Research Catalog

Title

Beyond left and right : the future of radical politics / Anthony Giddens.

Author

Giddens, Anthony

Publication

Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, 1994.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

vii, 276 p.; 24 cm.

Summary

How should one understand the nature and possibilities of political radicalism today? The political radical is normally thought of as someone who stands on the left, opposing backward-looking conservatism. In the present day, however, the left has turned defensive, while the right has become radical, advocating the free play of market forces no matter what obstacles of tradition or custom stand in their way. What explains such a curious twist of perspective? In answering this question, Giddens develops a new framework for radical politics, drawing on what he calls "philosophic conservatism," but applying this outlook in the service of values normally associated with the left. The ecological crisis is at the core of this analysis, but is understood by Giddens in an unconventional way - as a response to a world in which modernity has run up against its limits as a social and moral order. The end of nature, as an entity existing independently of human intervention, and the end of tradition, combined with the impact of globalization, are the forces which now have to be confronted, made use of and coped with. This book provides a powerful interpretation of the rise of fundamentalism, of democracy, the persistence of gender divisions and the question of a normative political theory of violence. It will be essential reading for anyone seeking a novel approach to the political challenges we face at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Subject

• Conservatism
• Radicalism
• Welfare state
• Welfare state

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [254]-262) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Conservatism : radicalism embraced -- Socialism : the retreat from radicalism -- The social revolutions of our time -- Two theories of democratization -- Contradictions of the welfare state -- Generative politics and positive welfare -- Positive welfare, poverty and life values -- Modernity under a negative sign : ecological issues and life politics -- Political theory and the problem of violence -- Questions of agency and values.

ISBN

• 0804724504
• 0804724512 (pbk.)

LCCN

^^^94066194^//r95

OCLC

• 32371646
• SCSB-10465244

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library