What is Radical Politics Today?

‘This is a bold, brave and timely book. As we emerge, blinking into the light afterthree decades of neo-liberal darkness, Jonathan Pugh has put together a collectionof essays that will provoke and provide clues to the question of what comes next;what indeed is radical politics today?’

Neal Lawson (Chair, Compass)

‘Jonathan Pugh gathers some of the most innovative and insightful voices fromBritain and beyond to stage a series of debates on the central issues facing radicalpolitics today. This collection is a model for the kinds of discussion we need tomove forward.’

Michael Hardt, co-author of Empire, Multitude and Commonwealth

‘At a time when all ideologies are either exhausted or have become irrelevant,the need for a truly radical politics can hardly be exaggerated. Radical politicsis about rethinking the common sense, the taken for granted assumptions, ofthe age. This timely and well-planned collection of essays by distinguished andconcerned scholars throwsmuchnew light onwherewe should be looking for newideas. It represents a major contribution to the ongoing debate on the problemsof our times.’

Lord Bhikhu Parekh

‘In the present moment of rapid and fundamental political and economic changewe need sustained critical discussion of the kinds of alternative politics available tous. InWhat is Radical Politics Today? leading political theorists initiate this timelydiscussion by addressing both possibilities and obstacles from a wide range ofperspectives.’

James Tully (University of Victoria)

‘As themost immediate effects of a global economic and financial crisis seem to beebbing from our consciousness, the authors in this collection reaffirm the urgentneed for a different kind of politics. One after the other they draw a picture ofa world ill at ease with itself: addicted to consumption yet unjust in its rewards;obsessed with the idea of the global at the expense of an engagement with the real;aware yet narcissistic. Helpless with fear, paternalism and debt. But the book is,above all, in the words of one contributor “a challenge to fatalism”. The chapterssketch out a radical politics for the 21st century based on the rediscovery of ourhuman powers to invent and adapt – a rebuilding of the state’s managementand redistributive capacities, a revaluing of autonomous behaviour and criticaljudgement, the prioritising of a “social planet” over a “social state” and even,a repudiation of near-sacrosanct institutions. No doubt some injunctions willrile, but though this book may fail to comfort, it will not fail to challenge orprovoke.’

Catherine Fieschi (Director, Counterpoint,The Think Tank of the British Council)

‘With impeccable timing, this volume provides a stimulating range of perspectivesonwhat radical politics can offer during this period of crisis and change. It deservesto be widely read and debated.’

Ruth Lister (Loughborough University)

‘There’s a world to win, but only if the Left is possessed of bright ideas, inspiringaspirations and brilliant strategies. This book – rich in insight – assembles someof our leading thinkers to consider what sort of Left can unlock the progressivepotential contained in this moment of early 21st-century crisis. Has the main-stream Left conceded far too much to the liberals and conservatives this last 30years? If so, what sort of Left can win hearts and minds in this moment of crisis?The answers to these important questions are the stuff of this excellent book.’

Noel Castree (Manchester University)

‘The current era presents a mixed picture for the possibility of radical politics.Old radical solutions are failing, the Left is on the retreat in many countries andregions, and urgent global problems, from financial market regulation to climatechange threaten to disrupt and disorganise progressive coalitions. On the otherside, the Western economic and political consensus of the last 30 years is in dis-array. In this context, the task of renewing the nature and form of radical politicsis both pressing and demanding. This new book is a welcome step in the rightdirection.’

David Held (London School of Economics)

‘This is a wonderfully salutary and visionary collection of widely differentopinions on how we can think about our world in these “interesting” times.’

Emily Young (Sculptor, and of Penguin Café Orchestra)

‘Like an exploding star, the radical Left in the UK has disintegrated and its frag-ments have flown off in all directions. People who once thought they wereengaged in a common project can no longer agree about where they are going,let alone how they should get there. If you feel radical but confused read theseessays. They may make you even more confused, but they may also help youdecide where to go next.’

Bob Rowthorn (Cambridge University)

‘With the aim of understanding the forces and boundaries of a genuinely radicalpolitics, this volume begins to interrogate the models, figures and reach of thestructureless moment that currently commands political tropology and life.’

Avital Ronell (New York University)

‘If you are looking for a rich diversity of views and fierce arguments about radicalpolitics today, then this is the book for you!’

Achin Vanaik (Delhi University)

‘Timely, engaging and bold. This book provides intellectual, moral and politicalchallenge for any reader on a question which urgently needs lucid answers: whatis it to be radical today?’

Tom Bentley (Policy Director forAustralia’s Deputy Prime Minister)

What is Radical PoliticsToday?

Edited by

Jonathan Pugh

Senior Academic Fellow in Territorial GovernanceNewcastle University, UK

© Editorial matter, selection and introduction © Jonathan Pugh 2009Individual chapters © contributors 2009

Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-25114-4

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of thispublication may be made without written permission.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmittedsave with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of theCopyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licencepermitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publicationmay be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The authors have asserted their rights to be identifiedas the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designsand Patents Act 1988.

First published 2009 byPALGRAVE MACMILLAN

Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,Hampshire RG21 6XS.

Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,175 Fifth Avenue, NewYork, NY 10010.

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companiesand has companies and representatives throughout the world.

Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.

