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Sandra Leonie Field
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Potentia: Hobbes and Spinoza on Power and Popular Politics

by Sandra Leonie Field (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
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We live in an age of growing dissatisfaction with the standard operations of representative democracy. The solution, according to a long radical democratic tradition, is the unmediated power of the people. Mass plebiscites and mass protest movements are celebrated as the quintessential expression of popular power, and this power promises to transcend ordinary institutional politics. But the outcomes of mass political phenomena can be just as disappointing as the ordinary politics they sought to overcome, breeding skepticism about democratic politics in all its forms.

Potentia argues that the very meaning of popular power needs to be rethought. It offers a detailed study of the political philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and Benedict de Spinoza, focusing on their concept of power as potentia, concrete power, rather than power as potestas, authorized power. Specifically, the book's argument turns on a new interpretation of potentia as a capacity that is dynamically constituted in a web of actual human relations. This means that a group's potentia reflects any hostility or hierarchy present in the relations between its members. There is nothing spontaneously egalitarian or good about human collective existence; a group's power deserves to be called popular only if it avoids oligarchy and instead durably establishes its members' equality. Where radical democrats interpret Hobbes' "sleeping sovereign" or Spinoza's "multitude" as the classic formulations of unmediated popular power, Sandra Leonie Field argues that for both Hobbes and Spinoza, conscious institutional design is required in order for true popular power to be achieved. Between Hobbes' commitment to repressing private power and Spinoza's exploration of civic strengthening, Field draws on early modern understandings of popular power to provide a new lens for thinking about the risks and promise of democracy.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0197533868
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0197533864
  3. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  4. Publication date
    August 15, 2020
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    9.1 x 0.9 x 6.1 inches
  7. Print length
    336 pages
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"I applaud Field for subjecting to rigorous examination -- with the help of some seventeenth-century friends -- the polysemous concept of "power". I very much hope that Potentia is read widely, not only by historians of political philosophy, but also by political theorists." -- Justin Steinberg, Brooklyn College, Journal of the History of Philosophy

"In an unsettled time when democracy is contested and populists claim to speak for the people, Sandra Leonie Field's important and insightful Potentia: Hobbes and Spinoza on Power and Popular Politics critically examines two radical democratic currents of thought, the American public law tradition and European post-Marxism." -- Boleslaw Z. Kabala, Tarleton State University, Perspectives on Politics

"She manages the rare feat of combining depth of analysis in the history of philosophy with creating a conceptual framework helpful in better understanding current events on the world stage." -- Razvan Ioan, New Europe College, Global Intellectual History

"Field's Potentia argues that because Hobbes, under the influence of scholasticism, initially conceived of power in highly individualistic terms, he was forced to reduce collective power to mere juridical authority. But in his mature works, Field argues, Hobbes reconceived power as essentially relational--as the property of an entire social structure--and could consequently highlight more informal sources of collective power that threaten state authority. Field's reading is insightful, creative, bold, and well-argued, and she couples it with an equally insightful reading of Spinoza to prefigure her own positive account of collective, popular power." -- Arash Abizadeh, McGill University

"Learned, insightful, and engaging, Sandra Field's deployment of 17th C. political philosophy to illuminate our contemporary thinking about the meaning and proper expression of popular power proves fruitful. Investigating the interrelation of potestas and potentia, Field provides formidable arguments against plebiscitary and mass movement paradigms, along with plausible arguments for her own conception of popular power as the state's durable maintenance of citizen equality and participation. Students of Hobbes, Spinoza, and democratic theory alike will find value in Field's book." -- S. A. Lloyd, University of Southern California

"This is a splendid, deep, and timely study of the foundation of modern democratic theory as reflected in the works of Thomas Hobbes and Benedict de Spinoza, the two giants of modern political philosophy. Free from sentimental illusions, Field provides a compelling and nuanced account of genuine popular power, an account that is invaluable for reorienting contemporary political action." -- Yitzhak Y. Melamed, Johns Hopkins University

"This book represents a provocative and engaging approach to 17th century political philosophy. Field allies Hobbes and Spinoza against populist romanticism and democratic complacency in surprising ways. Potentia is sure to be the subject of vigorous discussion and debate, from which students and scholars will profit for years to come." -- Hasana Sharp, McGill University

About the Author

Sandra Leonie Field is Assistant Professor of Humanities (Philosophy) at Yale-NUS College, Singapore.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (August 15, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0197533868
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0197533864
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.04 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.1 x 0.9 x 6.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3 ratings

About the author

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Sandra Leonie Field

Sandra Leonie Field

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Sandra Leonie Field is the author of Potentia: Hobbes and Spinoza on Power and Popular Politics (Oxford University Press, 2020). She is Assistant Professor of Humanities (Philosophy) at Yale-NUS College, Singapore. Her research investigates conceptions of political power and their implications for democratic theory; she approaches these themes through engagement with texts in the history of philosophy, especially Hobbes and Spinoza.

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