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Giorgio Agamben
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Where Are We Now?: The Epidemic as Politics Kindle Edition

by Giorgio Agamben (Author), Valeria Dani (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 54 ratings
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Renowned Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben presents his fierce, passionate, and deeply personal commentaries regarding the 2020 health emergency as it played out in Italy and across the world.

Alongside and beyond accusations, these texts reflect upon the great transformation affecting Western democracies. In the name of biosecurity and health, the model of bourgeois democracy—together with its rights, institutions, and constitutions—is surrendering everywhere to a new despotism where citizens accept unprecedented limitations to their freedoms.

The push to accept this new normal leads to the urgency of the volume’s title: Where Are We Now? For how long will we accept living in a constantly extended state of exception, the end of which remains impossible to see?

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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1538157596
  2. Publisher
    Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
  3. Publication date
    April 30, 2021
  4. Language
    English
  5. File size
    889 KB
  6. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A fascinating intervention on the encroaching state of biosecurity we are witnessing before our very eyes.

-- Colby Dickinson, Professor of Theology, Loyola University Chicago

An on-the-spot study of the link between power and knowledge.

-- Christopher Caldwell ― The New York Times

What happens when health replaces salvation, biological life replaces eternal life, and social distancing displaces community? These are theological as well as politi­cal questions, and Agamben has correctly brought them to our attention.

― Postdigital Science & Education

Agamben’s work is finding new relevance among those who are beginning to question not only the gravity of the virus but also the legitimacy of state responses to it. Agamben is certainly not a ‘virus denier’. . . but he does question the use of ‘pandemic’ to legitimate a certain shift in governing paradigms that will have far-reaching consequences . . . When sitting on a park bench with a friend is technically a crime, we need a voice like Agamben’s to remind us what we have lost among all the so-called ‘gains.'

-- David Jack, Australian Book Review

Fear makes thinking harder, yet there is an urgent need to think and to question every aspect of our current situation. The philosopher, which Agamben truly embodies, is a figure that must be heeded.

-- Nina Power, Roehampton University

Agamben's book title emphasizes a vital but all too often unappreciated question. By way of answer, he worries that we are collectively and individually in a very dangerous place that, contrary to popular opinion, has little to do with a virus or pandemic."

-- T. Allan Hillman, University of South Alabama

Agamben is right that our rulers will use every opportunity to consolidate their power, especially in times of crisis. That coronavirus is being exploited to strengthen mass-surveillance infrastructure is no secret.

-- Marco d'Eramo, New Left Review

About the Author

Giorgio Agamben is a contemporary Italian philosopher and political theorist whose original works have gained critical acclaim and have been translated into numerous languages. His most recent books are Creation and Anarchy: The Work of Art and the Religion of Capitalism and What Is Real? Agamben is a frequent contributor to numerous international newspapers and other media.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B092Q4LJZF
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (April 30, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 30, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 889 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 104 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1538157608
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 54 ratings

About the author

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Giorgio Agamben

Giorgio Agamben

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Giorgio Agamben is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Venice. He is the author of Profanations (2007), Remnants of Auschwitz: The Witness and the Archive (2002), both published by Zone Books, and other books.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
54 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

M. Abate
5.0 out of 5 stars A Collection of Blog Posts
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2022
Verified Purchase
I read this little book pretty quick. It's a collection of blog posts by Giorgio Agamben, who's an Italian philosopher and ethicist. Agamben made a name for himself in the aftermath of 9/11 with the 2005 book, State of Exception. In this book, he criticized then President Bush's government policies that issued forth from a state of emergency.

Agamben was a darling of the European Left for decades until he criticized his nation's Covid policies. Like many who questioned his/her nation's draconian policies, Agamben faced censorship and media backlash for daring to question the regime. Of course, many of his concerns and warnings have been proven true in Nov 2022. Agamben saw what he saw coming into existence because of a state of emergency due to Covid. That old saying proved true, "Don't let a good crisis go to waste."

Agamben's book contains his blog posts just before his blog was shut down. Given that he wrote these blogs in 2020, there's a dated element to them. That said, I believe Agamben's general thesis is spot on...The threat to any representative democracy or a constitutional republic like the US has to do with the elites suspending civil liberties in the name of preserving life due to a perceived crisis. Some questions that Agamben's book raise are as follows: Does civil government have ultimate authority over the bodies/souls of its citizens? Is it the civil government's main responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of its citizens? Or is civil government's responsibility to ensure an environment where its citizens can make responsible decisions for themselves?

Many of Agamben's insights provoke questions along similar lines and in other ways, too. This little book is first-rate, and deserves thoughtful interaction by free-thinking citizens everywhere.
7 people found this helpful
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Che
5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2021
This book is genius . Security state has become the bio security state
9 people found this helpful
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Pennsylvania Settler
4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Believe the Lie -- Critique of Pandemic Politics is Not Only From the Right
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2021
While in the U.S. it's mainly those on the right that are criticizing pandemic political overreach, this small book is an excellent contribution to that subject by a European man of the left. Lots of insight here even if you disagree with his economics. For a somewhat similar take also see Byung-Chul Han's 'The Palliative Society.'
8 people found this helpful
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Belljar
1.0 out of 5 stars The poorest book written by Agamben
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2023
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Deplorable.
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Doug Lewis
3.0 out of 5 stars Not his strongest work
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2022
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I have studied and enjoyed Agamben. You don’t have to convince me of the existence of the biostate. Which is good, because this book sure wouldn’t have. He attempts a series of weird inversions with Nazism to make his points, but the pamphlet is just weak tea.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Doctor Coloniensis
5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must"
Reviewed in Germany on February 8, 2022
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Everyone must read this book.
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