ISBN 978-0-230-23626-4 ISBN 978-0-230-25114-4 (eBook)DOI 10.1057/9780230251144

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fullymanaged and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturingprocesses are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of thecountry of origin.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Contents

List of Figures viii

Acknowledgements ix

Notes on Contributors xi

What is Radical Politics Today? 1Jonathan Pugh

Part I: Grand Visions 15

1 Getting to the Roots of Radical Politics Today 17Zygmunt Bauman

2 What Happened to Radical Humanism? 27Frank Furedi

3 Victim of Success: Green Politics Today 36Paul Kingsnorth

4 Radicalism Against the Masses 45James Heartfield

5 Moving Targets and Political Judgements 52Terrell Carver

6 The Forces Shaping Radical Politics Today 59Clare Short

7 Resistance after the Spatial Turn 69Edward W. Soja

Part II: New Forms of Radical Politics 75

8 Questioning Global Political Activism 77David Chandler

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vi Contents

9 Rethinking Political Organisation 85Hilary Wainwright

10 Iraq, Trauma and Dissent in Visual Culture 92Dora Apel

11 Radicalism, Writ Large and Small 103Michael J. Watts

12 Continuing the Struggle in Hard Times 112Jason Toynbee

13 A Politics of Commitment 120James Martin

14 Beyond Gesture, Beyond Pragmatism 127Jeremy Gilbert and Jo Littler

15 Invention and Hard Work 136Doreen Massey

Part III: Diversity and Difference 143

16 Progressivism Reinvigorated 145Gregor McLennan

17 In Defence of Multicultural Citizenship 153Tariq Modood

18 New Left and Old Far Right: Tolerating the Intolerable 162Nick Cohen

19 Clashing the Civilisations 170Amir Saeed and David Bates

20 Radicalism is Nostalgia 179Alastair Bonnett

21 Universal Conditions: Modern Childhood 188Ken Worpole

22 A New Politics of Innovation 196Sheila Jasanoff

Contents vii

23 Universities are Radical 204Nigel Thrift

24 Radical Politics After the Crisis 213Will Hutton

Part IV: The Role of the State 221

25 Anarchism 223Saul Newman

26 The Importance of Engaging the State 230Chantal Mouffe

27 Common-sense Beyond the Neo-liberal State 238David Featherstone

28 Democracy, the State and Capitalism Today 247Alejandro Colás and Jason Edwards

29 Tackling the Supplicant State 256David Boyle

30 The Potential for a Progressive State? 263Saskia Sassen

Index 272

List of Figures

2.1 Humanist and vulnerability paradigms 33

10.1 Invasion, 2008, Photomontage, 77.2by 137.2 cm, by Martha Rosler. Reproducedwith permission from Martha Rosler(Photo: Mitchell-Innes & Nash Gallery) 94

10.2 Veteran Vehicle Project, Denver,August 2008, by Krzysztof Wodiczko. Reproducedwith permission from Krzysztof Wodiczko(Photo: Krzysztof Wodiczko) 96

10.3 Iraq Veterans Against the War: Operation First Casualty,New York City, 27 May 2007, by Lovella Calica.Reproduced with permission from Lovella Calica(Photo: Lovella Calica) 100

viii

Acknowledgements

We are at a watershed moment in the history of radical politics. Giventhat radicals have not produced a clear alternative to the present crisis inneo-liberalism, the question arises: what is radical politics today? Whatis the nature of contemporary radical politics? Is it effective; if so, how?

The idea for a survey into the character and spirit of radical politics inour times first came tomewhile in a debatewith Tony Benn, HilaryWain-wright, David Chandler and Bernard Crick, in London, August 2007. Wewere discussing the many different ways in which Left-wing radical pol-itics takes place in the twenty-first century. As the global economic crisiswas to unfold only a few months later, and a clear alternative to the sta-tus quo was not forthcoming from the radical Left and progressives, theneed for this survey became even more apparent.

Many people havemade this book possible. My sincere gratitude firstlygoes to the contributors. All leaders in their fields, they represent aformidable range of often conflicting perspectives on the spirit of con-temporary radical politics. Thanks to all of you for putting up with myregular emails, as I tried to coordinate the project. I hope you like thefinal product.1

Thanks to Alison Howson, commissioning editor from PalgraveMacmillan, for her vision and continuous attention to detail; for read-ing each chapter, often a number of times. Gemma d’Arcy Hughes fromPalgraveMacmillan is also to be thanked for taking the project to comple-tion, making the whole process run smoothly, and I am also grateful toJo North for her outstanding editorial work on the book as a whole. AlexSuermondt, from ‘questioncreative.co.uk’, has produced a great cover,illustrating how this book is aimed at both public and student audiences.

Thanks to Alastair Bonnett, Andy Gillespie, Steve Juggins and HelenJarvis for invitingme into the creative atmosphere of the School of Geog-raphy, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University. To Chantal Mouffe,Doreen Massey, Grant and Erin Henderson, David Chandler, Ben Allen,Nick Megoran, Deborah Thien, Steve Aggett, Yvonne Pugh, Alex Hall,Simon andGeorgieMcCann for their friendship and support throughoutthe two years it took to produce this book.

Thanks also to the Economic and Social Research Council, the BritishAcademy, the Barry Amiel and Melburn Trust, Newcastle University and

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x Acknowledgements

The Great Debate for their financial support of some of the many publicdebates which also helped shape this book. Finally to Zoe, Mum andDad, for their help in this and every project I undertake.

Since the completion of this book, I have launched an ongoing surveyof radical politics today. This is via a free, online, multi-media maga-zine, entitled Radical Politics Today. It can be found on ‘The Spaces ofDemocracy and the Democracy of Space’ international network website(see http://www.spaceofdemocracy.org). If you are interested, please feelfree to email me (Jonathan.Pugh@ncl.ac.uk).

Note

1. In the interest of stimulating debate about the radical Left, I have sought toopen up the question What is radical politics today? The views expressed inthis volume of contrasting opinions are therefore not necessarily my own.

