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Product Identifiers

PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated

ISBN-100195189124

ISBN-139780195189124

eBay Product ID (ePID)48424766

Product Key Features

Book TitleFear : the History of a Political Idea

Number of Pages336 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicAnxieties & Phobias, General

Publication Year2006

GenrePolitical Science, Self-Help

AuthorCorey Robin

FormatPerfect

Dimensions

Item Height0.9 in

Item Weight16.2 Oz

Item Length5.9 in

Item Width8.9 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2004-006813

Dewey Edition22

Reviews"His book is an appeal for social democracy which American intellectuals and the political elite have abandoned since the New Deal.... With great lucidity, Robin identifies many disturbing excesses in thought and travesties in deed, all of which are bound up in some way with fear." --MichaelKimmage, New York Times Book Review, "Fear is a central, but little investigated, concept in modern politicalthought. In a deft and well-written analysis of this crucial concept and itspolitical implications, Corey Robin not only gives us a masterful survey of itshistory but also, of its current abuse by the Bush administration. Passionate,erudite, and partisan, this book is an original contribution to our politicalvocabulary."--Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science andPhilosophy, Yale University, "Brilliant.... What he does in Fear is show us, by carefully plotting theprogress of modern fear politics from the Enlightenment to present day, that weare as dependent on fear as a political vehicle, if not more so, as we are thecharades of left/right/middle factionalism."--National Post, "Given daily terror alerts and news reports of violence, Robin, professor of political science and contributor to New York Times Magazine, offers a sober analysis of fear's Janus-faced potential as a catalyst for economic progress and the raison d'etre of repressive regimes. A brilliantsynthesis of historical perspective and the critically revealing story of 'Fear, American Style,' the account explores the classics of political thought by Hobbes, Montesquieu and Tocqueville and the portrayal of evil by Arendt."--Publishers Weekly, "By means of an innovative rereading of four influential political theorists--Thomas Hobbes, Montesquieu, Alexis de Tocqueville and Hannah Arendt--Corey Robin offers a fascinating analysis of how we have formed many of our ideas about the role of fear in society."--New Statesman, "Liberalism, he insists, sends working men and women unprotected intobattle against the forces of privilege, a battle they are bound to lose.Defeating fear, US-style, requires a new politics that actively confronts powerrather than the current apologetic, ameliorative American liberalism. He may notbe right that only a strong state can protect its citizens from fear (which iswhat, with Hobbes, he ends up arguing), but he makes a strong case that the jobis too important to be left to the market."--Financial Times, "Fear is a central, but little investigated, concept in modern political thought. In a deft and well-written analysis of this crucial concept and its political implications, Corey Robin not only gives us a masterful survey of its history but also, of its current abuse by the Bushadministration. Passionate, erudite, and partisan, this book is an original contribution to our political vocabulary."--Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, Yale University, "His book is an appeal for social democracy which American intellectualsand the political elite have abandoned since the New Deal.... With greatlucidity, Robin identifies many disturbing excesses in thought and travesties indeed, all of which are bound up in some way with fear." --Michael Kimmage, NewYork Times Book Review, "Brilliant.... What he does in Fear is show us, by carefully plotting the progress of modern fear politics from the Enlightenment to present day, that we are as dependent on fear as a political vehicle, if not more so, as we are the charades of left/right/middle factionalism."--NationalPost, "Given daily terror alerts and news reports of violence, Robin, professorof political science and contributor to New York Times Magazine, offers a soberanalysis of fear's Janus-faced potential as a catalyst for economic progress andthe raison d'etre of repressive regimes. A brilliant synthesis of historicalperspective and the critically revealing story of 'Fear, American Style,' theaccount explores the classics of political thought by Hobbes, Montesquieu andTocqueville and the portrayal of evil by Arendt."--Publishers Weekly, "Robin's account of the place of fear in American life is refreshingly clear--and timely."--Tony Judt, New York Review of Books, "A thoughtful, often brilliant, radical polemic against the insufficiencies and pitfalls of liberalism.... Let us hope that in his next work he will try to construct a defense against political fear as spirited as this provocative and discouraging dissection of its multiple forms."--StanleyHoffman, Foreign Affairs, "Robin's account of the place of fear in American life is refreshingly clear--and timely."--Tony Judt,New York Review of Books, "By means of an innovative rereading of four influential politicaltheorists--Thomas Hobbes, Montesquieu, Alexis de Tocqueville and HannahArendt--Corey Robin offers a fascinating analysis of how we have formed many ofour ideas about the role of fear in society."--New Statesman, "Learned and original, Robin argues that whereas Hobbes and Arendtappreciated the political dimensions of fear, Montesquieu and Tocquevillerelegated the idea to the realm of the psychological--a view of fear that hasendured, blinding us to the self-serving ways elites deploy fear for politicalends. Along the way, Robin delivers trenchant and original critiques of writerswho deal with fear. The journalists Michael Ignatieff, Philip Gourevitch andtheir ilk, who have made a cottage industry of condemning genocide, come underwithering criticism for implicitly romanticizing the mass killings theydeplore.... When...Robin takes on a congealed conventional wisdom, he is at hisbest."--Newsday, "Learned and original, Robin argues that whereas Hobbes and Arendt appreciated the political dimensions of fear, Montesquieu and Tocqueville relegated the idea to the realm of the psychological--a view of fear that has endured, blinding us to the self-serving ways elites deploy fear forpolitical ends. Along the way, Robin delivers trenchant and original critiques of writers who deal with fear. The journalists Michael Ignatieff, Philip Gourevitch and their ilk, who have made a cottage industry of condemning genocide, come under withering criticism for implicitly romanticizing themass killings they deplore.... When...Robin takes on a congealed conventional wisdom, he is at his best."--Newsday, "A thoughtful, often brilliant, radical polemic against theinsufficiencies and pitfalls of liberalism.... Let us hope that in his next workhe will try to construct a defense against political fear as spirited as thisprovocative and discouraging dissection of its multiple forms."--StanleyHoffman, Foreign Affairs, "Robin's account of the place of fear in American life is refreshinglyclear--and timely."--Tony Judt, New York Review of Books, "Liberalism, he insists, sends working men and women unprotected into battle against the forces of privilege, a battle they are bound to lose. Defeating fear, US-style, requires a new politics that actively confronts power rather than the current apologetic, ameliorative American liberalism.He may not be right that only a strong state can protect its citizens from fear (which is what, with Hobbes, he ends up arguing), but he makes a strong case that the job is too important to be left to the market."--Financial Times

