Interview with Habermas in FAZ

Interview with Jürgen Habermas in "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (May 30, 2014):

"Europa wird direkt ins Herz getroffen"

Excerpt

"Es ist gewiss unüblich, dass weit mehr als ein Zehntel der Abgeordneten das Parlament, in das sie gewählt worden sind, abschaffen oder in seinen Rechten beschneiden wollen. Aber diese Anomalie spiegelt nur den Umstand, dass wir uns noch mitten in einem umstrittenen Prozess der Verfassungsentwicklung befinden. Ich finde es gut, dass die Europagegner ein Forum gefunden haben, auf dem sie den politischen Eliten die Notwendigkeit vor Augen führen, die Bevölkerungen selbst endlich in den Einigungsprozess einzubeziehen.

Der Rechtspopulismus erzwingt die Umstellung vom bisherigen Elitemodus auf die Beteiligung der Bürger. Das kann dem europäischen Parlament und seinem Einfluss auf die europäische Gesetzgebung nur guttun. Anders verhält es sich mit den Auswirkungen auf die nationalen Szenen in den Mitgliedstaaten. Hier mag in einigen Ländern die Gefahr entstehen, dass sich politische Parteien einschüchtern lassen und auf einen Anpassungskurs à la CSU umschwenken."

Update:
Comments:

* Christian Thomas - "Die Souveränität ist nicht erkennbar"
  (Frankfurter Rundschau, May 31, 2014)

* Werner Mussler - "Europas Herz schlägt anderswo"
  (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, June 2, 2014)


See also Timothy Garton Ash's article "Europe: the continent for every type of unhappy" (The Guardian, May 26, 2014).

New Book: Constitutionalism in Global Constitutionalisation

Constitutionalism in Global Constitutionalisation

by Aoife O'Donoghue

(Cambridge University Press, May 2014)

288 pages





Description

Constitutionalism offers a governance order a set of normative values including, amongst others, the rule of law, divisions of power and democratic legitimacy. These normative values regulate the relationship between constituent and constituted power holders. Such normative constitutional legal orders are commonplace in domestic systems but the global constitutionalisation debate seeks to identify a constitutional narrative beyond the state. This book considers the manner in which the global constitutionalisation debate has neglected constitutionalism within its proposals. It examines the role normative constitutionalism plays within a constitutionalisation process, and considers the use of community at both the domestic and global governance levels to identify the holders of constituent and constituted power within a constitutional order. In doing so this analysis offers an alternative narrative for global constitutionalisation based within normative constitutionalism.

Contents [Preview]

1. Introduction
2. Norms of Constitutionalism
3. Who Benefits? Constituent and Constituted Power
4. The Global Constitutionalisation Debate in Context
5. The Structure of Global Constitutionalisation
6. The Development of a Constitutional Approach
7. Who Does Global Constitutionalism Address?
8. Constitutionalism in Global Constitutionalisation Theories

Aoife O'Donoghue is a senior lecturer at Durham Law School, Durham University.

Jürgen Habermas in Norway

On 11 September, Jürgen Habermas delivers a lecture on "Democracy in Europe" at the University of Stavanger, Norway. His lecture is part of a two-day symposium on Habermas's theory of democracy.

Other participants are: Erik Oddvar Eriksen (Oslo), Anders Molander (Oslo/Akershus), and Cathrine Holst (Oslo).

See the programme here.

Elizabeth Anderson on egalitarianism - an interview

At "Libertarianism.Org", Aaron Powell and Trevor Burrus talk about egalitarianism with Professor Elizabeth Anderson:

"Equality of Capabilities, or Equality of Outcomes" (1 hour)

Elizabeth Anderson talks about the history of egalitarianism, John Rawls, and luck versus relational egalitarianism.

Elizabeth Anderson is Professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies at University of Michigan. She is the author of "The Imperative of Integration" (Princeton University Press, 2010). See a chapter from the book here [pdf]. 

Jürgen Habermas in Budapest

Jürgen Habermas is speaking in Budapest on May 29 and May 30, 2014.

Update:
Video with Habermas's lecture on May 29 here (very poor quality!)
And a report in "Wiener Zeitung" here.

Rawls and Religion: Two New Books

* Religious Pluralism and Values in the Public Sphere

by Lenn E. Goodman (Cambridge University Press, May 2014)

See the Introduction here [pdf]


* The Religious Origins of American Freedom and Equality
   A Response to John Rawls 

by David Peddle (Lexington Books, May 2014)

New Book : Wendy Brown and Rainer Forst on Tolerance

The Power of Tolerance: A Debate

by Wendy Brown and Rainer Forst

Ed. by Luca Di Blasi and Christoph Holzhey

(Columbia University Press, 2014)

112 pages



Description

Wendy Brown and Rainer Forst debate the uses and misuses of tolerance, an exchange that highlights the fundamental differences in their critical practice despite a number of political similarities. Both scholars address the normative premises, limits, and political implications of various conceptions of tolerance. Brown offers a genealogical critique of contemporary discourses on tolerance in Western liberal societies, focusing on their inherent ties to colonialism and imperialism, and Forst reconstructs an intellectual history of tolerance that attempts to redeem its political virtue in democratic societies. Brown and Forst work from different perspectives and traditions, yet they each remain wary of the subjection and abnegation embodied in toleration discourses, among other issues.

