ABSTRACT
The introduction explores the potential of the notion of the political imaginary for addressing the problems and conundrums of social theory. The differences between the standard conceptions of politics and that of the political imaginary are sketched. Political imaginaries comprise the symbolic representation of society and the constitution of the political. Social theory is shown to always depend on the creativity of the imagination, and it is proposed that the incipient political imaginaries of social theories condition their construction and manifest their basic presuppositions. The principal conceptualizations of the political imaginary are surveyed, particularly those of Lefort, Castoriadis and Taylor. The reconfiguration of the relationship between social theory and political philosophy in recent decades is shown to intersect with the considerations that warrant the theoretical and analytical innovations pursued in later chapters, like the effects of institutional changes, how social reflexivity generated greater uncertainty about sociological reasoning, the changing complexion of social critique and the relationship of theory and practice. The salience of a stereoscopic perspective for understanding major instances of twenty-first-century social contestation and to renewing critical social theory is highlighted. Social Theory and the Political Imaginary’s leading themes of practice, critique and history are clarified.
