The Political Economy of Left Obstructionism
Start Date
16-3-2024 3:00 PM
End Date
16-3-2024 3:45 PM
Description
In this talk I will address the ways in which changes in the economy in the 20th century gave rise to changes in the composition of the labor force: a transition from manual ‘blue collar’ work to service and intellectual ‘white collar’ work. The former in turn gave rise to a change in ‘the left’ which we have inherited: a replacement of the ‘old left’ by the ‘new left’. Then I will argue that the tradition of the ‘new left’ which the present has inherited obstructs any attempts at class politics or policies which benefit the manual working class. While a return to the ‘old left’ seems improbable, the contemporary left is neither willing nor able effectively to confront the problem of wealth inequality which burdens the vast majority of people.
The Political Economy of Left Obstructionism
In this talk I will address the ways in which changes in the economy in the 20th century gave rise to changes in the composition of the labor force: a transition from manual ‘blue collar’ work to service and intellectual ‘white collar’ work. The former in turn gave rise to a change in ‘the left’ which we have inherited: a replacement of the ‘old left’ by the ‘new left’. Then I will argue that the tradition of the ‘new left’ which the present has inherited obstructs any attempts at class politics or policies which benefit the manual working class. While a return to the ‘old left’ seems improbable, the contemporary left is neither willing nor able effectively to confront the problem of wealth inequality which burdens the vast majority of people.