The Fall-Out: How a Guilty Liberal Lost His Innocence

Democratiya ^ | Spring 2008 | Simon Cottee

[forkinsocket]

To speak very generally, there are two kinds of left apostate: there are those who break with the left in order to move elsewhere (usually to the right, though not always) and there are those who repudiate certain beliefs or modes of thinking within the left in order to strengthen other competing traditions within the left, which they see as more authentic and valuable. Among the former, one can instance Norman Podhoretz, David Horowitz, Paul Johnson and, more recently, Christopher Hitchens. Among the latter, Rosa Luxemburg, Victor Serge, Arthur Koestler, C.L.R. James, and George Orwell are prominent. Since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the ranks of this latter group have swelled markedly. In America, Michael Walzer, Paul Berman and Mitchell Cohen, among others, spoke out against the left’s reluctance or refusal to properly confront the menace of global Islamism, while in Britain a similar charge was spearheaded by, most prominently, David Aaronovitch, Norman Geras and Nick Cohen. Then, in April 2006, The Euston Manifesto was launched [1]. Authored by Geras and Alan Johnson, the Manifesto declared a commitment to democratic, egalitarian, humane, and libertarian values; registered its opposition to all forms of terrorism, political tyranny, ideological dogma, racist sentiment and cultural bigotry; reaffirmed the principle of a responsibility to protect the innocent from grave human rights violations; and expressed a profound impatience with elements of the left that have abandoned, or shown contempt for, the best aspirations of the progressive and democratic tradition. The appearance of the Manifesto, and the mass of interest it generated, seems to have been a galvanizing moment.

[forkinsocket]

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[stinkerpot65]

Liberals hate America more than they love themselves.

[JasonC]

"See, we were dead wrong for an extra 60 years, so we are as brilliant as Kostler and Orwell..."

[Waco]

The average Lib would be the loudest bellyacher if they had to go live in most other countries for 6mo. to a year. Women the loudest too.

[Skywalk]

That review was pretty good and not only providing an accurate picture of what one might expect but of dissecting the issue itself and stands alone as a political commentary.

[lowbridge]

bump

[Billthedrill]

An excellent review, and thanks for posting it. Cottee references Paul Hollander but not his latest on exactly this topic, which I highly recommend - The End of Commitment: Intellectuals, Revolutionaries, and Political Morality in the Twentieth Century. It is a study of what finally makes committed Leftists re-examine their assumptions.

I do think that Cottee is not entirely exempt from the uncritical gulping of the dearly-held revealed truths of the Left when he regurgitates this little gem: The situation in Iraq is now even worse than it was during Saddam’s tyranny. Oh, really? Certainly everyone who is anyone on the Left has been saying so since it began but not, I suggest, the Iraqis. Cottee ought to speak with a few of them before stepping in this pile of silliness.

A BTT for a fine piece otherwise.