Lyotard and the Political is the first book to consider the full range of the political thought of the French philosopher François Lyotard and its broader implications for an understanding of the political. James Williams clearly and carefully traces the development of Lyotard's thought from his early Marxist essays on the Algerian struggle for independence to his break with the thought of Marx and Freud. This is compared with Lyotard's later, highly influental writings on the politics of desire and his attempts to base a postmodern political discourse on the sublime. An indispensable work for all who are interested in modern continental philosophy, Lyotard and the Political offers the first systematic analysis of the political dimension of the work of one of the most controversial and influential philosophers of the twentieth century. Also available in this series: Lacan and the Political Pb: 0-415-17187-3: £12.99 Heidegger and the Political Pb:0-415-13064-6: £12.99 Derrida and the Political Pb: 0-415-10967-1: £13.99 Nietzche and the Political Pb: 0-41510069-0: £12.99 Foucault and the Political Pb: 0-415-10066-6: £12.99