Regimes of Violence with John Protevi

Peter Kropotkin's Mutual Aid explores the role of cooperation in evolution and society, challenging the prevailing notion of a solely competitive struggle for survival. Kropotkin argues that mutual aid, or cooperation, is a fundamental aspect of life, evident across various species and human societies. He uses numerous examples from natural history and human societies to illustrate how cooperation enhances survival and adaptation. The book's central thesis is that cooperation is not merely a secondary phenomenon but a primary driving force in evolution and social development. Kropotkin's work has had a lasting impact on anarchist thought and continues to inspire contemporary discussions on cooperation, social organization, and the potential for a more just and equitable society.

In this book, Steven Pinker presents a detailed argument that violence has significantly decreased over the course of human history. He uses extensive data and statistical analysis to demonstrate this decline in various domains, including military conflict, homicide, genocide, torture, and the treatment of children, homosexuals, animals, and racial and ethnic minorities. Pinker identifies four key human motivations – empathy, self-control, the moral sense, and reason – as the 'better angels' that have oriented humans away from violence and towards cooperation and altruism. He also discusses historical forces such as the rise of the state (which he terms 'Leviathan'), the spread of commerce, the growth of feminist values, and the expansion of cosmopolitanism, which have contributed to this decline in violence[1][4][5].

In this book, Jason Stanley identifies and analyzes the ten pillars of fascist politics, which include exploiting a mythic version of a nation’s past, using propaganda to twist democratic ideals, promoting anti-intellectualism, and implementing law and order policies that target minority groups. Stanley draws on historical and contemporary examples from various countries, including the United States, Hungary, Poland, India, and Myanmar, to illustrate how these tactics create and reinforce divisions and make societies vulnerable to authoritarian leadership. The book emphasizes the importance of recognizing and resisting these fascist politics to protect democratic values.

In this book, Gilles Deleuze delves into the philosophical works of Baruch Spinoza, particularly his Ethics. Deleuze discusses Spinoza's concepts in detail, including his ethology rather than morality, the idea of common notions, and the distinction between ethics and morality. Deleuze also explores Spinoza's views on consciousness, the nature of good and evil, and the importance of understanding the natural consequences of actions rather than moral prohibitions. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of Spinoza's philosophy and its implications for ethical and ontological thought[1][2][4].

The book provides a historical and critical analysis of the theory of ideology, tracing the development of two key presuppositions: that false consciousness is both the cause and consequence of unjust societies, and that society is a self-maintaining and self-reproducing totality or system. Rosen discusses the contributions of philosophers such as Hegel, Marx, and critical theorists like Adorno and Habermas, and argues against analytical Marxists who attempt to interpret Marx's philosophy without Hegelian metaphysics.