Suchergebnisse

THIS ARTICLE CONSIDERS THE REPUBLICAN CONTRACT WITH AMERICA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS. IT ARGUES THAT ALTHOUGH OPPONENTS OF THE CONTRACT TRY TO DOWNPLAY ITS SIGNIFICANCE (BY POINTING TO THE FACT THAT IT SEEMED TO PLAY ONLY A MINOR ROLE IN THE REPUBLICAN LANDSLIDE IN 1994), THE CONTRACT IS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL POLITICAL INITIATIVES IN RECENT YEARS. IT HAS DAMAGED AN ALREADY FRAGILE DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATION AND UNIFIED REPUBLICAN FORCES TO AN IMPRESSIVE EXTENT. IT IS ALSO A COMPELLING MOVE IN A CAMPAIGN TO REBUILD A NATIONAL REPUBLICAN REGIME THAT BILL CLINTON WOUNDED WITHOUT DISMANTLING.

THE FAILED NOMINATION OF LANI GUINIER TO HEAD THE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION OF THE UNITED STATES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MERITS REEXAMINATION BECAUSE THE TENSIONS THAT PROPELLED HER REJECTION PLAY A LARGE ROLE IN AMERICAN POLITICS. FIRST, THE EPISODE ILLUSTRATES THAT WHITE INTELLECTUALS ARE FREQUENTLY CONDESCENDING AND UNINTERESTED IN THE WORK OF THEIR BLACK COLLEAGUES. SECOND, THE SUPPORT OF GUINIER'S NOMINATION WOULD HAVE PROPELLED A STRAIGHTFORWARD DISCUSSION ABOUT RACE--SOMETHING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC STILL FINDS DIFFICULT TO ACCOMPLISH. THIRD, THE CRUCIAL FIGURE IN STOPPING THE NOMINATION WAS BILL CLINTON, A PERSONAL FRIEND OF GUINIER'S. HIS ROLE IN STOPPING THE NOMINATION PROVIDES FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT THE CENTRIST DEMOCRATIC APPROACH TO RACIAL POLITICS IS TO ENFORCE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS IN ONLY A MODERATE WAY.

FAILED EFFORTS AT A NEW MARXIST ORTHODOXY HAVE OPENED THE WAY TO A CREATIVE INTERACTION AMONG THEORIES OFTEN CONSIDERED INCOMPATIBLE. AS MARXISM HAS BECOME MORE LEGITIMATE, ITS ORTHODOXIES HAVE DECAYED. THE PROMISE OF THIS LOGIC IS A FRUITFUL CONVERGENCE AMONG MARXIST, DEMOCRATIC, AND LIBERAL THEORIES CONCERNED WITH A DEMOCRATIC POLITICS IN ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES.

THE AUTHOR DESCRIBES THE EFFORTS BY THE LEFT TO REGROUP AFTER THE REAGAN YEARS, AND EXAMINES THE VAST TERRITORY WHICH THE LEFT COVERS. LIBERALISM IS SEEN AS HAVING LITTLE SUBSTANTIVE POLITICAL CONTENT. THE PROSPECT OF A NEW PROGRESSIVE ALTERNATIVE AND THE POLICY DIFFERENCE WHICH IS INVOLVES IS EXAMINED.

THE FIRST PART OF THIS ARTICLE SURVEYS THE MAIN EXISTING POLITICAL FORCES, IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 1980 ELECTIONS. THE SECOND PART OF THIS ARTICLE TURNS FROM A GENERAL DISCUSSION OF POLITICAL FORCES TO AN ASSESSMENT OF THE POSSIBILITIES FACING THE LEFT(S) IN THIS COUNTRY.

IN THE ONGOING DEBATE ABOUT WHETHER RADICAL DEMOCRACY SHOULD REPLACE SOCIALISM AS THE GOVERNING LOGIC OF THE LEFT, THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES DEFINATIONS OF ACTIVISM IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT. IT NOTES THAT RECENT HISTORY HAS SHOWN THAT THE CONCEPT OF DEMOCRACY CAN NO LONGER BE CONSIDERED ON PURELY NATIONAL TERMS. IT IS ARGUED THAT MUCH OF THE CURRENT DISCUSSION DOESN'T RECOGNIZE THE APORIA BETWEEN A VISION OF THE LEFT IN THE US AND A VISION OF THE LEFT IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT.