Traveling Back

Abstract

We live in a global age, an age of vast scale and speed, in conditions our ancestors could hardly have imagined. What does that mean for our political thinking? Do we need new modes of political thought? How might we begin to develop a truly global political theory? Against the common belief that we need a new political theory for this new age, this book argues that the best foundation for a global political theory can be found by traveling back. Traveling back—revisiting the history of political thought with a mind to globalization—reveals that the greatest tool for understanding our “new world” lies in one of the oldest themes in Western political theorizing: travel. From the beginnings of Western political thought—from the ancient Greek practice of travel called theoria—political theorists have used images of travel to illuminate the central questions of globalization. Where travel stories appear, we find serious reflection about interconnectedness, hybridity, and imperialism. Where travel stories appear, we even get self-critical questioning about the dangers that face political theorists who want to think globally. Traveling Back uncovers the travel-story tradition of political theorizing that speaks to the problems of our age. It explores why this travel-story tradition has been so long neglected, especially in this time when we need its wisdom, and calls for its rediscovery. In order to move toward a global political theory, we must first learn to travel back.