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A protester taking part in Occupy Oakland, 2011. Glenn Halog / Flickr

July 17, 2018

Liberalism and the Left

American politics has seen the fiercest resurgence of left-liberal conflict since the 1960s.

In the twilight of the Obama years and the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, American politics witnessed the fiercest resurgence of left-liberal conflict since the 1960s. This battle recently came to a head in a stunning electoral upset: Democratic Socialist of America member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat out incumbent Representative Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th congressional district.

As progressives of all stripes mobilize weeks ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, this clash will only intensify. These pieces from our recent archive survey what’s at stake—from identity politics, Black Lives Matter activism, and the legacy of the Clintons, to the Bernie Sanders campaign, revitalized calls for socialism, and the future of the Democratic Party.

—Matt Lord

Doug Rossinow

The Clinton-Sanders conflict reveals the contentious history of the Democratic Party—and holds the key to its future.

Samuel Moyn

The critique of identity politics ignores the role that neoliberalism and neoconservatism have played in creating our present situation.

Jake Blumgart

An interview with Bhaskar Sunkara, founder of Jacobin.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
With Bernie Sanders’s campaign reeling, what’s next for progressive activists?
Eli Zaretsky, Sean Fabery

An interview with historian Eli Zaretsky.

Rick Perlstein
Democrats must embrace an economic liberalism superjumbo, and they must stick with it even if they lose.
Tom Hayden

The Port Huron Statement’s core message is timeless but not dogmatic: we all need participatory democracy.

Andrew J. Bacevich

To read the new biography of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. is to appreciate that Schlesinger's America has vanished, as has his unique brand of liberalism.

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