Encountering Althusser: Politics and Materialism in Contemporary Radical Thought

Description

French philosopher Louis Pierre Althusser (1918 -1990) helped define the politico-theoretical conjuncture of pre- and post-1968. Today, there is a recrudescence of interest in his thought, especially in light of his later work, published in English as Philosophy of the Encounter (Verso, 2006). This has led to renewed debates on the reformulation of conflicting notions of materialism, on the event as both philosophical concept and political construction, and on the nature of politics and the political. These original essays by leading scholars aim to provide a new assessment of Althusser's thought, especially in relation to contemporary debates. Organized in four sections that represent the main currents in Althusser's scholarship, the book discusses materialism and the different formulations of the relationship between politics and philosophy, Althusser's interpretations of political thinkers (including Machiavelli, Deleuze and Gramsci), the resources he provides to critique political economy and politics in post-Marxist thought, and the theorization of ideology and politics. Encountering Althusser is a groundbreaking resource that highlights Althusser's continuing relevance to contemporary radical thought.

Peter D. Thomas is Lecturer in the History of Political Thought at Brunel University, London. His publications include: The Gramscian Moment (Brill 2009); the translation of Antonio Negri's Goodbye Mr Socialism, (Seven Stories 2008), (with A. Toscano) Alain Badiou and Slavoj A1/2iA3/4ek's, Philosophy in the Present (Polity 2009) and (with S. R. Farris) Mario Tronti's The Autonomy of the Political (2012). He serves on the editorial board of Historical Materialism.

Encountering Althusser spans the length of twenty-one essays, divided into four parts, each part attentive to a theme that occupied Althusser at different stages of his thought ... The Marxist philosopher pays homage to the aleatory that defines any encounter worthy of its name, and does so in the name of, or rather for, Marx. -- Nathaniel J P Barron, UK * Marx & Philosophy Review of Books *