Decisively shaped by the turbulent atmosphere of war, occupation and resistance, the years 1943-1955 gave rise to a most unusual flowering of progressive initiatives in Catholic politics, theology and apostolic missions. Though suffering severe setbacks in the deep freeze of the Cold War politics, mid-Century European Left Catholicism was not without influence in the subsequent emergence of Latin American Liberation Theology and the deliberations of the Vatican II. This volume constitutes the first attempt to analyse the phenomenon of Western European Left Catholicism from a comparative and transnational perspective.
This book introduces entirely new invariants never considered before, in homological algebra and commutative (and even non-commutative) algebra. The C-completion C(M), and higher C-completions, Cn(M), are defined for an arbitrary left module M over a topological ring A. Spectral sequences are defined that use these invariants. Given a left module over a topological ring A, under mild conditions the usual Hausdorff completion: M^ can be recovered from the C-completion C(M), by taking the quotient module by the closure of {0}.The new invariants and tools in this book are expected to be used in the study of p-adic cohomology in algebraic geometry; and also in the study of p-adic Banach spaces — by replacing the cumbersome 'complete tensor product' of p-adic Banach spaces, with the more sophisticated 'C-complete tensor product', discussed in this book.It is also not unlikely that the further study of these new invariants may well develop into a new branch of abstract mathematics - connected with commutative algebra, homological algebra, and algebraic topology.
Our sense of history shapes how we think about ourselves. One of the distinguishing features of the left in Britain is that it holds to a remorselessly bleak and miserabilist view of our recent political history — one in which Margaret Thatcher's election in 1979 marked the start of a still-continuing fall from political grace made evident by the triumph of a free market get-what-you-can neoliberal ideology, dizzying levels of inequality, social decay, rampant individualism, state authoritarianism, and political corruption. The left does not like what has happened to us and it does not like what we have become. Andrew Hindmoor argues that this history is wrong and self-harming. It is wrong because Britain has in many respects become a more politically attractive and progressive country over the last few decades. It is self-harming because this bleak history undermines faith in politics. Post-Brexit, post-Grenfell, and post the 2010, 2015, and 2017 general elections, things may not, right now, look that great. But looked at over the longer haul, Britain is a long way from being a posterchild for neoliberalism. Left-wing ideas and arguments have shaped and continue to shape our politics.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures introduced to purportedly contain its spread have wrought an unprecedented global social transformation. Authoritarian measures such as lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and the enforced wearing of facemasks, have led to a biopolitical disenfranchisement of human rights and the encroachment of state and corporate directives onto private lives. By supporting these measures, the left has lost sight of its traditional critique of capital, the state, and class society and has instead reinforced existing power structures in the name of ‘saving lives’. In doing so, the left has contributed to widespread suffering, especially among the ‘vulnerable’ groups in society the measures claimed to protect, particularly children, the elderly, and the poor. COVID-19 and the Left explores why the left has departed from its self-understanding as a critical force against state power, unfettered capital accumulation, the digital transformation, biopolitics, and a politics of social discrimination, and instead has largely assumed a stance in line with the neoliberal consensus. In particular, the essays in this collection explore the role of fear, panic, and psychological blackmailing as a tool of domination in late capitalist society and consider whether the left has been a victim, or an active perpetrator, of a ‘tyranny of fear’. Drawing upon approaches from various disciplines and interrogating shibboleths on the left and right, the essays in this volume consider the ideological, sociocultural, and economic implications of the historical rupture that the COVID-19 pandemic presents and instead argue for a counter-narrative to fear and its harmful consequences. This provocative collection will be of considerable interest to those with an interest in the contemporary left and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although inequality in Latin America ranks among the worst in the world, it has notably declined over the last decade, offset by improvements in health care and education, enhanced programs for social assistance, and increases in the minimum wage. In Democracy and the Left, Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens argue that the resurgence of democracy in Latin America is key to this change. In addition to directly affecting public policy, democratic institutions enable left-leaning political parties to emerge, significantly influencing the allocation of social spending on poverty and inequality. But while democracy is an important determinant of redistributive change, it is by no means the only factor. Drawing on a wealth of data, Huber and Stephens present quantitative analyses of eighteen countries and comparative historical analyses of the five most advanced social policy regimes in Latin America, showing how international power structures have influenced the direction of their social policy. They augment these analyses by comparing them to the development of social policy in democratic Portugal and Spain. The most ambitious examination of the development of social policy in Latin America to date, Democracy and the Left shows that inequality is far from intractable—a finding with crucial policy implications worldwide.
