Politics without vision - Tracy B Strong

Politics without Vision takes up the thought of seven
influential thinkers, each of whom attempted to construct a political
solution to this problem: Nietzsche, Weber, Freud, Lenin, Schmitt,
Heidegger, and Arendt. None of these theorists were liberals nor,
excepting possibly Arendt, were they democrats-and some might even be
said to have served as handmaidens to totalitarianism. And all to a
greater or lesser extent shared the common conviction that the
institutions and practices of liberalism are inadequate to the demands
and stresses of the present times. In examining their thought, Strong
acknowledges the political evil that some of their ideas served to
foster but argues that these were not necessarily the only paths their
explorations could have taken. By uncovering the turning points in their
thought-and the paths not taken-Strong strives to develop a political
theory that can avoid, and perhaps help explain, the mistakes of the
past while furthering the democratic impulse.

Confronting the widespread belief that political thought is on the
decline, Strong puts forth a brilliant and provocative counterargument
that in fact it has endured-without the benefit of outside support. A
compelling rendering of contemporary political theory, Politics without Vision is sure to provoke discussion among scholars in many fields.