Akeel Bilgrami’s essay on alienation and the commons is a wide-ranging book from one of contemporary philosophy’s leading thinkers. Bilgrami’s insights into the erosion of the commons touch on the Enlightenment, social welfare, and a range of philosophers from Nietzsche to Locke and Wittgenstein. The idea of the ‘tragedy’ of the commons assumes a notion of rationality in which people cannot be trusted to act for the communal, rather than individual, good but Bilgrami explores an
alternative history of humanity that offers an original and logical rebuttal to the pessimism of the outlooks underlying capitalism. This essay is a philosophical exploration of the nature of alienation in the modern period and a reconceptualization of politics informed by the idea of an unalienated life. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the moral philosophy of politics and society.
This is the perfect book for dark and estranged times, illuminating all the ethical possibilities of community and telling an unforgettable story about the history of society. A roving and searingly intelligent analysis, published as an affordable limited edition.
Praise
“Thoughtful and thought-provoking, carefully and persuasively argued,this impressive inquiry leads us step by step to recognize how essential it is to attain a unified unalienated mentality if we are to have any hope of overcoming crises so severe that we can barely find words to capture their immensity.” Noam Chomsky, author of Manufacturing Consent.
“It is a very important work which really needs to be published now, if we are to combat some of the ills of contemporary democracy.”
Charles Taylor, author of Sources of the Self: The Making of Modern Identity.
About the Author
Akeel Bilgrami is the Sidney Morgenbesser Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. His books include Belief and Meaning (1992), Self-Knowledge and Resentment (2006) and Secularism, Identity, and Enchantment (2014). He has been Chair of Columbia University’s Philosophy Department and was for many years the Director of the Heyman Center for the Humanities.
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Published by Juxta Press, 59 pgs, 20 × 15 cm, Softcover, 2022, 9788894675702