The Metaphysician of Syndicalism

The Metaphysician of Syndicalism brings together for the first time exciting new research on the radical French philosopher and political theorist Georges Sorel (1847-1922).

The most theoretically sophisticated interpreter of Marxism in the French fin de siècle, Georges Sorel participated in the European discussion on the birth of social science and became a paradigmatic figure of the transition between 19th and 20th century intellectual life. The vast majority of his writings however remain unknown and unread, particularly to Anglophone scholars, but are of critical importance today given the resurgence of political radicalism on both the left and right.

Bringing together works by established experts on Sorel in France with a range of exciting new perspectives by emerging scholars, The Metaphysician of Syndicalism aims to provide new directions to the field of Sorel studies in English for this generation. Sorel still has much to teach us about the political transformations of the fin-de-siècle, and his critique of Marxism and of liberal democracy remain by turns compelling and threatening.