Politics in the impasse

Bill Martin is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University of Chicago. His previous books include Matrix and line: Derrida and the possibilities of postmodern social theory, also published by SUNY Press, and Humanism and its aftermath: The shared fate of deconstruction and politics.

"Martin's essays are spirited, well-written, provocative, original and engaging. They strive to keep alive the radical spirit during a period of dispirited cynicism and exhaustion. Martin intervenes in a variety of contemporary intellectual and political debates in a voice that is often angry, sometimes romantic and utopian, often analytical and philosophical, and always informed by the project of developing a radical, post-secular communitarian politics and philosophical perspectives that will serve the interests of human emancipation and well-being. Readers should find his interventions exciting, engaging, and thought-provoking."— Douglas Kellner, University of Texas, Austin"Martin is an intellectual revolutionary or revolutionary intellectual who is rapidly becoming a major, important voice on the contemporary philosophical-political scene. Linked to this radicalism is a maturity, balance, and wisdom. The book is not only very insightful, provocative, and original but a real pleasure to read." — James L. Marsh, Fordham University"This is a very important book in that its author not only courageously enters controversial topics with novel insights but also opens up a needed new territory of questioning within the fields of critical and postmodern social theory. Martin's work makes bold strides toward making sense of the theoretical and practical impasses of the present age. It will be hotly debated because it hotly and competently discusses hard questions!"—Martin J. Matustik, Purdue University

• Acknowledgments Introduction: Going Neuromancer 1. Conceiving postsecular socialism 2. Against the strategy of cynicism: radical possibilities in the margins of the postmodern condition 3. Participation 4. Community after liberalism (reflections before Rawls) 5. Toward community: the matrix of liberalism, Marxism, and communitarianism 6. How Marxism became analytic 7. Ethics and the force of history: three possibilities in Kantian political philosophy 8. A postsecular contribution to the debate on abortion 9. The hardest questions: reflections on socialism after Emil Fackenheim 10. Still Maoist after all these years 11. A letter on fascism: some angry, difficult reflections 12. Some things I learned in Berkeley Afterword: Crazy quilt: points for further research and discussion Notes Bibliography Index