Multitudes is a French philosophical

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, political and artistic monthly journal founded in 2000 by Yann Moulier-Boutang. It is thematically situated in the theoretical framework of the seminal work Empire

Empire (book)

Empire is a text written by post-Marxist philosophers Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt. The book, written in the mid-1990s, was published in 2000 and quickly sold beyond its expectations as an academic work.-Summary:...

 by Antonio Negri

Antonio Negri

Antonio Negri is an Italian Marxist sociologist and political philosopher.Negri is best-known for his co-authorship of Empire, and secondarily for his work on Spinoza. Born in Padua, he became a political philosophy professor in his hometown university...

 and Michael Hardt

Michael Hardt

Michael Hardt is an American literary theorist and political philosopher perhaps best known for Empire, written with Antonio Negri and published in 2000...

. The journal, like the book, focuses on the further elaboration of the philosophical and political thought of the Italian operaismo, but seems also to rest on Foucault

Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...

, Althusser, and Deleuze's thought. It is a successor to the review Futur Antérieur edited by Jean-Marie Vincent (1934-2004) and Toni Negri, at the dep. of political science - University Vincennes Paris 8. It is a member of the Eurozine

Eurozine

Eurozine is a network of European cultural magazines based in Vienna, linking up more than 70 partner magazines and institutions from 34 European countries...

 network.

Multitudes's name comes from the Spinozist

Baruch Spinoza

Baruch de Spinoza and later Benedict de Spinoza was a Dutch Jewish philosopher. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death...

 eponymic concept

Multitude

Multitude is a political term first used by Machiavelli and reiterated by Spinoza. Recently the term has returned to prominence because of its conceptualization as a new model of resistance against the global capitalist system as described by political theorists Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri in...

. It has been thought by Toni Negri as an alternative to the classic conception of the people

People

People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...

, class consciousness

Class consciousness

Class consciousness is consciousness of one's social class or economic rank in society. From the perspective of Marxist theory, it refers to the self-awareness, or lack thereof, of a particular class; its capacity to act in its own rational interests; or its awareness of the historical tasks...

, or nation-state

Nation-state

The nation state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity...

. It publishes a lot on themes relating to the information society

Information society

The aim of the information society is to gain competitive advantage internationally through using IT in a creative and productive way. An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic,...

 and the knowledge economy

Knowledge economy

The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies to...

, supporting in particular the thesis of a "cognitive labour" and "affective labour" which can not be measured by standard means of labor-time, and also insists on the cooperative aspects of production in modern society. For this reason and others, it tends to argue in favour of a guaranteed minimum income

Guaranteed minimum income

Guaranteed minimum income is a system of social welfare provision that guarantees that all citizens or families have an income sufficient to live on, provided they meet certain conditions. Eligibility is typically determined by citizenship, a means test and either availability for the labour...

.

Contents published by Multitudes are mostly in French, although some articles are translated (in English, Spanish, etc.) and are under a Creative Commons

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...

 license.

Some members

See full list

• Yann Moulier-Boutang
• Eric Alliez
• Barbara Cassin
  Barbara Cassin
  Barbara Cassin is a French philologist and philosopher, born in 1947 in Boulogne-Billancourt. A past Director at Jacques Derrida's Collège international de philosophie and director of research at the CNRS,. In 2006 she succeeded Jonathan Barnes to the directorship of the leading centre of...
  
  
• Maurizio Lazzarato
• Judith Revel
• Toni Negri
• Michael Hardt
  Michael Hardt
  Michael Hardt is an American literary theorist and political philosopher perhaps best known for Empire, written with Antonio Negri and published in 2000...
  
  
• Anne Querrien
• Patrice Riemens
  Patrice Riemens
  Patrice Riemens is a geographer and currently the Fellow of the Waag Society in Amsterdam. He is a promoter of Open Knowledge and Free Software, and has been involved as a "FLOSSopher" at the Asia Source and Africa Source camps, held in 2005 and 2006 to promote FLOSS among non-governmental...
  
  
• Nanni Balestrini
  Nanni Balestrini
  Nanni Balestrini is an Italian experimental poet, author and visual artist of the Neoavanguardia movement.- Context :Nanni Balestrini is associated with the Italian writers movement Neoavanguardia. He wrote for the magazine Il Verri, co-directed Alfabeta and was one of the Italian writers...
  
  
• Abdul-Karim Mustapha
• Charles Wolfe
• Antonella Corsani
• Bruno Karsenti
• Giuseppe Cocco