Philosophy and Real Politics (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: subjective right, Failures of Realism, United States, Third Way

Editorial Reviews

Review

A discipline-altering book.
(Glen Newey London Review of Books )

[Geuss's] intention in Philosophy and Real Politics, his short, sharp new book, is . . . to introduce a note of realism into contemporary philosophical debates about justice, by force if necessary.
(Adam Kirsch City Journal )

A manifesto for a new political philosophy. . . . Geuss's realist proposal brings forcefully to the contemporary political discussion the idea that philosophy is an engaged discipline, both in the sense of engagee, of directly speaking to the political issues of the day, and in the sense of having its own historical cultural commitments firmly in view.
(Katerina Deligiorgi The Philosopher's Magazine )

Philosophy and Real Politics is an impressive and provocative essay on contemporary Anglo-American political philosophy theory.
(Christoph Konrath Law and Politics Book Review )

[G]iven the current trends in political philosophy, Geuss's book is both timely and extremely important. One of Geuss's many virtues as a political philosopher is his ability to effectively confront philosophical complacency, and this superb book is surely successful in this regard.
(David Sherman Social Theory and Practice )

Review

In this new study, Raymond Geuss mobilizes the strength of analytical philosophy to subvert the theoretical premises of contemporary political philosophy. He replaces its fixation on ideal norms and its abstraction from real confrontations with an orientation toward contexts of action and a rigorous concentration on the importance of political power. It is fascinating to see the result: a political philosophy that is once again a kind of intellectual craft, historically situated and locally engaged.
(Axel Honneth, J. W. Goethe University, Frankfurt )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 126 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (July 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691137889
• ISBN-13: 978-0691137889
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #434,939 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Philosophy and Politics mix, April 7, 2009

By	James Street "Street Writer" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is difficult for me to review because I agree with almost all of it but can only give it three stars.

I have two basic objections:

1. The book could have been reduced to a long, easy to read essay of twenty or thirty pages instead of inflated into a small book of 102 pages.

2. As it stands, it reads more like a summary of a graduate seminar or political philosophy conference than a book for general readers.

I imagine that the author himself would agree with me and, in fact, that it was the publisher 'who made Geuss do it' in hopes of selling some books.

I wish I could refer the general reader to a New York Review of Books book review of the book but I can't find one.

Guess's ideas are perennial but, unless you have unlimited funds, check this book out of your local university library, and even then be prepared to skim over a lot of ahems and umms.

Still, as I said, Guess makes the only sense out of the modern political scene that (alas?) it is possible to make and I have no criticism of the content, only the form.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rigorous and readable, this book is a sign of the times., August 12, 2009

By	Coleman E. Mcfarland (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Geuss' book is a tightly argued appeal for (and demonstration of) realism in political thought, and I'd say it's a good read, too. Other reviewers were disappointed with the short length, but I would argue that the reader will come away from this essay with clearer notions of what politics is, and also what it is not.

In the West that I inhabit, our political discourse is polluted with half-baked stereotypes and cynicism. Guess approaches this dangerous swamp and does what analytic philosophers do best, which is stop and ask, "Hey, what are we really talking about here?" I firmly believe that this is always a useful exercise. Fortunately, Guess also makes it an enlightening and enjoyable one.

Now for a little futurism: I say this book is a sign of the times because I believe that contemporary philosophy (especially political philosophy) is moving into a new era. The long, paralysing, and divisive postmodern era is coming to an end. Anti-Kantian, realist thought is emerging in both Continental and Anglo-American philosophies in response to the pressing realities of politics and the continuing radical evolution in technology and the natural sciences. Now is an excellent time to do just what Guess has done here, which is to attempt to define the terms of the debate.

[Readers should also know that Princeton University Press has posted the introduction from this book online.]

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Skimpy and disappointing, July 27, 2009

By	K. Kehler (B.C., Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I didn't get as much as I expected (or wanted) from this rather thin volume, though the bitterness and venom -- however carefully and clinically Geuss writes, his anger at the world (he would undoubtedly say "justified" anger at oppression, etc) is palpable -- stayed with me for a while, as did the image of Geuss in his office (?) at Cambridge. Under a mop of gray hair, and behind large spectacles, he looks like an intense man. The book is clear and to the point, but utterly lacking in nuance. If one sets out to be "realist" and correct idealism(s), shouldn't one acknowledge that the real world is messier, that is to say more nuanced, than one assumes? Geuss's turn to realism is laudable, insofar as abstract theorizing IS neither helpful nor practical, but it is also disturbing in that it's a Leninist realism he champions. I should have thought that Lenin's particular "win-at-all-costs, ethics-be-damned" realism should be the last thing dragged out of the dustbin of history given the amount of suffering Lenin helped to bring about. (One saw a lot of broken eggshells at Lenin's feet, but not so many appealing omelettes.) Finally, one wants to ask: what prevents someone from claiming realism from the right, just as Geuss has claimed realism from the left? And what would Geuss do about it? That is, the problem with realism re-emerges, just at a higher level: anyone can claim they are speaking on behalf of the "real" world. My fear is that Geuss would say: in the "real" world, might makes right. So it's off to the Philosophical Steamer for you, if you don't side with Geuss, Lenin and their interpretation of the "real" world, and they have more guns, conviction, and bullies on their side.