Radical Universalism

“An invigorating and timely new book … [Boehm] has persuaded me that universalism could be more profoundly transformative than anything offered by the self-styled ‘radicals’ on either end of the political spectrum.” —Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times “[Boehm] calls his [vision] radical for a reason. Boehm’s idea is hard to realize—almost impossibly hard, I would say. But that’s why reading this cogent, succinct book felt like such a cold plunge, painful but reinvigorating … Boehm channels Kant when he writes, ‘It is because human beings are open to the question of what they ought to do that they themselves are subjects of absolute dignity.’ For the radical universalist, this truth about who we are trumps all else, all borders and constitutions and written laws.” —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic “In this sharply argued and passionate book, Boehm positions himself outside of all conventional categories. It is above all a deeply humanistic attempt to recommit people to the principle of an ‘absolute love of humanity.’” —Süddeutsche Zeitung“Boehm raises the flag of universalism, that of the Kantian tradition born of a specific transformation of biblical texts into secular terms…For Boehm, Kant’s radical contribution is to establish for the first time ‘the idea of humanity…as a moral concept.’” —El País“Democratic visions such as Boehm’s [are] essential to frame a practical discourse of shared liberation.” —Steve France, Monodweiss

Omri Boehm is an associate professor and the chair of the Department of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York City. He is the author of Haitfa Republic (New York Review Books), The Binding of Isaac- A Religious Model of Disobedience, and Kant’s Critique of Spinoza. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, Die Zeit, El Pais, and Haaretz, among other publications.

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