Literature And The Political Imagination

Literature and the Political Imagination This book seeks to show how modern political theory can be enriched through an engagement with works of literature. It uses the resources of literature to explore issues such as nationalism, liberal philosophy, Utopianism, narrative and the role of theory in political thought. A variety of approaches is adopted and the aim is to show some of the many and diverse ways in which literature may contribute to political theory, as well as to consider some of the problems to which this may give rise. The theorists discussed include Richard Rorty, Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor and Martha Nussbaum. There are literary references to Greek tragedy, Jonathan Swift, patriotic poetry, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Samuel Beckett, T.S.Eliot, Brian Moore, Elizabeth Bowen and contemporary feminist Utopian fiction. All the contributors have a long-standing interest in the relations between literature and moral and political thought and are concerned to resist the restrictions imposed by conventional academic boundaries, but they are not united by any party line or uniformity of intellectual commitments. The result is a diverse and challenging volume that will be of great interest to all engaged in the study of politics and literature John Horton is Reader in Political Theory at Keele University. Andrea T.Baumeister is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Manchester. Literature and the Political Imagination Edited by John Horton and Andrea T.Baumeister London and New York First published 1996 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1996 The collection, John Horton and Andrea T.Baumeister, individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data ISBN 0-203-43442-0 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-74266-4 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-12914-1 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-12915-X (pbk) Contents List of contributors Preface 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 vii ix Literature, philosophy and political theory John Horton and Andrea T.Baumeister 1 Taking the narrative turn: what the novel has to offer political theory Maureen Whitebrook 32 ‘What of soul was left, I wonder?’ The narrative self in political philosophy Susan Mendus 53 Life, literature and ethical theory: Martha Nussbaum on the role of the literary imagination in ethical thought John Horton 70 Modes of political imagining Martin Warner 98 Literature and moral choice Anthony Arblaster 129 The aloofness of liberal politics: can imaginative literature furnish a private space? Paul Seabright 145 ‘Breathes there the man, with soul so dead…’: reflections on patriotic poetry and liberal principles Margaret Canovan 170 The idea of a national literature Paul Gilbert 198 v vi 10 11 Contents The anti-imperialism of George Orwell Stephen Ingle 218 Contemporary feminist Utopianism: practising Utopia on Utopia Lucy Sargisson 238 Index 256 vi Contributors Anthony Arblaster i