Confessions from the Left
On the Pain, Necessity, and Joys of Political Renewal
Will be published approx. on 1. August 1998
Book
Paperback/Softback
IX, 318 pages
978-0-8204-3913-6 (ISBN)
Description
The crisis of the left is an historic rethinking and renewal project, not an «end of history». All political value systems (liberalism, conservatism, socialism) have in the past been forced to undergo painful criticism and re-evaluation of their politics, and they have revitalized themselves, because their values speak to core problems of the human condition. Seeming confusion and loss of certainty are necessary parts of the renewal process, now underway with the collapse of communism and the decline of the social democratic welfare state. Confession indicates both willingness to confront past error, and confirmation of the commitment to renewal. John Nagle's work sets the context for left rethinking, identifies crucial positions for reworking, and offers tentative ideas about an emergent new synthesis. A renewed left politics is essential for building a progressive counterbalance to a dominant global liberalism.
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Person
The Author: John D. Nagle was educated at MIT and Harvard University. Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University for thirty years, he has taught and conducted research in London, Strasbourg, Bonn, and Marburg, among other locations. He has published numerous books and articles on comparative political system performance, on right-radicalism and neo-fascism in Europe, and on political elite recruitment. Professor Nagle is from the generation which bridges Old and New lefts: active in the antiwar movement of the 1960, but skeptical of the identity politics of the new social movements.