Paul Hirst
Encyclopedia
Paul Hirst was a British sociologist and political theorist. He became Professor of Social Theory at Birkbeck, University of London
.
He studied at the University of Leicester
and the University of Sussex
before taking up a lectureship at Birkbeck College in 1969. In 1972, he was one of the founding members of the Department of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck.
During the 1970s he became well known (along with Barry Hindess
) as the main figure in British Althusserianism. During the late 1970s and 1980s, Hirst became a critic of Althusser
's brand of Marxism
. Drawing upon Foucault
but also Quine
and Wittgenstein
, they criticised essentialism, epistemological discourses and the possibility of any general theory, in a move against careless sociological constructionist imperialism. In his work on democratic governance, he turned towards the ideas of the English political pluralists: J. N. Figgis, G. D. H. Cole
, and Harold Laski
. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hirst developed a theory of associationalism
which attempted to revive social democracy
by providing an alternative to state socialism
and free-market liberalism
. He also made important contributions to critical legal theory.
His later work, with Grahame Thompson
resulted in an influential criticism of fashionable theories of economic globalisation, demonstrating the continued importance of the nation-state. His book 'War and Power' is a historical-sociological analysis of the development of the modern state and state system and addresses some of current political challenges including climate change. His last book 'Space and Power' clearly demonstrated his intellectual scope. In the book he investigates the relationship between space and power. Power and exercise of power is not only constrained by space and also reconfigures space.
With Mark Cousins
, Colin MacCabe
, and Richard Humphreys
, he founded the London Consortium
in 1993. He chaired the Executive Committee of Charter 88 and was an early and regular contributor to openDemocracy.
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
.
He studied at the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
and the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
before taking up a lectureship at Birkbeck College in 1969. In 1972, he was one of the founding members of the Department of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck.
During the 1970s he became well known (along with Barry Hindess
Barry Hindess
Barry Hindess is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Australian National University. He was for many years an academic sociologist in the UK and has published widely on social and political theory, and on the history of political thought.- Selected works :* Discourses of...
) as the main figure in British Althusserianism. During the late 1970s and 1980s, Hirst became a critic of Althusser
Louis Althusser
Louis Pierre Althusser was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy....
's brand of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
. Drawing upon Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
but also Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition...
and Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
, they criticised essentialism, epistemological discourses and the possibility of any general theory, in a move against careless sociological constructionist imperialism. In his work on democratic governance, he turned towards the ideas of the English political pluralists: J. N. Figgis, G. D. H. Cole
G. D. H. Cole
George Douglas Howard Cole was an English political theorist, economist, writer and historian. As a libertarian socialist he was a long-time member of the Fabian Society and an advocate for the cooperative movement...
, and Harold Laski
Harold Laski
Harold Joseph Laski was a British Marxist, political theorist, economist, author, and lecturer, who served as the chairman of the Labour Party during 1945-1946, and was a professor at the LSE from 1926 to 1950....
. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Hirst developed a theory of associationalism
Associationalism
Associationalism is a political project where "human welfare and liberty are both best served when as many of the affairs of a society as possible are managed by voluntary and democratically self-governing associations." Associationalism "gives priority to freedom in its scale of values, but it...
which attempted to revive social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
by providing an alternative to state socialism
State socialism
State socialism is an economic system with limited socialist characteristics, such as public ownership of major industries, remedial measures to benefit the working class, and a gradual process of developing socialism through government policy...
and free-market liberalism
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
. He also made important contributions to critical legal theory.
His later work, with Grahame Thompson
Grahame Thompson
Grahame Thompson is a Professor of Political Economy in the Department of Politics & International Studies at the Open University, serving also as a visiting professor at Copenhagen Business School.- Training and career :...
resulted in an influential criticism of fashionable theories of economic globalisation, demonstrating the continued importance of the nation-state. His book 'War and Power' is a historical-sociological analysis of the development of the modern state and state system and addresses some of current political challenges including climate change. His last book 'Space and Power' clearly demonstrated his intellectual scope. In the book he investigates the relationship between space and power. Power and exercise of power is not only constrained by space and also reconfigures space.
With Mark Cousins
Mark Cousins (writer)
Mark Cousins is a British cultural critic and architectural theorist. He is the Director of General Studies and Head of the Graduate Program in Histories and Theories at the Architectural Association...
, Colin MacCabe
Colin MacCabe
Colin MacCabe is a British writer and film producer. He is distinguished professor of English and film at the University of Pittsburgh, professor of English and humanities at Birkbeck, University of London, and a visiting professor at the University of Exeter....
, and Richard Humphreys
Richard Humphreys (writer)
Richard Humphreys is the Curator of Programme Research at Tate Britain and Deputy Chairman of the London Consortium, of which he was a founding member....
, he founded the London Consortium
London Consortium
The London Consortium is a graduate school in the UK offering multidisciplinary Masters and Doctoral programs in the humanities and cultural studies at the University of London. It is administered by Birkbeck, University of London, one of the constituent colleges of the University of London, and...
in 1993. He chaired the Executive Committee of Charter 88 and was an early and regular contributor to openDemocracy.
Selected bibliography
- Hirst, P. and Hindess, B. Pre-Capitalist Modes of Production. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975.
- Hirst, P. On Law and Ideology. London: MacMillan, 1979.
- Hirst, P. and Woolley, P. Social Relations and Human Attributes. London: Routledge, 1982.
- Hirst, P. Law, Socialism and Democracy. London: Harper Collins, 1986.
- Hirst, P. “Carl Schmitt's Decisionism”. Telos 72 (Summer 1987). New York: Telos Press.
- Hirst, P. Representative Democracy and its Limits. Cambridge: Polity, 1990.
- Hirst, P. Associative Democracy. Cambridge: Polity, 1993.
- Hirst, P. From Statism to Pluralism. London: UCL Press, 1997.
- Hirst, P. and Thompson, G. Globalisation in Question. Cambridge: Polity, 1999.
- Hirst, P. War and Power in the 21st Century. Cambridge: Polity, 2001.
- Hirst, P. Space and Power: Politics, War and Architecture. Cambridge: Polity, 2005.
Other sources
- Cotterrell, Roger "Paul Hirst (1946-2003)", Socio-Legal Newsletter No. 41, Winter 2003, pp.6-7.