Visionary Pragmatism

"The extraordinary importance of this exhilarating book lies in demonstrating that, at a time when electoral democracy seems thoroughly corrupt . . . , extreme, high or abstract political theory can inspire and in turn be inspired by extreme, concrete grassroots political activism. . . . Coles has presented a remarkable theory and practice of radical democratic activism based on recent developments in brain science and dynamic systems theory and on his own experience." -- Eugene W. Holland * Theory & Event *
"In Visionary Pragmatism, Romand Coles deftly weaves neuroscience and physics together with palpable accounts of grassroots activism to develop one of the most original, subtle, and actionable theories of radical democracy in neoliberal times. This charges our present political moment with an all-too-rare sense of abundant and ubiquitous democratic possibility, but also calls the role of the academic therein starkly to account." -- Emily Beausoleil * Journal of Politics *
"Coles wagers that stringent, molecular-level concentration on the affectively differentiated physicality of ordinary, participatory democratic encounters can restimulate radical imagination and commitment. His uniquely capacious gambit weaves together a range of political investments that theorists too often seem to feel compelled to choose between, highlighting either the fleeting moment of natality, the subtle subversions effected by counterhegemonic cultural noise, or the grind of organizing in the trenches. Coles, unlike others, wants (us) to have all this—and more. . . . [T]he text itself enacts a compelling form of dramatization through Coles’s daring authorial style." -- Paul Apostolidis * Democratic Theory *
"Visionary Pragmatism opens new doors to walk through as we listen, experiment, and forge critical assemblages out of the debris of neoliberal hegemony. . . . This book is replete with wisdom and experimental ideas. The pluralised, critical 'we' forming today across classes, faiths, regions, and genders can be enlivened by the spiritual inspirations it offers." -- William E. Connolly * Democratic Theory *
"Romand Coles’s Visionary Pragmatism is an extraordinary work: brilliant and subtle, fiercely passionate and carefully argued, it is by turns apocalyptic and reassuring, romantic and deromanticizing, vertiginous and profoundly grounding. Coles contends that our world will not survive the depredations of neoliberalism unless we cultivate a radical democratic habitus grounded in resonant receptivity. . . . His argument is vital, exhilarating, and persuasive." -- Jade Schiff * Democratic Theory *
“[Visionary Pragmatism] is a deeply personal work. As a reader, I came away with a clear sense of—and respect for—Coles’s struggle to orient his own life and career in a way that is consistent with his convictions about what political theory can be, and with the need to ground his theorizing in forms of activism and everyday life that will both nourish and inform it.” -- John M. Meyer * Perspectives on Politics *
"Visionary Pragmatism is wonderfully expansive in its potential for retheorizing the very activity of political theory in an effort to make it receptive and perhaps even reconciled to the activity of political activism." -- Ani Chen * William James Studies *
“Coles's Visionary Pragmatism ought to be on the reading list for ecologically-oriented academics from every discipline as well as political activists and anyone who wishes to begin cultivating the sorts of ‘game-transformative practices’ that will allow us to rethink, resist, and reshape the dominant order.” -- Tess Varner * Environmental Philosophy *