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Kapoor cuts through the tsunami of celebrity banality like a hyper-critical porpoise with purpose - a sleek, brilliant riposte to gormless media values. Paul A. Taylor, University of Leeds Ilan Kapoor's stunning new book exposes the most appealing--and thus most dangerous--sacred cows of contemporary ideology: the humanitarian actor, the billionaire philanthropist, and the NGO. Kapoor shows that it is precisely where we feel most emotionally satisfied that we must be most suspicious. Celebrity Humanitarianism represents a landmark in the critique of ideology and a decisive blow in the struggle against apolitical ethics Todd McGowan, University of Vermont Celebrity Humanitarianism critiques an intriguing phenomenon: spectacularized humanitarianism. Publics are increasingly mobilized as visual witnesses to images of stars doing relief work or posing with newly transnationally adopted children; benevolent corporate billionaires on redemptive missions in Africa; or iconic manoeuvres of semiotically savvy NGOs. Against the popular adulation of these figures or their liberal recuperation, Kapoor's brilliant Zizekian analysis complicates this picture with a disarming thesis: celebrity humanitarianism legitimates and indeed promotes liberal capitalism and perpetuates global inequity. This is an enjoyable yet critical, serious and non-celebratory approach to celebrity and corporate philanthropy, as well as the disavowal characteristic of our post-political age. Diane Rubenstein, Cornell University, USA This short book is engaging, witty and it carries an important message. Highly recommended to all, especially to those who like Bono. Ray Kiely, Professor of International Politics, Queen Mary University of London

Author Information

Ilan Kapoor is a Professor at the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto. He is the author of The Postcolonial Politics of Development (Routledge, 2008). His research interests include critical development studies, postcolonial theory/politics, psychoanalysis and Marxism, participation/democratic theory, and social and environmental movements.

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