Book: "Twenty Theses on Politics"

A new book by the liberation theologian Enrique Dussel (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana) has been published: "Twenty Theses on Politics" (Duke University Press 2008)

Translated by George Ciccariello-Maher (University of California at Berkeley), with an introduction to the English-language edition by Eduardo Mendieta (Stony Brook University).

www.dukeupress.edu/cgibin/forwardsql/search.cgi?template0=nomatch.htm&template2=books/book_detail_page.htm&user_id=6403&Bmain.item_option=1&Bmain.item=18809

Note: The ad text mentions philosophy of liberation, but not theology; Walter Mignolo has recently been attempting to link political theology and de-colonial studies, though:

“Twenty Theses on Politics is a groundbreaking manifesto charting new terrain toward de-colonial political philosophy and political theory. It is based on the experience and interpretation of current events in Latin America. There is nothing comparable.” – Walter D. Mignolo, author of “The Idea of Latin America”

“Enrique Dussel is one of the giants of emancipatory thought and liberation philosophy. This grand text is a concise expression of his subtle analysis and courageous vision!” – Cornel West, Princeton University

“Twenty Theses on Politics” is a major statement on political philosophy from Enrique Dussel, one of Latin America’s – and the world’s – most important philosophers and a founder of the philosophy of liberation. Synthesizing a half-century of his pioneering work in moral and political philosophy, Dussel presents a succinct rationale for the development of political alternatives to the exclusionary, exploitative institutions of neoliberal globalization. In twenty short, provocative theses he lays out the foundational elements for a politics of just and sustainable co-existence. Dussel first constructs a theory of political power and its institutionalization. He insists that political projects must criticize or reject as unsustainable all political systems, actions, and institutions whose negative effects are suffered by oppressed or excluded victims. Turning to the deconstruction or transformation of political power, he explains the political principles of liberation and addresses matters such as reform and revolution.

"Twenty Theses on Politics" is inspired by recent political transformations in Latin America. Throughout the twenty theses Dussel engages with Latin American thinkers and activists and with radical political projects such as the World Social Forum. He is also in dialogue with theorists including Marx, Hegel, Habermas, Rawls, and Negri, offering insights into the applications and limits of their thinking in light of recent Latin American political thought and practice.