Hatred of Democracy

In this vehement defense of the principle of democracy, Jacques Ranciere argues that the West can no longer simply extol the virtues of democracy by contrasting it with the horrors of totalitarianism. With Western governments exporting democracy via brute force, and reactionary strands in mainstream political opinion willing to abandon civil liberties, Ranciere argues that true democracy-government by all-represents a challenge to all elitist forms of power, which has earned it the fear and hatred of the new ruling class. In a compelling and timely analysis, Hatred of Democracy rethinks the subversive power of the democratic ideal. 'This tastily sardonic essay is partly a scholarly sprint through the history of political philosophy, and partly a very enjoyable stream of insults directed at rival penseurs.' Guardian 'A piercing essay on the definitions and redefinitions of the term 'democracy'.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'In our time of the disorientation of the left, Ranciere's writings offer one the few consistent conceptualizations of how are to continue to resist' Slavoj Zizek