Restoring the Political

Abstract

This article focuses on the key contributions made by Adolph Reed Jr., focusing on his efforts to “restore the political” to analysis of urban politics and race. Reed’s position resists the lamentable tendency to “naturalize” political phenomena through abstractions such as the rational, utility-maximizing individual; the unitary city interest; and notion of a corporate black interest. In particular, Reed brings into sharp relief the deficiencies of Paul Peterson’s “city limits” idea and the widely popularized notion that African Americans share a “collective racial interest.” I offer an interpretation of Reed’s work that suggests, notwithstanding the centrality of critique in his work, that he offers an optimistic vision that opens up the possibility of alternatives to neoliberalism and its attendant ills.