by Pheng Cheah and Suzanne Guerlac (2009)
An intellectual event, Derrida and the Time of the Political marks the first time since Jacques Derrida's death in 2004 that leading scholars have come together to critically assess the philosopher's political and ethical writings. Skepticism about the import of deconstruction for political thought has been widespread among American critics since Derrida's work became widely available in English in the late 1970s. While Derrida expounded political and ethical themes from the late 1980s on, there has been relatively little Anglo-American analysis of that later work or its relation to the philosopher's entire corpus. Filling a critical gap, this volume provides multiple perspectives on the political turn in Derrida's work, showing how deconstruction bears on political theory and real-world politics. The contributors include distinguished scholars of deconstruction whose thinking developed in close proximity to Derrida's, as well as leading political theorists and philosophers who engage Derrida's thought from further afield. The volume opens with a substantial introduction in which Pheng Cheah and Suzanne Guerlac survey Derrida's entire corpus and position his later work in relation to it. The remaining essays address the concerns that arise out of Derrida's analysis of politics and the conditions of the political, such as the meaning and scope of democracy, the limits of sovereignty, the relationship between the ethical and the political, the nature of responsibility, the possibility for committed political action, the implications of deconstructive thought for non-Western politics, and the future of nationalism in an era of globalization and declining state sovereignty. The collection is framed by original contributions from Hélène Cixous and Judith Butler.
Clarence B. Jones and Joel Engel
Clarence B. Jones, lawyer and adviser to Martin Luther King, Jr., reflects upon what King might have said about issues in twenty-first-century America such as Islamic terrorism, anti-Semitism, reparations for slavery, affirmative action, and illegal immigration.
Jeff Shesol
In the years before World War II, Franklin Roosevelt's fiercest, most unyielding opponent was neither a foreign power nor "fear itself." It was the U.S. Supreme Court. Beginning in 1935, in a series of devastating decisions, the Supreme Court's conservative majority left much of FDR's agenda in ruins. The pillars of the New Deal fell in short succession. It was not just the New Deal, but democracy itself, that stood on trial. In February 1937, Roosevelt struck back with an audacious plan to expand the Court to fifteen justices -- and to "pack" the new seats with liberals who shared his belief in a "living" Constitution. The ensuing fight was a firestorm that engulfed the White House, the Court, Congress, and the nation. The final verdict was a shock. It dealt FDR the biggest setback of his political life, split the Democratic party, and set the stage for a future era of Republican dominance. Yet the battle also transformed America's political and constitutional landscape, hastening the nation's march into the modern world. - Jacket flap.
Rupert Shortt
"The aim of this book is twofold: One is to counter the huge weight of column inches being spent on the perceived, and actual, persecution of Islam. The second is to turn up the volume on the side of Christians rather than Atheists (a position which has been underpinned so vociferously by Dawkins et al in recent times). In fact there have been - and still are - many terrible stories of murder, oppression and persecution of Christians around the world, in East Timor, Burma, Egypt, China, Iran, and many other countries. The reason we don't hear much about them, says the author, is the fear of giving offence; the fact young Christians don't become radicalised; and persecuted Christians tend not to respond with violence. Yet Christians are persecuted in greater numbers than any other global religious body, and this fact is severely under-recognised. It looks likely interfaith relations will be a major challenge of the 21st century, and harmony between religions is looking pretty remote. Why are faiths now so associated with violent conflict? Why has the communications revolution had a deeper impact on Islam than on Christianity? Why is there a tendency to associate Christianity with the West, and with overt/covert forms of colonialism? Just how insular and prejudiced are we in the West about Christians abroad?"--www.bookdepository.co.uk
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Jared Meyer
"In a speech to high school graduates in Topeka, Kansas, in May 2014, First Lady Michelle Obama told graduates, "I am so proud of all that you've accomplished ... And I cannot wait to see everything you will achieve in the years ahead." But these days most young people born between the early 1980s and the beginning of the 21st century, known as millennials, have not seen success. Achieving success will be more difficult than it was in the past. Millennials are different from the youth of prior generations of Americans. This is the first generation of young Americans that our government systematically disfavors, and the first generation of Americans whose prospects are lower than their parents. The American government is robbing millennials (some of whom cannot even vote) to pay for lavish services for their parents and grandparents. The education system has failed millennials, leaving them ill-equipped for college and struggling under mountains of debt when and if they do gradate from college. Other laws discourage young people from finding work, and in some cases make it impossible for them to gain crucial career experience. This lack of early work experience can have profound social and economic implications later in life. It is time someone told the full story of the betrayal of America's youth. America is facing a crisis. The future of America can be saved, but only if our government's betrayal of our youth comes to an end. It is a Pyrrhic war without victors, only victims. The birthright of the millennials must be restored. This book explains how"--