Recurrence of the End Times - (Political Theory for Today) by Michael J Colebrook (Paperback)

About the Book

The Recurrence of the End Times: Voegelin, Hegel, and the Stop-History Movements explores the deep connection between modern political ideologies and the secular eschatological hopes and dreams of a post-Christian society.

Book Synopsis

The Recurrence of the End Times: Voegelin, Hegel, and the Stop-History Movements explores the deep connection between modern political ideologies and the secular eschatological hopes and dreams of a post-Christian society.

Review Quotes

Beginning with the assumption that we today are still fundamentally inhabitants of Hegelrsquo;s world-- the modern world-- Michael Colebrook has provided an always insightful and often provocative analysis of the relationship among Hegel, Alexandre Kojegrave;ve, and Eric Voegelin. The latter two are themselves first-class thinkers whose commentaries on Hegel have generated considerable controversy. Colebrookrsquo;s focus is on the symbol ldquo;End of History, rdquo; made famous in Kojegrave;versquo;s lectures in the 1930s in Paris and a staple of French political thinking ever since. Coming to terms with Colebrookrsquo;s judicious interpretation will be a significant future task for scholars of any, or all, of these three thinkers.

It is of critical importance, in our cultural moment, that we understand the meaning of modern theories proclaiming ldquo;the end of history, rdquo; as well as the origins and appeal of the ldquo;stop-historyrdquo; movements that are prevalent across the political spectrum. Colebrookrsquo;s study of Hegel and Voegelin illuminates these issues with remarkable vigor, incisiveness, and scope, and addresses also the outsize influence on twentieth-century thought of Alexandre Kojegrave;versquo;s interpretation of Hegel. Political theorists should be very grateful for this unique and timely book.

Western thought has been tempted for two centuries or more by the dream of putting an end to things by solving the human political problem once and for all. As Colebrook has argued with impressive clarity and insight, Voegelin saw that only grave evils could flow from the effort to replace the only human condition we know with a ldquo;Second Realityrdquo; that was fictive in every sense of the word. But along the way, Voegelin more or less accepted Alexandre Kojegrave;versquo;s mistaken claim that Hegel was wholly complicit in this project. Colebrookrsquo;s truly thoughtful book vindicates Voegelinrsquo;s anti-utopian wisdom while rescuing Hegel from his misappropriation by Kojegrave;ve, the theorist par excellence of ldquo;End of Historyrdquo; and the ldquo;universal and the homogenous state.rdquo; Colebrookrsquo;s book is political philosophy and intellectual history at its best.

About the Author

Michael J. Colebrookteaches in the World Languages and Religious Studies Department at St. John's High School.
.