Ideas in Action: Political Tradition in the Twentieth Century

by Stephen Eric Bronner

Imagine a world in which means and ends, theory and practice, ideals, values, and interests, are torturously disassociated and yet manifestly linked. That is the world of the 20th century as Stephen Eric Bronner vividly portrays it in his important new work. Now imagine a world in which new traditions mix with the old, creativity blends with commitment, and values from the past combine with bold visions of the future. Creating this new fusion, says Professor Bronner, is the challenge for the 21st century and it inspires Ideas in Action. Contemporary political theory has become alienated from politics. It often neither discusses concrete political events nor touches the world of political action. That is an intellectual luxury the academy of the 21st century can ill-afford, and Ideas in Action offers an accessible way out of the box into which the canon of political theory and philosophy has been stuffed. With elegance and power, Bronner surveys 20th century political traditions. In the process, he places theories and thinkers in their social, historical, and political contexts. His sweeping presentation is organized into four imaginatively articulated phases that signal the direction of political thinking in the twentieth century. Offering distinctive interpretations and criticisms, presenting a new internationalist perspective, Bronner imbues the text with original voices and primary sources from the very canon he is reconfiguring. Careful notes of citation and explanation provide a pedagogical subtext that serves as a running bibliographic essay. All this and more makes

Paperback

First published April 15, 1999

About the author

Stephen Eric Bronner is an American political scientist and philosopher, Board of Governors Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, and is the Director of Global Relations for the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights.

Reviews

[Daniel Hammer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bronner's aim in this book is to trace the contexts of major traditions of 20th century political thought. He does a truly excellent job of presenting the thinkers and ideas of liberalism, communitarianism, conservativism, socialism, and revolutionary communism. Reading this, political theories no longer appear as abstract, unmoored thoughts floating in the world. They become attached to specific people who were writing and thinking at specific times and in dialogue with certain others. Useful and illuminating.
In the third section of the book, Bronner gives the same treatment to the theories of subjectivity which have dominated the late 20th century. I now have a better understanding of the motivations of critical theory and the Frankfurt school. Less helpful were his analyses of postmodernism, poststructuralism, and radical thought. It seems like Bronner just doesn't 'get' these theories in the same penetrating way he explains everything that came before. He criticism these theories, while before he was interested only in making better sense of the ideas. In the years since Bronner wrote this (a short decade ago) post- political theories have truly entered the mainstream of political thought. I think Bronner's panicky worries that these theories fail to provide us with a hard surface upon which to base our political decisions would today seem less like the criticism he intends it to be, and more like a simple recognition of reality. I skimmed the final section of the book where he tackles a laundry list of political issues--social movements, race, sex, ecology--it felt tacked on.
All in all, tremendously useful book that will help you better understanding political thought, including the politics you thought you already understood.