Notes on Contributors

Dora Apel is Associate Professor and W. Hawkins Ferry Chair of Mod-ern and Contemporary Art History at Wayne State University. She is theauthor ofMemory Effects: the Holocaust and the Art of SecondaryWitnessing;Imagery of Lynching: Black Men, White Women, and the Mob; and LynchingPhotographs (with Shawn Michelle Smith).

David Bates is a PhD student at the University of Sunderland, writing athesis on Multiculturalism and Asylum Policy.

Zygmunt Bauman is Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University ofLeeds. His forthcoming publication is Living on Borrowed Time: Conver-sations with Citlali Rovirosa Madrazo (Polity Press).

Alastair Bonnett is Professor of Social Geography at Newcastle Univer-sity. He is the author of a number of books on anti-racism, whiteness andideas of theWest. His next book, Left in the Past: Radicalism and Nostalgia,will be published by Continuum.

David Boyle is a Fellow of the New Economics Foundation and theauthor of a number of books about history and the future, includingThe Tyranny of Numbers and Authenticity. He is the founder of LondonTime Bank and has stood for Parliament as a Liberal Democrat.

Terrell Carver is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Bristol,UK. He has published extensively onMarx, Engels andMarxism, and sex,gender and sexuality, and his latest books include The Postmodern Marx(1998) and Men in Political Theory (2004). He is also co-general editor ofRowman & Littlefield’s book series Globalisation.

David Chandler is Professor of International Relations at the Univer-sity of Westminster and founding editor of the Journal of Interventionand Statebuilding. His recent books include: Hollow Hegemony: Rethink-ing Global Politics, Power and Resistance (Pluto, 2009); Empire in Denial:the Politics of State-building (Pluto, 2006) and Constructing Global CivilSociety: Morality and Power in International Relations (Palgrave, 2004).http://www.davidchandler.org.

Nick Cohen is a British journalist, author, and political commentator.He presently writes mainly for The Observer, London Evening Standard andDaily Mail; and previously for the New Statesman. Since May 2008 hehas been the television critic for Standpoint magazine. Cohen has written

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xii Notes on Contibutors

four books, includingWhat’s Left? (HarperPerennial, 2007), and has beenshortlisted for the Orwell Prize.

Alejandro Colás teaches international relations at the School of Politicsand Sociology, Birkbeck College, University of London. He is author ofEmpire (Polity, 2007) and International Civil Society: Social Movements andWorld Politics (Polity, 2002), and is on the editorial board of the journalHistorical Materialism.

Jason Edwards is Lecturer in Politics in the School of Politics and Sociol-ogy, Birkbeck College, London. His research focuses on both the historyof political thought and issues in contemporary political and social the-ory, including problems with current ideas about radical democracy. Heis author of The Radical Attitude and Modern Political Theory (PalgraveMacmillan, 2007).

David Featherstone is Lecturer inHumanGeography at theUniversity ofGlasgow. His research interests include transnational political activism,geographies of resistance, subaltern political ecologies and the relationsbetween space and politics. He is the author of Resistance, Space andPolitical Identities: theMaking of Counter-Global Networks (Wiley-Blackwell,2008).

Frank Furedi is Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent inCanterbury. In recent years his work was devoted to an exploration ofthe workings of the culture of fear. He is now engaged in a study ofthe relations between changing ideas of authority and the meaningof subjectivity.

Jeremy Gilbert is Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at the Universityof East London. He has written widely on music, politics and culturaltheory, and is author of Anticapitalism and Culture (Berg, 2008). He is oneof the editors of New Formations.

James Heartfield has written widely on environmental movements andarchitecture in The Times Higher Education Supplement, Spiked Online,Blueprint, the Telegraph, The Times, the Architects’ Journal, Art Review,Review of Radical Political Economy and Cultural Trends. In May 2006,with Julia Svetlichnaja he interviewed the Russian dissident, AlexanderLitvinenko. The interviews were only published after Litvinenko’s death.

Will Hutton is former editor-in-chief of The Observer and currently ChiefExecutive of The Work Foundation (formerly the Industrial Society). In1992, he won the What The Papers Say award for Political Journalist ofthe Year. He has authored many books including The Writing on the Wall:Why We Must Embrace China as a Partner or Face It as an Enemy (2006)

Notes on Contibutors xiii

and The State We’re In: Why Britain is in Crisis and How to Overcome It(1995).

Sheila Jasanoff is Pforzheimer Professor of Science and TechnologyStudies at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.She previously founded and chaired theDepartment of Science and Tech-nology Studies at Cornell University and has held visiting positions atMIT, Yale, Cambridge, Oxford and Kyoto universities and the BerlinInstitute for Advanced Study. She has written widely on the role ofscience and technology in modern democratic societies.

Paul Kingsnorth is the author of One No, Many Yeses, and Real England.He was deputy editor of The Ecologist from 1999 to 2001 and writeswidely on environmental politics and related issues. His website ishttp://www.paulkingsnorth.net.

Jo Littler is Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at MiddlesexUniversity. She is author of Radical Consumption: Shopping for Change inContemporary Culture (Open University Press, 2009) and co-editor, withRoshi Naidoo, of The Politics of Heritage: the Legacies of ‘Race’ (Routledge,2005). She is currently writing a book about celebrity.

James Martin teaches political theory at Goldsmiths, University ofLondon and is co-director of the Center for the Study of Global Mediaand Democracy. He has published research on Italian political thoughtand contemporary radical political theory. He is currently writing a bookon politics and rhetoric.

Doreen Massey is Professor of Geography at the Open University andjoint founder of Soundings: a journal of politics and culture. Her mostrecent books are For Space (Polity, 2005) and World City (Polity, 2007).

