Customer Reviews

Public Freedom

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Professor of Political Theory Dana Villa has previously written extensively about Hannah Arendt and Heidegger and does so in this book too. His opinions differ from those of Martin Jay, Sheldon Wolin and others, but he is especially critical of Richard Wolin (The Seduction of Unreason, The Wind from the East) whom he calls a " far less reliable Arendt critic" offering "flimsy" arguments. In Villa's view it's irresponsible to accuse Arendt of having fascist inclinations and being deeply anti-democratic. In fact, plurality, equality and non-violence are central to her thinking. Her conception of a public space is, according to Villa, far removed from Heidegger. The theme of his book is the decline of a viable public space where citizens can, and should, play a decisive role. In times of mass entertainment and manipulation but also of a lack of civic responsibility, democratic societies risk being hollowed out. The "democratic despotism" of Tocqueville looms large. In a sweeping historical survey, Villa traces these developments from Hegel and Mill, through the Frankfurt School to Foucault. It's no easy reading, to be sure, and perhaps not destined to reach a wide public. A barrage of inverted commas sometimes mars the text. So much so that the reader can get difficulties sorting out what is a proper quotation and what not. Is Villa being serious or is he merely "serious"? Or is he perhaps quoting somebody else's quotation? This may seem a bit picky but in my opinion makes an already complicated text unnecessarily abstruse.
Nevertheless, Public Freedom is a penetrating and weighty exposé of the profound problems facing contemporary democracy. In the end it's a very rewarding read and well worth the effort one has to put into it.