The promise of memory : history and politics in Marx, Benjamin, and Derrida / Matthias Fritsch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fritsch, Matthias.

Series:

SUNY series in contemporary continental philosophy.

SUNY series in contemporary continental philosophy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Benjamin, Walter, 1892-1940.

Benjamin, Walter.

Derrida, Jacques.

Marx, Karl, 1818-1883.

Marx, Karl.

History--Philosophy.

History.

Political science--Philosophy.

Political science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (264 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Rereading Marx through Walter Benjamin and Jacques Derrida, The Promise of Memory attempts to establish a philosophy of liberation. Matthias Fritsch explores how memories of injustice relate to the promises of justice that democratic societies have inherited from the Enlightenment. Focusing on the Marxist promise for a classless society, since it contains a political promise whose institutionalization led to totalitarian outcomes, Fritsch argues that both memories and promises, if taken by themselves, are one-sided and potentially justify violence if they do not reflect on the implicit relation between them. He examines Benjamin's reinterpretation of Marxism after the disappointment of the Russian and German revolutions and Derrida's "messianic" inheritance of Marx after the breakdown of the Soviet Union. The book also contributes to contemporary political philosophy by relating Marxist social goals and German critical theory to debates about deconstructive ethics and politics.

Contents:

Benjamin's reading of Marx

Derrida's reading of Marx

The critique of violence

The claim of the dead upon the living.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-245) and index.

ISBN:

9780791482780

0791482782

9781423747802

1423747801

OCLC:

461441866