The idea of socialism has given normative grounding and orientation to
the outrage over capitalism for more than 150 years, and yet today it
seems to have lost much of its appeal. Despite growing discontent, many
would hesitate to invoke socialism when it comes to envisioning life
beyond capitalism. How can we explain the rapid decline of this once
powerful idea? And what must we do to renew it for the twenty-first
century?
In this lucid, political-philosophical essay, Axel
Honneth argues that the idea of socialism has lost its luster because
its theoretical assumptions stem froThe idea of socialism has given normative grounding and orientation to
the outrage over capitalism for more than 150 years, and yet today it
seems to have lost much of its appeal. Despite growing discontent, many
would hesitate to invoke socialism when it comes to envisioning life
beyond capitalism. How can we explain the rapid decline of this once
powerful idea? And what must we do to renew it for the twenty-first
century?
In this lucid, political-philosophical essay, Axel
Honneth argues that the idea of socialism has lost its luster because
its theoretical assumptions stem from the industrial era and are no
longer convincing in our contemporary post-industrial societies. Only if
we manage to replace these assumptions with a concept of history and
society that corresponds to our current experiences will we be able to
restore confidence in a project whose fundamental idea remains as
relevant today as it was a century ago ? the idea of an economy that
realizes freedom in solidarity.
The Idea of Socialism was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize for the Political Book of 2015. m the industrial era and are no
longer convincing in our contemporary post-industrial societies. Only if
we manage to replace these assumptions with a concept of history and
society that corresponds to our current experiences will we be able to
restore confidence in a project whose fundamental idea remains as
relevant today as it was a century ago ? the idea of an economy that
realizes freedom in solidarity.
The Idea of Socialism was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize for the Political Book of 2015.
