From the perspective of oppressed groups, the lives of the rich and powerful are not necessarily desirable – indeed, they often appear ignorant, corrupt, ugly, or sad. People whose realities are shaped by experiences of violence and suffering, on the other hand, often have access to epistemic insights, ethical attitudes, and aesthetic expressions that more privileged subjects lack. Whether they can tap into these resources, however, depends on certain practices of collectivization: on whether they are part of a counter-community. Liberation, therefore, can never come about through inclusion or integration into dominant institutions. The struggle for liberation is a struggle for the abolition of domination.
In this groundbreaking new work, Daniel Loick draws on classical figures such as Hegel and Marx, as well as recent proponents of critical theory in Germany such as Rahel Jaeggi and Axel Honneth. However his study is also informed by work in Anglophone academia and beyond, from different strands of Black studies, feminist, queer, and Marxist theory, including writers such as Fred Moten and Stefano Harvey, Silvia Federici, and Antonio Negri.