Empire and Imperialism A Critical Reading of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri

by Boron, Atilio A.

• ISBN13: 9781842775769
• ISBN10: 1842775766
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-06
• Publisher: ZED BOOKS

Summary

In 2001, the Harvard scholar Michael Hardt and the independent Italian left wing intellectual Toni Negri published a modern critique of imperialism. The book was widely criticized by left wing intellectuals who felt that the book posed unfortunate implications for political resistance to imperialism, and that it ignored both the experience and intellectual analysis of thinkers from the South. Atilio Boron is one of those. He argues that Hardt and Negri's concept of "imperialism without an address", though well intentioned, ignores most of the fundamental parameters of imperialism. The nation state, far from weakening, remains a crucial agent of capitalism, deploying a large arsenal of economic weaponry to protect and extend its position and actively promoting globalization in its own interests.

Author Biography

Atilio A. Boron is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Buenos Aires and Executive Secretary of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	viii
Preface	1	(5)
Prologue to the English-language edition	6	(17)
1 On perspectives, the limits of visibility and blind spots	23	(3)
2 The constitution of the empire	26	(16)
3 Markets, transnational corporations and national economies	42	(16)
4 Alternative visions of the empire	58	(15)
5 The nation-state and the issue of sovereignty	73	(14)
6 The unsolved mystery of the multitude	87	(11)
7 Notes for a sociology of revolutionary thinking in times of defeat	98	(13)
8 The persistence of imperialism Epilogue	111	(11)
Bibliography	122	(8)
Index of proper names	130	(6)
General index	136