Gregor McLennan is Professor of Sociology at the University of Bristol.He has written widely on Marxism, pluralism, ideology, sociology andpolitics. He is currently engaged on a book-length treatment of ‘post-secularism’ in social and political theory.

TariqModood is Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy and thefounding Director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizen-ship at the University of Bristol. He is a regular contributor to the mediaand to policy debates in Britain. His most recent books are Multicultural-ism: a Civic Idea (Polity, 2007) and, as co-editor, Secularism, Religion andMulticultural Citizenship (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Chantal Mouffe is Professor of Political Theory at the Centre for theStudy of Democracy, University of Westminster. She co-authored Hege-mony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Democratic Politics (Verso, 1985)

xiv Notes on Contibutors

with Ernesto Laclau, and sole authored other books, including TheDemocratic Paradox (Verso, 2000) and On the Political (Routledge, 2005).She has taught at Harvard, Princeton and the Collège International dePhilosophie (Paris).

Saul Newman is a Reader in Political Theory at Goldsmiths Universityof London. He is the author of a number of books on radical polit-ical theory, including: From Bakunin to Lacan (Rowman & Littlefield,2001), Power and Politics in Poststructuralist Thought (Routledge, 2005),Unstable Universalities (Manchester University Press, 2007), Politics MostUnusual (Palgrave, 2008) and The Politics of Postanarchism (forthcomingEdinburgh University Press, 2009).

Jonathan Pugh is Senior Academic Fellow, Newcastle University. Heis founding director of ‘The Spaces of Democracy and the Democ-racy of Space’ network. He has written some forty articles on rad-ical politics, and in 2009 founded Radical Politics Today magazine(http://www.spaceofdemocracy.org).

Amir Saeed is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at theUniversity of Sunderland. His interests are in ‘race’ and racism.

Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, is the author of The Global City (2ndedn, Princeton, 2001), Territory, Authority, Rights: From Medieval to GlobalAssemblages (Princeton, 2008) and A Sociology of Globalisation (Norton,2007), among others. Her website is http://www.columbia.edu/∼sjs2/.

Clare Short (Member of Parliament) is a member of the British LabourParty. She is currently the Independent Member of Parliament for Birm-ingham Ladywood, having been elected as a Labour Party MP in 1983,and was Secretary of State for International Development in the UKLabour government from 3 May 1997 until her resignation on 12 May2003.

EdwardW. Soja is Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning at the Uni-versity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He has written a series of bookspromoting an assertive spatial perspective, including Postmodern Geogra-phies (1989), Thirdspace (1996) and Postmetropolis (2000). He is currentlycompleting a book to be published by the University of Minnesota Presson Seeking Spatial Justice.

Jason Toynbee is Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at the Open Univer-sity. His most recent books include Bob Marley: Herald of a PostcolonialWorld? and The Media and Social Theory (with David Hesmondhalgh).A member of the Socialist Party, Jason has campaigned, among otherthings, against privatisation of public services and the invasion of Gaza.

Notes on Contibutors xv

Nigel Thrift is Vice Chancellor, Warwick University. Co-author, authoror co-editor of over 35 books, he is credited with coining the phrase ‘softmodernity’ and coming up with ‘non-representational theory’. Nigelhas been awarded numerous prizes, including the Royal GeographicalSociety Victoria Medal, and is a Fellow of the British Academy.

Hilary Wainwright is co-editor of Red Pepper, Research Director ofthe New Politics Programme of the Transnational Institute, and SeniorResearch Associate at the International Centre for Participation Stud-ies. Her most recent books are Public Service Reform But Not As We KnowIt! (UNISON and Compass, 2009) and the paperback update of Reclaimthe State: Experiments in Popular Democracy (Seagull, 2009). Her booksalso include Arguments For a New Left: Answering the Free Market Right(Blackwell, 1994).

Michael J. Watts is Class of 63 Professor of Geography, and Chair ofDevelopment Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, wherehe served as the Director of the Institute of International Studies from1994–2004. The author of eight books and over 100 articles, he wasawarded the Victoria Medal by the Royal Geographical Society in 2004.

Ken Worpole is the author of a number of books on architecture, land-scape and public policy. He is Senior Professor at The Cities Institute,London Metropolitan University. Ken has lived in Hackney, east Lon-don, for the past forty years and is married to the photographer, LarraineWorpole (http://www.worpole.net).

What is Radical Politics Today?Jonathan Pugh

A crisis makes you rethink your life. The recent economic crisis is noexception. All of us are now thinking how our lives could be run differ-ently. This recession seems to be giving more cause for reflection thanmost – not only about how the economy is managed, but also aboutthe environment and society more generally. Neo-liberalism has gov-erned our lives for nearly thirty years. Many feel that its Right-wingethos of deregulation, privatisation and liberation of corporate power hasnot only failed the world’s financial systems, but more fundamentallydegraded the environment and the social fabric of life. Despite all theexpert predictions, history did not in fact end in 1989 with the triumphof neo-liberalism.While there is much to despair at in our current situation, there is also

an underlying sense of anticipation – change is coming. Specific eventsare certainly contributing to this mood: not only the collapse of theglobal financial systems, but the mobilisation of people in protests onever larger scales, the symbolic and historic election of Barack Obama,the end of the George W. Bush presidency, changing international rela-tions with the Middle East and Asia, the rising power of China and somecountries in Latin America, to name just a few.Before we get too excited though, the ‘revolution’ is not coming any-

time soon. No grand alternative ideology or movement of the masses iswaiting in the wings, ready to seize the opportunity. This leads to theobvious question of this book: What is radical politics today? What isthe spirit and nature of radical politics in our times? For this particularbook, what is Left-wing and progressive radical politics?Where they onceoffered the grand ideology of socialism, what do they offer now? Thisbook is a broad survey, a step into the character of radical politics today.

