“Democracy is nothing if it is not dangerous,” declared Carl Oglesby in 1965. As president of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the largest group on the white New Left, he was rebutting liberals who were displeased that communists could …
The Left has been a complete, if noble, failure: it’s one of the oldest clichés of American history. “Radicalism in the United States has no great triumphs to record,” asserted Christopher Lasch, and “…the sooner we begin to understand why …
What do the depressing, if predictable, results of the 2010 midterm election mean for the potential for progressive change in our country? In the storm of post-debacle opinions, two kinds of arguments have held sway—one quite dark, the other glinting …
M. Kazin: Has the U.S. Left Made a Difference?
Michael Kazin: Up and Down at the Mall
We are currently enduring one of America’s periodic freak-outs about immigration. State legislators rush to enact laws allowing police to grill anyone they suspect of lacking the right documents, leading Republicans advocate repealing the “birthright” section of the Fourteenth Amendment, …
Michael Kazin: The Beck Who Would Be King
Michael Kazin: Harvey and Tuli
Michael Kazin: Paranoia Strikes Deep Pockets
“The Socialist movement is as wide as the world,” Eugene V. Debs told the large crowds that came to hear him all over the United States, “… its mission is to win the world, the whole world, from animalism, and …
What has happened to Craig Becker illustrates why progressives are disappointed by the first year of the Obama administration—and why they should not stop supporting it. A year ago, Obama nominated Becker, a distinguished lawyer who has worked for the …
M. Kazin reviews Ted Kennedy’s True Compass
Michael Kazin on Depression Culture
Beware the historical analogy. When Barack Obama took office, pundits compared the economic crisis he faced to the Great Depression. Naturally, the new liberal president would become another FDR; one magazine even portrayed him waving confidently from an open car, …
Kazin: Inauguration from Washington Monument
