Reflections on Empire

This new book from Antonio Negri, one of the most influential political thinkers writing today, provides a concise and accessible introduction to the key ideas of his recent work. Giving the reader a sense of the wider context in which Negri has developed the ideas that have become so central to current debates, the book is made up of five lectures which address a series of topics that are dealt with in his world-famous books empire, globalization, multitude, sovereignty, democracy. Reflections on Empire will appeal to anyone interested in current debates about the ways in which the world is changing today, to the many people who are followers of Negri's work and to students and scholars in sociology, politics and cultural studies.

A Note on the Text vii Preface: A Few Concepts Explained 1 A Conversation about Empire Antonio Negri and Danilo Zolo 11 Lesson 1: On Historical Method: Causality and Periodization 32 Sovereignty: Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri 49 Lesson 2: On Social Ontology: Material Labour, Immaterial Labour and Biopolitics 60 Globalization and Democracy: Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri 79 Lesson 3: Political Subjects: On the Multitude and Constituent Power 96 Towards an Ontological Definition of the Multitude 114 Lesson 4: On the Production of Subjectivity: Between War and Democracy 126 Counterpower 139 What to Make of 'What Is to Be Done?' Today: The Body of General Intellect 148 Lesson 5: Logic and the Theory of Inquiry: Militant Practice as Subject and Episteme 159 Following in Marx's Footsteps Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri 173 Index 196