1

2 Jonathan Pugh

Let’s start this survey with a general definition: What constitutes a‘radical politics’? The term was originally coined to describe a politicswhich gets to the roots of a problem. The Latin noun ‘radix’ means ‘root’.But radical politics not only gets to the roots of a problem. If it is effective,it also turns over, or ‘roots out’, and redefines how society functions. Thisof course does not have to mean revolution, in the sense of a commu-nist or Islamic state revolution for example. It does not mean that radicalpolitics is confined to particular causes or issues. To take just a few exam-ples, in our definition of ‘radical politics’ we could include the radicalimpact of feminism, modernism, Islam, mass education and health care,Christianity, neo-conservatism, the Chinese model, feudalism, Right- orLeft-wing radicals. All have caused radical changes in society.We look to radical politics to provide an alternative view of the world,

when that world is in trouble. Indeed, if we remember, neo-liberal capi-talism was once a radical alternative to the problems of nearly forty yearsago. The 1970s were defined by inflation, increased accumulation ofcapital, unemployment and a variety of fiscal crises. Neo-liberalism beatthe other main radical contender at the time, socialism, in apparentlygetting to the root of the problem, overturning it, and redefining howsociety functions. Neo-liberal capitalism was developed by leaders likeRonald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and a network of powerful interna-tional institutions, such as the World Bank and International MonetaryFund. Often called the ‘American Model’, low wages and high inequal-ity are not central concerns for this system, whose primary function isthe liberation of corporate power. Neo-liberalism and free market forcesbecame the organising framework for society; from the deregulation offinance, to privatisation of health care and educational systems. By themid-1980s it was no longer radical, but the accepted norm.I believe that the end of this decade will be singled out by historians

as a defining moment in radical politics. We will talk of ‘post-2009’ intimes to come, but not because there has been a ‘grand radical moment’.This moment is significant precisely because people will look back andask: what was radical politics then? Given the lack of a clear alternativeto neo-liberalism when the financial crisis and recession hit, histori-ans will pay great attention to the spirit, disposition and temperamentof radical politics in our times. They will consider such prominentexamples as today’s anti-globalisation movements, anti-capitalists andenvironmentalists. Historians will explore the character of radical neo-conservatism, the Chinese model and radical Islam. They will examinethe spirit of the anti-war protests, peace and justice organisations. Theywill interrogate the radical impact of multiculturalism, identity politics

What is Radical Politics Today? 3

and non-governmental development agencies, as the fortunes of theseways of doing politics rise and fall.But we should not wait for historians. We should begin this survey

now. In the crucial years of a crisis which has affected the lives of somany people, it is important to understand the nature of radical politics,today.The first major challenge we encounter in our survey has already

been implied. There are apparently many ways of being radical today.Some argue that this is the weakness of contemporary radical politics.It has split into too many different factions, or is dominated by peo-ple who are disconnected from the rest of society. Here the examples ofcreative artists, suicide bombers, anti-capitalists, tree-huggers and anar-chists, incapable of mobilising under a single banner, are often used asillustrations. But so are the small group of out-of-touch elites who ranBush’s radical neo-conservative agenda, or the dictators of the Chineseor Islamic state projects. In short, many think radical politics today doesnot have support from broad sections of society.Others say that this fragmentation is the strength of radical politics.

It provides an opportunity for different groups to challenge the statusquo – those environmentalists, feminists, peace movements, for exam-ple, which are slowly chipping away at specific injustices. Moreover,many also argue that grand visions of society – like socialism, neo-liberalism or the Islamic state – oppress those who don’t believe in them,as much as they support those who do. A grand alternative is thereforenot the answer at this time of crisis. In today’s diverse cultures, manybelieve it is better to deal with injustices as they arise in particular situa-tions, rather than produce a single radical solution for all. These peoplebelieve radical politics should be creative, taking many different forms,as ‘women’, ‘Muslims’, ‘Christians’, ‘the poor’, respond to the differentcircumstances which they face. They argue that it is neither possible nordesirable to produce a one-size-fits-all vision for society.However, others think that today’s radicals do not work hard enough

at reaching out to different parts of society, at bridging the gaps; that theyare not seriously committed to their radical causes. The modern protest –such as Live8 andMake Poverty History – is often seen as illustrating this.At these protests people meet up with their friends for the day, listento Bob Geldof or Bono talk about poverty, and express their personaloutrage at the world. But when it comes to actually working collectivelyfor instrumental change and rolling up their sleeves, these protesters aremuch less interested. They aremore worried about being seen at the rightprotest, wearing the right coloured bracelet.

4 Jonathan Pugh

The supporters of these media events instead say that while this maybe true to a certain extent, something needs to be done. They draw ourattention to the effectiveness ofmodern protests in other areas; for exam-ple, their creativity in drawing our leaders’ attention to important issues,likemass starvation in a globalised world. In a 24/7media-driven society,it is necessary to put on ever more elaborate events, in order to grab ourattention, money and time for radical causes.From just these brief examples, it should be clear that there are many

ways of thinking about radical politics today. Its spirit is broad anddiverse. Written for students and the general public, this book is notconcerned with complex theoretical debate. Rather, it presents con-flicting and contradictory, often provocative characterisations of radicalpolitics today. It includes original works from leading commentators(mainly from the Left and progressive politics residing in the USA andEngland). These gradually build up a broad picture of radical politicstoday.The book is structured by the following four themes:

1. The place of grand visions in contemporary radical politics;2. New forms of radical politics;3. Radicals’ response to diversity and difference in society; and4. What today’s radicals think about the state.

