This is a very different book about the French Revolution of 1789-94.
The concern is less with a change in society than a change in the
relation that a society establishes with itself. Here the focus is on
society's presentation (and representation) considered not simply from
the perspective of a few privileged intellectuals, but as a social and
historical process inseparable from the institution of society's
political dimension. Through a close reading of the revolutionary texts
of the period, the author is able to trace behind the surface of events
and conflict themes of a more abstract, fundamental character - themes
relative to the 'discovery' of society, the construction of the
nation-state, and what for the revolutionaries was the scandal of their
separation. While retaining a fidelity to the eighteenth century, this
book opens up new theoretical perspectives that illuminate the character
of both a certain revolutionary heritage and a more general political
modernity.