To what degree can the philosophy of Cornelius Castoriadis help analyze and evaluate our current social reality in relation to the project of autonomy? How meaningful is his political proposition for direct democracy in the 21st century? What significance do the concepts of social time and social space have in the determination of political freedom?

Castoriadis and Autonomy in the 21st Century presents basic concepts of Castoriadian philosophy, including the social-historical plane, ontological creativity, and social and individual time that provide the theoretical tools to evaluate the historical phenomena of our era. Drawing from Greece's own turbulent past and the current global crisis to reveal new significances of social freedom, global solidarity and movements of direct democracy, this book explores social autonomy and human freedom today through critical dialogue with Castoriadis' ideas.

Alexandros Schismenos is a researcher working on social-historical phenomena of the 21st century. He is co-author of The end of National Politics (2016) with Nikos Ioannou.

Editor's note - Autonomy in the Anglosphere (By Chris Spannos)

Preface - Cornelius Castoriadis: A Brief Biography

Introduction - After Castoriadis

Chapter 1. Past - Time and Freedom (By Alexandros Schismenos)
1.1. The Social-Historical Aspects of Time
1.2. Birth and Death, Limits of Temporal Existence
1.3. The De-Mystification of Sisyphus: Freedom and Time

Chapter 2. Present - Politics and Crisis (By Alexandros Schismenos)
2.1. The Invasion of History in Social Time
2.2. The Invisible Subject
2.3. Power, Authority and Freedom
2.4. The Ontological Revolution: On the Phenomenology of the Internet

Chapter 3. Future - Autonomy, Direct Democracy and Limited Economy (By Nikos Ioannou)
3.1. The Collapse of the Old and the Emergence of New Significations
3.2. New Forms of Social Networking and Local Autonomy

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index