We Are Free to Change the World

A bold exploration of the life and work of one of the world’s most influential – and controversial – thinkers, which brings Arendt’s ideas into urgent dialogue with our troubled present. ‘A rare gem’ SHAMI CHAKRABARTI 'An absorbing new biography... Admirable' ECONOMIST 'Invigorating and insightful' FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Exhilarating, brilliant and utterly original’ PHILIPPE SANDS Hannah Arendt wrote about power and terror, exile and love, and above all about freedom. In place of the forces of darkness and tyranny, she pitched a politics of plurality, spontaneity and defiance. Loving the world, Arendt taught, meant finding the courage to protect it. Written with passion and authority, We Are Free to Change the World calls on each of us to think our way, as Arendt did – unflinchingly, lovingly, and defiantly – through our own unpredictable times.

A bold exploration of the life and work of one of the world’s most influential – and controversial – thinkers, which brings Arendt’s ideas into urgent dialogue with our troubled present. ‘A rare gem’ SHAMI CHAKRABARTI 'An absorbing new biography... Admirable' ECONOMIST 'Invigorating and insightful' FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Exhilarating, brilliant and utterly original’ PHILIPPE SANDS Hannah Arendt wrote about power and terror, exile and love, and above all about freedom. In place of the forces of darkness and tyranny, she pitched a politics of plurality, spontaneity and defiance. Loving the world, Arendt taught, meant finding the courage to protect it. Written with passion and authority, We Are Free to Change the World calls on each of us to think our way, as Arendt did – unflinchingly, lovingly, and defiantly – through our own unpredictable times.

A timely guide on how to live--and think--through the challenges of our century drawn from the life and thought of political theorist Hannah Arendt, one of the twentieth century's foremost opponents of totalitarianism "We are free to change the world and to start something new in it."--Hannah Arendt The violent unease of today's world would have been familiar to Hannah Arendt. Tyranny, occupation, disenchantment, post-truth politics, conspiracy theories, racism, mass migration: She lived through them all. Born in the first decade of the last century, she escaped fascist Europe to make a new life for herself in America, where she became one of its most influential--and controversial--public intellectuals. She wrote about power and terror, exile and love, and above all, about freedom. Questioning--thinking--was her first defense against tyranny. She advocated a politics of action and plurality, courage and, when necessary, disobedience. We Are Free to Change the World is a book about the Arendt we need for the twenty-first century. It tells us how and why Arendt came to think the way she did, and how to think when our own politics goes off the rails. Both a guide to Arendt's life and work, and its dialogue with our troubled present, We Are Free to Change the World is an urgent call for us to think, as Hannah Arendt did--unflinchingly, lovingly, and defiantly--through our own unpredictable times.

A timely guide on how to live--and think--through the challenges of our century drawn from the life and thought of political theorist Hannah Arendt, one of the twentieth century's foremost opponents of totalitarianism "We are free to change the world and to start something new in it."--Hannah Arendt The violent unease of today's world would have been familiar to Hannah Arendt. Tyranny, occupation, disenchantment, post-truth politics, conspiracy theories, racism, mass migration: She lived through them all. Born in the first decade of the last century, she escaped fascist Europe to make a new life for herself in America, where she became one of its most influential--and controversial--public intellectuals. She wrote about power and terror, exile and love, and above all, about freedom. Questioning--thinking--was her first defense against tyranny. She advocated a politics of action and plurality, courage and, when necessary, disobedience. We Are Free to Change the World is a book about the Arendt we need for the twenty-first century. It tells us how and why Arendt came to think the way she did, and how to think when our own politics goes off the rails. Both a guide to Arendt's life and work, and its dialogue with our troubled present, We Are Free to Change the World is an urgent call for us to think, as Hannah Arendt did--unflinchingly, lovingly, and defiantly--through our own unpredictable times.