Duke University Press - No Apocalypse, No Integration

Subjects
Latin American Studies, Sociology > Social Theory

Winner of the Premio Iberoamericano Book Award in 1997 (Spanish Edition)

What form does the crisis of modernity take in Latin America when societies are politically demobilized and there is no revolutionary agenda in sight? How does postmodern criticism reflect on enlightenment and utopia in a region marked by incomplete modernization, new waves of privatization, great masses of excluded peoples, and profound sociocultural heterogeneity? In No Apocalypse, No Integration Martín Hopenhayn examines the social and philosophical implications of the triumph of neoliberalism and the collapse of leftist and state-sponsored social planning in Latin America.
With the failure of utopian movements that promised social change, the rupture of the link between the production of knowledge and practical intervention, and the defeat of modernization and development policy established after World War II, Latin American intellectuals and militants have been left at an impasse without a vital program of action. Hopenhayn analyzes these crises from a theoretical perspective and calls upon Latin American intellectuals to reevaluate their objects of study, their political reality, and their society’s cultural production, as well as to seek within their own history the elements for a new collective discourse. Challenging the notion that strict adherence to a single paradigm of action can rescue intellectual and cultural movements, Hopenhayn advocates a course of epistemological pluralism, arguing that such an approach values respect for difference and for cultural and theoretical diversity and heterodoxy.
This essay collection will appeal to readers of sociology, public policy, philosophy, cultural theory, and Latin American history and culture, as well as to those with an interest in Latin America’s current transition.

"[Hopenhayn's] arguments are well reasoned and researched and extremely effective. A single reading of these essays gives one a much clearer understanding of the sociopolitical situation in Latin America. We may hope that his ecumenical approach will be incorporated into the current program for change in Latin America." — Kevin Gosa , Latin American Perspectives

"[I]nteresting. . . . [E]ven readers with little prior knowledge can get a glimpse of how important social theory and academic production are in the rest of the Americas and catch a glimpse of what will be history, the present mood Latin America, and the search for new answers."

— Joshua Rosenthal , History: Reviews of New Books

"[T]houghtful and insightful. . . . [I]t is certainly most welcome to see Martín Hopenhayn's writing more widely available in English." — Ronaldo Munck, Bulletin of Latin American Research

"Hopenhayn's work advances an insightful and productive outline for understanding contemporary Latin American social conditions, especially in relation to influential discursive traditions that range from utopian thinking to conceptions of the state. . . . Bringing his recent publications together in one volume for an English-reading audience provides a detailed, carefully constructed panorama of Hopenhayn's thought that succeeds in reconsidering and revitalizing previous paradigms for understanding Latin America." — Ryan Long , Latin American Research Review

[A] superbly written book. . . . In a mad and inhumane world where apologists of neoliberalism and globalism resort to beguiling rationalizations to justify injustice and inequality on a global scale, Martin Hopenhayn's thought-provoking book is a breath of fresh air that will be influential for decades. Intended for the informed reader, No Apocalypse, No Integration will have a far-reaching influence on how social scientists frame epistemological, political, and social issues, and how to assess the state's role in the post-cold war era." — Jon V. Kofas , Contemporary Sociology

“No Apocalypse, No Integration is the most sustained examination to date of the consequences of postmodernity for Latin American social theory and public policy.” — John Beverley, University of Pittsburgh

“This extremely thought-provoking book on the current crisis of Latin American social science and the ongoing changes in Latin American state formations is highly readable, well informed, and well argued.” — Alberto Moreiras, Duke University