Why Read Hannah Arendt Now?

Bernstein comes up short in his attempt to convince readers unfamiliar with famed political theorist Hannah Arendt to seek out her writing now; while this short volume represents a mostly accessible introduction to her thinking, it fails to make the case for her relevance to contemporary politics. Bernstein notes that Arendt’s experiences as a German-Jewish refugee from the Nazis, who had to flee France as well before making her way to America, shaped her views on how countries should treat those escaping political persecution—but his assertion that she presciently warned that refugees “would be the most symptomatic group of contemporary politics” is difficult to understand, and fails to explain why other marginalized groups don’t merit that label. Similarly, he doesn’t convince while defending Arendt’s advocacy of a Jewish homeland rather than a Jewish state, claiming that the continued lack of an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement proves that she was right, without demonstrating her plan would have guaranteed peace. Bernstein doesn’t gloss over Arendt’s ill-judged essay opposing the compulsory desegregation of public schools after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, but his explanation of how she misstepped doesn’t help his case. One of Arendt’s classic works, such as The Origins of Totalitarianism or Eichmann in Jerusalem, would better demonstrate her continuing relevance. (June)