Abstract

_Lyotard and the Political_ is the first book to consider the full range of the political thought of the French philosopher François Lyotard and its broader implications for an understanding of the political. James Williams clearly and carefully traces the development of Lyotard's thought from his early Marxist essays on the Algerian struggle for independence to his break with the thought of Marx and Freud. This is compared with Lyotard's later, highly influental writings on the politics of desire and his attempts to base a postmodern political discourse on the sublime. An indispensable work for all who are interested in modern continental philosophy, _Lyotard and the Political_ offers the first systematic analysis of the political dimension of the work of one of the most controversial and influential philosophers of the twentieth century. Also available in this series: _Lacan and the Political_ Pb: 0-415-17187-3: £12.99 _Heidegger and the Political_ Pb:0-415-13064-6: £12.99 _Derrida and the Political_ Pb: 0-415-10967-1: £13.99 _Nietzche and the Political_ Pb: 0-41510069-0: £12.99 _Foucault and the Political_ Pb: 0-415-10066-6: £12.99