The Postmodern Prince: Critical Theory, Left Strategy, And The Making Of A New Political Subject

Leftist critical theory is in dire need of a unifying principle and teleology, a project undertaken here by Sanbonmatsu (philosophy and religion, Worcester Polytechnic Institute). Referencing Gramsci's The Modern Prince more than the less obscure work by Machiavelli, he moves towards the construction of a leftist unified identity and worldview that can "respond meaningfully to the legitimation crisis of the state and the colonization of the life-world by the commodity." Using the term "postmodern" to delineate the moment, not theoretical affinity with postmodernism or post-structuralism, he combines a normative "metahumanism" with consideration of the ontological contradictions of global capitalism in his move towards unified critical theory. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR