The Excessive Subject: A New Theory of Social Change

"The dagger that begins it cuts through Rothenberg's book with a fine precision. It dissects in the works of several of the most influential theorists of our day a powerful and new concept of cause which often gets away from the authors who struggle to define it. Rothenberg's astute argument is richly woven, lucid, and highly compelling."
Joan Copjec, author of Imagine There's No Woman

"We still don't know what a subject can do. We still don't know how to think subjective agency together with social causality. Rothenberg's path-breaking and systematic study of 'extimate causality,' combining psychoanalysis and emancipatory social theory, goes a long way towards formulating decisive new answers to these perennial questions."
Peter Hallward, Middlesex University

"Rothenberg's insights into the structure of the subject and its relevance for social and political theory are peerless. For anyone beginning to study the themes and thinkers covered in this book, this is the place to start."
Ed Pluth, California State University