Theories and Narratives

by Callinicos, Alex

• ISBN13: 9780822316312
• ISBN10: 0822316315
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-07-01
• Publisher: Duke Univ Pr

Summary

At a time when philosophy of history is decidedly out of fashion,Theories and Narrativesexplores the relationship between historical writing and theoretical understanding and seeks to establish the legitimate scope of large-scale theories to grasp historical processes as a whole. Pursuing this objective, Alex Callinicos critically confronts a number of leading attempts to reconceptualize the meaning of history, including Francis Fukuyamars"s rehabilitation of Hegelrs"s philosophy of history and the postmodernist efforts of Hayden White and others to deny the existence of a past independent of our representations of it. In these cases philosophical arguments are pursued in tandem with discussions of historical interpretations or, respectively, Stalinism and the Holocaust. Leading theories of history-Marxrs"s and Weberrs"s-are then examined in the context of recent work by writers such as Michael Mann, W. G. Runciman, and Robert Brenner Finally, the politics of historical theory is explored in a discussion of Marxismrs"s claims to be a universal theory of human progress. Contradicting current fashion, Callinicos rebuts the claims made by many postmodernists that Marxism is inherently Eurocentric in both its conceptual structures and its political practice. Marxrs"s project of human emancipation, he concludes, still define our political horizons. Theories and Narrativeswill interest all readers for whom the role of history in the understanding of contemporary civilizations is an essential issue.

Author Biography

Alex Callinicos is Reader in Politics at the University of York.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Sympathy for the Devil? Francis Fukuyama and the End of History

Fukuyama and the Left

Kojeve: From Hegel to Stalin

Fukuyama: From Spengler to Reagan

History and Reason

History as Narrative

The Claims of Narrative

The Specificity of Modern Historical Discourse

Facing the Facts

Theory and Interpretation

History as Theory

What is a Theory of History?

Marx or Weber?

Capitalism and Abstraction

History as Progress

Meaning in History

The Dialectics of Progress

The Rise of the West

Identity and Emancipation

Conclusion

Notes

Index

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