A Call to Dissent
Defending Democracy Against Extremism and Populism
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Edinburgh University Press
Published:1st May '22
Should be back in stock very soon
Dogmatism, prejudice and bigotry are becoming ever more evident in Western politics. Divisive governments looking to cement their power strive to close down anyone who disagrees with them: political opponents, members of their own parties, the mainstream media, educators, protesters and, ultimately, voters. A Call to Dissent defends dissent as an essential part of democracy. Stuart Sim argues that the political left are falling into despair in the face of growing right-wing populism and extremism, rather than challenging and standing up to it. Taking a wide view, he identifies how dissent works in philosophy, religion, science and the arts as well as in politics. Ultimately, he calls on all of us to become dissenters ourselves in order to challenge authority and counter the growth of prejudice and bigotry in public life.
The book is an extended polemic urging an attitude and a practice of dissent in politics, religion, science, aesthetics, and even one’s own self-understanding. Sim (critical theory, Northumbria Univ., UK) writes from a general postmodern perspective represented prominently by Derrida and Lyotard, but the book can be read profitably by those with any nondogmatic perspective. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduates and general readers. -- H. Oberdiek * CHOICE *
This is a vital book from a recognised, esteemed authority in the area of philosophy, and political and cultural studies. Not only does it provide an invaluable and acute analysis of our contemporary political situation, but by sounding a warning against a culture of complaisance, it issues an invitation to dissent, which is the animating principle of all democracy. -- Keith Crome, Manchester Metropolitan University
ISBN: 9781474494953
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
216 pages