[DOWNLOAD] "Why the Right Uses 'Class' Against the Left (Postmodernism)" by Arena Journal " Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Why the Right Uses 'Class' Against the Left (Postmodernism)
- Author : Arena Journal
- Release Date : January 01, 2001
- Genre: Religion & Spirituality,Books,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 187 KB
Description
The idea that there is a powerful 'new class' of tertiary educated cultural elites which pursues a radical, left-wing agenda whilst profiting from public monies, has been a feature of right-wing thought since the early 1970s. (1) In Australia this idea has been adopted by both neo-liberal and conservative writers and found a home within the pages of such journals as Quadrant and IPA Review. The new class thesis forms part of the conservative assault upon the radical movements of the 1960s. Whilst the 1960s has been de-radicalized through processes of commodification--the slogans, events and style of the times being turned into commodities--it has also been de-legitimized by the new class thesis. It holds the protest movements of the 1960s responsible for cultural decline and reduces the actions of the radicals to oedipal politics and middle-class self-interest. At the same time, the new class thesis has been an integral component of the hegemonic project of neo-liberalism--the assault upon the remnants of the welfare state and its political defenders. How can it be that terms and concepts, traditionally the preserve of the Left, have been adopted with such vigour by the Right? This is the central question addressed in this article. I want to suggest some reasons for the Right's use of class and, specifically, its use of the term 'new class'. The contemporary Right's use of new class terminology is derived primarily from American neo-conservative intellectuals. (2) During the early 1970s, these intellectuals developed a critique of the radicalism of the 1960s which revolved around the idea of the new class.