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From Nationalism to Pluralism

Marc Stears

in Progressives, Pluralists, and the Problems of the State: Ideologies of Reform in the United States and Britain, 1909–1926

Looking on into Britain in 1914, Herbert Croly, Walter Lippmann, and Walter Weyl paid relatively little attention to the early pluralist stirrings of G. D. H. Cole and Harold Laski. During the early ... More

Looking on into Britain in 1914, Herbert Croly, Walter Lippmann, and Walter Weyl paid relatively little attention to the early pluralist stirrings of G. D. H. Cole and Harold Laski. During the early years of the war, it was the theorists of the Fabian Society and their allies on the left of the New Liberal movement who provided the most enticing conceptual and political agenda overseas. These British thinkers, Croly and colleagues believed, shared essentially the same view of liberty and of community as the nationalist progressives. Croly was certain, as were his colleagues, that the war's greatest intellectual legacy should not be the abandonment of progressive ideals but a thoroughgoing ‘reconsideration of former assumptions’. This chapter examines this reconsideration. It argues, in particular, that throughout these years academic and practical developments in Britain continued to offer hope for American nationalist reformers even in the aftermath of the First World War. What changed was the nature and focus of the nationalist progressives' interest.Less

Epilogue

Paul A. Boghossian

in Fear of Knowledge: Against Relativism and Constructivism

This concluding chapter explains why a constructivist view of knowledge is neither good philosophy, nor good progressive politics (as many of its proponents appear to believe it to be).

Progressive Varieties

David Howell

in MacDonald's Party: Labour Identities and Crisis 1922-1931

The Labour Party meeting held in the spring of 1924 featured two new party recruits, Oswald and Cynthia Mosley. The inclusion of a woman was indicative of the degree to which the Labour Party was ... More

The Labour Party meeting held in the spring of 1924 featured two new party recruits, Oswald and Cynthia Mosley. The inclusion of a woman was indicative of the degree to which the Labour Party was integrated into the dominant culture, an integration which limited any iconoclasm and involved an effective acquiescence in inequalities. In the election of November 1922, Labour gained three seats in Sheffield, a city where Liberalism was in confused retreat. These parliamentary successes were the prelude to a Labour majority on the city council four years later. In a heavily industrial city, these advances seemed indicative of the party's potential strength amongst specific working-class occupations. Yet none of Sheffield's Labour victors in 1922 came from the trade union movement. For some recruits, the Labour Party of Ramsay MacDonald and Philip Snowden seemed attractive. In the 1920s, this pattern of recruitment seemed to highlight a shift in progressive politics that fitted into a broader vision of Labour's Forward March. This presentation simplified the complex routes by which Liberals crossed into the Labour Party.Less

Introduction: American Business, American Politics

Benjamin C. Waterhouse

in Lobbying America: The Politics of Business from Nixon to NAFTA

This introductory chapter argues that the decline of liberal and progressive politics and the ascent of a business-oriented, neoliberal political culture did not emerge naturally from the exigencies ... More

This introductory chapter argues that the decline of liberal and progressive politics and the ascent of a business-oriented, neoliberal political culture did not emerge naturally from the exigencies of economic crisis or the inexorable logic of political traditions, but rather as the result of specific efforts by a diverse set of conservative activists. Although their organizational cohesion did not endure, organized American business leaders nonetheless established a vital legacy that continues to shape politics into the twenty-first century. Through their political mobilization, these workhorses of the industrial economy helped establish the political preconditions for the success of conservative politics, electorally and in policymaking. By successfully parlaying their economic clout into a broad-reaching movement, they cemented a conservative and market-oriented political vision whose legacy lingers today.Less

Ethics, Politics, Limits

Derrida Levinas and Nancy

in Ethics and Politics after Poststructuralism: Levinas, Derrida and Nancy

Chapter 1 traces the debate between ‘poststructuralist’ ethics and its critics in IR and Politics, in which poststructuralist approaches are accused of ‘leading nowhere’. In response to the ... More

Chapter 1 traces the debate between ‘poststructuralist’ ethics and its critics in IR and Politics, in which poststructuralist approaches are accused of ‘leading nowhere’. In response to the accusation that these approaches to ethics encounter their limits when pushed to account for their political implications it asks what assumptions inform the construction of the question of progressive politics as problematic for poststructuralism. The chapter offers an outline of the ways in which poststructural work calls into question foundational theoretical approaches to ethics through the concept of relationality. It then discusses the tensions which emerge when the challenge of making ethics ‘politically useful’ is taken up by poststructuralist authors, with particular focus on the concepts of alterity and difference in the work of David Campbell and Simon Critchley. Finally, it outlines alternative approaches which provide resources for thinking about ethics and politics without reproducing the limits put in place by this dominant context.Less

