Micocci - Moderation and Revolution

The present volume concludes a reasoning I started with A nti-Hegelian Reading of Economic Theory (Mellen, Lampeter, 2002) and continued with The Metaphysics of Capitalism (Lexington, Lanham, 2008 and 2010). At long last I can now turn my attention to different themes: on the one hand the epistemological question in the social sciences, and on the other the empirical study of what happens in capitalism as we know it. I very much hope that the readers find the argument of the present volume disconcerting: we have wasted far too much time, in the last thirty years, in mannered discussions that wink to fashions and circumstances. Of course, I also hope and expect that someone feels like challenging what I say.

As usual, there are many people to thank. First of all, and for reasons that stretch well beyond the present volume (which in any case would not exist without his intervention), Gianni Piccinelli, Preside of the Facolt Jean Monnet di Studi Politici e per lAlta Formazione Europea e Mediterranea of SUN, San Leucio, Caserta. Sergio Vellante has been an encouraging presence and a continuous practical help.

Massimiliano Biscuso, Vittorio Micocci, and Mino Vianello have read and commented on some chapters. Plus, Massimiliano has been generous with his comments and his inflexible reasoning. Oscar Daniel Cetrangolo has discussed with me some economic aspects.

Chapter 4 is a revised version of a paper of mine published by Proteo. Let me thank the journal and Luciano Vasapollo for giving permission to reprint it.

I also would like to thank, as usual, my students of all courses and universities, Corrado Ievoli, Mariella Eboli, Franco Gallo, Guido Traversa, Carlo Scarfoglio, Giuseppe Tassone, Charles McCann Jr., Luciano Vasapollo, Giuseppe Limone, Riccardo Bellofiore, Luca Basso, Antimo Cesaro, K. Put-taswamaiah, Vittorangelo Orati, Nadine Valat, and Marshall Langer.

Every time I commit pen to paper I wonder how Alex Callinicos would react to what I say, and how the late Vito Saccomandi would have reacted. If ever my way of expressing myself has improved, it is their merit.

Finally, as usual, I want to point out that my mental sanity and my capacity to work wholly depend on Nino Pardjanadze.

Rome, August 2010

As I wrote in the Foreword to the Italian edition, the present book represents an extended footnote to my two preceding volumes, especially The Metaphysics of Capitalism (Lexington, 2008 and 2010). The basic idea is to enlarge that argument, putting the reader before a surprising set of concatenations that raise more problems than they solve. This book is meant to entice a wider audience than the usual academic public to the pleasures of daring arguments.

I would like to acknowledge the help I received for some parts of this English translation from Nino Pardjanadze, Margaret Dack, and Lea Morosori. Massimiliano Biscuso tore apart the Italian edition like only true friends can do, compelling me to rethink (and go on). Mino Vianello and Sergio Vellante provided encouraging comments to the Italian volume. Franco Gallo wrote a flattering and encouraging account of my work for Il Manifesto. Nobody is to be implicated in what I wrote. My students gave me the reason to hold on through and despite considerable hardship. Jana Hodges-Kluck at Lexington has been not only helpful but also patient and understanding beyond expectations.

As to Nino Pardjanadze, the usual applies.

Rome, 9 September 2011

Andrea Micocci

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