Contents [preview]

1. The Power of Tolerance: A Debate Between Wendy Brown and Rainer Forst

2. Epilogue: Tensions in Tolerance - Luca Di Blasi and Christoph F. E. Holzhey

Wendy Brown is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of "Regulating Aversion: Tolerance in the Age of Empire and Identity" (Princeton University Press, 2006).

Rainer Forst is Professor of Political Theory and Philosophy at Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main. His recent books include "The Right to Justification" (Columbia University Press, 2011), "Toleration in Conflict" (Cambridge University Press, 2013) and "Justification and Critique" (Polity Press, 2013).

The book is based on a discussion in Berlin in 2008. 
See the videos from the event:
* Statement by Wendy Brown
* Statement by Rainer Forst
* Discussion: part 1, part 2, part 3.

A German edition of the book has been published by Turia-Kant Verlag.

Axel Honneth in Oxford and London May 5-7

Professor Axel Honneth (Frankfurt/Columbia) is giving a lecture at the University of Oxford on "The Idea of Social Freedom" on May 5.

More information here.


On May 6-7, the Senate House (University of London) is hosting a symposium on critical theory - "The Right to Freedom".

The speakers are: Axel Honneth (Frankfurt/Columbia), Lois McNay (Oxford), David McNeill (Essex), Jörg Schaub (Essex), Timo Jütten (Essex), and Michael Rosen (Harvard).

The symposium is free but requires registration.

More information here.

The symposium is jointly organised and funded by the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford; the Department of Philosophy, The Open University; and the School of Philosophy and Art History, University of Essex.

New interview: Habermas on European integration and democracy

The current issue of "Neue Gesellschaft/Frankfurter Hefte" (2014/4) features an interview with Jürgen Habermas:

"Das eigentliche Ziel ist die Transnationalisierung der Demokratie"

The interview is conducted by Thomas Meyer.

Thanks to Burkard Kircher for the pointer!

See also the new book by Hauke Brunkhorst: "Das doppelte Gesicht Europas" (Suhrkamp Verlag, 2014).

Reviews of Thomas Piketty's "Capital"

A selection of reviews of Thomas Piketty's important book "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" (Belknap Press, 2014):

"The main driver of inequality — the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth — today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past and may do so again." [An excerpt from the introduction here. And Piketty's own presentation slides here (pdf).]


Updated June 10:

* Paul Krugman (The New York Review of Books)

* Robert M. Solow (New Republic)

* Daniel Shucman (Wall Street Journal)

* Branko Milanovic [pdf] (The Journal of Economic Literature)

* Robert Rowthorn [pdf] (University of Cambridge)

* Robert Skidelsky (Prospect)

* Clive Crook (Bloomberg)

* Steven Pearlstein (Washington Post)

* James Pethokoukis (National Review)

* Michael Tanner (National Review)

* James K. Galbraith (Dissent)

* Robert Paul Wolff (The Philosopher's Stone)

* Nick Pearce (New Statesman)

* Will Hutton (The Observer)

* Robert J. Samuelson (Washington Post)

* Tyler Cowen (Foreign Affairs)

* Jeff Faux (The Nation)

* Paul Krugman (New York Times)

* John Cassidy (The New Yorker)

* Justin Fox (Harvard Business Review)

* Martin Wolf (Financial Times)

* Jacob Hacker et.al. (The American Prospect)

* Eric Alterman (The Nation)

* Timothy Shenk (The Nation)

* Thomas Steinfeld (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

* Jedediah Purdy (Los Angeles Review of Books)

* Gerald Braunberger (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

* Paul Mason (Guardian)

* Garett Jones (Reason)

* Robert Kuttner (The American Prospect)

* Brad DeLong (Washington Center for Equitable Growth)

* David Smith (Sunday Times)

* Kenneth Rogoff (Project Syndicate)

* Heather Boushey [pdf] (Challenge Magazine)

* Mervyn King (Sunday Telegraph)

* Kathleen Geier (Washington Monthly)

* Cass R. Sunstein (Bloomberg)

* Mike Konczal (Boston Review)

* Lawrence H. Summers (Democracy: A Journal of Ideas)

* Martin Feldstein (Wall Street Journal)

* Emily Eakin (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

* Thomas Frank (Salon)

* Hans-Werner Sinn (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

* Stefan Homburg (Die Welt)

