Jewish thought, Utopia, and revolution / / edited by Elena Namli, Jayne Svenungsson, Alana M. Vincent ; contributors Oleg Budnitskii [and eleven others].

• Superior document: Value Inquiry Book Series ; Volume 274
• TeilnehmendeR: Namli, Elena,; Svenungsson, Jayne,; Vincent, Alana M.,; Budnitskii, Oleg,
• Place / Publishing House: Amsterdam, Netherlands : : Rodopi,, 2014.; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Language: English
• Series: Value inquiry book series ; Volume 274.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (215 p.)
• Notes: Includes index.

In response to the grim realities of the present world Jewish thought has not tended to retreat into eschatological fantasy, but rather to project utopian visions precisely on to the present moment, envisioning redemptions that are concrete, immanent, and necessarily political in nature. In difficult times and through shifting historical contexts, the messianic hope in the Jewish tradition has functioned as a political vision: the dream of a peaceful kingdom, of a country to return to, or of a leader who will administer justice among the nations. Against this background, it is unsurprising that Jewish messianism in modern times has been transposed, and lives on in secular political movements and ideologies. The purpose of this book is to contribute to the deeper understanding of the relationship between Jewish thought, utopia, and revolution, by taking a fresh look at its historical and religious roots. We approach the issue from several perspectives, with differences of opinion presented both in regard to what Jewish tradition is, and how to regard utopia and revolution. These notions are multifaceted, comprising aspects such as political messianism, religious renewal, Zionism, and different forms of Marxist and Anarchistic movements.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- INTRODUCTION / Elena Namli , Jayne Svenungsson and Alana M. Vincent -- TIKKUN OLAM—“REPAIRING THE WORLD”: EMBODYING REDEMPTION AND UTOPIA / Victor Jeleniewski Seidler -- JEWISH HOPE VERSUS REVOLUTIONARY HOPE / Catherine Chalier -- ADORNO, REVOLUTION, AND NEGATIVE UTOPIA / Mattias Martinson -- UTOPIA AND REVOLUTION: THE ROMANTIC SOCIALISM OF GUSTAV LANDAUER AND MARTIN BUBER / Michael Löwy -- A SECULAR UTOPIA: REMARKS ON THE LÖWITH-BLUMENBERG DEBATE / Jayne Svenungsson -- THINKING REVOLUTION WITH AND BEYOND LEVINAS / Carl Cederberg -- TOPOS AND UTOPIA: THE PLACE OF ART IN THE REVOLUTION / Alana M. Vincent -- BERLIN DEBATES: THE JEWS AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION / Oleg Budnitskii -- JEWISH RATIONALISM, ETHICS, AND REVOLUTION: HERMANN COHEN IN NEVEL / Elena Namli -- REFLECTIONS OF REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS IN AMERICAN YIDDISH POETRY: THE CASE OF PROLETPEN / Alexandra Polyan -- NIHILISM AND THE RESURRECTION OF POLITICAL SPACE: HANNAH ARENDT’S UTOPIA? / Jon Wittrock -- LEFT (IN) TIME: HEGEL, BENJAMIN, AND DERRIDA FACING THE STATUS QUO / Björn Thorsteinsson -- WORKS CITED -- ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS -- INDEX -- VIBS.