8 - Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 September 2009
Summary
There have been signs in recent years that interest in Arendt's thought is tending to grow. In so far as the reinterpretation presented above is accepted, it seems likely to encourage that interest, for she turns out to be a richer and more rewarding political thinker than has been generally recognised. The preceding chapters have (I hope) shown that her ideas, long acknowledged to be original and subtle, are also extremely complex, amounting in their interconnections to a considerable body of thought. This offers scope for further examination and interpretation, and as we come to understand her better many of the judgements previously passed upon her will need to be reassessed.
Such a reassessment would be a lengthy business, and this is not the place to attempt it. It may be worth drawing attention, however, to one implication of the reading presented here, which is that when Arendt's thought is traced back to the specific context from which it arose, her place in twentieth-century political theory turns out to be rather closer to the centre than we might have anticipated: she seems a less marginal figure, with concerns that are more widely shared. This is an observation that needs expansion, because it is in some ways rather paradoxical.
All readers and commentators have agreed that the central preoccupation of Arendt's political thought is the revaluation of politics and political action. Just what this means, however, can be variously understood. According to what might be called the standard interpretation, the context of her revaluation of politics was her idealisation of the Greek polis and the low esteem in which (by comparison) she held modern society.
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- Information
- Hannah ArendtA Reinterpretation of her Political Thought, pp. 275 - 281Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1992