Gavin Kitching – författare

Postmodern theory has engaged the hearts and heads of the brightest students because of its apparent political and social radicalism. Despite this Professor Gavin Kitching claims that, ''At the heart of postmodernism is very poor, deeply confused and misbegotten philosophy. As a result even the very best students who fall under its sway produce radically incoherent ideas about language, meaning, truth and reality.''This is not another conservative attack on postmodernism. Rather, it is a carefully considered analysis from a dedicated university teacher who is convinced that we have gone terribly astray. He shows that postmodern theory is at best irrelevant to, and at worst undermining of, persuasive political arguments, and reveals the basic philosophical confusion at its heart which makes this so. Essential reading for any student writing a thesis in the humanities and the social sciences, and for their teachers.''It is the strongest and best attack on the ravages of routine post-modernism that I have ever read. I applaud the way he lists the good causes that students warmly espouse, and then suggests a simpler way to support them without the self-destructive it''s all just language that is implicit in their work.'' - Professor Sir Bernard Crick, Emeritus Professor of Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London''Gavin Kitching rattles the cages. Will the inmates hear this? They should, if only for the reason that there is virtue in learning to argue against yourself. This is a serious book.'' - Professor Peter Beilharz, Sociology, La Trobe University''Required reading for anyone who wants to understand how and why postmodernism has had such disastrous pedagogical consequences.'' - Professor David G. Stern, Philosophy, University of Iowa

Postmodern theory has engaged the hearts and heads of the brightest students because of its apparent political and social radicalism. Despite this Professor Gavin Kitching claims that, ''At the heart of postmodernism is very poor, deeply confused and misbegotten philosophy. As a result even the very best students who fall under its sway produce radically incoherent ideas about language, meaning, truth and reality.''This is not another conservative attack on postmodernism. Rather, it is a carefully considered analysis from a dedicated university teacher who is convinced that we have gone terribly astray. He shows that postmodern theory is at best irrelevant to, and at worst undermining of, persuasive political arguments, and reveals the basic philosophical confusion at its heart which makes this so. Essential reading for any student writing a thesis in the humanities and the social sciences, and for their teachers.''It is the strongest and best attack on the ravages of routine post-modernism that I have ever read. I applaud the way he lists the good causes that students warmly espouse, and then suggests a simpler way to support them without the self-destructive it''s all just language that is implicit in their work.'' - Professor Sir Bernard Crick, Emeritus Professor of Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London''Gavin Kitching rattles the cages. Will the inmates hear this? They should, if only for the reason that there is virtue in learning to argue against yourself. This is a serious book.'' - Professor Peter Beilharz, Sociology, La Trobe University''Required reading for anyone who wants to understand how and why postmodernism has had such disastrous pedagogical consequences.'' - Professor David G. Stern, Philosophy, University of Iowa

This short book makes a connection between recent ‘tectonic shifts’ in the world economy and the political problems currently confronted by western democracies.

The shift of manufacturing away from the West, allied to the pressure to keep costs down in an increasingly competitive global economy, has led to economic inequality, reliance on service industry employment and public sector austerity. All this has in turn produced large numbers of desperate citizens attracted to a populist economic nationalism accompanied by xenophobia. However, the originality of this text lies not in the above argument, but in the philosophical reflections which drive and derive from it. These include reflections on history as a supposed causal process; on the need to make ethical judgements of economic activities and the difficulties of doing so; and on the problems confronting modern citizens in understanding complex economic processes and their political implications.

Capitalism and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century endorses Wittgenstein’s ‘praxis’ approach to human social life and its study. Accordingly, it not only analyses economic and political problems but suggests ways of solving or mitigating them. In doing so it relies on Marx’s conviction that our capacity to see certain phenomena as problems is at least a priori evidence that they can be solved. This book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students of politics, comparative politics, political economy and international relations.

This short book makes a connection between recent ‘tectonic shifts’ in the world economy and the political problems currently confronted by western democracies.

The shift of manufacturing away from the West, allied to the pressure to keep costs down in an increasingly competitive global economy, has led to economic inequality, reliance on service industry employment and public sector austerity. All this has in turn produced large numbers of desperate citizens attracted to a populist economic nationalism accompanied by xenophobia. However, the originality of this text lies not in the above argument, but in the philosophical reflections which drive and derive from it. These include reflections on history as a supposed causal process; on the need to make ethical judgements of economic activities and the difficulties of doing so; and on the problems confronting modern citizens in understanding complex economic processes and their political implications.

Capitalism and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century endorses Wittgenstein’s ‘praxis’ approach to human social life and its study. Accordingly, it not only analyses economic and political problems but suggests ways of solving or mitigating them. In doing so it relies on Marx’s conviction that our capacity to see certain phenomena as problems is at least a priori evidence that they can be solved. This book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students of politics, comparative politics, political economy and international relations.

First published in 1983. Socialism was generally unpopular in Britain in the 1980s. The Left needed new ideas and fresh approaches if it was ever to escape its isolation from the mainstream of political and cultural life. Rethinking Socialism brought such a perspective to socialist thought and practice in Britain. Gavin Kitching contended that the unpopularity of the Left was not due primarily to the pernicious influence of the press and media, as many socialists argued, but reflected fundamental changes in the British social structure and, above all, the simple incredibility and irrelevance of many socialist beliefs and policies. He also claims that socialism will continue to be unpopular so long as it is divorced from the values and concerns of the majority of British people.