* Stefan Homburg [pdf] [UK] (Leibniz University of Hannover)

* Dani Rodnik (Project Syndicate)

* David Harvey (City University of New York)

* Debraj Ray (New York University)

* Guillaume Allègre & Xavier Timbeau [pdf] (OFCE, Paris)

* Alexander J. Field (Journal of Economic History)

* Randall Holcombe (The Independent Institute)

* Robert J. Shiller (Project Syndicate)

* Ricardo Hausmann (Project Syndicate)

* Christel Lane (LSE Review of Books)


See also four of the many videos:

* Thomas Piketty, Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, Steven Durlauf

* Paul Krugman (interviewed by Bill Moyers)

* Piketty answers his critics (Juncture interview)

* Chris Giles & Ferdinando Giugliano: Doubts over Piketty inequality data (Financial Times)


+ Piketty's response [pdf] to the criticism in the Financial Times.

New Book: "Transnationalizing the Public Sphere"

Transnationalizing the Public Sphere

by Nancy Fraser et. al.

(Polity Press, 2014)

176 pages




Description

Is Habermas’s concept of the public sphere still relevant in an age of globalization, when the transnational flows of people and information have become increasingly intensive and when the nation-state can no longer be taken granted as the natural frame for social and political debate? This is the question posed with characteristic acuity by Nancy Fraser in her influential article ‘Transnationalizing the Public Sphere?’ Challenging careless uses of the term ‘global public sphere’, Fraser raises the debate about the nature and role of the public sphere in a global age to a new level. While drawing on the richness of Habermas’s conception and remaining faithful to the spirit of critical theory, Fraser thoroughly reconstructs the concepts of inclusion, legitimacy and efficacy for our globalizing times. 

This book includes Fraser’s original article as well as specially commissioned contributions that raise searching questions about the theoretical assumptions and empirical grounds of Fraser’s argument. They are concerned with the fundamental premises of Habermas’s development of the concept of the public sphere as a normative ideal in complex societies; the significance of the fact that the public sphere emerged in modern states that were also imperial; whether ‘scaling up’ to a global public sphere means giving up on local and national publics; the role of ‘counterpublics’ in developing alternative globalization; and what inclusion might possibly mean for a global public. Fraser responds to these questions in detail in an extended reply to her critics.

Contents [preview]

Introduction

1. Transnationalizing the Public Sphere - Nancy Fraser

2. Towards Transnational Democratization? - Kate Nash 

3. Time, Politics and Critique - Kimberly Hutchings

4. What and Where is the Transnationalized Public Sphere? - Nick Couldry

5. Putting the Social Back into the Transnational Public Sphere - Fuyuki Kurasawa

6. Dilemmas of Inclusion - David Owen

7. Publicity, Subjection, Critique: A Reply to My Critics - Nancy Fraser

Nancy Fraser is Professor of Political and Social Science at the New School for Social Research, NYC. She is the author of "Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory" (Polity Press, 1989), "Redistribution or Recognition? A Political-Philosophical Exchange" (Verso, 2003) [co-authored with Axel Honneth] and "Scales of Justice: Reimagining Political Space in a Globalizing World" (Polity Press, 2008).

"Just Freedom" - new book by Philip Pettit

Just Freedom
A Moral Compass for a Complex World

by Philip Pettit

(W.W. Norton, 2014)

288 pages




Description

In this rigorous distillation of his political philosophy, Philip Pettit, author of the landmark work Republicanism, champions a simple standard for our most complex political judgments, offering a challenging ideal that nevertheless holds out a real prospect for social and democratic progress.
Whereas many thinkers define freedom as the absence of interference—we are left alone to do as we please—Pettit demands that in their basic life choices free persons should not even be subject to a power of interference on the part of others. This notion of freedom as non-domination offers a yardstick for gauging social and democratic progress and provides a simple, unifying standard for analyzing our most entangled political quandaries.
Pettit reaffirms the ideal, already present in the Roman Republic, of a free citizenry who enjoy equal status with one another, being individually protected by a law that they together control. After sketching a fresh history of freedom, he turns to the implications of the ideal for social, democratic, and international justice.

Contents [preview]

Prologue

Part 1: The Idea of Freedom
1. The Past and Present of Freedom
2. Freedom with Depth
3. Freedom with Breath

Part 2: The Institutions of Freedom
4. Freedom and Justice
5. Freedom and Democracy
6. Freedom and Sovereignty

Epilogue
Appendix: An Overview of the Argument

Philip Pettit is Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Politics and Human Values at Princeton University. He is the author of "Republicanism" (Oxford University Press, 1997) and "On the People's Terms. A Republican Theory and Model of Democracy" (Cambridge University Press, 2012)

See also an interview with Pettit on his new book in Prospect: "Just freedom: Philip Pettit and the republican idea of liberty" (April 23, 2014)