Latest / New Books in American Studies
David Swift, "A Left for Itself: Left-Wing Hobbyists and Performative Radicalism" (Zero Books, 2019)
Why has the recent crisis of capitalism benefitted the nationalist right rather than the left? Is there a tension between socio-economic realities and the politico-cultural views of leftists? In his new book A Left for Itself:Left-Wing Hobbyists and Performative Radicalism (Zero Books, 2019), David Swift argues that the left is dominated by what he terms hobbyists and performative radicals. An overwhelmingly white, middle class, elite educated left is, according to Swift, searching for a past-time rather than fighting for basic needs. Building on earlier work on the left during WWI, Swift…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.