Reviews for Inside the fortress

The average rating for Inside the fortress based on 4 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-06-06 00:00:00 Thor Heimdahl The basic idea in this book is simple: philosophical conceptions that prioritize cosmopolitanism and universal human rights ignore the ways in which such discourses are operationalized within highly unequal conditions created by capitalism. As such, universalizing discourses of this kind often serve to camouflage the hegemony of the powerful (or North) over the weak (the South). Through the course of his argument Pheng Cheah demolishes the arguments of proponents of universal deliberative democracy such as Habermas, as well as superficial post-colonial scholars who seek liberation in "hybridity" such as Homi Bhabha. Pheng Cheah argues that the rights of most people in the weaker areas of the world can only be secured as part of national structures. It is refreshing to read a scholar who rehabilitates the idea of nationalism as liberatory, especially since it is currently fashionable to think that all nationalisms are necessarily oppressive.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-01-06 00:00:00 John Murray I only read the chapters recommended by my professor. We discussed this book in class. By and large, human rights discourse has been so far complicit with the capitalist mode of production and thrived because of the global capital. Nevertheless, tainted origin should not determine a doomed future. Let's all remember that life was not better in whatever sense before the capital, nostalgia will not get us to where we want to be. We need to locate moral and ethical potential of current human rights discourse, thoroughly examine all claims of violation of human rights and their connection to global capital. Only then can we start to live up the promises of the Enlightenment project and think of ways to improve further.

Review # 3 was written on 2013-06-06 00:00:00 James Durall The basic idea in this book is simple: philosophical conceptions that prioritize cosmopolitanism and universal human rights ignore the ways in which such discourses are operationalized within highly unequal conditions created by capitalism. As such, universalizing discourses of this kind often serve to camouflage the hegemony of the powerful (or North) over the weak (the South). Through the course of his argument Pheng Cheah demolishes the arguments of proponents of universal deliberative democracy such as Habermas, as well as superficial post-colonial scholars who seek liberation in "hybridity" such as Homi Bhabha. Pheng Cheah argues that the rights of most people in the weaker areas of the world can only be secured as part of national structures. It is refreshing to read a scholar who rehabilitates the idea of nationalism as liberatory, especially since it is currently fashionable to think that all nationalisms are necessarily oppressive.

Review # 4 was written on 2012-01-06 00:00:00 Jeremy Corcer I only read the chapters recommended by my professor. We discussed this book in class. By and large, human rights discourse has been so far complicit with the capitalist mode of production and thrived because of the global capital. Nevertheless, tainted origin should not determine a doomed future. Let's all remember that life was not better in whatever sense before the capital, nostalgia will not get us to where we want to be. We need to locate moral and ethical potential of current human rights discourse, thoroughly examine all claims of violation of human rights and their connection to global capital. Only then can we start to live up the promises of the Enlightenment project and think of ways to improve further.