Radical Universalism

A compelling philosophical exploration of the concept of universalism and its role—or lack thereof—in contemporary politics. This accessible study challenges the prioritization of identity politics over universal equality, using Kant as a lens through which to understand our present moment.The entire political spectrum of our day, from left to right, reflects the politics of identity. The left speaks of race and gender; the right of blood and soil, homeland and people: the animosity between them is only the difference between the two sides of the same coin. As to universalism? Of that great cause all that seems to remain is an empty shell of legalism and proceduralism. Modern liberalism's prejudicial focus on the rights of individual citizens comes at the expense of a larger commitment to the richness and variety of the human, a focus that can seem as narrow and hidebound as the nationalisms with which it seeks to do battle. In Radical Universalism, Omri Boehm presents a startling and revelatory new reading of Kant as heir to the Biblical prophets and as progenitor of the revolutionary commitment to freedom and equality that is modernity's moral lodestone. His book offers a powerful plea to put this much misunderstood and long forsaken tradition of humanistic universalism at the heart of political life.