Integrating Culture and Politics

in Cultural Dilemmas of Progressive Politics: Styles of Engagement among Grassroots Activists

What kind of relationships between culture and progressive politics are possible and desirable? This chapter first clarifies this question by examining its context—the increased salience of cultural ... More

What kind of relationships between culture and progressive politics are possible and desirable? This chapter first clarifies this question by examining its context—the increased salience of cultural themes within late twentieth-century American politics—and distinguishing between two different senses in which politics can be cultural. Then it presents some suggestions for how the cultural dimension of progressive politics could be enriched. As the data indicate, progressives can choose their issues and modes of discourse independently. A focus on economic issues need not imply a culturally anemic way of doing politics. In fact, the importance of expansive discourse and lively cultural practices is arguably greater in the economic realm.Less

Varying Styles of Political Activity

in Cultural Dilemmas of Progressive Politics: Styles of Engagement among Grassroots Activists

This chapter aims to examine differences in the cultural dimension of politics—and especially progressive politics. Some of the problems of progressive politics lie in its cultural work. To diagnose ... More

This chapter aims to examine differences in the cultural dimension of politics—and especially progressive politics. Some of the problems of progressive politics lie in its cultural work. To diagnose or address these problems one needs to examine the modes of discourse progressives use, the cultural bases they implicitly or explicitly draw upon, and how these can be claimed more effectively. The chapter intends to show how progressive politics often uses modes of discourse that are cautious and constrained to the point of being anemic, and argues that recovering the capacity to express moral outrage, universal claims of justice, and visions of a better society is essential if progressive political initiatives are to prosper—or deserve to prosper. The chapter presents a set of examples showing how styles of discourse vary independently of the political content of the discourse. After these examples, it examines the nature of variations in modes of discourse and argues briefly that such variations are important for understanding American politics and the problems of progressive politics.Less

Individualism and its Discontents

in Cultural Dilemmas of Progressive Politics: Styles of Engagement among Grassroots Activists

How do the case studies and the way of thinking about public discourse speak to contemporary debates about the American cultural scene—the ideologies, religions, and views of the world—and about the ... More

How do the case studies and the way of thinking about public discourse speak to contemporary debates about the American cultural scene—the ideologies, religions, and views of the world—and about the impact of these cultural forms on the potentials for progressive politics? This chapter addresses this topic by considering the views of various social critics (along with scholars and journalists) and comparing them to what one sees when one observes activist groups. The chapter discusses the problems and possibilities of individualism and civil society in America. It argues that progressives actually need individualism, but of a particular kind: an individualism that seeks justice and liberty equally, that neither rejects rights language nor accepts it uncritically, and that does not assume that liberty or the individual are “natural” phenomena. The chapter also shows how elements of such an individualism can be found in contemporary activism.Less

Davis, California: Home Rule Civics and Biodefense

Thomas D. Beamish

in Community at Risk: Biodefense and the Collective Search for Security

Chapter 3 empirically examines the risk dispute that erupted in Davis, California, and how the community’s style of home rule civics and discourse shaped local deliberations regarding the University ... More

Chapter 3 empirically examines the risk dispute that erupted in Davis, California, and how the community’s style of home rule civics and discourse shaped local deliberations regarding the University of California–Davis’s (UCD) biodefense plans. The chapter develops the role that Davis’s civic and political history has played in generating a field of political relations and set of value claims that heavily influenced civic dynamics in town. The chapter specifically focuses on the political-cultural resources mobilized to justify local opposition in the risk dispute surrounding UCD’s biodefense ambitions, while also addressing the counterclaims of those who supported the university and its plans. Chapter 3 demonstrates that the claims levied in the risk dispute emerged from a specific civic and political legacy; they were not new, although they targeted a new technology and risk management plan.Less

Immigrants and Politics in San Francisco

Els de Graauw

in Making Immigrant Rights Real: Nonprofits and the Politics of Integration in San Francisco

This chapter examines the role of immigrant-serving nonprofits in promoting immigrant rights and integration in San Francisco. Even though San Francisco is known as the most left-leaning big city in ... More

