"Richard Rorty (1931-2007) was among the most influential intellectuals of the latter half of the twentieth century, a thinker whose pragmatist philosophy ranged effortlessly across literature, politics, history, and poetry. To today's wider public Rorty is best known as the philosopher who forewarned of the 2016 US presidential outcome almost two decades in advance when he presciently predicted that a portion of the electorate would "start looking for a strongman to vote for- someone willing to assure them that, once he is elected, the smug bureaucrats, tricky lawyers, overpaid bond salesmen, and postmodernist professors will no longer be calling the shots." Featuring four previously unpublished essays, the writings collected in this volume convey his other prognostications and warnings for contemporary America and the global order-all of which remain surprisingly relevant. What Can We Hope For? showcases Rorty's striking diagnoses of the rising challenges democracies face, at home and abroad, and his timely proposals for how to address them. Written for popular audiences, these essays speak to urgent debates about our collective future, including: the ever-widening economic gap in our societies; the indifference of the rich global north toward the hardships of the poor global south; the populism fueled by sadistic tendencies to stigmatize others based on race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation; the lack of international political initiatives for tackling overpopulation and environmental devastation; and the twilight of social utopias. He urges us to put our faith in trade unions and universities, bottom-up social campaigns, and bold political visions that thwart ideological pieties. Admirably clear and always thought-provoking, these essays outline Rorty's strategies-more needful now than ever-for fostering social hope and building an inclusive global community of trust"--.

• Cover
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Note on Sources
• Introduction: The Philosopher and His Country
• Part I. Politics and Philosophy
  • 1. Who Are We?
  • 2. Democracy and Philosophy
  • 3. Dewey and Posner on Pragmatism and Moral Progress
  • 4. Rethinking Democracy
  • 5. First Projects, Then Principles
• Part II. American Politics
  • 6. Does Being an American Give One a Moral Identity?
  • 7. Demonizing the Academy
  • 8. American Universities and the Hope for Social Justice
  • 9. The Intellectuals and the Poor
  • 10. Can American Egalitarianism Survive a Globalized Economy?
  • 11. Back to Class Politics
  • 12. Making the Rich Richer
  • 13. Looking Backwards from the Year 2096
• Part III. Global Politics
  • 14. The Unpredictable American Empire
  • 15. Post-Democracy
  • 16. Humiliation or Solidarity?
  • 17. Half a Million Blue Helmets?
  • 18. A Queasy Agnosticism
• Afterword: Intellectuals and the Millennium
• Notes
• Index