Love and Politics

Jeffery L Nicholas is an associate professor at Providence College and director of the Center for Contemporary Aristotelian Studies in Ethics and Politics at Providence College. He is author of Reason, Tradition, and the Good: MacIntyre’s Tradition Constituted Reason and Frankfurt School Critical Theory. He holds an appointment as a foreign research associate with the Center for Aristotelian Studies and Critical Theory at Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius, Lithuania.

"Love and Politics is a timely book that examines the possibility of overcoming alienation in its many forms. One of the most important features of the book is the role that it gives human desire (Eros/love) in the struggle to overcome alienation. Human beings are not just isolated desiring individuals. We naturally desire community. This book examines the impediments to and possibility of human community."Arnold L. Farr, Professor of Philosophy, University of Kentucky"Recently interest has grown as has discussion concerning the relation of MacIntyre and Marx, much of it inconclusive …until now. Jeffery Nicholas provides the key to understanding the integration of MacIntyre and Marx in the analysis of alienation. This important book marks a breakthrough in MacIntyre studies."Bruce Ballard, Professor of Philosophy, Lincoln University"Jeffery Nicholas finds in social reproduction theory the necessary conceptual tools to critically retrieve Revolutionary Aristotelianism, as developed by Alasdair MacIntyre for a Marxist ethics. In accounting for the imperial-patriarchal domination of bodies and nature in class society, social reproduction theory, argues Nicholas, posits rich concepts of alienation and liberation. It directs us to explore a path to freedom that considers not just how humans can and should produce their worlds in common with each other, but crucially, how they might do so in ways that respect the integrity, powers and vulnerability of labouring bodies and the natural world. This is a timely, deep and stimulating read for anyone committed to placing anti-oppression politics at the heart of building a better, more just and ethical socialist world."Sue Ferguson, Associate Professor Emerita, Wilfrid Laurier University

• Introduction Part 1: Alienation and Revolutionary Aristotelianism 1. Marx’s Theory of Alienation 2. MacIntyre’s Interpretation of Alienation 3. Revolutionary Aristotelianism Part 2: Lacunae 4. Human Nature, Reason, and Love 5. Fishing, Social Reproduction, and Nature 6. Birth and Obstetric Practice in the United States Part 3: Eros and Human Nature 7. Toward a Metaphysical Biology 8. Erotic Nature 9. Eros and the Varieties of Love Part 4: Epilogue 10. Erotic Practices; Erotic Communities 11. Conclusion