Appeals to Interest : Language, Contestation, and the Shaping of Political Agency

It has become a commonplace assumption in modern political debate that white and rural working- and middle-class citizens in the United States who have been rallied by Republicans in the “culture wars” to vote Republican have been voting “against their interests.” But what, exactly, are these “interests” that these voters are supposed to have been voting against? It reveals a lot about the role of the notion of interest in political debate today to realize that these “interests” are taken for granted to be the narrowly self-regarding, primarily economic “interests” of the individual. Exposing and contesting this view of interests, Dean Mathiowetz finds in the language of interest an already potent critique of neoliberal political, theoretical, and methodological imperatives—and shows how such a critique has long been active in the term’s rich history. Through an innovative historical investigation of the language of interest, Mathiowetz shows that appeals to interest are always politically contestable claims about “who” somebody is—and a provocation to action on behalf of that “who.” __Appeals to Interest__ exposes the theoretical and political costs of our widespread denial of this crucial role of interest-talk in the constitution of political identity, in political theory and social science alike.

It has become a commonplace assumption in modern political debate that white and rural working- and middle-class citizens in the United States who have been rallied by Republicans in the “culture wars” to vote Republican have been voting “against their interests.” But what, exactly, are these “interests” that these voters are supposed to have been voting against? It reveals a lot about the role of the notion of interest in political debate today to realize that these “interests” are taken for granted to be the narrowly self-regarding, primarily economic “interests” of the individual. Exposing and contesting this view of interests, Dean Mathiowetz finds in the language of interest an already potent critique of neoliberal political, theoretical, and methodological imperatives—and shows how such a critique has long been active in the term’s rich history. Through an innovative historical investigation of the language of interest, Mathiowetz shows that appeals to interest are always politically contestable claims about “who” somebody is—and a provocation to action on behalf of that “who.” Appeals to Interest exposes the theoretical and political costs of our widespread denial of this crucial role of interest-talk in the constitution of political identity, in political theory and social science alike.

It has become a commonplace assumption in modern politicaldebate that white and rural working- and middle-class citizens inthe United States who have been rallied by Republicans in the"culture wars" to vote Republican have been voting "against theirinterests." But what, exactly, are these "interests" that thesevoters are supposed to have been voting against? It reveals a lotabout the role of the notion of interest in political debate todayto realize that these "interests" are taken for granted to be thenarrowly self-regarding, primarily economic "interests" of theindividual. Exposing and contesting this view of interests, DeanMathiowetz finds in the language of interest an already potentcritique of neoliberal political, theoretical, and methodologicalimperatives-and shows how such a critique has long been active inthe term's rich history. Through an innovative historicalinvestigation of the language of interest, Mathiowetz shows thatappeals to interest are always politically contestable claims about"who" somebody is-and a provocation to action on behalf of that"who." Appeals to Interest exposes the theoretical andpolitical costs of our widespread denial of this crucial role ofinterest-talk in the constitution of political identity, inpolitical theory and social science alike.

The politics of interest Property, usury, and the juridical subject of interest Appeals to interest in seventeenth-century England Contesting sovereignty : interest in Thomas Hobbes A historiography of liberal interest and the neoliberal self Interest in political studies: action, grouping, and government Epilogue : the language of interest as a critical theory of politics. "Explores the theoretical and political implications of self-interest within the context of neoliberal political, theoretical, and methodological imperatives"--Provided by publisher.