An impassioned and erudite proposal for vast systemic changes.
A defense of democratic socialism, grounded in religion, philosophy, economics, and literature.
In a densely argued critique of religion and capitalism, philosopher Hägglund (Comparative Literature and Humanities/Yale Univ.; Dying for Time: Proust, Woolf, Nabokov, 2012, etc.) tackles thorny questions of value, freedom, and responsibility. Analyzing a wide range of thinkers—among others, Aristotle, Spinoza, Kierkegaard, Hegel, Marx, Martin Luther King Jr., John Rawls, Friedrich Hayek, and Thomas Piketty—Hägglund asserts that only secular faith and democratic socialism can “provide the institutional, political, and material conditions for spiritual freedom.” In the first part of the book, the author examines the social and moral consequences of belief in eternity, which he sees as central to religious faith. Believing that one’s soul transcends time leads to indifference to worldly events, immunity from grief or loss, and lack of care about the fates of others. God, Hägglund writes, “is completely irresponsible because he is not bound to anything other than himself.” Secular faith, on the other hand, is premised on an individual’s sense of moral responsibility and investment “in finite lives.” Personal attachments leave individuals open to suffering, but they offer “a positive chance of having a relation to others” and to developing and acting upon “an existential commitment—to a political transformation, a filial relation, an artistic creation, and so on.” The second part of the book focuses on an intensive examination of capitalism, which the author argues necessarily undermines individuals’ spiritual freedom and generates political and economic inequality. Neither a universal basic income nor redistribution of wealth “can free us from capitalist exploitation,” he asserts, “since only wage labor in the service of profit” supports the accumulation of wealth that fuels “the dynamic of capitalism.” In order “for democracy to be true to its own concept of freedom and equality,” he writes, “capitalism must therefore be overcome.” Freedom to act authentically, to make choices that support the common good, and to enhance the quality of our free time is fundamental to Hägglund’s argument in favor of democratic socialism.
An impassioned and erudite proposal for vast systemic changes.Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-101-87040-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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