The Imaginary Institution of Society

Cornelius Castoriadis offers an analysis of the unique character of the socio-historical world and its relations to the individual, to language and to nature. He argues that most traditional conceptions of society and history overlook the essential feature of the social-historical world, namely that this world is not articulated once and for all, but is in each case the creation of the society concerned. In emphasizing the element of creativity, Castoriadis seeks to open the way for rethinking political theory and practice in terms of the autonomous and explicit self-institution of society.