For Revolt: Rancire, Abstract Space and Emancipation

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This striking interpretation of Rancires uncompromising view of emancipation draws on his Maoist commitments and invariably rational and Kantian-moralist basis. Tracing the logic of abstract and atemporal space in all of Rancires work, it stands in contrast to the prevailing tendency to emphasise his sensitivity to evolving historical forms and changing regimes of sensibility. Overturning the meaning of Rancires interest in the sensible makes the object of his thinking clear: a revolt against a reality structured according to ordered temporalities and forms of appearance. In making its case, For Revolt reconstructs Rancires relations to some of the crucial, yet unexplored, politico-historical frameworks of his thought, such as the Cultural-Revolutionary Maoism and the French Revolution, offering a fresh perspective on these revolutionary paradigms. Going against dominant views, this book argues for a fundamentally positive influence of Louis Althussers philosophy on Rancires thought and analyses his relation to Marx and Kant based on previously undiscussed early student work. Through a critical discussion of Rancire, For Revolt sheds light on the present predicament of emancipatory politics its emphasis on the actualities of here and now and its difficulties in envisaging programmatic realisations of radically alternative futures.

Reviews

This brilliant, stimulating and enmeshing reading of Rancire teaches us that space is the future of time. Space of the stage. Space of equality. space of democracy. Between Kant and Marx, a new way of thinking about spatialization as emancipation develops. An essential analysis. * Catherine Malabou, Professor of Philosophy, Kingston University, USA *
Jussi Palmusaaris reading marks a whole new level of precision and sophistication in the reception of Rancires work. By foregrounding his concern with the literal space of egalitarian coexistence, over any progressive or temporal process of liberation, Palmusaari illuminates what is so uncompromising about Rancires conception of revolt while also illuminating some of its strategic limitations. * Peter Hallward, Professor of Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University, UK *
A probing new critical appraisal of Rancires philosophical project, this carefully argued analysis presents his work as an emancipatory form of radical Kantianism in which spatial coexistence is privileged; this in turn sheds welcome new light on key terms, above all le partage du sensible. * Oliver Davis, Professor of French Studies, Warwick University, UK *

Author Bio

Jussi Palmusaari holds a PhD from the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University London, UK. He has worked as a lecturer at Kingston University and King's College London, UK. He has published on European philosophy and political thought, and translated German and French philosophy into Finnish and English.