{"product_id":"why-america-needs-a-left-9780745644851","title":"Why America Needs a Left","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe United States today cries out for a robust, self-respecting, intellectually sophisticated left, yet the very idea of a left appears to have been discredited. In this brilliant new book, Eli Zaretsky rethinks the idea by examining three key moments in American history: the Civil War, the New Deal and the range of New Left movements in the 1960s and after including the civil rights movement, the women''s movement and gay liberation.In each period, he argues, the active involvement of the left - especially its critical interaction with mainstream liberalism - proved indispensable. American liberalism, as represented by the Democratic Party, is necessarily spineless and ineffective without a left. Correspondingly, without a strong liberal center, the left becomes sectarian, authoritarian, and worse.  \u003cp\u003eWritten in an accessible way for the general reader and the undergraduate student, this book provides a fresh perspective on American politics and political history. It has often been s\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the \u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e award for Outstanding Academic Title\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"For those disenchanted citizens who have watched, open-mouthed, as America’s national politics have boon increasingly over-run with unabashed hypocrisy, this book will be a small current of fresh air showing the 'influence an intransigent minority can exert on a relatively passive majority'. Hopefully, this book will also be read as an impetus to serious political engagement and a return to participatory democracy in a post-\u003ci\u003eCitizens United\u003c\/i\u003e America.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLSE Politics Blog\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"Eli Zaretsky's 1976 book \u003ci\u003eCapitalism, the Family, and Personal Life\u003c\/i\u003e had a major impact on my generation of feminist thinkers. Now, with \u003ci\u003eWhy America Needs a Left\u003c\/i\u003e, he reaches out to a new generation of activists, offering a brilliant analysis of the role of radicals in keeping America true to its noblest vision of itself. Historically sweeping and open to all sources of insight from pop culture to political theory, this book is a great pleasure to read. It's also a brave and timely call to a fresh era of struggle for social and economic justice.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eBarbara Ehrenreich\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"An exciting and necessary book for anyone interested in the history and future of US politics. Eli Zaretsky has written a sophisticated essay on the significance of the US left, one which is, at the same time, alert to historical contingency and rich with empirical insights.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eMichael Kazin, Georgetown University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Eli Zaretsky explores the historical relationship between the left and liberalism in the United States. While some historians dismiss the very notion of an American left, Zaretsky argues that it has made a profound impact on American political life.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments vii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction: America’s Three Great Crises and Three Lefts 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 Abolitionism and Racial Equality 16\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 The Popular Front and Social Equality 57\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 The New Left and Participatory Democracy 100\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion: The American Left Today 159\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes 171\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 194\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49404386804055,"sku":"9780745644851","price":11.77,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780745644851.jpg?v=1730486299","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/why-america-needs-a-left-9780745644851","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}