Giddens Beyond Left and Right

The Future of Radical Politics
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7456-7716-3
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, E-Book

How should one understand the nature and possibilities of politicalradicalism today? The political radical is normally thought of assomeone who stands on the left, opposing backward-lookingconservatism. In the present day, however, the left has turneddefensive, while the right has become radical, advocating the freeplay of market forces no matter what obstacles of tradition orcustom stand in their way.
What explains such a curious twist of perspective? In answeringthis question Giddens develops a new framework for radicalpolitics, drawing freely on what he calls "philosophicconservatism", but applying this outlook in the service of valuesnormally associated with the Left. The ecological crisis is at thecore of this analysis, but is understood by Giddens in anunconventional way - as a response to a world in which modernityhas run up against its limits as a social and moral order. The endof nature, as an entity existing independently of humanintervention, and the end of tradition, combined with the impact ofglobalization, are the forces which now have to be confronted, madeuse of and coped with.
This book provides a powerful interpretation of the rise offundamentalism, of democracy, the persistence of gender divisionsand the question of a normative political theory of violence. Itwill be essential reading for anyone seeking a novel approach tothe political challenges which we face at the turn of thetwenty-first century.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Giddens, Anthony

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface.
Introduction.
1. Conservatism: Radicalism Embraced.
2. Socialism: The Retreat from Radicalism.
3. The Social Revolutions of Our Time.
4. Two Theories of Democratization.
5. Contradictions of the Welfare State.
6. Generative Politics and Positive Welfare.
7. Positive Welfare, Poverty and Life Values.
8. Modernity under a Negative Sign: Ecological Issues and LifePolitics.
9. Political Theory and the Problem of Violence.
10. Questions of Agency and Values.
Notes.
Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Anthony Giddens is Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science.