>Michael is on to something. Whether or not his precise argument is
>correct, the concept of hegemony needs to be examined more closely than
>it usually is.
A recent attempt to do just that:
Beyond Hegemony: Towards a New Philosophy of Political Legitimacy, by Darrow Schecter. Reviews here <http://www.generation-online.org/other/legitimateflaw.htm> and <http://posthegemony.blogspot.com/2006/07/radical.html>. The consensus on the book, which I haven't read, is that it's nicely critical but in the end seems to want to rehabilitate liberalism.