‘Spaces of Freedom’: Materiality, Mediation and Direct Political Participation in the Work of Arendt and Sartre

Abstract

In the light of a renewed interest today in forms of direct political participation, this paper explores the contributions of Sartre and Arendt to defending direct political action as an intrinsically valuable form of human freedom. Both thinkers note, however, that such forms of action and the ‘spaces of freedom’ in which they become possible are always fleeting and transitory. The paper argues that Sartre's account of the ways in which human action is always mediated and alienated by materiality is important in accounting for this phenomenon.

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Publication Date

11-1-2006

Publication Title

Contemporary Political Theory

Department

Politics

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.cpt.9300279

Keywords

Freedom, Participation, Materiality

Language

English

Format

text

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