The Politics of Historical Vision

A notably fair-minded yet critical and comparative review of key ideas of Marx, Foucault, and Habermas...Will elicit favorable comparison with several recent publications on the Habermas-Foucault debate. -- ChoiceFoucault and Habermas are the two towering figures of contemporary social theory. Steven Best presents a penetrating, lucid, and persuasive account of how their theories are relevant to contemporary intellectual and political needs. -- Richard Wolin, Rice UniversityA unique and worthwhile argument...Best's clarity of writing logical strengths, and fairness are truly exemplary. -- Mark Poster, University of California, IrvineProviding an important contribution to current controversies regarding history, social theory, politics, and the Foucault-Habermas debates, this work offers a detailed comparison of the historical visions of both Foucault and Habermas, using Marx as a modernist contrast. The book clearly illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of each thinker's theory for the productive analysis of history and society, relating the work of each to current debates over modern and postmodern theory.Serves as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate-level courses and seminars in both contemporary social theory and the philosophies of history.