A trenchant analysis of Spinoza's major treatises within the context of his contemporary political, religious, and ideological life. With Hobbes and Locke, Spinoza is arguably one of the most important political philosophers of the modern era, a premier theoretician of democracy and mass politics. In this revised and augmented English translation of his 1985 classic, "Spinoza et la Politique," Etienne Balibar presents a synoptic account of Spinoza's major works, admirably demonstrating relevance to his contemporary political life. Balibar carefully situates Spinoza's major treatises in the period in which they were written. In successive chapters, he examines the political situation in the United Provinces during Spinoza's lifetime, Spinoza's own religious and ideological associations, the concept of democracy developed in the "Theologico-Political Treatise," the theory of the state advanced in the "Political Treatise" and the anthropological basis for politics established in the "Ethics," "Verso's beautifully designed "Radical Thinkers" series, which brings together seminal works by leading left-wing intellectuals, is a sophisticated blend of theory and thought. The authors whose writings are included in the series have worked tirelessly to expose the mechanisms by which culture and knowledge are manufactured, managed and controlled."--Ziauddin Sardar, "New Statesman"

艾蒂安·巴利巴尔（1942— ），法国哲学家，巴黎第十大学荣退教授和加利福尼亚大学欧文分校教授。1960年进入高师，在哲学上和政治上和阿尔都塞有密切合作关系，曾与阿尔都塞合著《阅读〈资本论〉》。代表作有《历史唯物主义五论》、《斯宾诺莎与政治》和《大众恐惧》，以及与伊曼纽尔·华勒斯坦合著的《种族、国家、阶级》。

赵文，文学博士，陕西师范大学文学院副教授，在北京外国语大学外国文学研究所进行博士后研究。从事西方批评理论、文学批评思想史方面的研究工作，同时进行学术文献的翻译及相关研究。代表性译作有阿尔都塞《马基雅维利和我们》（收入《哲学与政治：阿尔都塞读本》）、阿甘本《无目的的手段》等。