The prince has been the dominant archetypal model of being and becoming in modernity and despite the supposed beheading of kings in the modern world, it is the values of the prince - his will to power - that guide us in the modern world rather than the values of an unconditional ethical obligation of the self to the other. Power, politics and empowerment have provided determinant frames of self-constitution and social emancipation in the modern world and they have provided the singular definition of freedom as well. ...
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The prince has been the dominant archetypal model of being and becoming in modernity and despite the supposed beheading of kings in the modern world, it is the values of the prince - his will to power - that guide us in the modern world rather than the values of an unconditional ethical obligation of the self to the other. Power, politics and empowerment have provided determinant frames of self-constitution and social emancipation in the modern world and they have provided the singular definition of freedom as well. Modernity has been characterized by the ascendancy of politics and a power-model of the human condition over all other modes of being and values of life such as those of virtue, shraddha (reverence and love) and tapasya (loving meditation for transformation). This book is concerned with the questions of rethinking and transforming power and freedom in discourse, society and history. It is born out of a realization that interrogating the modernist faith in politics and power as sole guarantors of human well-being and freedom constitutes an epochal challenge before us in this new century and in our new millennium. It draws from many different sources-traditional philosophies, religions, spiritual movements and alternative quests within modernity-in transforming power and freedom. It also brings voices of struggles from different parts of the world-Mexico, Korea, Philippines, Indonesia and India.
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