Intellectual Radicalism after 1989: Crisis and Re-orientation in the British and the American Left

Cover -- Table of Contents -- I. Introduction: the Paradox of 1989 -- II. Analysing the Impact of 1989 on the British and the American Intellectual Left -- 1. 1989/91 and the Prospects of Socialism: Options for a Theoretical Debate of the Left on Strategies and Agencies -- 1.1. The Intellectuals' Core Ideas of Democratic Socialism -- 1.2. Social Democracy as a Model and Social Democratic Parties as Agents of Change? -- 1.3. Post-Marxism as a Re-formulation of, or a Departure from, Socialist Strategies for Change? -- 2. A Short History of the British and the American Intellectual Left and the Journals Analysed -- 2.1. The Many British New Lefts -- 2.2. New Left Review and Socialist Register -- 2.3. Two Generations of the American Intellectual Left -- 2.4. Dissent and Monthly Review -- 2.5. Similarites and Differences among the British and the American Lefts -- III. Crisis and Re-orientation: Evidence from the Journals -- 1. The Moment of 1989: Emotional Responses to the Collapse of the Eastern Bloc -- 2. Assessments of State Socialism -- 3. The State of Theory -- 3.1. Marxism -- 3.2. The Retrieval of Classics from the Radical and Socialist Traditions -- 3.3. Marxism and Radicalism -- 4. Out of the Impasse: the Search for Models -- 4.1. Dimensions of Democratic Socialism -- 4.2. Market Socialism - a Promising Project? -- 4.3. Sweden and Other Dreamlands -- 4.4. Europe: Capitalist Club or Site of Struggle and Project for the Left? -- 4.5. Locating Socialism -- 5. Re-starting History: Agency and Strategy -- IV. Between Radical Critique and Moderate Recommendations? -- 1. Between Social Democracy and post-Marxism? -- 1.1. Democratic Socialism and Social Democracy -- 1.2. Neo-Marxism and Post-Marxism -- 2. British and American or Anglo-American Re-orientations? -- 3. Outlook and Conclusion -- V. Bibliography -- VI. Acknowledgements.

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- I. Introduction: the Paradox of 1989 -- II. Analysing the Impact of 1989 on the British and the American Intellectual Left -- III. Crisis and Re-orientation: Evidence from the Journals -- IV. Between Radical Critique and Moderate Recommendations? -- V. Bibliography -- VI. Acknowledgements -- VII. Detailed Table of Contents.

Left-wing intellectuals in Britain and the US had long repudiated the Soviet regime. Why was the collapse of the Eastern Bloc experienced as a shock that destabilised their identities and political allegiances then? What happened to a collective project that had started out to formulate a socialist vision different from both really existing socialism and social democracy? This study endeavours to answer both questions, focusing on generational networks rather than individuals and investigating political academic journals after 1989 to paint the picture of a Left deeply troubled by the triumph of a capitalism unfettered by any counter-force