Locating the Left in Difficult Times

This book investigates notions of the individual, society, the state, economic relations and historical change that exist in the political left by drawing on contemporary philosophical, political and social thought. Using a discourse perspective, this work brings together the many fractious strains in the left, including social democracy, anarchism, communism and market socialism, and discusses them in terms of their relationships with each other. Not only does the study disentangle the left from liberal capitalism and progressive movementssuch as those against racism and inequalityit sees the current left as intertwined with its history and its visions of the future.

Asserts that the left must be understood in a new discourse to remain relevant to contemporary life, while disentangling it from contemporary social movements to retain its historical consciousness Avoids the narrow linguistic trappings of scholarly debate for common language and thoroughly exemplified sources Studies examples from diverse political climates, including North America, Britain, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and scholars from political philosophers, historians,to economists Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext
Gordon Hak is Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at Vancouver Island University, CN

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. What We Mean When We Talk About Capitalism and the Left.- 3. Explorations in Discourse.- 4. The Question of Change.- 5. Listening to History.- 6. Institutions and -Isms to 1900.- 7. A Left Comes into Its Own, 1900-1950.- 8. Beyond Social Democracy.- 9. The Left Makes History, 1950-1975.- 10. The Left in Retreat.-11. Current Affairs.- 12. Populism.- 13. Social Democracy and Market Socialism.- 14. An Anarchist Prospectus, Communism Revisited, a Dash of Populism.