Political Theory Is Not a Luxury: A Response to Timothy Kaufman-Osborn’s “Political Theory as a Profession”

Abstract

In “Political Theory as a Profession,” Timothy Kaufman-Osborn calls for political theorists to shed attachments to political science subfields. This call inadequately reckons with the perils to political theory posed by the combined contemporary forces of scientization and neoliberalization in knowledge. Focusing on these perils, the author argues for the strategic preservation of the political theory subfield. However, this preservation will not be advanced by intensified professionalization or a turn toward market applicability. Paradoxically, the survival of political theory rests in resisting professional and neoliberal metrics and reaching for publicly legible and compelling intellectual purposes.

Keywords

Political theory humanities science neoliberalism

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