Counter-History of the Present

"A high level polemic attacking the current enthusiasm for the notion of globalization-which Gabriel Rockhill regards as a feature of the political imaginary of our time-Counter-History of the Present will be discussed alongside work by Jameson, Harvey, and Lyotard." -- Andrew Feenberg, author of The Philosophy of Praxis: Marx, Lukacs, and the Frankfurt School "In an era that, according to Lyotard, was supposed to have seen the end of the grand narratives, a grand narrative is spreading according to which globalization, technological development, and democracy are irresistibly marching forward in step. Gabriel Rockhill refutes this apologetic discourse not simply by appealing to growing social polarization, to shantytowns condemned to backwardness, to the toppling of democratically elected governments established by self-styled champions of democracy. Counter-History of the Present is also an occasion for critical reflection on a series of theoretical categories (beginning with that of history) that dominant contemporary thought employs in an apologetic and often Eurocentric sense. In this way, Rockhill's book is thus an important reference point for understanding and transforming the present." -- Domenico Losurdo, author of War and Revolution: Rethinking the Twentieth Century

Gabriel Rockhill is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University and the author, editor, and translator of many books, including Jacques Ranciere: History, Politics, Aesthetics, also published by Duke University Press, and Interventions in Contemporary Thought: History, Politics, Aesthetics.

Acknowledgments xi Introduction. Toward a Counter-History of the Present 1 1. A Specter Is Haunting Globalization 11 2. Are We Really Living in a Technological Era? 33 3. What Is the Use of Democracy? Urgency of an Inappropriate Question 51 Afterword. Taking Charge of the Meanings and Direction of History 103 Notes 109 Bibliography 133 Index 143