Books by Onur Acaroğlu
Book Chapters by Onur Acaroğlu
100 Yıl Sonra Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, 2024
The Bloomsbury Italian Philosophy Reader, 2022
For Gramsci, at the most basic level, ‘all men are “philosophers”’ precisely because of the ‘“spo... more For Gramsci, at the most basic level, ‘all men are “philosophers”’ precisely because of the ‘“spontaneous philosophy” which is proper to everybody’ (1971, 323). This spontaneous philosophy or ‘conception of the world’ (concezione del mundo) is found most obviously in the ways in which we describe the world, that is, through language. Shared descriptions between individuals constitute a ‘common sense’ (senso comune) that becomes sedimented in the form of the quasi-natural ‘facts’ and beliefs that guide our daily practices. Common sense helps bind a social formation together and gives individuals a ‘natural’ disposition with which to encounter the world.
Thinking Beyond Neoliberalism
In the summer of 2016, Samir Amin gave an electrifying keynote speech at a political economy conf... more In the summer of 2016, Samir Amin gave an electrifying keynote speech at a political economy conference in Lisbon. In a refreshing contravention of the habitually dispassionate register of academic conferences, Amin captivated his audience with a thundering tirade. After explaining that his nearly nonagenarian lifespan was a 'drop' in broader historical tides, Amin seemed to step beyond his corporeal frame to announce, with a hard thump on the lectern, that capitalism was in a 'senile' phase. Only a few years after his passing, the ongoing developments indicate that Amin's argument was correct (2013: 40). In its neoliberal configuration, capitalism is in a decomposing phase beyond senility, and threatens to undermine the fabric of our entire planet and survival as a species. In April 2020, the Financial Times published an editorial titled 'Virus lays bare the frailty of the social contract', and argued for a shift in economic governance:
Pathology Diagnosis and Social Research
The 1993 film Groundhog Day, more than twenty-five years on, appears more prescient than ever (Ra... more The 1993 film Groundhog Day, more than twenty-five years on, appears more prescient than ever (Ramis, 1993). The film depicts Phil Connors, a cynically detached weatherman, and his journey to the small Pennsylvanian town of Punxsutawney to cover an annual event. To his dismay, he gets stuck in an inexplicable time loop, wherein he wakes up to the same day over and over. And no matter what he does during the day, the slate is wiped clean the following morning, whence the alarm clock turns on with the same song, in the same hotel room, at six o'clock. It has become a cliché to use the title to refer to repetitive, dull and unpleasant processes since the film was released, appropriately at a time when history had supposedly not only come to a standstill, but ended altogether with neoliberalism confining all scope of thought and action. The film's enduring relevance cannot be explained solely as a convenient
Thinking Beyond Neoliberalism: Alternative Societies, Transition, and Resistance, 2021
Thinking Beyond Neoliberalism: Alternative Societies, Transition, and Resistance, 2021
Journal Articles by Onur Acaroğlu
Globalisations , 2018
This article approaches transition as a problem on its own right, through the cases of the Paris ... more This article approaches transition as a problem on its own right, through the cases of the Paris Commune of 1871 and the Fatsa ‘Commune’ of 1979. Transition has received scant attention as an object of theoretical inquiry. Prior to Etienne Balibar’s suggestion that the history of the mode of production occurs at the intersections between political struggles and economic contradictions, a theory of transition had not been explicitly explored. Problematizing transition can reveal what is ‘ruptural’ about ruptural moments, indicating the limitations of the prevalent mode of production. This investigation builds on the Althusserian theory of temporal lag, and considers aspects of the cases in order to translate its insights into the historical events, and conversely to develop theoretical initiative based on findings. An examination of outstanding figures and events in the cases suggests that they can inform a theory of transition and address certain challenges of contemporary radicalism.
New Birmingham Review , 2015
Anti-power theories in the Marxist paradigm seek to overcome the traditional emphasis on the capt... more Anti-power theories in the Marxist paradigm seek to overcome the traditional emphasis on the capture of political power by identifying alternative revolutionary subjectivities beyond the working class and modes of localised, decentred political contestation that circumvent power relations and implement social change within the interstices of capitalist society. This tendency is in stark contrast with the conventional Leninist goal of capturing political power through the historical agency of a vanguard party. This investigation, however, seeks to show that the boundaries between these two paradigms are more porous than they tend to be portrayed, and that the methodical precision and democratic centralism of the Leninist party could deepen the understanding of how experimentation in alternative societies gets subdued, or conversely, what the main reasons for their resiliency are. On a strategic level, the Gramscian concept of hegemony provides a useful nexus between the aspects of war of position and war of manoeuvre on both sides of the debate. It is proposed that hegemonic struggle to counter the bombardment of capitalist ideology spans both political struggle to prevail in the state, as well as the counter-hegemonic models of organising social life that do not involve overtly statocentric goals. Firstly, an account of the genesis of the ‘statocentric’ paradigm is surveyed, giving due attention to Lenin’s formulations of state power, and this is contrasted with an outline of anti-power theories beginning from autonomist standpoints and leading to the recent proposal of John Holloway to Change the World Without Taking Power (2002). The latter part covers a discussion of the multifaceted concept of hegemony in Gramsci, which sets the stage for a substantive comparative analysis of the two paradigms, mainly from a theoretical angle but also taking strides into historical examples where pertinent. The intention is to bridge the gulf that separates Lenin from Holloway without losing sight of particularities in each paradigm but also advancing the thesis that pockets of anti-capitalism within the capitalist maelstrom could only overcome market imperatives by complementing the direct transformation of social relations with the overall cohesion and political focus found in Lenin’s theoretical practice.
Book Reviews by Onur Acaroğlu
'Neoliberalizm özel dizisi', Susanne Soederberg'in konuk olduğu 'refah' tartışması ile sürüyor. U... more 'Neoliberalizm özel dizisi', Susanne Soederberg'in konuk olduğu 'refah' tartışması ile sürüyor. Urban Displacements başlıklı kitabı yakın zaman önce yayımlanan Soederberg ile konut sorununun siyasal iktisadından borçlanmanın jeopolitikasına uzanan bir dizi başlıkta neoliberalizmi konuştuk.
Marx and Philosophy Review of Books, 2020
Marx and Philosophy Review of Books , 2019
Radical Philosophy , 2016
Jodi Dean, Crowds and Party, Verso, London and New York, 2016. 288 pp., £16.99 hb., 978 1 78168 6... more Jodi Dean, Crowds and Party, Verso, London and New York, 2016. 288 pp., £16.99 hb., 978 1 78168 694 2.
Translations by Onur Acaroğlu
Cooperation in Mesopotamia, 2017
Op-eds in Turkish by Onur Acaroğlu
textum, 2020
FUL ve benzeri kuruluşlar, en başta varlıkları ile insanlarda her şeye rağmen bilgiyi, bilimi ken... more FUL ve benzeri kuruluşlar, en başta varlıkları ile insanlarda her şeye rağmen bilgiyi, bilimi kendi zamanlarından ayırarak belli bir çıkar amacı olmadan kovalama dürtüsünün olduğunu; bunun koşullarını sağlamak için akademik kurumları birer darphaneye dönüştürmenin yanlışlığını ortaya koyuyorlar.
Op-Eds in English by Onur Acaroğlu
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Books by Onur Acaroğlu
Book Chapters by Onur Acaroğlu
Journal Articles by Onur Acaroğlu
Book Reviews by Onur Acaroğlu
Translations by Onur Acaroğlu
Op-eds in Turkish by Onur Acaroğlu
Op-Eds in English by Onur Acaroğlu