The Rhetorical Foundations Of Society

by Ernesto Laclau

Overview

The essays collected in this volume develop the theoretical perspective initiated in Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s classic Hegemony and Socialist Strategy. 

Central to the argument of The Rhetorical Foundations of Society is the establishment of rhetorical tropes—such as metaphor, metonymy and catachresis—as the ‘non-foundational’ grounds of society. From this basis, Laclau explores the state of social relations in today’s heterogeneous society. Employing analytical philosophy from both phenomenological and structuralist traditions, he seeks to locate an ontological terrain for interpersonal relationships. Further, he investigates the definition of social antagonism in an increasingly globalized world, where the proliferation of conflicts and points of rupture erodes crucial links between the social subjects postulated by classical social analysis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781781681701
Publisher:	Verso Books
Publication date:	05/20/2014
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Ernesto Laclau is Professor of Political Theory in the Department of Government, University of Essex, and Distinguished Professor for Humanities and Rhetorical Studies at Northwestern University. He is the author of, amongst other works, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (with Chantal Mouffe); New Reflections on the Revolution of Our Time; The Populist Reason; Contingency, Hegemony, Universality (with Judith Butler and Slavoj Žižek); and Emancipation(s).

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 The Death and Resurrection of the Theory of Ideology 11

2 On the Names of God 37

3 Articulation and the Limits of Metaphor 53

4 The Politics of Rhetoric 79

5 Antagonism, Subjectivity and Politics 101

6 Ethics, Normativity and the Heteronomy of the Law 127

7 Why Constructing a 'People' Is the Main Task of Radical Politics 139

8 An Ethics of Militant Engagement 181

9 Bare Life or Social Indeterminacy? 207

Acknowledgements 221

Index 223

Editorial Reviews

06/02/2014
This rich collection of essays arrives sadly in the wake of the passing of its esteemed Argentine author, one of the world's eminent political philosophers. Here, Laclau deftly imbricates questions of rhetoric with his continued ruminations on political hegemony and, through various themes, examines the role language plays in establishing and perpetuating society. This frames signifiers, metaphor, and metonymy not as figures of speech but as indispensible inscriptions on our access to the world. Though the text draws on an array of themes and thinkers, Laclau responds in depth to Althusser, Zizek, Gramsci, Agamben, de Man, and Badiou. The essays themselves differ in subject matter from the more semantically rooted, such as his discussion of mysticism and the name of God or the treatment of metaphor in Proust, to the more political such as his discussion of the Solidarnosc (Solidarity) movement in Poland. Laclau's sweeping expertise provides the reader with numerous possibilities to pursue further research without requiring the reader to possess an encyclopedic knowledge of any of the thinkers or discourses discussed. Dense without being abstruse, this book is notably digestible considering its complexity. Laclau's illuminative intertwining of philosophy, politics, and literary analysis renders the book engaging and accessible on various levels. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for On Populist Reason:

"What needs to be politically articulated at the present time is the possibility of a leftist populism. This is what makes Laclau's long-awaited book so important. Arguably, populism has always been the governing concept in Laclau's work and in On Populist Reason, he lays out his position with great power and analytical clarity."—Simon Critchley

From the Publisher