William Niemi | Western Colorado University (original) (raw)
Papers by William Niemi
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Mar 19, 2024
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Mar 19, 2024
The Encyclopedia of Political Thought, Sep 14, 2014
The Entrepreneurial Intellectual in the Corporate University, 2018
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Mar 19, 2024
The Social Science Journal, 2011
This essay reconstructs Marx's relationship to democracy and liberalism through an examination of... more This essay reconstructs Marx's relationship to democracy and liberalism through an examination of his early work which was directly concerned with the issues of understanding democracy as a kind of society. Only with an analysis of the dynamics of civil society-a political economic, sociological, and historical understanding-could the true nature of citizenship be discerned. In contradistinction to liberal political theory, he would argue that political theory could not stand on its own if it analyzed only the state. Marx came to understand the contradiction between the liberal state and civil society as what he called a sophistry because it undermined the possibility of the democratic agency of workers. This was a sophistry, not because he opposed political democracy, but because the development of capitalism undermined the possibility of democratic agency. Citizenship could be nothing but a "lion's skin" of politics concealing the nature of civil society beneath it. This contradiction would drive Marx's thought forward as he moved from liberalism to democratic socialism with his developing understanding of the structure and dynamics of capitalism from 1843 until the end of his life. The essay illustrates two closely related claims about Marx's thought regarding liberalism and democracy. First, I argue that Marx engaged in a democratic critique of liberalism; second, and as a response to his democratic critique of liberalism, Marx developed a more sociological understanding of democracy, and hence believed that political democracy was a necessary condition of freedom, though not a sufficient condition.
New Political Science, 2013
her conceptualization of our political economic context today: namely, her blanket (and rather no... more her conceptualization of our political economic context today: namely, her blanket (and rather non-dialectical) critique of “democracy” and “communicative capitalism” leaves no real room for conceptualizing immanent features within our context that can be articulated and promoted in the overall movement toward communism. Second, and related to the above comments, without a deeper sense of its immanent possibilities, the communist project becomes almost a mere “force of will,” that is, a voluntarist’s dream. Indeed, Dean recognizes this aspect to her argument, and proffers that not only is voluntarism not a bad thing (pp. 111–118), but also that we need to rethink the Marxist concept of the “dictatorship of the proletariat” as a necessary tool for the bringing to being of communism. For sure, a certain left has hastily lambasted both of these positions, and such political practices deserve renewed consideration. But, without more attention to the actually existing political and material conditions conducive to communism (outside of a vague sense of transforming Occupy into a militant communist movement), Dean’s argument loses its practical political viscosity in the process of articulating and engaging such an important political ideal.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2010
Radical History Review, 2008
Mannheim's sociology of knowledge approach is used to study the educational role of movement ... more Mannheim's sociology of knowledge approach is used to study the educational role of movement activities in three radical democratic movements: the British Chartists, the American Populists, and the Industrial Workers of the World. Educational practices in these movements constituted an alternative democratic ideology. The educative role of strikes, free speech and press struggles, the cultural life of jungle camps, and cooperatives created a movement identity and an opening up possibilities for a new democratic political economy; that is, their purposes were educational and ideological. Such activities were at once organizing practices, but were also integral to envisioning a more egalitarian society and fomenting change toward such ends. Pedagogically, the study of the educational role of movements is important because it illustrates that human dignity is not simply utopian. These movements were real world examples of egalitarianism, dignity, and democracy, sometimes in brutal ...
New Political Science, 2011
... Like Pericles' Funeral Oration or Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the Second ... more ... Like Pericles' Funeral Oration or Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the Second Bill of Rights articulates high democratic ideals, which remain urgent. ... John Taylor, for instance, points to the role of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in prolonging the crisis: Over the ...
New Political Science, 2008
... L. Niemi a & David J. Plante a pages 427-447. ... Giroux argues, Whereas the Clinton... more ... L. Niemi a & David J. Plante a pages 427-447. ... Giroux argues, Whereas the Clinton administration situated its key positions in the Treasury Department, the Bush administration relies on its defense expertsCheney, Gates, and Riceto develop its international policy.22 ...
