I have a third idea for a new book. This one would incorporate detail critical expositions of the philosophers/social theorists who have influenced me most, followed by my way of learning from each and ultimately synthesising their contributions.
The four people most salient are Marx, Wittgenstein, Habermas and Bhaskar (I am tempted by the notion of kicking off with Machiavelli, but maybe not: just a mention in the introduction, along with others, back to Heraclitus).
The emphasis would be on accurate but critical exegesis, on privileging what can be made of their work rather than faithful discipleship, and ultimately on synthesis rather than a jackdaw-like pick-and-mix eclecticism.
The interrogatory account of this quartet of thinkers would inform my treatment of them; in other words, I wouldn’t want just to produce another introduction to and encapsulation of their ideas.
Having mined and scavenged their ideas, the second part of the book would be devoted to my attempt at synthesis. The objective would be twofold: first, to afford a credible frame for grasping and explaining the contemporary social world, and second, to develop a substantive theory of discernment of its most significant features (that is, towards the conclusion of financial or ‘financialised’ capitalism).
I am warming to this third option. It might be a goer. If I decide on it – and manage to persuade a publisher of its potential merits – it is essential that I move on from previous published work. No more focus on health, health inequalities or stigma, about which I will have said quite enough in the absence of unanticipated and serendipitous events.