Political Theory, Modernity and Postmodernity [Paperback]

Debates about the nature, character and implications of 'modernity' have moved centre stage within contemporary social thought, but there has as yet been little work addressing the relevance of these debates to the agenda of Anglo-American political theory. In this pioneering survey N. J. Rengger remedies the problem by providing a short, accessible and comprehensive account of the modernity debate and an analysis of its implications for political theory.Acknowledgements.

Preface.

Introduction: Political Philosophy Agonistes.

Part I: The Modernity Debate:.

1. Two Senses of Modernity.

2. Defenders of the Faith, Disturbers of the Peace. Part II: Living With/In Modernities.

3. An Ethico-Political Imperative.

4. Towards a Political Theory?.

Bibliography.

N. J. Rengger is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Bristol, UKDebates about the nature, character and implications of 'modernity' have moved center stage within contemporary social thought, but there has as yet been little work addressing the relevance of these debates to the agenda of Anglo-American political theory. In this pioneering survey N. J. Rengger remedies the problem by providing a short, accessible and comprehensive account of the modernity debate and an analysis of its implications for political theory.

Modernity is a notion widely used, but much misunderstood. In attempting to analyze the component parts of recent debate, the author identifies two broad senses of modernity: modernity as mood and modernity as socio-cultural form . He then offers an outline interpretation of the debates ranged round these conceptions, examining the positions and arguments of modernity's defenders and its critics, and suggesting how and in what way its implications for political theory might be assessed.

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