Carl Schmitt: The End of Law (20th Century Political Thinkers)

Until the publication of this pathbreaking book, most scholarly studies of Carl Schmitt offered an oversimplistic, apologetic account of Schmitt's intellectual and political sympathies to Nazi fascism, or they crudely criticized his ideas by caricaturing them. In this full-length study in English of Germany's most influential authoritarian right-wing political and legal thinker, award-winning political theorist William E. Scheuerman examines in close detail the profound impact of Schmitt's critique of the liberal rule of law, and he describes how Schmitt's understanding of liberal jurisprudence led him to embrace National Socialism as a viable alternative to the perceived pathologies of the liberal rule of law. Scheuerman illustrates how, in the aftermath of World War II, influential political theorists, particularly Schumpter, Hayek, and Morgenthau, imported Schmitt's ideas into American political discourse. Although none of these writers were followers of Schmitt, each one engaged in a "hidden dialogue" with him that shaped important facets of the intellectual discourse in postwar America. "Carl Schmitt" is an original, engaging study that will be of great value to political theorists and those interested in twentieth-century intellectual history and political philosophy. Author Biography: William E. Scheuerman is associate professor of political science at the University of Minnesota and the author of "Between the Norm and the Exception: The Frankfurt School and The Rule of Law" (MIT) and "The Rule of Law Under Siege" (California). Introduction: Why Carl Schmitt? -- Pt. 1. The Jurisprudence Of Lawlessness -- 1. The Crisis Of Legal Indeterminacy -- 2. The Decay Of Parliamentarism -- 3. The Critique Of Liberal Constitutionalism -- 4. The Total State -- 5. After Legal Indeterminacy? -- 6. Indeterminacy And International Law -- Epilogue To Part One: Carl Schmitt In The Aftermath Of The German Catastrophe -- Pt. 2. Carl Schmitt In America -- 7. Carl Schmitt And The Origins Of Joseph Schumpeter's Theory Of Democratic Elitism -- 8. The Unholy Alliance Of Carl Schmitt And Friedrich A. Hayek -- 9. Another Hidden Dialogue -- Carl Schmitt And Hans Morgenthau -- Conclusion: After Carl Schmitt? William E. Scheuerman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 257-338) And Index. This is the first full-length study in English of twentieth-century Germany's most influential authoritarian right-wing political theorist, Carl Schmitt, that focuses on the central place of his attack on the liberal rule of law. Carl Schmitt: The End of Law is also the first book in any language to devote substantial attention to Schmitt's subterranean influence on some of the most important voices in political thought (Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich A. Hayek, and Hans Morgenthau) in the United States after 1945.