The Enemy: An Intellectual Portrait of Carl Schmitt (Gopal Balakrishnan)

Before I began working my way individually through all of Carl Schmitt's important works, I read this excellent book, which provides a fine overview of Schmitt's thought and relevance. And that relevance to today is growing by the hour. (This article was first published November 12, 2018.)

The written, original version of this article can be found here: https://theworthyhouse.com/2018/11/12/book-review-the-enemy-an-intellectual-portrait-of-carl-schmitt-gopal-balakrishnan/

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"Carl Schmitt, preeminent antiliberal, is that rare thing, the modern political philosopher relevant long after his time. The simple remember him only for his grasping embrace of National Socialism, but the more astute, especially on the Left, have in recent times found much to ponder in Schmitt’s protean writings. He did not offer ideology, as did so many forgotten political philosophers, but instead clear analysis of power relations, untied to any specific system or regime. So, as the neoliberal new world order collapses, and the old dragons of man, lulled for decades by the false promises of liberal democracy, rise from slumber, such matters are become relevant once more, and Schmitt informs our times, echoing, as they do, his times." . . .