Everyday Life in the Modern World (Routledge Classics) - Softcover

Lefebvre, Henri

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1032533935 ISBN 13: 9781032533933

Publisher: Routledge, 2023

Synopsis

Philosopher, sociologist and urban theorist, Henri Lefebvre (1901–1991) was one of the great social theorists of the twentieth century and pioneered the theorization of everyday life and space.

In this fascinating book, which became a manifesto for urban activism upon its first publication in the 1960s, Lefebvre poses a major question: what gives a society undergoing constant change the illusion of stability? For Lefebvre, the answer is that our everyday lives are the product of decisions from which we are alienated, resulting in what he memorably describes as 'terror-enforced passivity'. Modern capitalism produces and controls the space around us: the buildings we work in, the roads we drive on and even the parks surrounding us are artificial and controlled, isolating the individual in a life of repetition. Lefebvre rejects such a world of control and monotony, urging instead a spontaneous, utopian creativity, in which human beings can engage in meaningful work and leisure.

Profound and prophetic for its insights into the impact of capitalism and urbanization, Everyday Life in the Modern World remains a classic work by a towering thinker and essential reading today.

This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Claire Revol and Rob Shields.

About this title

About the Author

Henri Lefebvre (1901–1991), philosopher, sociologist and urban theorist, was one of the great social theorists of the twentieth century and pioneered the theorization of everyday life and space.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1032533935
• ISBN 13: 9781032533933
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 244