This chapter examines the role of immigrant-serving nonprofits in promoting immigrant rights and integration in San Francisco. Even though San Francisco is known as the most left-leaning big city in the United States, immigrant-serving nonprofits had to struggle with three challenges embedded in the city's civic and political context. First, San Francisco has a hyperpluralist organizational landscape where immigrant-serving nonprofits must compete with many other interest groups seeking to effect policy change. Second, political elites in San Francisco have put a lot of effort into promoting development policies that strengthen the city's economy, thus making it challenging for immigrant-serving nonprofits to advocate redistributive measures. Finally, the city's progressive political culture can be a liability for immigrant-serving nonprofits if the policies they promote run against federal immigration enforcement goals.Less

Introduction: The Best-Kept Secret in America

Micaela di Leonardo

in Black Radio/Black Resistance: The Life & Times of the Tom Joyner Morning Show

This chapter introduces The Tom Joyner Morning Show and describes its origin, format, audience, music, progressive politics, wit, growth, and longevity. I lay out my discovery of the show, my ... More

This chapter introduces The Tom Joyner Morning Show and describes its origin, format, audience, music, progressive politics, wit, growth, and longevity. I lay out my discovery of the show, my increasing fandom, and the unintentionally lengthy research period that ensued. I also lay out the meanings of the public sphere and counterpublics, and identify The Tom Joyner Morning Show as constituting a black working-class counterpublic. I consider the issues of celebrity culture, generational divides, neoliberal shift, and the recession of 2008. I document the show’s neglect in the larger public sphere and speculate on the reasons, including “saints or sinners” framings and high-tech snobbery.Less

Far-right Media on the Internet: Culture, Discourse and Power

Chris Atton

in An Alternative Internet: Radical Media, Politics and Creativity

This chapter examines how technological and cultural resources are being deployed by far-right media in the United Kingdom, paying attention to how these ‘repressive’ media are being reconstructed by ... More

This chapter examines how technological and cultural resources are being deployed by far-right media in the United Kingdom, paying attention to how these ‘repressive’ media are being reconstructed by their producers as forms of progressive politics. It looks at the discourse of the British National Party's (BNP) web site and analyses the site as a form of alternative media, focusing on how it involves members and supporters in its discursive construction of racism. The BNP site reminds us that ‘alternative media’ need not solely be concerned with struggles for social justice and the liberation of the oppressed. The repressive media of the far right, however, share aspects of their discourse with that of progressive media such as Independent Media Centres. Notions such as post-colonialism, repression and multiculturalism recur throughout both. In the case of the far right these terms are turned on their heads and employed to represent the constituencies of the far right as victims of repression themselves.Less

Divergence: Politicos and militants: 1972–1988

Richard Reed

in Paramilitary loyalism: Identity and change

This chapter advances the analysis to the end of the 1980s. While sectarian and internecine violence continued to set the context, this period was also notable for a number of political initiatives ... More

This chapter advances the analysis to the end of the 1980s. While sectarian and internecine violence continued to set the context, this period was also notable for a number of political initiatives developed by the UVF and UDA. These include the formation of the Volunteer Political Party (VPP) and later the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), the constitutional experimentations contained in Glen Barr’s Ulster independence initiative, and the 1987 Common Sense document. Consistent with the interactional theory of identity discussed in chapter 1, this chapter argues that the development of these nascent loyalist political identities was underwritten by a series of encounters: domestically with trade unionists and independent unionists, but also with various groups abroad, including putatively hostile Irish-Americans. The narrative explores how the development of political thinking was also predicated upon a growing disenchantment with unionist ideologies, a deepening sense of betrayal and hostility towards Britain, and increasing calls for loyalist self-determination.Less

An Introduction to Prophetic Activism

Helene Slessarev-Jamir

in Prophetic Activism: Progressive Religious Justice Movements in Contemporary America

This introductory chapter provides an overview of prophetic activism. Contemporary prophetic activism has grown in direct response to the steady reversal of both formal and substantive rights ... More

This introductory chapter provides an overview of prophetic activism. Contemporary prophetic activism has grown in direct response to the steady reversal of both formal and substantive rights triggered by the shift from national to global capitalism and the accompanying rise to power of conservative free-market politics. In the United States, conservatives gained national political power in part by criticizing the marginalized, including “welfare moms,” young urban black and Latino men, gays and lesbians, undocumented immigrants, and Muslims. This book suggests that religion can be and is being used to frame a progressive politics that prophetically calls for justice, peace, and the healing of the world. Indeed, some of the most significant social movements of the twentieth century emerged from exactly such interpretations of ancient religious texts that pointed to the essential dignity and equality of all human beings as rooted in God's love for all humanity.Less