work attempts to guide the reader through a maze of interpretations of Machiavelli's political opinions. The author demonstrates that Machiavelli was an anti-metaphysical empiricist who sought to free political thought from all theological preconceptions or residues by challenging the assumption that there exists some unifying pattern that prescibes their proper behaviour to all animate creatures.
This work attempts to guide the reader through a maze of interpretations of Machiavelli's political opinions. The author demonstrates that Machiavelli...
What do classical elitists like Pareto and Mosca have in common with Marxists like Labriola and Gramsci? In this collection of essays, Joseph Femia argues that all four thinkers are united by the 'worldly humanism' they inherited from Machiavelli. Their distinctively Italian hostility to the metaphysical abstractions of natural law and Christian theology accounted for similarities in their thought that are obscured by the familiar terminology of 'left' and 'right'. The collection includes critical essays on each of the four thinkers, as well as an introductory chapter on their links with...
What do classical elitists like Pareto and Mosca have in common with Marxists like Labriola and Gramsci? In this collection of essays, Joseph Femia ar...
Femia offers a reappraisal of Pareto's often ignored or misunderstood contribution to the theory and philosophy of politics. Femia disputes the depiction of Pareto as a proto-fascist and locates him in a tradition of 'sceptical liberalism'.
Femia offers a reappraisal of Pareto's often ignored or misunderstood contribution to the theory and philosophy of politics. Femia disputes the depict...
