| The Terms of Order: Political Science and the Myth of Leadership Contributor(s): Robinson, Cedric J. (Author), Edwards, Erica R. (Foreword by) |
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ISBN: 146962821X ISBN-13: 9781469628219 Publisher: University of North Carolina Press OUR PRICE: $30.88 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2016 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Political Process - General - Political Science | History & Theory - General |
| Dewey: 320 |
| LCCN: 2015041085 |
| Physical Information: 0.82" H x 5.89" W x 9.06" (0.89 lbs) 310 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Do we live in basically orderly societies that occasionally erupt into violent conflict, or do we fail to perceive the constancy of violence and disorder in our societies? In this classic book, originally published in 1980, Cedric J. Robinson contends that our perception of political order is an illusion, maintained in part by Western political and social theorists who depend on the idea of leadership as a basis for describing and prescribing social order. Using a variety of critical approaches in his analysis, Robinson synthesizes elements of psychoanalysis, structuralism, Marxism, classical and neoclassical political philosophy, and cultural anthropology in order to argue that Western thought on leadership is mythological rather than rational. He then presents examples of historically developed "stateless" societies with social organizations that suggest conceptual alternatives to the ways political order has been conceived in the West. Examining Western thought from the vantage point of a people only marginally integrated into Western institutions and intellectual traditions, Robinson's perspective radically critiques fundamental ideas of leadership and order. |
Contributor Bio(s): Robinson, Cedric J.: - Cedric J. Robinson (1940-2016) was professor of Black Studies and political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His books include Black Marxism, Forgeries of Memory and Meaning, and The Anthropology of Marxism. |