I think Badiou's Theory of the Subject should be read as a condensation of the great debates initiated by the chinese communists regarding the interpretation of dialectics, that is the debate around the notion that "One divides into Two".

There doesn't seem to be much exploration here, but there is a rich philosophical history. Philosophers like Zhang Shiying took to studying Hegel's Science of Logic and regarded it as a much more important work than the Phenomenology. We all know the Phenomenology enjoyed a-

privileged status in the West. And we can discusss the quality of these initial interpretations, but what should be noted is that they were already prescient wr that the key to developing a materialist dialectics was in understanding the process of Hegel's dialectical logic.

This is why the tone of Theory of the Subject is so harsh and combative. Produced in the trenches of French academia, but already within the still to be digested experiences of May 68, it's far from being a mere academic product. It's a theory that reverberates continuity with-

these initial philosophical debates that were so important for future politics.

When reading Theory of the Subject one should keep in mind the french debates regarding structuralism. Meaning Althusser, Sartre, and the chinese debates surrounding the development of a materialist dialectics.