A Grammar of the Multitude: For an Analysis of Contemporary Forms of Life - Couverture souple

Virno, Paolo

 
9781584350217: A Grammar of the Multitude: For an Analysis of Contemporary Forms of Life
Couverture souple
ISBN 10 : 1584350210 ISBN 13 : 9781584350217
Editeur : Semiotext(e), 2004

Synopsis

Italian political thinker Paolo Virno argues that the category of "multitude" is a far better tool to analyze contemporary issues than the Hobbesian concept of "people."

Globalization is forcing us to rethink some of the categories—such as "the people"—that traditionally have been associated with the now eroding state. Italian political thinker Paolo Virno argues that the category of "multitude," elaborated by Spinoza and for the most part left fallow since the seventeenth century, is a far better tool to analyze contemporary issues than the Hobbesian concept of "people," favored by classical political philosophy. Hobbes, who detested the notion of multitude, defined it as shunning political unity, resisting authority, and never entering into lasting agreements. "When they rebel against the state," Hobbes wrote, "the citizens are the multitude against the people." But the multitude isn't just a negative notion, it is a rich concept that allows us to examine anew plural experiences and forms of nonrepresentative democracy. Drawing from philosophy of language, political economics, and ethics, Virno shows that being foreign, "not-feeling-at-home-anywhere," is a condition that forces the multitude to place its trust in the intellect. In conclusion, Virno suggests that the metamorphosis of the social systems in the West during the last twenty years is leading to a paradoxical "Communism of the Capital."

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À propos de l'auteur

Paolo Virno is an Italian philosopher, semiologist, and a prominent figure among the Italian Postfordist thinkers. He currently teaches at the University of Rome and is the author of A Grammar of the Multitude and Multitude Between Innovation and Negation, both published in English by Semiotext(e).

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Semiotext(e)
Date d'édition
2004
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
1584350210
ISBN 13 
9781584350217
Reliure
Broché
Nombre de pages
120
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible