The Logos Reader: Rational Radicalism and the Future of Politics

The online publication Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture was launched in response to the atmosphere of triumphant conservatism and militarism that pervades American political culture in the aftermath of 9/11. Aiming to revitalize the moribund political left, several world-renowned intellectual figures congregated to form the journal's core group of editors and writers. The mission of Logos is to promote rational radicalism, grounded in critical social theory and fully engaged with the most vital issues of our time. The Logos Reader: Rational Radicalism and the Future of Politics offers the best political writing published by the journal during its first three years. Compiled by founding editors Stephen Eric Bronner and Michael J. Thompson, these pieces critically examine globalization, the Iraq War, and the plight of the Middle East, while also illuminating the domestic concerns that dominate American discourse. Delivered in a direct, accessible manner, the analyses presented in The Logos Reader reflect the journal's distinctly public purpose. The essays reveal both the practical and theoretical connections between distant military pursuits and domestic struggles for democracy and equality. The left's leading intellectuals shed light on the most recent developments in the global war on terrorism while sharply criticizing right-wing justifications for restricted civil liberties, human rights violations, and rampant expansion of armaments. Similar attention is given to central domestic issues, such as the conservative right's assault on the welfare state and the crusade of religious fundamentalists against civil rights protections for all citizens. Negotiating the vast terrain of current social problems, the contributors are united in their intent to question and ultimately constrain the excessive power wielded by dominant cultural, political, and economic institutions. This collection stakes out firm ideological ground and challenges authoritarian forces, clarifying the notion of rational radicalism as a liberating counterpoint to limiting worldviews and systems of oppression.

Founded in 2002, Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture was established in response to the increasing erosion of a left political culture and the new possibilities for international political engagement and cooperation produced by the Internet. Many of the best known intellectual representatives of what might be termed a ?rational radicalism? soon served as the core group for this new online journal that has reached about four million readers. The Logos Reader brings together the most influential and controversial work to appear in the journal. In its pages, writers of exceptional stature such as Stanley Aronowitz, Ulrich Beck, Drucilla Cornell, Fred Dallmayr, J?rgen Habermas, Douglas Kellner, and Eric Rouleau articulate liberal and socialist values even as they retain theoretical viewpoints influenced by critical theory. The contributors deal with some of the most pressing political issues of our age, including transnational developments, U.S. foreign policy, the Iraqi War, the plight of the Palestinians, and the domestic concerns currently dominating American politics. With themes that speak to the most pertinent and enduring issues of a post-9/11 culture, the essays in The Logos Reader represent the best of modern liberal thought and will influence contemporary political discourse.