natalia_zara's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely necessary for thinking through Badiou's notion of politics
fuhhlarzablur's review against another edition
4.0
This is Badiou at the most lucid I've thus far encountered him, and the most explicitly anti-State form of his Communist thought shines through in this book. The reflections on democracy, justice, and the Thermidorian are especially illuminating.
Unfamiliar as I am with his major referents - Lazarus, Althusser, Ranciere - I found the first of these foci difficult to fixate upon, but the briefer chapters on the other two were easier to access. The mathemes in the final chapter are mildly obscure, but much more straightforward than most of the Lacanian algebra I've come across, and they hardly detract from the thesis of the chapter.
Unfamiliar as I am with his major referents - Lazarus, Althusser, Ranciere - I found the first of these foci difficult to fixate upon, but the briefer chapters on the other two were easier to access. The mathemes in the final chapter are mildly obscure, but much more straightforward than most of the Lacanian algebra I've come across, and they hardly detract from the thesis of the chapter.
piccoline's review against another edition
4.0
Some of this is heavy going in terms of the language. It's a lot denser than Badiou's _Ethics_, but it's definitely an interesting extension of his thinking into what should be done. I've been trying to think about What Should Be, lately, feeling overwhelmed by how much is unjust in this world.
One of my favorite things about Badiou's approach is this: a political event can be recognized as that which allows those who were not counted to count. A good first exercise: think back through history and think about which various groups were made up of individuals that were not counted. If you think that now everyone counts, you are not paying attention. Thus: we still have political work to do. Note also: for Badiou, a political event stands at a remove from the State, since the State fails, always, to be about virtues in favor of being about rights or rules (and thus in the end often about preserving property).
Well, I suppose I won't be able to summarize him here. A provocative read, indeed.
One of my favorite things about Badiou's approach is this: a political event can be recognized as that which allows those who were not counted to count. A good first exercise: think back through history and think about which various groups were made up of individuals that were not counted. If you think that now everyone counts, you are not paying attention. Thus: we still have political work to do. Note also: for Badiou, a political event stands at a remove from the State, since the State fails, always, to be about virtues in favor of being about rights or rules (and thus in the end often about preserving property).
Well, I suppose I won't be able to summarize him here. A provocative read, indeed.
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