The Politics of Historical Vision: Marx, Foucault, Habermas [Paperback]

Steven Best University of Texas El Paso USA. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572301457 | ISBN-13: 978-1572301450 | Publication Date: October 1, 1996

Providing an important contribution to current controversies regarding history, social theory,politics, and the Foucault\n-\Habermas debates, this work offers a detailed comparison of the transformative uses of history in Foucault and Habermas, using Marx as a modernist contrast. The book clearly illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of each thinker's theory for the productive analysis of history and society, relating the work of each to current debates over modern and postmodern theory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" A notably fair-minded yet critical and comparative review of key ideas of Marx, Foucault, and Habermas.... As for classroom readability, this study probably will elicit favorable comparison with several recent publications on the Habermas-Foucault debate." --H. G. Reid, University of Kentucky, from Choice

"Foucault and Habermas are the two towering figures of contemporary social theory. The Politics of Historical Vision by Steven Best presents a penetrating, lucid, and persuasive account of how their theories are relevant to contemporary intellectual and political needs." --Richard Wolin, Professor of Modern European Intellectual History, Rice University

"Best presents a unique and worthwhile argument: that the interests of critical social theory are furthered by the confrontation and synthesis of the positions of Marx, Foucault, and Habermas. He does this in a balanced discussion especially of Habermas and Foucault. The book should have a broad readership among the disciplines of the social sciences and humanities. Best's clarity of writing, logical strengths, and fairness are truly exemplary." --Mark Poster, Ph.D., Professor of History, University of California, Irvine

About the Author

Steven Best, Ph.D., is a Professor of Humanities and Philosophy at the University of Texas, El Paso. He has published articles on Marx, postmodern theory, Baudrillard, Debord, Jameson, film, television, and cultural theory.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572301457
• ISBN-13: 978-1572301450
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,141,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exclnt intro to 3 philosophers ideas on history and society, July 4, 2001

By 

Marie St. George and Anthony Garcia (Oceanside, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Politics of Historical Vision: Marx, Foucault, Habermas (Paperback)

This little known and under-rated book is a great place to start for someone interested in the post modern philosophy of history and society. If you want to learn about the ideas of Marx, Foucault and Habermas, and what they mean in current philosophy, but don't want to commit to their difficult, lengthy and sometimes down right awful prose, Steve Best will explain in a readable fashion some of their most discussed ideas. I approached the book with that goal in mind and I think it served that purpose very well. However, if you do not like to consider ideas in the abstract, this book, and perhaps philosophy itself, may not be for you.

There are references to many other philosophical figures (Kant, Horkheimer, Marcuse, Debord, Dilthey and many, many more) whose ideas were precursors or points of contention to the three reviewed in The Politics of Historical Vision, and which either ground or contrast the modern concepts with their prior and current milieux.

The book can also serve as a starting point for those with an interest in philosophy, it is a nice way to survey social and historical philosophy and become acqainted with the ideas of many thinkers. This is also one of the books strengths, and I found it very rewarding.

The book requires careful attention in some parts, to grasp the more complicated ideas, but does so without dragging on and on, reiterating the same point too many times. Best has done an excellent job here, making a rather difficult subject more accessible and giving the reader new ways to think about history as an engaging subject and how it can be manipulated to serve a purpose, beneficial or not to larger social interests.

It has been a while since I read it, so that accounts for the lack of detailed analysis in this short review.