The importance of an overarching ‘big idea’ or ‘grand vision’ of howsociety should function varies between individuals and to a large extentdepends on their political allegiances. Unlike neo-conservatism andRight-wing Islam for example, Left-wing and progressive radical poli-tics today do not, in general, offer grand visions for change. Instead, theirnew forms of radical politics tend to focus upon particular issues, contextsand events – including wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the environment,or the injustices of sweat shops and animal experimentation. There isalso an emphasis upon specific identities, such as expressing the con-cerns of interest groups like ‘Muslims’, ‘women’ or ‘the disabled’. Thereis no obvious alternative overarching plan for society, coming from theLeft and progressives.This also illustrates how contemporary radical politics is dominated by

the themes of diversity and difference, in what is perceived to be an increas-ingly complex world. Societies are often fragmented; communities andindividuals disconnected from each other. Many radicals therefore see itas their role to articulate the claims of people that are not being heard. Inturn, the role of the state is increasingly tomediate between these different,

What is Radical Politics Today? 5

often competing interest groups. Against this backdrop, to some radicalsthe state is the problem, to others the solution; to some it is irrelevant,and to others it is indispensable in creating the radical changes thatsociety needs today.

1. Grand visions

In his contribution Zygmunt Bauman argues that radical politics todayis often not that radical. He ascribes this to our addiction to debt andindustrial growth. Most solutions to the present crisis, which have comefrom both government and society, will push us further into debt, sincethey generally rely on returning us to the status quo and guaranteeingthe availability of limitless credit. Yet radicals on the Left have not devel-oped a grand counter-vision to this. For Bauman, we specifically needto develop radical international organisations which impose limits onconsumption, raising the revenue needed to deal with the environmen-tal crisis and social exclusion at a global level. A truly radical politics –which curtails exploitative attitudes – is lacking. In direct contrast, FrankFuredi argues that the rise of environmentalism and the precaution-ary principle are obvious examples of where radical politics has gonewrong. For Furedi, such risk-averse ideals form the basis of a reactionaryapproach, pervasively holding back radical politics today. Instead weshould confront the limitations on development, tackling those who putthe economic and environmental crisis down to human selfishness andgreed. For Furedi the issue is not whether radical politics comes from theRight or Left; both have become risk averse, neither is therefore radical.Paul Kingsnorth agrees that politics today lacks a radical edge precisely

because it is locked into Left/Right history, but for very different reasonsto Furedi. For Kingsnorth, both Left and Right are against ‘Deep Green’ideology – whose grand vision puts nature resolutely above humanprogress, uplifting it to a spiritual level. This formof radical politics, dom-inant in radical debate in the 1960s, has more recently been sidelined.While in agreement with Kingsnorth, James Heartfield reaches theopposite conclusion. He says that in putting nature first, although lim-ited in number, deep green campaigners manage to oppress the workingmasses. They directly attack workers whose jobs rely upon environmen-tal destruction (coal miners, for example). For Heartfield, this showshow radical politics today is dominated by environmental elites whoshow disdain for ordinary people. Heartfield, like a number of contribu-tors, argues that radical politics today betrays ‘the workers’, because it isdisconnected from the public.

6 Jonathan Pugh

It is therefore interesting to note that while Right-wing neo-conservatism was the most powerful form of radical politics in recentmemory, Terrell Carver comments that it never had broad-based sup-port from the public. Rather, with a lack of a credible alternative from theLeft, elite neo-cons in Washington manipulated systems of governmentwith devastating consequences. So in her contribution Clare Short doesnot celebrate the transformative powers of non-governmental organisa-tions, such as the green parties, development, environmental, anti-warand peace activists. For nowhere have they managed to break through,achieving significant change or political progress. This means that theRight, in the form of neo-conservatism and increasingly Right-wingversions of Islam, has simply stepped into the vacuum. Indeed, Shortbelieves that the radical Right will strengthen in coming years, reinvent-ing itself, as people look for a compass to orientate them out of this crisis.Edward Soja, however, says that in the wake of the economic crisis

of 2008, radical politics does not ‘revolve around absolute or categori-cal choice, such as that between capitalism and socialism. More thanever before, this is not a simple either/or choice.’ He argues that ‘What-ever happens in the aftermath of these epochal events, radical politicstoday is shifting its focus, moving away from an all-embracing anti-neo-liberalism towards a renewed hope that radical change is possible.’ Inhis contribution, which goes against the grain of authors like Furedi andHeartfield, Soja does not look to grand visions, but instead to the emer-gence of diverse ways of resisting spatial inequalities across the world, asradical politics today takes on many new forms.

2. New forms of radical politics

David Chandler, in contrast, argues that many new forms of radical pol-itics are dominated by personal and isolated protests. While this makesprotesters feel better about themselves, it does not meet the demands ofreal political change. He says the 2003 anti-war march, anti-capitalismand anti-globalisation protests, the Make Poverty History campaign atthe end of 2005, theWorld Social Forums or the radical jihad of Al-Qaeda,are all illustrative of highly individualised protests. There is no attemptto build a social or collective movement. And so, theatrical suicide,demonstrating, badge and bracelet wearing become ethical acts in them-selves: personal statements of awareness, rather than attempts to engagepolitically with society.Contradictory judgements are a theme of this book. In her contri-

bution Hilary Wainwright is more supportive of new forms of radical

What is Radical Politics Today? 7

politics today. She says that they reflect a move away from a hierarchicalview, with knowledge being the exclusive privilege of a few (the lead-ers of a party, for example), to an understanding of diverse and pluralsources of knowledge and resistance. From the 1968 student movementsand the 1970s women’s movement, to the World Social Forum and anti-war campaigns, the emphasis is upon developing inter-communication,through complex networks of resistance. In examining performative art-works, Dora Apel discusses the type of protests which contributors likeChandler would surely criticise. But Apel says that while ‘protest actions,performative artworks and images by themselves arguably have limitedability to effect direct political change, their power should not be under-estimated’. For example, such acts held the American government toaccount for their actions in Abu Ghraib.Michael Watts is therefore drawn to the following question. Can radi-