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Mar 19, 2024
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Mar 19, 2024
The Encyclopedia of Political Thought, Sep 14, 2014
The Entrepreneurial Intellectual in the Corporate University, 2018
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Mar 19, 2024
The Social Science Journal, 2011
This essay reconstructs Marx's relationship to democracy and liberalism through an examination of... more This essay reconstructs Marx's relationship to democracy and liberalism through an examination of his early work which was directly concerned with the issues of understanding democracy as a kind of society. Only with an analysis of the dynamics of civil society-a political economic, sociological, and historical understanding-could the true nature of citizenship be discerned. In contradistinction to liberal political theory, he would argue that political theory could not stand on its own if it analyzed only the state. Marx came to understand the contradiction between the liberal state and civil society as what he called a sophistry because it undermined the possibility of the democratic agency of workers. This was a sophistry, not because he opposed political democracy, but because the development of capitalism undermined the possibility of democratic agency. Citizenship could be nothing but a "lion's skin" of politics concealing the nature of civil society beneath it. This contradiction would drive Marx's thought forward as he moved from liberalism to democratic socialism with his developing understanding of the structure and dynamics of capitalism from 1843 until the end of his life. The essay illustrates two closely related claims about Marx's thought regarding liberalism and democracy. First, I argue that Marx engaged in a democratic critique of liberalism; second, and as a response to his democratic critique of liberalism, Marx developed a more sociological understanding of democracy, and hence believed that political democracy was a necessary condition of freedom, though not a sufficient condition.
New Political Science, 2013
her conceptualization of our political economic context today: namely, her blanket (and rather no... more her conceptualization of our political economic context today: namely, her blanket (and rather non-dialectical) critique of “democracy” and “communicative capitalism” leaves no real room for conceptualizing immanent features within our context that can be articulated and promoted in the overall movement toward communism. Second, and related to the above comments, without a deeper sense of its immanent possibilities, the communist project becomes almost a mere “force of will,” that is, a voluntarist’s dream. Indeed, Dean recognizes this aspect to her argument, and proffers that not only is voluntarism not a bad thing (pp. 111–118), but also that we need to rethink the Marxist concept of the “dictatorship of the proletariat” as a necessary tool for the bringing to being of communism. For sure, a certain left has hastily lambasted both of these positions, and such political practices deserve renewed consideration. But, without more attention to the actually existing political and material conditions conducive to communism (outside of a vague sense of transforming Occupy into a militant communist movement), Dean’s argument loses its practical political viscosity in the process of articulating and engaging such an important political ideal.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2010
Radical History Review, 2008
Mannheim's sociology of knowledge approach is used to study the educational role of movement ... more Mannheim's sociology of knowledge approach is used to study the educational role of movement activities in three radical democratic movements: the British Chartists, the American Populists, and the Industrial Workers of the World. Educational practices in these movements constituted an alternative democratic ideology. The educative role of strikes, free speech and press struggles, the cultural life of jungle camps, and cooperatives created a movement identity and an opening up possibilities for a new democratic political economy; that is, their purposes were educational and ideological. Such activities were at once organizing practices, but were also integral to envisioning a more egalitarian society and fomenting change toward such ends. Pedagogically, the study of the educational role of movements is important because it illustrates that human dignity is not simply utopian. These movements were real world examples of egalitarianism, dignity, and democracy, sometimes in brutal ...
New Political Science, 2011
... Like Pericles' Funeral Oration or Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the Second ... more ... Like Pericles' Funeral Oration or Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the Second Bill of Rights articulates high democratic ideals, which remain urgent. ... John Taylor, for instance, points to the role of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in prolonging the crisis: Over the ...
New Political Science, 2008
... L. Niemi a & David J. Plante a pages 427-447. ... Giroux argues, Whereas the Clinton... more ... L. Niemi a & David J. Plante a pages 427-447. ... Giroux argues, Whereas the Clinton administration situated its key positions in the Treasury Department, the Bush administration relies on its defense expertsCheney, Gates, and Riceto develop its international policy.22 ...