Uma História da Esquerda Americana

Resenha do livro American Dreamers How the Left Changed a Nation escrito por Michael Kazin [329 pp. Alfred A. Knopf. $27.95]: The left generally failed, according to Kazin, when it emphasized atheism, collectivism and ideological purity. It has been more successful when taking the form of broad, heterogeneous movements struggling for individual rights. Witness the rise of gay marriage, arguably today’s most effective left-leaning social campaign. Viewed as a utopian dream, it promises to transform the institution of marriage. But viewed as a civil rights matter, it simply aims to include more people in an existing institution. In the final equation, Kazin argues, the left was most successful not in politics but in culture.