Theoria

In political theory, utopia is traditionally understood as representing a beautiful but impossible state of affairs. By contrast, the majority of scholarly works in utopian studies understand utopia not as a blueprint for a perfect society but as an indirect critique of the contemporary status quo. The aim of this article is to propose a distinction between utopias and ideal theories. To do so, the article adopts a working definition of utopias that emphasises the formal characters of utopian works (detailed narrative), and compares utopias with ideal theories, which are abstract in kind. After articulating this distinction through some paradigmatic examples (Plato, More, Rawls), the article argues that a better understanding of this difference may help us improve the debate. The article also argues that ideal theories, unlike utopias, are less tainted by the objection that ideals are practically irrelevant.

In this article, I demonstrate the relevance of Baudrillard's work in an educational context. I build on Williams's (2016) analysis of how ‘commodification’ hollows out higher education using Di Leo's work (2024) on capitalism and the university. Contra Di Leo however, Baudrillard's ‘symbolic exchange’ is not an ‘unkept revolutionary and radical promise’, nor does it lie ‘beyond’ capitalism. Against the university's state of ‘rot’ along with its ‘slow death’, Baudrillard puts forward ‘imaginary solutions’ via his notions of symbolic exchange and seduction. I look specifically at how the ‘pataphysical’ approach might transform the university in a wider sense. I propose a contrast between the hyper-rational and pataphysical universities with the aim of combining them as part of ‘s-educ(a)tion’, as it is ‘seduction’ that resists the mania for positivist, technological transparency.

In this article, we analyse the theoretical elements that form the foundation of James Harrington's political theory, demonstrating that they are primarily constructed in relation to Machiavelli's legacy. We intend to show that Harrington's relationship with Machiavelli's republicanism is paradoxical through: (1) the analysis of Harrington's selective use of certain classical sources in relation to Machiavelli; (2) the evolution of Harrington's thought; 3) the relationship between the Roman model and the Spartan model. In his republican model Harrington tries to respond to two self-imposed requirements that, we believe, conflict with each other: that of developing a sincerely republican system while keeping his distance from Machiavelli's more radical and pro-popular positions. Our thesis is that Harrington elaborates his political theory from these conflicting goals and that this sometimes-contradictory need creates tensions that make his republicanism paradoxical.

Afro-communitarian thinkers have often pointed to consensual democracy as a valuable feature of traditional African societies. African philosophers, including Kwasi Wiredu and Bernard Matolino, have drawn attention to this pattern of political arrangement to consider what the political practice means for modern African politics. While Wiredu praissed consensual democracy and sought to explore how it could be relevant for contemporary African democratic development, Matolino finds it undesirable. In the book Consensus as Democracy in Africa, Matolino identifies several significant concerns with the theoretical and practical feasibility of consensual democracy, such as the concern with individual freedom. He rejects consensus as a viable democratic theory for modern African politics. In this article, I respond to Matolino's objection. My responses demonstrate a persuasion for a consensus-imbued majoritarian model of governance. While noting that consensus is conceptually reconcilable with party politics, I argue that a consensual orientation allows for expanded freedom of association that helps check abuse of party-political loyalty.

Daniel E. Agbiboa, They Eat Our Sweat: Transport Labour, Corruption and Everyday Survival in Urban Nigeria, 2022. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 266 pp. ISBN: 9780198861546.

Robert Black, Machiavelli: From Radical to Reactionary, 2022. Renaissance Lives series, François Quiviger (Ed). London: Reaktion Books, 256pp. 9781789146141 (e-Pub)