cal politics, often geographically dispersed and fragmented as it is today,amount to a significant challenge to the status quo? While the answeris not clear, Watts argues that resistance to neo-liberalism – if we are tochart the larger landscape – is heterogeneous and worldwide. The recentrevolts in France, the factory occupations in Argentina, the oil national-isation in Bolivia, and the insurgencies in Iraq are all symptomatic, evenif the national and local dynamics differ greatly. For Watts, we shouldnot be gloomy; he sees regular opportunities as neo-liberalism constantlyfails.Jason Toynbee, however, is more sanguine about new forms of rad-

ical politics. Reflecting upon crisis and political transformation at thiswatershed moment, Toynbee says that: ‘There’s no guarantee, or evenlikelihood, that recession and the more intense poverty it brings willlead to a resurgence of working-class consciousness and resistance. Asthe 1980s showed all too well, recessions can weaken resistance by mak-ing solidarity more difficult to build.’ Toynbee’s chapter shows how, asPart II unfolds, this interrogation of the spirit of social engagement andcommitment in radical politics is intensifying today.The following three chapters highlight a range of concerns in this

regard. James Martin acknowledges that the test of today’s radical com-mitment is not that of the last century: namely, demonstrating allegianceto a party or social group. Yet without a programme and organisation tobring the different groups together, many radicals are failing. The prolif-eration and pluralisation of new forms of radical politics – from internetblogging to diverse ways of protesting – has meant that commitment‘flattens out’. The challenge for radicals is to find new but serious radicalcommitment, leading to meaningful political change.

8 Jonathan Pugh

In their contribution Jeremy Gilbert and Jo Littler take the exampleof the Green New Deal, produced by the New Economics Foundation.This shows how some radicals are practically trying to address the realworry over fragmentation and gesture politics. The Green NewDeal aimsto move against the anarchic withdrawal that characterises and alienatesso much of radical politics today. It instead seeks to engage with a widerange of people, from civil society, through to the state, via a broad rangeof strategies, in order to address the environmental and economic crisissimultaneously.The general thrust of Doreen Massey’s chapter, which closes Part II, is

that the crisis presents an opportunity for disparate forms of radical pol-itics to come together. She points out that neo-liberalism only becamethe norm because so many people worked hard collectively, througha broad range of strategies, to make it so. It will therefore take col-lective effort to turn over and uproot. Massey, like Gilbert and Littler,talks about the Green New Deal. In doing so she highlights how con-cern with more than ‘one off’ stunts is becoming increasingly importantfor those interrogating the spirit of radical politics in our times; par-ticularly post-crisis. The nature of collective action is being seriouslyexamined.The first and second parts of the book highlight that today’s radicals

are sometimes criticised for not being committed enough; for being reac-tionary, or disengaged from the general public. While several commen-tators lament the death of grand visions, others count this as a blessing.Some believe that radical politics is most effective when experimentaland creative, and is better able to deal with the particularity of injustice.Others say that the possibilities for universal transformation are reducedpost-crisis, as radical politics focuses too much upon the micro level.Others still are beginning to discuss how the present crisis may be

a turning point: an opportunity for collective action to be reinvigo-rated through invention and hard work, and renewed social engagementaround newly constituted publics. From this departure, the third sec-tion explores how contemporary radical politics deals with diversity anddifference within society.

3. Diversity and difference

This is a prevailing theme for many authors, as in radical politics todaywidespread attention is given to multiculturalism, identity politics andmore recently violence and Islam. As in the previous parts of this book,many contributors are poles apart in their perspectives.

What is Radical Politics Today? 9

Most agree that as the second millennium ended identity politicsgained influence in radical politics, replacing other grand visions.Gregor McLennan is concerned that this has brought radical politicsto a crucial juncture. Too much, and for too long, has the ‘politicsof difference’ dominated. For it is not possible to run organisations –like schools or hospitals – through pressure-group politics alone. SoMcLennan reflects a mood of restlessness around endless pluralism; call-ing for a turn towards a majoritarian, broadly secularist radical politics,uplifting people’s capacities.However, Tariq Modood goes against this emerging grain within

radical politics, arguing for multiculturalism as a radical politics. Multi-culturalism, despite what others say, has a radical content. Modood asksus to think about the many Muslims adopting multicultural, rather thanthe violent, less democratic, approaches in recent years. For Modood, asuccessful multicultural ethos shows howMuslims can be radical, engag-ing peacefully in passionate debates, while living in diverse societies.However, Nick Cohen argues that there is a different side to multicul-turalism. He says: ‘postmodern multiculturalists have taken the liberalidea of tolerance and pushed it into an extreme relativism which holdsthat it is wrong for liberals to attack previously disadvantaged groups –“the other” – even when “the other” espoused ideas which were anti-liberal. In short, it has become racist to oppose sexists, homophobes andfascists from other cultures.’ Cohen argues that many Left-wing, liberal-minded people don’t oppose certain abhorrent aspects of radical Islam.Radical politics today is worse off as a result.Coming from a different perspective, Amir Saeed and David Bates

point out the similarities between Muslim beliefs and the traditionalLeft. They have more in common than what divides them. In turningto multiculturalism, they say, ‘Right-wing commentators fear the con-cept of multiculturalism because it implies an erosion of core, nationalvalues in favour of diverse cultures. Whilst more liberal commentatorsappear to suggest that the concept actually creates divisions in societyby emphasising difference rather than stress the common ground.’ Thechallenge is to bring together like-minded Muslims and non-Muslims,offering an alternative to free market capitalism.Alastair Bonnett takes yet another tack on this issue of multicultural-

ism. He writes that multiculturalists draw upon the myth of a departeduniversal fellowship, in order to critique the lack of coherence in soci-ety. Indeed, Bonnett points out that all radical politics is generallynostalgic for lost utopias and universal aspirations that provide it withdirection.

