In a humane world, cruelty should not exist, and yet it has been a feature of our societies since time immemorial. From individual acts of cruelty to systematic torture and mass murder, cruelty has been humanity’s constant companion, attesting to a darker side of human nature.
In this wide-ranging cultural history, Wolfgang Müller-Funk examines the ways in which different thinkers and authors – from Herodotus to Nietzsche, from Seneca to Musil and Koestler – have conceptualized and tried to make sense of a phenomenon we would prefer to ignore.
Cruelty: A Cultural History by Wolfgang Müller-Funk. Out today in the UK.
“A marvel of narrative art … it’s the very best book I’ve read in quite a while.”
Sara Dowse reviews 'Marseille 1940' by Uwe Wittstock for
Inside Story
Visit the post for more.
22/10/2025
Two brilliant books just published in the UK.
📚'Chinese Platforms: A Critical Introduction' by Jian Lin, Wilfred Yang Wang, Ping Sun: The rise of the Chinese internet has reconfigured digital culture around the world. From social media platforms such as Tik Tok, WeChat and Douyin to utility platforms Didi and Eleme, the Chinese platform economy has shown a remarkable capability of innovation and growth, receiving great limitation as well as protection from the Chinese state. This is the first textbook to centre Chinese platforms and offer a critical introduction to their history, governance and social-political implications. https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=chinese-platforms-a-critical-introduction--9781509559176
📚'Fighting Polarisation: Shared Communicative Spaces in Divided Democracies' by Cherian George : Polarisation — the division of society into antagonistic “us-them” groups — is a global phenomenon undermining democracy in many societies. These divides are constructed, perpetuated, and toxified through communication. In the first global study of its kind, Cherian George demonstrates how people can counter polarisation through communicative practices. https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=fighting-polarisation-shared-communicative-spaces-in-divided-democracies--9781509564552
21/10/2025
“Engrossing … Marseille 1940 helps set the record straight of a man who saved thousands when the United States was turning away those huddled masses yearning for freedom. In these reactionary times, when millions of refugees are at risk all across the world, Wittstock’s book ought to shame us all into action.”
-Morten Høi Jensen,
Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB) review 'Marseille 1940: The Flight of Literature'.
Morten Høi Jensen reviews Uwe Wittstock’s “Marseille 1940: The Flight of Literature,” translated by Daniel Bowles.
07/10/2025
Don't miss Chang Kyung-Sup's webcast on Korea's compressed modernity and its risks
This is SUCH an important and well-written book, by my friend Ronan McCrea.
Gay people have been the biggest winners in the liberal rights revolution. Now that revolution is being reversed. This is a book about how we won, what it means that we are starting to lose, and how to protect ourselves now. Everyone should read it.
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Polity posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Polity is a leading international publisher in the social sciences and humanities and we publish some of the world's best authors in these fields. Our aim is to combine the publication of original, cutting-edge work of the highest quality with a systematic programme of textbooks and coursebooks for students and scholars in further and higher education.
The Polity list is particularly strong in the areas of sociology, politics and social and political theory. We also have strong lists in a range of other subjects including philosophy, history, literary studies, media and cultural studies, gender studies, art and anthropology.
We are committed to the diffusion of ideas across language barriers and we have a major translation programme. Among the many authors we translate are Pierre Bourdieu, Jürgen Habermas, T.W. Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Norbert Elias, Ulrich Beck, Niklas Luhmann, Norberto Bobbio, Gianni Vattimo, Jacques Derrida, Paul Ricoeur, Jean Baudrillard, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Georges Duby and Roger Chartier.
While primarily an academic publisher, many of our books are also of interest to a general readership and we are committed to publishing outstanding books which stimulate public debate about key issues in social, political and cultural life.
Established in 1984, Polity has grown rapidly into one of the world's most prestigious lists. We are an independent company with offices in Cambridge and Oxford in the UK and Boston in the US and our books are available throughout the world. Sales representation and distribution of Polity titles is provided by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
