- Paperback
- Publisher: Harvard University Press (2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0674006712
- ISBN-13: 978-0674006713
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 3.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 458 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #38,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
The problematic of Empire is determined in the first place by one simple fact: that there is world order. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The problematic of Empire is determined in the first place by one simple fact: that there is world order. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very useful and at times prophetic,
By Large Pro (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Empire (Paperback)
This book is definitely neither for the critical theory neophyte, nor for those of an already hardened ideological position on globalization and identity politics. However, the close reader will be rewarded with innumerable moments of productive provocation and reflection. There are very interesting insights on the limits of all the "posts," namely postmodernism, poststructuralism, and postcolonialism, none of which seem to get at the historical passage from modernity to Empire in a fashion entirely suitable to the authors' p.o.v. I must say that, in many respects, I agree with their critiques. There's also a very prophetic account of Empire's "police intervention" function that certainly makdes one think of "Operation Iraqui Freedom" in a new light, as well as a section on the rise of fundamentalism as a symptom of Empire's arrival that casts the horrors of 9-11 in a broader perspective. All in all, despite the often tortuous prose and high-fallutin' way with slogans and metaphors, a very useful book for anyone who has both a strong a critical theory background and an open-minded attitude to fresh debates.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
review the book not the prose,
By A Customer
This review is from: Empire (Paperback)
sadly my review has to speak more of other reviews than "empire" itself. i really wish people would find another forum to air their grievances with the difficulties of academic discourse. it seems to go like this: to express complicated thoughts, you need a complicated VOCABULARY!!! think about the words you knew when you were 7...were they adequate to express the thoughts and feelings you have now? in the same vein, it is not possible to construct complex theoretical arguments without employing complex terms. if you dont understand the jargon (yes it is jargon) used in "empire", then read some cultural theory and learn how to throw these words around. when you go to an auto mechanic, do you have any clue what they are talking about (whatshaft? beltwhat?) why is this any different from the professional language of the academic or cultural theorist? do you accuse mechanics or engineers of locking themselves in an ivory tower? think about it. the bottom line is that if you arent the least bit familiar with hegel, kant, foucalt, deleuze, marx, etc...then this book maybe isnt for you just yet. it is an elaboration, an extension. you have to crawl before you can walk. obviously it is problematic that a book aimed towards ultimately inciting global revolution is only accessible to an academic minority. once hardt and negri have delivered their concepts in a well-formulated, academic fashion, then they can boil it down and make a pamphlet out of it that joe prolitarian can comprehend. keep your frustration and incomprehension private, or do something about it on your own rather than crowding valid, thoughtful book reviews with your griping. i have found "empire" very intriguing and enlightening, although it obviously has its utopian pitfalls. griping about it being anti-american is akin to complaining that its anti-imperialist. read and try to understand the book before you start crying in public.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yes, Intellectuals are Esoteric,
By A Customer
This review is from: Empire (Paperback)
I agree that Hardt and Negri did not write this book for Uncle Joe and Aunt Sally (symbolic violence). I also feel that this is unfortunate because they make some interesting arguments. In my opinion, these authors thought that their "message" was very important and needed to be read by "the most important people". Unfortunately they believe that "the most important people" are future professors and current professors. I think that most of us would tend to think "the most important people" are the "multitude" or "the people" (to use Hardt and Negri's language). Why do these authors believe that academics should read their book? Ironically, they might have faith in an educational trickle-down theory!OK so let us assume you DO have a strong background in Critical, Cutlural, Political, Philosophical, and Literary Theory. I assume that the arguments made by Hardt and Nergi are currently being debated within your fields as they are in my field. I highly suggest picking up this book. I will warn you that some chapters may be harder to read than others because you lack the specific background (for example Hegal and Kant). If you are somewhat "well read" in the academic areas mentioned above (for example: you know something about postmodern and post colonial theory), I suggest you pick up this book. After you have read the book - talk to your friends about it and use it in your classes (trickle down theory)- unless you believe in vanguard-elite-domination of knowledge production and consumption! PS In my opinion, the first chapter are the WORST (1.1 thru 1.3)so I'd do a quick reading.
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