Baudelaire Contra Benjamin

A Critique of Politicized Aesthetics and Cultural Marxism

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Baudelaire Contra Benjamin by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo ISBN: 9781498595087
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: May 23, 2019
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
ISBN: 9781498595087
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: May 23, 2019
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

This book offers the first sustained argument against the philosophy of Walter Benjamin and his readings of Charles Baudelaire. More broadly, it is also a critique of politicized aesthetics and cultural Marxism, of which Benjamin is a pioneering and emblematic figure. Cristaudo and Beibei argue that Baudelaire was not mistaken in refusing to subject aesthetics to morality and politics. Baudelaire’s refusal was based on the recognition that existential matters, such as sickness, evil, death, sexual longing, melancholy, and beauty itself—all themes at the center of his poetry—are by nature intrinsically supra-political. By contrast, Benjamin’s faith in political redemption, while breaking with the enlightenment’s faith in progress, nevertheless conforms to another core element of faith of the enlightenment, via faith in the ability of morals and politics to liberate humanity. The authors make the case that Benjamin’s understanding of politics is severely deficient because it is not sufficiently versed in an understanding of economics or the nature of class interests, and that Marx’s own theory of economics is fundamentally deficient and creates an insurmountable problem for those deferring to a future industrial society free from capitalism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book offers the first sustained argument against the philosophy of Walter Benjamin and his readings of Charles Baudelaire. More broadly, it is also a critique of politicized aesthetics and cultural Marxism, of which Benjamin is a pioneering and emblematic figure. Cristaudo and Beibei argue that Baudelaire was not mistaken in refusing to subject aesthetics to morality and politics. Baudelaire’s refusal was based on the recognition that existential matters, such as sickness, evil, death, sexual longing, melancholy, and beauty itself—all themes at the center of his poetry—are by nature intrinsically supra-political. By contrast, Benjamin’s faith in political redemption, while breaking with the enlightenment’s faith in progress, nevertheless conforms to another core element of faith of the enlightenment, via faith in the ability of morals and politics to liberate humanity. The authors make the case that Benjamin’s understanding of politics is severely deficient because it is not sufficiently versed in an understanding of economics or the nature of class interests, and that Marx’s own theory of economics is fundamentally deficient and creates an insurmountable problem for those deferring to a future industrial society free from capitalism.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book After Multiculturalism by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book Hardcore, Punk, and Other Junk by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book Religion and Global Culture by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book Turkey's Accession to the European Union by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book The Politics of Crisis Management in China by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book John Paul Stevens by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book In Response to the Religious Other by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book American Haiku by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book Adulthood, Morality, and the Fully Human by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book The Prague Spring and the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book The Iroquois and the Athenians by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book African American Women's Rhetoric by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book The Disempowered Development of Tibet in China by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book Vladimir Jankélévitch and the Question of Forgiveness by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
Cover of the book Paths of Innovation in Warfare by Beibei Guan, Wayne Cristaudo
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy