Books by Michael Thompson

In this new work, political theorist Michael J. Thompson argues that modern societies are witnessing a decline in one of the core building blocks of modernity: the autonomous self. Far from being an illusion of the Enlightenment, Thompson contends that the individual is a defining feature of the project to build a modern democratic culture and polity. One of the central reasons for its demise in recent decades has been the emergence of what he calls the "e;cybernetic society,"e; a cohesive totalization of the social logics of the institutional spheres of economy, culture and polity. These logics have been progressively defined by the imperatives of economic growth and technical-administrative management of labor and consumption, routinizing patterns of life, practices, and consciousness throughout the culture. Evolving out of the neoliberal transformation of economy and society since the 1980s, the cybernetic society has transformed how that the individual is articulated in contemporary society. Thompson examines the various pathologies of the self and consciousness that result from this form of socialization-such as hyper-reification, alienated moral cognition, false consciousness, and the withered ego-in new ways to demonstrate the extent of deformation of modern selfhood. Only with a more robust, more socially embedded concept of autonomy as critical agency can we begin to reconstruct the principles of democratic individuality and community.

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In this book, Michael Thompson argues that the influence of identity politics on modern Labor's political agenda – assisted by a political class whose sole concern is power – poses an "existential" threat to Labor. The warning signs are clear. Popular disaffection with the political class is increasing, and the Party's embrace of left-wing, progressive issues is sidelining core working-class aspirations and grievances that used to be the focus of Labor politics.

Why do people want what they want? Why does one person see the world as a place to control, while another feels controlled by the world? A useful theory of culture, the authors contend, should start with these questions, and the answers, given different historical conditions, should apply equally well to people of all times, places, and walks of life.Taking their cue from the pioneering work of anthropologist Mary Douglas, the authors of Cultural Theory have created a typology of five ways of life?egalitarianism, fatalism, individualism, hierarchy, and autonomy?to serve as an analytic tool in examining people, culture, and politics. They then show how cultural theorists can develop large numbers of falsifiable propositions.Drawing on parables, poetry, case studies, fiction, and the Great Books, the authors illustrate how cultural biases and social relationships interact in particular ways to yield life patterns that are viable, sustainable, and ultimately, changeable under certain conditions. Figures throughout the book show the dynamic quality of these ways of life and specifically illustrate the role of surprise in effecting small- and large-scale change.The authors compare Cultural Theory with the thought of master social theorists from Montesquieu to Stinchcombe and then reanalyze the classic works in the political culture tradition from Almond and Verba to Pye. Demonstrating that there is more to social life than hierarchy and individualism, the authors offer evidence from earlier studies showing that the addition of egalitarianism and fatalism facilitates cross-national comparisons.

How do objects that have lost their value become valuable once again?

In Thompson's view, failure to comprehend structures of thought and judgment expressed in the practical concepts of life, action, and practice has disfigured modern moral philosophy, rendering it incapable of addressing the larger questions that should be its focus. Establishing clarity on these concepts is Thompson's aim in this ambitious work.

Delves into the theatre of Spanish dramatist Jose Maria Rodriguez Mendez, one of the most significant Spanish playwrights of the twentieth century and an acerbic cultural commentator. This book traces the development of Rodriguez Mendez's work from the hard times of the Franco dictatorship through the uncertainties of the transition to democracy.

Taking their cue from the pioneering work of anthropologist Mary Douglas, the authors of Cultural Theory have created a typology of five ways of lifeegalitarianism, fatalism, individualism, hierarchy, and autonomyto serve as an analytic tool in the examination of people, culture, and politics. They then show how cultural theorists can develop large numbers of falsifiable propositions.