{{ otheruses4|Empire (Book)|novels|Empire (2006 novel)]] or [[Empire (1987 novel) }}

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Cover of the Swedish edition (Imperiet)

Empire is a text written by Marxist philosophers Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt. The book, written in the mid 90s, was published in 2000 and immediately became a bestseller.^[1] In general, the book theorizes an ongoing transition from a "modern" phenomenon of imperialism, centered around individual nation-states, to an emergent postmodern construct created amongst ruling powers which the authors call Empire (the capital letter is distinguishing). They proceed to elaborate a variety of ideas surrounding constitutions, global war, and class. Hence, the Empire is constituted by a monarchy (the United States and the G8, and international organizations such as NATO, the IMF or the WTO), an oligarchy (the multinational corporations and other nation-states) and a democracy (the various NGOs and the United Nations). Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... Image File history File links Imperiet. ... Image File history File links Imperiet. ... See also Marxian economics Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory designs work in philosophy which is strongly influenced by Karl Marxs materialist approach to theory or which is written by Marxists. ... Antonio Negri (August 1, 1933- ) is a moral and political philosopher, and a former political inmate from Italy. ... Michael Hardt is an American literary theorist and political philosopher based at Duke University. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on a list of top-sellers. ... Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires. ... Max Barry set up Jennifer Government: NationStates, a game on the World Wide Web inspired by, and promoting, his novel Jennifer Government. ... Postmodernity (also called post-modernity or the postmodern condition) is a term used by philosophers, social scientists, art critics and social critics to refer to aspects of contemporary art, culture, economics and social conditions that are the result of the unique features of late 20th century and early 21st century... Places where monarchies maintain rule appear in blue. ... The Group of Eight (G8) consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. ... For the political science journal, see: International Organization An international organization (also called intergovernmental organization) is an organization of international scope or character. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... The flag of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring foreign exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ... For other uses of the initials WTO, see WTO (disambiguation). ... Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ... A multinational corporation (MNC) or transnational corporation (TNC) is one that spans multiple nations; these corporations are often very large. ... NGO is an abbreviation or code for: Non-governmental organization Nagoya Airport (IATA code) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ...

This description of pyramidal levels is a replica of Polybius’ description of Roman government, hence the denomination ‘Empire’. Furthermore, the crisis is conceived as inherent to the Empire. Negri & Hardt are also heavily indebted to Michel Foucault's analysis of biopolitics and Gilles Deleuze's philosophy. Before that book, Negri was best known for having written The Savage Anomaly (1981), a milestone book in spinozism studies which he wrote in prison. Empire is thus, unsurprisingly, also influenced by Spinoza. The ideas first introduced in Empire (notably the concept of multitude, taken from Spinoza) were further developed in the 2004 book Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire, which was also written by Negri and Hardt. Polybius (c. ... Michel Foucault (IPA pronunciation: ; English-speakers pronunciation varies) (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher. ... A neologism invented by Michel Foucault, the term Biopolitics or Biopolitical can refer to several different yet not incompatible concepts: In the work of Michel Foucault, the style of government that regulates populations through biopower. ... Gilles Deleuze (IPA: ), (January 18, 1925 – November 4, 1995) was a French philosopher of the late 20th century. ... Spinozism is the pantheistic philosophical system of Benedict de Spinoza, which defines God as a singular self-subsistent substance, and both matter and thought attributes of such. ... Baruch Spinoza Benedictus de Spinoza (November 24, 1632 - February 21, 1677), named Baruch Spinoza by his synagogue elders and known as Bento de Spinoza or Bento dEspiñoza in the community in which he grew up. ... Multitude is a term of Spinozas taken up by political theorists Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri in the international best-seller Empire (2000) and expanded upon in their recent Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire (2004). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

It was published by Harvard University Press in 2000 as a 478-page hardcover (ISBN 0-674-25121-0) and paperback (ISBN 0-674-00671-2). The Harvard University Press is a publishing house, a division of Harvard University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ...

Opening epigraphs

"Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right." —Ani DiFranco

"Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and then it turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name." —William Morris

Ani DiFranco (IPA: É‘-ni) (born Angela Marie Difranco on September 23, 1970) is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. ... William Morris, socialist and innovator in the Arts and Crafts movement William Morris, publisher Davids Charge to Solomon (1882), a stained-glass window by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris in Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts. ...

See also

• Autonomous Marxism

Autonomism, or Autonomist Marxism is a left wing political movement and theory. ...

External links

• Empire text (PDF).
• Empire (ISBN 0-674-00671-2)
• "The Empire does not exist: a critique of Toni Negri's ideas" by Pietro Di Nardo, in Naples, Italy, a Marxist critique of the book.
• Reviews of Hardt and Negri's Empire

PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Alternate uses: See Naples (disambiguation) Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα-Πόλις, latinised in Neapolis) is the largest town in southern Italy, capital of Campania region. ...

References

1. ^ Empire hits back. The Observer, July 15, 2001.