Left and right in the economic crisis

White, Jonathan ORCID: 0000-0002-4668-698X (2013) Left and right in the economic crisis. Journal of Political Ideologies, 18 (2). pp. 150-170. ISSN 1356-9317

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Abstract

Two decades after the Cold War, the political traditions of Left and Right were widely deemed to have fossilized. Many saw them as unable to express vital alternatives, and only distantly related to contemporary political life. This article examines how far this remains true in the light of more recent upheavals. It looks at the key divisions of opinion to have emerged from the economic crisis that broke in 2008, identifying important differences concerning in what sense it a crisis (the production of disorder vs. production of injustice) and how it can be explained (acts of moral or intellectual transgression vs. a pattern of adhesion to problematic doctrines and practices). It goes on to argue that these differences can be seen as extensions of older Left-Right dichotomies, albeit articulated with a second division between technical and normative reasoning. The article concludes with a discussion of the challenge political actors face in positioning themselves coherently according to these divisions.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjpi20
Additional Information:	© 2013 Taylor & Francis
Divisions:	European Institute
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Date Deposited:	27 Mar 2013 10:19
Last Modified:	13 Apr 2024 23:12
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/49484

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