In the Spirit of Critique: Thinking Politically in the Dialectical Tradition

Contents

CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1 The Dialectical Tradition 2 A Spirit of Critique 6 The Story 9 CHAPTER TWO Restaging the Dialectic 15 Dialectical Lightheartedness 22 Dialectical Despair 28 Nietzschean Disillusionment 32 Conclusion 40 CHAPTER THREE In a Milieu of Scarcity 43 A Qualified Reading 45 Sartre’s Dialectical Lens 48 “In a Milieu of Scarcity” 52 “An Infernal Machine” 53 Reflective Limitation 57 Conclusion 60 CHAPTER FOUR Between Despair and Redemption 63 “In Face of Despair” 67 “From the Standpoint of Redemption” 74 Democracy to Come 82 Conclusion 85 CHAPTER FIVE The Instinctive Dialectic 91 Contours of a Romantic Humanism 96 Hegelian Pastiche 100 The Tragedy of Self-Activity 107 Conclusion 110 CHAPTER SIx Conclusion 113 NOTES 119 INDEx 165 vi CONTENTS ...