Castoriadis and Autonomy in the Twenty-First Century - by Alexandros Schismenos & Nikos Ioannou & Chris Spannos (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

To what degree can the philosophy of Cornelius Castoriadis help analyze and evaluate our current social reality in relation to the project of autonomy? How meaningful is his political proposition for direct democracy in the 21st century? What significance do the concepts of social time and social space have in the determination of political freedom?

Castoriadis and Autonomy in the 21st Century presents basic concepts of Castoriadian philosophy, including the social-historical plane, ontological creativity, and social and individual time that provide the theoretical tools to evaluate the historical phenomena of our era. Drawing from Greece's own turbulent past and the current global crisis to reveal new significances of social freedom, global solidarity and movements of direct democracy, this book explores social autonomy and human freedom today through critical dialogue with Castoriadis' ideas.

Review Quotes

"Cornelius Castoriadis was one of the most original critical thinkers of the second half of the twentieth century. This book is an ambitious and intriguing attempt to understand the current global constellation through Castoriadis's political philosophy of autonomy - a rich and thought-provoking reading." --Peter Wagner, Research Professor of Social Sciences, ICREA and University of Barcelona, Spain

"This is a vigorous and thought-provoking book, exploring original ways of linking Castoriadis´s work to the politics of the early twenty-first century." --Johann P. Arnason, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, La Trobe University, Australia and Charles University, Czech Republic

"A brilliant and lively engagement with one of the great social theorists of the twentieth century. Even today, Castoriadis' groundbreaking reflections on autonomy still point towards unexpected pathways out of a global crisis. In this decisive moment, Schismenos, Spannos and Ioannou cogently demonstrate why his work remains more relevant than ever." --Jerome Roos, Fellow in International Political Economy, The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

About the Author

Nikos Ioannou is an author whose research centers around the social-historical movements of the 21st century. He is co-author of The end of National Politics (2016) with Alexandros Schismenos.

Alexandros Schismenos is a researcher working on social-historical phenomena of the 21st century. He is co-author of The end of National Politics (2016) with Nikos Ioannou.

Chris Spannos is a journalist and Digital Editor and Co-Director of New Internationalist magazine.