Good & Dignified Life The Political Advice of Hannah Arendt & Rosa Luxemburg

January 2019 marked the centenary of the murder of Rosa Luxemburg, a Polish-German revolutionary whose actions provided long-lasting contributions to political philosophy and whose ideas on citizen councils, participative democracy, and imperialist capitalism greatly influenced Hannah Arendt's life and thought. In this book, Joke J. Hermsen explores the ways in which Luxemburg's life shaped Arendt's philosophy, and she investigates how the insights of both Luxemburg and Arendt may help us move toward a more sustainable and just contemporary society.

Hermsen tracks the feminist underpinnings of radical politics in the twentieth century through the lives of these two women; how the tragic ending of Rosa Luxemburg's life and Arendt's keen empathy for her legacy provide poignant inspiration. In the end, this book dramatizes the challenges put to us through these women's works: What is it to be a human being? How do we lead a good and dignified life?

"An intimate and timely meditation on dark times, Hermsen's illuminating essay offers readers a way to think with Hannah Arendt and Rosa Luxemburg about how to build a more humane world in common."--Samantha Rose Hill, author of Hannah Arendt

Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) were critical Jewish mavericks who both suffered under violent political regimes and sought to reform systems of power. Although temporally separated by the Second World War and the rise of totalitarianism, they held in common strikingly similar convictions about freedom, human dignity, capitalism, democracy, and political commitment.

In this powerful book, Joke J. Hermsen explores the lives and works of these two remarkable thinkers and the essential hope that emboldened them in the political struggle. Luxemburg and Arendt were spurred on by a restless love for the world and an unwavering belief in the possibility of new beginnings; for them, hope was an absolute prerequisite of resistance and a counterpoint to melancholy--a defense against despair that kept them attuned to what could be.

Exploring the intertwined nature of philosophy and the active pursuit of justice, this is an urgent, courageous reminder to remain alert to the glimmers of hope in dark times.

" A] short but moving book . . . Even better, the volume's advice is not only pragmatically political--necessary during a time of threats to democracy and mounting failures to deal with the climate crisis--but modestly uplifting."--Bill Marx, Arts Fuse

"An intimate and timely meditation on dark times, Hermsen's illuminating essay offers readers a way to think with Hannah Arendt and Rosa Luxemburg about how to build a more humane world in common."--Samantha Rose Hill, author of Hannah Arendt

Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) were critical Jewish mavericks who both suffered under violent political regimes and sought to reform systems of power. Although temporally separated by the Second World War and the rise of totalitarianism, they held in common strikingly similar convictions about freedom, human dignity, capitalism, democracy, and political commitment.

In this powerful book, Joke J. Hermsen explores the lives and works of these two remarkable thinkers and the essential hope that emboldened them in the political struggle. Luxemburg and Arendt were spurred on by a restless love for the world and an unwavering belief in the possibility of new beginnings; for them, hope was an absolute prerequisite of resistance and a counterpoint to melancholy--a defense against despair that kept them attuned to what could be.

Exploring the intertwined nature of philosophy and the active pursuit of justice, this is an urgent, courageous reminder to remain alert to the glimmers of hope in dark times.