Future Of Democratic Equality Rebuilding Social Solidarity In A Fragmented America

The American left's political agenda for the last few decades has been mostly defensive: fighting the erosion of gains made in the 1960s and '70s by women, gays and lesbians, and communities of color. As morally imperative as these struggles have been, the left has lost its traditional popular identity as the bearer of majoritarian values and interests, and diminished its political efficacy. In The Future of Democratic Equality , Joseph Schwartz imagines a feasible, progressive, majoritarian, global politics in a post-industrial world. What would it look like, and how could we get there? Reducing inequality among Americans, as well as globally, will take a high level of social solidarity a level far from today's fragmented and particularist politics. Schwartz balances anachronistic conceptions of the left as the defender of an illusory, homogenous "working class" and the assertion that social fragmentation transcends the need, or possibility, of constructing democratic political majorities. In focusing the left's attention on the need to reconstruct a governing model that speaks to the aspirations of the majority, Schwartz provocatively applies this vision to such real world political controversies as welfare reform, race relations, childcare, and the democratic regulation of the global economy. A fascinating and controversial look at the need to rebuild a 'governing project' for a majoritarian left, bridging social theory and contemporary real world politics. Dissects postmodernism's effect on leftist politics and how the left can transcend the false dichotomy of "difference" and "citizenship".Schwartz, Joseph is the author of 'Future Of Democratic Equality Rebuilding Social Solidarity In A Fragmented America', published 2007 under ISBN 9780415944656 and ISBN 0415944651.