From Communes to the Clintons Why does Hillary Clinton crusade for government-provided health care for every American, for the redistribution of wealth, and for child rearing to become a collective obligation? Why does Al Gore say that it’s okay to “over-represent” the dangers of global warming in order to sell Americans on his draconian solutions? Why does Michael Moore call religion a device to manipulate “gullible” Americans? Where did these radical ideas come from? And how did they enter the mainstream discourse? In this groundbreaking and compelling new book, Daniel J. Flynn uncovers the surprising origins of today’s Left. The first work of its kind, A Conservative History of the American Left tells the story of this remarkably resilient extreme movement–one that came to America’s shores with the earliest settlers. Flynn reveals a history that leftists themselves ignore, whitewash, or obscure. Partly the Left’s amnesia is convenient: Who wouldn’t want to forget an ugly history that includes eugenics, racism, violence, and sheer quackery? Partly it is self-aggrandizing: Bold schemes sound much more innovative when you refuse to acknowledge that they have been tried–and have failed–many times before. And partly it is unavoidable: The Left is so preoccupied with its triumphal future that it doesn’t pause to learn from its past mistakes. So it goes that would-be revolutionaries have repeatedly failed to recognize the one troubling obstacle to their grandiose visions: reality. In unfolding this history, Flynn presents a page-turning narrative filled with colorful, fascinating characters–progressives and populists, radicals and reformers, socialists and SDSers, and leftists of every other stripe. There is the rags-to-riches Welsh industrialist who brought his utopian vision to America–one in which private property, religion, and marriage represented “the most monstrous evils”–and gained audiences with the likes of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison. There is the wife-swapping Bible thumper who nominated Jesus Christ for president. There is the playboy adventurer whose worshipful accounts of Soviet Russia lured many American liberals to Communism. There is the daughter of privilege turned violent antiwar activist who lost her life to a bomb she had intended to use against American soldiers. There are fanatics and free spirits, perverts and puritans, entrepreneurs and altruists, and many more beyond. A Conservative History of the American Left is a gripping chronicle of the radical visionaries who have relentlessly pursued their lofty ambitions to remake society. Ultimately, Flynn shows the destructiveness that comes from this undying pursuit of dreams that are utterly unattainable.
Handedness is a multidimensional phenomenon co-determined by polygenetic and developmental aspects, multifactorial influences and in some cases, pathological impact. It is important for professionals working with children, including those who are still undecided about their writing hand, to assess, analyse and understand the complexity of handedness comprehensively to prevent problems related to switched or atypical handedness. Beyond Left and Right Handedness uses a practice-based approach to handedness and systematically integrates theory, research and practice. Part I, ‘Theory and Research,’ critically evaluates and utilises the broad spectrum of the handedness literature as a theoretical basis for the development of handedness instruments. Part II, ‘Assessment and Analysis,’ presents diagnostic and analytical instruments developed by the author based on numerous in-depth studies and extensive clinical practice over 20 years. These include the Handedness Profile, a standardised assessment of various handedness dimensions; and the Handedness Typology, an analytical framework to interpret different types of handedness. Part III, ‘Implications for Practice,’ contains detailed case studies on assessment and treatment by professionals working with children presenting with unclear and/or atypical handedness. “This book provides the reader with a comprehensive and scholarly discussion of the topic, presenting a careful, in-depth description of all aspects of the topic and providing professionals with the necessary, evidence-based tools to address handedness in practice. It is an invaluable resource that is well situated in the latest evidence-based understanding of handedness and provides a comprehensive guide to addressing the important development of handedness.” - Prof. Dr. Helen Polatajko
Liberal left orthodoxy holds that Brexit is a disastrous coup, orchestrated by the hard right and fuelled by xenophobia, which will break up the Union and turn what’s left of Britain into a neoliberal dystopia. Richard Tuck’s ongoing commentary on the Brexit crisis demolishes this narrative. He argues that by opposing Brexit and throwing its lot in with a liberal constitutional order tailor-made for the interests of global capitalists, the Left has made a major error. It has tied itself into a framework designed to frustrate its own radical policies. Brexit therefore actually represents a golden opportunity for socialists to implement the kind of economic agenda they have long since advocated. Sadly, however, many of them have lost faith in the kind of popular revolution that the majoritarian British constitution is peculiarly well-placed to deliver and have succumbed instead to defeatism and the cultural politics of virtue-signalling. Another approach is, however, still possible. Combining brilliant contemporary political insights with a profound grasp of the ironies of modern history, this book is essential for anyone who wants a clear-sighted assessment of the momentous underlying issues brought to the surface by Brexit.
This volume of essays constitutes the first history of Labour and left-wing politics in the decade when Margaret Thatcher reshaped modern Britain. Leading scholars explore aspects of left-wing culture, activities and ideas at a time when social democracy was in crisis. There are articles about political leadership, economic alternatives, gay rights, the miners’ strike, the Militant Tendency and the politics of race. The book also situates the crisis of the left in international terms as the socialist world began to collapse. Tony Blair's New Labour disavowed the 1980s left, associating it with failure, but this volume argues for a more complex approach. Many of the causes it championed are now mainstream, suggesting that the time has come to reassess 1980s progressive politics, despite its undeniable electoral failures. With this in mind, the contributors offer ground-breaking research and penetrating arguments about the strange death of Labour Britain.
At the height of the Cold War, dozens of radical and progressive writers, illustrators, editors, librarians, booksellers, and teachers cooperated to create and disseminate children's books that challenged the status quo. Learning from the Left provides the first historic overview of their work. Spanning from the 1920s, when both children's book publishing and American Communism were becoming significant on the American scene, to the late 1960s, when youth who had been raised on many of the books in this study unequivocally rejected the values of the Cold War, Learning from the Left shows how "radical" values and ideas that have now become mainstream (including cooperation, interracial friendship, critical thinking, the dignity of labor, feminism, and the history of marginalized people), were communicated to children in repressive times. A range of popular and critically acclaimed children's books, many by former teachers and others who had been blacklisted because of their political beliefs, made commonplace the ideas that McCarthyism tended to call "subversive." These books, about history, science, and contemporary social conditions-as well as imaginative works, science fiction, and popular girls' mystery series-were readily available to children: most could be found in public and school libraries, and some could even be purchased in classrooms through book clubs that catered to educational audiences. Drawing upon extensive interviews, archival research, and hundreds of children's books published from the 1920s through the 1970s, Learning from the Left offers a history of the children's book in light of the history of the history of the Left, and a new perspective on the links between the Old Left of the 1930s and the New Left of the 1960s. Winner of the Grace Abbott Book Prize of the Society for the History of Children and Youth
