Literature for a Society of Equals

Literature for a Society of Equals defends modern equality and seeks its best literature, accusing equalitys supposed friends on the left of attenuating it into a collection of rights and goods to distribute. It encourages literary scholars to reread these pessimist egalitarians, who envision relational equality as recently recovered by philosophers like Elizabeth Anderson and historians like Pierre Rosanvallon.

Format: Hardback
Length: 230 pages
Publication date: 29 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Literature for a Society of Equals is a collection of essays that advocate for modern equality and seek to highlight its best literary expressions. It challenges the notion that equality is merely a set of rights and goods to distribute, accusing its supposed allies on the left of secularizing it while the right perpetuates hierarchies. Instead, the writers examined in this book, ranging from Mary Shelley to Gwendolyn Brooks to Ta-Nehisi Coates, envision relational equality as a recently rediscovered concept by philosophers such as Elizabeth Anderson and historians like Pierre Rosanvallon. While literary scholars should engage with these pessimist egalitarians, the discipline has fallen short in three ways: by attenuating and secularizing these writers' portrayals of equality, primarily by insisting that the sympathy generated by reading these texts will eventually expand the circle of humanity. This volume serves as a guide for students and teachers of literature at the university level, highlighting writings that champion equality as relational, sacred, and ours, rather than relying on the passage of time to realize it.

Weight: 600g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032494234