Dewey Decimal320/.01/9

SynopsisFor many commentators, September 11 inaugurated a new era of fear. But as Corey Robin shows in his unsettling tour of the Western imagination--the first intellectual history of its kind--fear has shaped our politics and culture since time immemorial. From the Garden of Eden to the Gulag Archipelago to today's headlines, Robin traces our growing fascination with political danger and disaster. As our faith in positive political principles recedes, he argues, we turn to fear as the justifying language of public life. We may not know the good, but we do know the bad. So we cling to fear, abandoning the quest for justice, equality, and freedom. But as fear becomes our intimate, we understand it less. In a startling reexamination of fear's greatest modern interpreters--Hobbes, Montesquieu, Tocqueville, and Arendt--Robin finds that writers since the eighteenth century have systematically obscured fear's political dimensions, diverting attention from the public and private authorities who sponsor and benefit from it. For fear, Robin insists, is an exemplary instrument of repression--in the public and private sector. Nowhere is this politically repressive fear--and its evasion--more evident than in contemporary America. In his final chapters, Robin accuses our leading scholars and critics of ignoring "Fear, American Style," which, as he shows, is the fruit of our most prized inheritances--the Constitution and the free market. With danger playing an increasing role in our daily lives and justifying a growing number of government policies, Robin's Fear offers a bracing, and necessary, antidote to our contemporary culture of fear., For many commentators, September 11 inaugurated a new era of fear. But as Corey Robin shows in his unsettling tour of the Western imagination, fear has shaped our politics and culture since time immemorial. From the Garden of Eden to today's headlines, Robin traces our growing fascination with political danger and disaster. As our faith in positive political principles recedes, he argues, we turn to fear as the justifying language of public life. We may not know the good, but we do know the bad. So we cling to fear, abandoning the quest for justice, equality, and freedom., For many commentators, September 11 inaugurated a new era of fear. As Corey Robin shows in his unsettling tour of the Western imagination, fear has shaped politics and culture since time immemorial--from the Garden of Eden to the Gulag Archipelago to today's headlines.

LC Classification NumberJA74.5.R48 2006