Intellectuals In Action: The Origins Of The New Left And Radical Liberalism, 1945-1970 Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
Born in 1966‚ a generation removed from the counterculture‚ Kevin Mattson came of political age in the conservative Reagan era. In an effort to understand contemporary political ambivalence and the plight of radicalism today‚ Mattson looks back to the ideas that informed the protest‚ social movements‚ and activism of the 1960s. To accomplish its historical reconstruction‚ the book combines traditional intellectual biography—including thorough archival research—with social history to examine a group of intellectuals whose thinking was crucial in the formulation of New Left political theory. These include C. Wright Mills‚ the popular radical sociologist; Paul Goodman‚ a practicing Gestalt therapist and anarcho-pacifist; William Appleman Williams‚ the historian and famed critic of "American empire"; Arnold Kaufman‚ a "radical liberal" who deeply influenced the thinking of the SDS. The book discusses not only their ideas‚ but also their practices‚ from writing pamphlets and arranging television debates to forming left-leaning think tanks and organizing teach-ins protesting the Vietnam War. Mattson argues that it is this political engagement balanced with a commitment to truth-telling that is lacking in our own age of postmodern acquiescence. Challenging the standard interpretation of the New Left as inherently in conflict with liberalis‚ Mattson depicts their relationship as more complicated‚ pointing to possibilities for a radical liberalism today. Intellectual and social historians‚ as well as general readers either fascinated by the 1960s protest movements or actively seeking an alternative to our contemporary political malais‚ will embrace Mattson’s book and its promise to shed new light on a time period known for both its intriguing conflicts and its enduring consequences.
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Penn State University Press; 1 edition (March 6, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 027102206X
ISBN-13: 978-0271022062
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
Best Sellers Rank: #649,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #357 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Ideologies & Doctrines > Radicalism #613 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Elections & Political Process > Political Parties #867 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Political Science > Political Ideologies
Intellectuals in Action is a history of the New Left movement like no other. Rather than a blow-by-blow, Mattson examines the evolution of ideas that moved the New Left by exploring the lives and writings of several intellectuals in the movement - one per chapter. (Sociologist C. Wright Mills, social critic Paul Goodman, historian William Appleman Williams, philosopher Arnold Kauffman, and the journalist academics behind Studies on the Left and New University magazines.)What is Kauffman trying to find out? What is he doing with this history that other histories don't do? First, he is paying careful attention to how the New Left expanded on and drifted away from the Old Left, and particularly how each author handled the tension between liberalism (wanting to keep what is good in the liberal tradition) and progressivism (wanting to expand beyond the liberalism that left them frustrated). Second, he examines how each intellectual saw the role of intellectuals - themselves included - in the New Left; how much, for instance, should intellectuals be neutral scholars and how much should their scholarship be motivated by, or even be, activism?I found this book extremely interesting. Particularly, I enjoyed the author's very neutral but passionate portrayal of all the intellectuals involved here. For instance, while the author clearly admires all the figures he writes about, he is quick to point out some of their blind spots and tensions in their work, such as some of the uneasy tensions between the appeal to traditional American liberal values and appeal to progressive radicalism.
Intellectuals in Action: The Origins of the New Left and Radical Liberalism, 1945-1970 How to Draw Action Figures: Book 2: More than 70 Sketches of Action Figures and Action Poses (Drawing Action Figures, Draw Action Figures Book, How Draw Action Poses, Draw Comic Figures) Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-1970 Left Behind Series Prequel Set (The Rising, Anarchist is Born Before they were Left Behind/ The Regime, Evil Advances Before they were Left Behind/ The Rapture,In the Twinkling of an Eye Countdown to the Earth's Last Days) Christianity and Liberalism, new ed. The Dynamics of Sunni-Shia Relationships: Doctrine, Transnationalism, Intellectuals and the Media Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals' Abuse of Science The New Testament and the People of God/ Christian Origins and the Question of God, Vol.1 (Christian Origins and the Question of God (Paperback)) Christianity and Liberalism Liberalism or How to Turn Good Men into Whiners, Weenies and Wimps Scarlet Letters: The Ever-Increasing Intolerance of the Cult of Liberalism Rules for Radical Conservatives: Beating the Left at Its Own Game to Take Back America Spawn: Origins Volume 1 (Spawn Origins Collection) Left Hand Chords for Guitar, Mandolin, Ukulele and Banjo: Essential Chord Fingering Charts for Left Hand Players for the Major, Minor, and Seventh ... Scales, Blank Chord Boxes and Sheet Music Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, (Left Behind Series, Book 1) from Books In Motion.com Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind (Left Behind, Book 2) Tribulation Force : The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind (Left Behind #2) Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days (Left Behind, 1) Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days (Left Behind, Book 1) Left Behind: Left Behind Series, Book 1
