American and European Leftist Academia through the Prism of Paul Berman’s A Tale of Two Utopias: The Political Journey of the Generation of 1968
American and European Leftist Academia through the Prism of Paul Berman’s A Tale of Two Utopias: The Political Journey of the Generation of 1968
Author(s): Alexandar GungovSubject(s): Political history, Political behavior, History and theory of political science, Comparative politics, Post-War period (1950 - 1989)
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: leftist thought; social and political philosophy; political left; global predicament; subject fetishism; commodification of subjects; simulacrum; global surplus recycling mechanism; sin of the Left;
Summary/Abstract: In his book, Paul Berman outlines a productive framework for a further interpretation of ideas of the leftist thinkers in North America and Europe. This article tries to follow Berman’s approach and to provide a critical stance towards the views of a number of Western social and political philosophers who write after 1968 and even after 1989. My findings confirm Berman’s light irony to this trend of thought but emphasize that some of the works discussed seem to be realistic in avoiding unjustified optimism concerning the leftist position.
Journal: Review of International American Studies
- Issue Year: 12/2019
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 89-102
- Page Count: 14
- Language: English