The end of politics : corporate power and the decline of the public sphere / Carl Boggs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boggs, Carl.

Series:

Critical perspectives (New York, N.Y.)

Critical perspectives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political participation--United States.

Political participation.

United States.

Political culture--United States.

Political culture.

United States--Politics and government--1989-.

Politics and government.

United States--Social conditions--1980-2020.

Social conditions.

Political leadership--United States.

Political leadership.

Physical Description:

x, 310 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Guilford Press, [2000]

Summary:

Perhaps The Most Enduring Legacy Of The Clinton Impeachment saga will be the outpourings of disgust and pessimism it has evoked from Americans of all ages and walks of life. Yet our national disaffection with politics is nothing new. Voter turnout has declined alarmingly in recent elections, and many complain about the inaccessibility, corruption, and hypocrisy of political actors and institutions. This book delves beneath the sound bites and news headlines to explore the ongoing process of depoliticization in the United States. Boggs provides a panoramic view of our contemporary political, economic, and technological scene. He shows how the effects of free-market ideology and corporate greed have undermined civic participation and democratic decision-making, while exacerbating social and ecological crises. Hot on the trail of the rapidly disappearing public sphere, the book illuminates the American retreat to an eerily privatized landscape of shopping malls, gated communities, new-age and utopian groups, identity-based movements, and postmodern intellectual enclaves. It issues an eloquent call for revitalizing politics and rebuilding civic society.

Contents:

Sex Scandal and Political Entropy 2

The Age of Corporate Colonization 6

The Logic of Antipolitics 12

Capitalism versus Democracy 16

American Exceptionalism Revisited 20

Dimensions of the Problem 22

Chapter 1 The Depoliticized Society 25

The Party System as Facade 25

Citizenship in Decline 30

Max Weber Meets Thomas Hobbes 39

Chapter 2 Social Crisis and Political Decay 41

Liberalism in Disarray 42

The Shrinking Public Sphere 45

Assessing the Damage 47

The Incorporated Debates 63

Chapter 3 Corporate Expansion and Political Decline 67

The New Corporate Polity 68

Commodification of the Public Sphere 78

The Solidification of Elite Power 85

Chapter 4 Rise and Decline of the Public Sphere 89

Economic Globalization: Order and Chaos 89

The Tradition of Political Discourse 95

Modernity: A Dual Legacy 108

Liberalism, Marxism, and Beyond 114

Chapter 5 Antipolitics Left and Right 123

The 1960s: Politics Affirmed and Sublimated 124

The Rebellion against "Big Government" 130

Warrior Dreams-and Nightmares 138

The New Outlaw Hero 146

Terrorism as Social Catharsis 150

Politics and Antipolitics on the Right 153

A Prelude to Fascism? 156

The Authoritarian Impasse 161

Chapter 6 Political Power and Its Discontents 166

Utopianism in the New Age 167

The Therapeutic Revolution: Alienation Depoliticized 177

Localism and the Enclave Culture 185

The Urban Rebellion: Beyond Politics? 194

Deep Ecology: From Politics to Nature 201

Neither Movement nor Party 206

Chapter 7 The Postmodern Impasse 208

The Crisis of Modernity 208

The Postmodern as Postpolitical 213

The Predicament of Social Movements 222

The Identity Maze 229

Fragments against the Whole 237

Conclusion: A Revival of Politics? 243

The Triumph of Liberal Capitalism? 245

The Minimalist Trap 249

Reversing the Downward Spiral 255

The Enlightenment Revisited 267

Transcending the "Morbid Symptoms" 273

Postscript: The Year 2000 280.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 284-299) and index.

ISBN:

1572304960

OCLC:

42463096