Putting Liberalism In Its Place

Arguing from these insights Kahn offers a new reading of the liberalismcommunitarian debate a genealogy of American liberalism an exploration of theromantic and... » 

Arguing from these insights Kahn offers a new reading of the liberalismcommunitarian debate a genealogy of American liberalism an exploration of theromantic and the pornographic a new theory of the will and a refoundation ofpolitical theory on the possibility of sacrifice. Approaching politics from theperspective of sacrifice allows us to understand the character of twentiethcentury politics which combined progress in the rule of law with massiveslaughter for the state. Equally important this work speaks to the mostimportant political conflicts in the world today. It explains why Americanresponse to September 11 has taken the form of war and why for the most partEuropeans have been reluctant to follow the Americans in their pursuit of aviolent sacrificial politics. Kahn shows us that the United States hasmaintained a vibrant politics of modernity while Europe is moving into apostmodern form of the political that has turned away from the idea ofsacrifice. «