False necessity is the central work in the three-volume series Politics. It presents both a way of explaining society and a program for changing it. The explanation develops a radical alternative to Marxism, showing how we can account for established social arrangements without denying their contingency or our freedom. The program offers a progressive alternative to the now-dominant ideological conceptions of neoliberalism and social democracy: a set of institutional innovations that would democratize markets, deepen democracy and empower individuals.

Volume 1 of Politics, a work in constructive social theory

About the Author
Roberto Mangabeira Unger is one of the leading philosophers and political thinkers in the world today. He is also active in Brazilian public life and has served twice as Brazil's Minister of Strategic Affairs, charged with developing initiatives that signal a direction for the country. Verso has published much of his work: in philosophy (The Religion of the Future), in social theory (False Necessity, Social Theory: Its Situation and Its Task, and Plasticity into Power), in political economy (The Knowledge Economy), and in legal theory (What Should Legal Analysis Become?).

Reviews
[Unger] does not make moves in any game we know how to play ... [His] book may someday make possible a new national romance ... [It] will help the literate ... citizens of some country to see vistas where before they saw only dangers-see a hitherto undreamt-of national future ... -- Richard Rorty
A philosophical mind out of the Third World turning the tables, to become synoptist and seer of the First. -- Perry Anderson



Book Information
ISBN 9781859843314
Author Roberto Mangabeira Unger
Format Paperback
Page Count 792
Imprint Verso Books
Publisher Verso Books
Weight(grams) 1088g
Dimensions(mm) 221mm * 137mm * 48mm