Hatred of Democracy

Jacques Rancière argues that the West can no longer simply extol the virtues of democracy by contrasting it with the horrors of totalitarianism. As certain governments are exporting democracy by brute force, and a reactionary strand in mainstream political opinion is willing to abandon civil liberties and destroy collective values of equality, Rancière explains how democracy—government by all—attacks any form of power based on the superiority of an elite. Hence the fear, and consequently the hatred, of democracy amongst the new ruling class. In a compelling and timely analysis, Hatred of Democracy rethinks the subversive power of this democratic ideal.

One of the most compelling thinkers and writers in France since Michel Foucault and Gilles Delueze. --Tom Conley

A compelling and timeless analysis, Hatred of Democracydeconstructs the democratic idea, formulating a powerful vindication of equality. Tracing the idealization of democracy in service of the desires of mass society, Ranciimp;quest;re helps us understand, through the blunders of self-ruled civilization, the explosive power democracy and the trenchancy of the egalitarian impulse.

A vehement defense of the principle of democracy against neoconservative repression.

Jacques Rancière is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris-VIII. His books include The Politics of Aesthetics, On the Shores of Politics, Short Voyages to the Land of the People, The Nights of Labor, Staging the People, and The Emancipated Spectator.