Ernesto Laclau is a political theorist often described as post-marxist. He is a professor at the University of Essex where he holds a chair in Political Theory and was for many years director of the doctoral Programme in Ideology and Discourse Analysis. He has lectured extensively in many universities in North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Australia and South Africa. Niccolò Machiavelli, ca 1500, became the key figure in realistic political theory, crucial to political science Political Science is the systematic study of the allocation and transfer of power in decision making. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... University of Essex The Universitys of Essex are a British university, two of the plate glass universities (like Warwick or York). ... Political science is an academic and research discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ... An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ... Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of texts, which views language as a form of social practice (Fairclough 1989: 20) and attempts to unpack the ideological underpinnings of discourse that have become so naturalized over time that we begin to treat them as common, acceptable... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times. ...

Laclau's most important book is Hegemony and Socialist Strategy, which he co-authored with Chantal Mouffe. Their thought is usually described as post-Marxist as they were both politically active in the social and student movements of the 1960s and thus tried to join working class and new social movements. They rejected Marxist economic determinism and the notion of class struggle being the crucial antagonism in society. Instead they urged for radical democracy of agonistic pluralism where all antagonisms could be expressed. In their opinion "...there is no possibility of society without antagonism", that is why they claimed that "society does not exist." Chantal Mouffe (born 1943) is a Belgian political theorist. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... The term new social movements (NSM) refers to a plethora of social movements that have come up in various western societies roughly since the mid-1960s (i. ... Marxism is the philosophy, social theory and political practice based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century German socialist philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary. ... When Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels created the ideology of Communism, many Marxists believe they inductively surmised what they saw as a law of history, an inexorable law, that ran throughout the course of history. ... Class struggle is class conflict looked at from a Marxist, libertarian socialist, or anarchist perspective. ... In chemistry, antagonism is a phenomenon where two or more agents in combination have an overall effect which is less than the sum of their individual effects. ... Human relationships within an ethnically diverse society. ... Agonistic pluralism is a term used by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe to describe their model of democracy. ...

Books

• Politics and Ideology in Marxist Theory (London, 1977)
• Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (with Chantal Mouffe) (London 1985)
• New Reflections on the Revolution of our Time (London, 1990)
• The Making of Political Identities (editor) (London, l994)
• Emancipation(s) (London, 1996)
• Contingency, Hegemony, Universality (with Judith Butler and Slavoj Zizek)

(London, 2000) Contingency, Hegemony, Universality: Contemporary Dialogues On The Left (hereafter referred to as CHU) is a collaborative book written by the political theorists Judith Butler, Ernesto Laclau and Slavoj Žižek and published in 2000. ... Image:J Butler. ... Slavoj Žižek. ...

• On Populist Reason (London, 2005)

See also

• Louis Althusser
• Antonio Gramsci
• Ideology
• Marxism
• Slavoj Žižek

Louis Pierre Althusser (October 16, 1918 - October 23, 1990) was a Marxist philosopher. ... Antonio Gramsci Antonio Gramsci (January 22, 1891 – April 27, 1937) was an Italian writer, politician, leader and theorist of Socialism, Communism and Anti-Fascism. ... An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ... Marxism is the philosophy, social theory and political practice based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century German socialist philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary. ... Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (born March 21, 1949) is a Slovenian sociologist, philosopher and cultural critic. ...

External links

• Centre for Theoretical Studies, University of EssexIncludes Laclau papers on populism and the philosophical roots of discourse theory
• Ideology and Discourse Analysis network
• Hearts, Minds and Radical Democracy Interview with Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe