ABSTRACT
This chapter is to some extent a conclusion to Part I of the book. It brings together the issues discussed in the former chapter but lends them a very systematic interpretation. First, it discusses the breakthrough of concreteness into the abstract infrastructure of juridical-political modernity with reference to the concept of developmental trends. It then provides an analysis of the development of modern thought regarding rights and the state. Legitimation, legitimacy and crisis are for the first time introduced in the book. Finally, the chapter directly faces the imaginary of political modernity. It takes on in particular Marx's concept of ‘fetishism’ and his and Weber's view of reason and rationality. This leads to a dense though condensed discussion of these absolutely central concepts for modernity, especially political modernity. A brief analysis of relation between both concepts and affect closes the chapter.