Kitching shows how basic and obvious facts about Britain, and other advanced capitalist countries, were ignored or wished away, and how crucial lessons of the Soviet and East European experience had not been learnt. He argues that radical politics in Britain both reflected and reinforced a ‘ghetto’ mentality bred by the Left’s political and intellectual isolation. The book is more than just a critique, however; it presented as well a more relevant and popular alternative strategy for the Left. This focused on extending and deepening political and economic democracy, and aimed to preserve the benefits which people had derived from capitalism and parliamentary democracy while extending them and thus transforming the system that conferred them.

First published in 1983. Socialism was generally unpopular in Britain in the 1980s. The Left needed new ideas and fresh approaches if it was ever to escape its isolation from the mainstream of political and cultural life. Rethinking Socialism brought such a perspective to socialist thought and practice in Britain. Gavin Kitching contended that the unpopularity of the Left was not due primarily to the pernicious influence of the press and media, as many socialists argued, but reflected fundamental changes in the British social structure and, above all, the simple incredibility and irrelevance of many socialist beliefs and policies. He also claims that socialism will continue to be unpopular so long as it is divorced from the values and concerns of the majority of British people.

Kitching shows how basic and obvious facts about Britain, and other advanced capitalist countries, were ignored or wished away, and how crucial lessons of the Soviet and East European experience had not been learnt. He argues that radical politics in Britain both reflected and reinforced a ‘ghetto’ mentality bred by the Left’s political and intellectual isolation. The book is more than just a critique, however; it presented as well a more relevant and popular alternative strategy for the Left. This focused on extending and deepening political and economic democracy, and aimed to preserve the benefits which people had derived from capitalism and parliamentary democracy while extending them and thus transforming the system that conferred them.

This book confronts an ever more popular suspicion – that a university education in the humanities and social sciences is an ‘elitist’ indoctrination into ‘leftist’ or ‘liberal’ views. Having taught them for nearly 40 years, Gavin Kitching shows that, on the contrary, studying these subjects leads one to question all political and social views (left-wing, right-wing, ‘elite’, ‘popular’, religious, secular) and to be sceptical of all the beliefs about human identity (whether racial, gender, national, or class) to which they give rise.

The book is divided into 34 brief sections which can be read as stand-alone discussions of some topic or as sequential steps in an argument. This modular structure makes it an excellent teaching text for students. It is written in an accessible, even colloquial, style which gives it the broadest possible appeal, and its arguments are illustrated by a host of ‘everyday’ linguistic, sociological and psychological examples. These not only enliven the book but demonstrate that philosophical ideas are most persuasive when used to illuminate non-philosophical matters. Accordingly, Teaching the Humanities… explores such issues as the climate crisis; individualism and postmodernism; nationalism; globalisation and its relationship to economic inequality and political polarisation; all of which are currently the subject of fierce debate inside and outside the university.

This book confronts an ever more popular suspicion – that a university education in the humanities and social sciences is an ‘elitist’ indoctrination into ‘leftist’ or ‘liberal’ views. Having taught them for nearly 40 years, Gavin Kitching shows that, on the contrary, studying these subjects leads one to question all political and social views (left-wing, right-wing, ‘elite’, ‘popular’, religious, secular) and to be sceptical of all the beliefs about human identity (whether racial, gender, national, or class) to which they give rise.

The book is divided into 34 brief sections which can be read as stand-alone discussions of some topic or as sequential steps in an argument. This modular structure makes it an excellent teaching text for students. It is written in an accessible, even colloquial, style which gives it the broadest possible appeal, and its arguments are illustrated by a host of ‘everyday’ linguistic, sociological and psychological examples. These not only enliven the book but demonstrate that philosophical ideas are most persuasive when used to illuminate non-philosophical matters. Accordingly, Teaching the Humanities… explores such issues as the climate crisis; individualism and postmodernism; nationalism; globalisation and its relationship to economic inequality and political polarisation; all of which are currently the subject of fierce debate inside and outside the university.

How do the intellectual origins and historical background of western and other theories of development affect their relevance to contemporary Third-World conditions? This is the central question behind Gavin Kitching’s examination of ‘development studies’, first published in 1982, from its origins in the late 1940s through to the contemporary era. While presenting the contemporary ‘radical orthodoxy’ of development studies, Kitching argues that these theories are continuations of much older traditions of populist and neo-populist thought.

How do the intellectual origins and historical background of western and other theories of development affect their relevance to contemporary Third-World conditions? This is the central question behind Gavin Kitching’s examination of ‘development studies’, first published in 1982, from its origins in the late 1940s through to the contemporary era. While presenting the contemporary ‘radical orthodoxy’ of development studies, Kitching argues that these theories are continuations of much older traditions of populist and neo-populist thought.

In this major study, first published in 1988, Professor Kitching builds on recent scholarship on Marx and Wittgenstein to provide an incisive, readable account and critique of the whole of Marx’s work. He presents the philosophical, economic, and political Marx as one thinker, and argues that the key to understanding Marx is his commitment to a ‘philosophy of praxis’. This sees thought as just part of that purposive activity (or praxis) which distinguishes human beings from other creatures. This is the first book to analyse all of Marx’s thought from a Wittgenstein perspective; in doing so, it clarifies and deepens our understanding of Marx.