Another day in the Idea Lab, the basement office where I find myself “Ridin’ the Storm Out” as REO did so many years ago.
For those with an interest in left politics, I have some additional reading recommendations.
A Party With Socialists In It: A History of the Labor Left by Simon Hannah with a foreword by John McDonnell(!). This book offers an engaging exploration of the Labour Party, from its founding to the Corbyn era, and how the “Broad Church” has navigated the tension between its various factions and tendencies while both in and out of government. The inclusion of Jeremy Corbyn’s quotation of Shelley’s “The Masque of Anarchy” was pleasing grace note near the conclusion of this accessible work.
Coming in the mail: Ralph Miliband’s Parliamentary Socialism. This classic examines the challenges and opportunities facing socialists within the Labour Party. As the Party is currently winding its way through a leadership election (and thus the fundamental question of, which way forward?), this is an opportune moment for a review of the Labour Party and how it has dealt with more radical ideas and policy proposals.
Turning stateside, I am very much looking forward to the April 28 release of Meagan Day’s and Micah Uetricht’s Bigger Than Bernie: How We Go from the Sanders Campaign to Democratic Socialism. Day is a staff writer at Jacobin and Uetricht is an assistant editor at Jacobin and an In These Times contributing editor. Regardless of how the contest for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination turns out, there is a movement out there that is larger than any single person. This work promises to offer a “road map” forward. Seems like a must-read for those interested in alternatives to barbarism.
In solidarity.
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