However, when trying to understand the left, you need to look at the ideologies and not just the long term effects.
I'm sure you're probably right, I should look in more detail at the ideology, though I guess the long term effects are the direct result of the ideology.
I have read Radosh's book (thought the title was humerous) along with Horowitz' Radical Son. Was kind of amazed by what I learned, as it was a whole world of which I had never really been aware.
I'm also a long time member of a Reform temple. I've recently been spending some time trying to figure out how Reform Judaism came to be (what I now consider) part of the "Left," as that whole situation aggravates me more than a little. Nobody seems to want to discuss it much.
Glad to know there are free market forces in Israel. Most (though not all) folks in the Jewish community that I hear speaking about it seem to favor the other side.
It is an insular world, but one which is of great importance.
I'm also a long time member of a Reform temple. I've recently been spending some time trying to figure out how Reform Judaism came to be (what I now consider) part of the "Left," as that whole situation aggravates me more than a little. Nobody seems to want to discuss it much.
Reform Judaism was always liberal. It sought to create a Judaism devoid of its history and the Talmud, one acceptable to modern Europe. Without a base and appealing to the left from its start, the drift to the left was inevitable.