Arguing that Western power is both "government" and "glory," this book reveals the "theological-economic" paradigm at the origin of several of the most important components of modern politics and illuminates the function of consent and the media in today's democracies. "Agamben's argument is complex, multifaceted, and comprehensive, and, indeed, it offers a useful model His method is a philosophical archaeology that joins philosophy and philology in seeking those moments in history in which concepts are formulated or significantly altered and then order subsequent modes of discourse and thought with long term ramifications for human society."