The Political Forms of Modern Society: Bureaucracy, Democracy, Totalitarianism

by Claude Lefort, John B. Thompson (Editor)

Claude Lefort is one of the leading social and political theorists in France today. This anthology of his most important work published over the last four decades makes his writing widely accessible to an English-speaking audience for the first time.With exceptional skill Lefort combines the analysis of contemporary political events with a sensitivity to the history of political thought. His critical account of the development of bureaucracy and totalitarianism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe is a timely contribution to current debates about the nature and shortcomings of these societies. His incisive analyses of Marx's theory of history and concept of ideology provide the backdrop for a highly original account of the role of symbolism in modern societies. While critical of many traditional assumptions and doctrines, Lefort develops a political position based on a reappraisal of the idea of human rights and a reconsideration of what "democracy" means today.The Political Forms of Modern Society is a major contribution to contemporary social and political theory. The volume includes a substantial introduction that describes the context of Lefort's writings and highlights the central themes of his work.Claude Lefort teaches social and political theory at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris. He was a founder, with Cornelius Castoriadis, of the influential independent journal of the left, Socialisme ou Barbarie. John B. Thompson is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Cambridge.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Chelsea Szendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really only read "Outline of the Genesis of Ideology in Modern Societies," in which Lefort outlines was he sees as three types of modern ideology (well, to him ideology is a modern phenomenon): so-called bourgeois ideology, totalitarian ideology, invisible ideology. His strongest analysis is of "so-called bourgeois ideology," while his analysis of "totalitarian ideology" seem so have been lost its luster in these days of recognizing that the term "totalitarian" really doesn't get us anywhere. His discussion of "invisible ideology" (an almost Hegelian synthesis of the other two) is most remarkable for its palpable sense of frenzied disgust with the mechanics of contemporary society. That section is really quite good reading, and I love having the term "invisible ideology" in my toolbox.

[Andrew Noselli · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this book, the author reveals how even the most revolutionary moments in world-history can be converted into moments of pure conservatism, thereby ensuring that even in the reddest (i.e. most communist or most revolutionary) areas of the map, the proletarian people voted for Napoleon Bonaparte or, considering the present-day situation, voted for Donald J. Trump. In contradistinction to the role of the artist, it is the role of the consumer to stop time by making change invisible and enter the irrepressible now and so to go forth into the eternal space of feminine ideology. All in all, Lefort makes a compelling case that fascism exists when capital speaks in a way that places ordinary limits on the voices of the proletariat. Two stars.

[Leonardo]

Ya no basta con señalar el conocido análisis marxista acerca de la brecha que existe entre la apariencia ideológica de la forma legal universal y los intereses particulares que la sostienen, como es común entre los críticos políticamente correctos de la izquierda. El contraargumento expuesto por teóricos como Claude Lefort y Jacques Ranciére según el cual la forma nunca es «mera» forma, sino que implica una dinámica propia que deja huellas en la materialidad de la vida social, es totalmente válido. Después de todo, la «libertad formal» del burgués pone en marcha todo el proceso de exigencias políticas materiales y prácticas, desde las demandas de los sindicatos hasta las del feminismo. Ranciére subraya con acierto la ambigüedad radical de la noción marxista de la brecha entre la democracia formal con su discurso acerca de los derechos del hombre y la libertad política, y la realidad económica de explotación y dominación.

Sobre la Violencia Pág.181

[reoccurrence]

Only read “Politics and Human Rights”

[mwr · Rating 5 out of 5]

He gets modernity and totalitarianism right (or he is closer to it) than most. The Lacanian language is tiresome.