Anarchist prophets : disappointing vision and the power of collective sight / James R. Martel.

Author/creator Martel, James R. author.
Format Book
PublicationDurham : Duke University Press, [2022]
Descriptionx, 352 pages ; 24 cm
Subjects

Contents Disappointing Vision -- Appointing prophets -- Hobbes and the Holy Spirit -- A most disappointing prophet: Nietzsche's Zarathustra -- A prophet who can't see the future: Benjamin's Angel of History -- Navigating (and Fighting) Archism -- Can Archism ever die? -- Beyond Anarchist Prophets.
Abstract "In Anarchist Prophets, James R. Martel makes a case for an anarchist form of collective vision that will counter dominant "archist" forms of power-that is, power that is centralized, hierarchical, and commanding. Archism, Martel argues, dominates through its promises of safety, success, and exalted life (primarily through its religious grounding), and it relies on prophets or people who claim to have the power to see what counts as real. Martel's goal is to show how anarchist forms of collective vision and action can exist and flourish, even under less-than-ideal conditions of archist power. Drawing from a wide range of political cases and literary texts-Biblical texts, Hobbes, the Spanish revolution, Kurdish resistance in Syria, Octavia Butler's fiction-Martel traces out the theological roots of archist power and then offers examples of anarchist experiments with forms of collective prophecy that are liberatory rather than seeking to rule through a privileged form of vision. Martel points instead to ways in which people can "see together" in community through the "anarchist prophet" or the figure who helps a community to see through disappointment and by allowing for messiness and heterogeneity"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in other formOnline version: Martel, James R. Anarchist prophets Durham : Duke University Press, 2022 9781478023043
Genre/formHistory.
LCCN 2021045554
ISBN9781478015789 hardcover
ISBN1478015780 hardcover
ISBN9781478018414 paperback
ISBN1478018410 paperback
ISBNelectronic book

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Joyner General Stacks JC330 .M3398 2022 ✔ Available Place Hold