Locating the Left in Difficult Times - Framing a Political Discourse for the Present

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 movements-such as those against racism and inequality-it sees the current left as intertwined with its history and its visions of the future.     

List of contents

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.

About the author

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

Summary

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 movements—such as those against racism and inequality—it sees the current left as intertwined with its history and its visions of the future.     

Product details

• Authors: Gordon Hak
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.07.2017
• EAN: 9783319543420
• ISBN: 978-3-31-954342-0
• No. of pages: 213
• Dimensions: 155 mm x 18 mm x 217 mm
• Weight: 385 g
• Illustrations: X, 213 p.
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political theories and the history of ideas; Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte, Amerika, B, Ideengeschichte, Geistesgeschichte, History, History: specific events & topics, History of Ideas, Politik und Staat, Geschichte: Ereignisse und Themen, Democracy, Political Science, Social & cultural history, Political Theory, Politics & government, Political science & theory, Political structures: democracy, auseinandersetzen, Political History, Political Science and International Studies, Intellectual History, United States of America, USA, World Politics, US Politics, United States—Politics and government, Intellectual life—History, Intellectual Studies, Labor History, Labor—History