This third and final volume of the series of writings by Antonio Negri examines how Spinoza’s thought constitutes a radical break with past ideas and an essential tool for envisaging a form of politics beyond capitalism.
Negri shows how Spinoza’s ideas have facilitated radical renewal from their beginnings to the present day. It was the democratic freedoms and spirit of solidarity fostered in The Netherlands of the 17th century that allowed Spinoza to develop a radically new form of thought, redefining notions of the state and outlining a republican alternative to absolutist monarchy. In our own era, Negri argues that the rediscovery of Spinoza was critical in reinvigorating political theory. Instead of acquiescing to the economic order of capitalism and abandoning the class struggle, Spinoza’s ideas enable us to reconstruct a revolutionary perspective. His treatment of concepts such as multitude, necessity, and liberty have given us new ways of looking critically at our present, revealing that power must always be seen as a question of antagonism and class struggle.
The writings that make up this volume – some written from prison as Negri fought for his own freedom – provide an important account of the enduring relevance of Spinoza’s thought. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of philosophy and political theory, as well anyone interested in radical politics today.
Negri shows how Spinoza’s ideas have facilitated radical renewal from their beginnings to the present day. It was the democratic freedoms and spirit of solidarity fostered in The Netherlands of the 17th century that allowed Spinoza to develop a radically new form of thought, redefining notions of the state and outlining a republican alternative to absolutist monarchy. In our own era, Negri argues that the rediscovery of Spinoza was critical in reinvigorating political theory. Instead of acquiescing to the economic order of capitalism and abandoning the class struggle, Spinoza’s ideas enable us to reconstruct a revolutionary perspective. His treatment of concepts such as multitude, necessity, and liberty have given us new ways of looking critically at our present, revealing that power must always be seen as a question of antagonism and class struggle.
The writings that make up this volume – some written from prison as Negri fought for his own freedom – provide an important account of the enduring relevance of Spinoza’s thought. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of philosophy and political theory, as well anyone interested in radical politics today.
Table of Contents
Preface: Two histories for SpinozaPart I: Spinoza in '68
1) Starting from Masaniello ... Deleuze / Spinoza: a political becoming
2) Spinoza / Deleuze: the good moment
3) Joyous Spinozists
Part II: Spinoza and today
4) Spinoza: an other power for action
5) Concerning multitude
6) Reflections on the immaterial (Spinoza, Marx ... and today)
7) Spinoza, necessity and freedom: some interpretational alternatives
8) Justice: Spinoza and others
9) A small note on fear in Spinoza
10) Hatred, as a passion
Part III: Spinoza in the seventeenth century
11) Politics of immanence, politics of transcendence
12a) Preface to Hegel
12) Rereading Hegel, the philosopher of right
13) Problems of the historiography of the modern state: France: 1610-1650
13a) Notes for the same
14) Considerations on Macpherson
15) Reflections on Grossmann and Borkenau
16) Notes on the history of politics in Tronti