10 Jonathan Pugh

This opens up a new concern for our survey and interrogation of radicalpolitics today – what is radical politics becoming nostalgic for post-crisis?In his contribution Ken Worpole gives one answer. Like many others inthis book he says radical politics needs to return to a belief in universalneeds and conditions. This is illustrated by the example of modern child-hood and education. Reminding us that poverty and lack of opportunitystill blight the lives of millions, Worpole demonstrates how difficult ithas become to create collective, progressive visions for change througheducational systems. Yet he also points to how few radicals in recentyears have been concerned with such universal aspirations.Illustrating this point Sheila Jasanoff questions those who claim that

education, science and technological innovation are universally to thebenefit of all. Drawing upon examples such as Harvard University, sheargues that the new knowledge economies and technological innova-tions are locked into dominant imaginations, which drive us in particulardirections, heedless of history, culture or social context. Jasanoff writesthat there are two ways to respond – one modest, the other radical. Themodest approach maintains the dominant narrative of progress; thatof the North of the globe. The radical approach politicises innovation,where political alliances are built by disparately concerned people, chal-lenging those who claim that technological innovations are ‘universally’good for all.Nigel Thrift also explores the tensions between universality, the uni-

versity and radical politics. Weighing up the pros and cons of universities,he argues that they need to be defended because of their radical poten-tial to drive society collectively forward for the better, particularly at atime of stagnation and despair. However, Thrift wonders whether manyso-called combative radicals from the Left fully realise this point. Forto say that universities are vital civilisational forces, without which wewould all be worse off, can sound fey and oppressive to the full-bloodedLeft-wing radical. Thrift, however, believes that this reveals a lot aboutthe nature of such radicals today. It demonstrates a narrow focus uponcritique, and a suspicion of authority and expertise.As Will Hutton points out, radical politics on the Left needs a strong,

unifying utopian vision. It also needs to be more supportive of the stateand institutional structures. When the economic crisis hit, most peopleturned to the state, not the market, to step in. It is also important forradical politics on the Left to develop strong, overarching narratives, asa response to the rise in ugly Right-wing nationalisms, and the failuresof the centre ground in mainstreamWestern politics. Hutton argues thatsuch countervisions are necessary to mobilise people’s imaginations and

What is Radical Politics Today? 11

desires; to seize the present opportunity for progressive change. But theycan only be achieved through the development of strong institutionalstructures.

4. The role of the state

Further conflicting perspectives are brought out in the last part of thebook. Turning to the theme of anarchism, Saul Newman acknowl-edges that radicals have tended to look upon it less favourably in thelast few years. Nonetheless, he encourages the reader to take a closerlook at its successes. Newman says withdrawal from collective repre-sentation, the state and institutions is strictly the only proper radicalact. He calls for celebration of such experiments today, saying: ‘this isnot an escape from politics – precisely the opposite: it is an active with-drawal that fundamentally calls into question the symbolic authority ofthe state’. Chantal Mouffe disagrees in her contribution. Mouffe dis-tinguishes between two approaches dominating contemporary radicalpolitics: the first as ‘critique as withdrawal’ from the state; the sec-ond as ‘critique as engagement’ with it. She is unequivocal: withdrawalleaves a vacuum, which is frequently filled by the Right. Despite this, asignificant number of contemporary radical theorists still believe with-drawal is more valuable. Turning against this tide, she supports thosewho extend a ‘war of position’ deep into unjust state practices, buildingcoalitions across a range of geographical sites, not an exodus. Mouffethereby illustrates how some leading postmodern and radical thinkerstoday are looking more favourably upon the state as an agent of positivechange.David Featherstone specifically targets Chantal Mouffe for criticism

however, saying she sees: ‘the national as the key site where politicalantagonisms are to be constructed and negotiated primarily throughparliamentary politics’. Featherstone believes this makes it tricky torecognise and engage with key contemporary movements bringingneo-liberalism into contestation; namely, the transnational counter-globalisation movements. In contrast to Featherstone, Alejandro Colásand Jason Edwards explicitly agree with Mouffe’s sentiments aboutthe nation state. These contributors write that ‘without the powerfulresources of the modern state – its capacity to collect and reinvest rev-enue; to regulate the economy and redistribute wealth; to provide foror coordinate the delivery of the necessary infrastructure in securingbasic human needs – struggles for radical democracy can get stuck inthe debilitating treadmill of constant protest, perpetualmobilisation and

12 Jonathan Pugh

ubiquitous antagonism.’ Mouffe, Colás and Edwards alike criticise thosewho seek to operate too much outside the state.However, David Boyle points out that many people are concerned

with the way in which the state has over-centralised many services, pre-scribing ever more regulations and statistics to discipline ordinary life.Boyle’s chapter reveals a wider desire for authentic social interaction,connection and engagement within radical politics today. This seeks toact against what many radicals see as the overbearing control and powerof the state.In contrast, in the last chapter of the book Saskia Sassen explores

how state power can be used for progressive means, particularly in thesphere of international human rights. She says the recent crisis demon-strates that the state is increasingly the main agent for global change(notably in the USA). With the growing power of state intervention,radicals have once again been re-thinking their stance towards govern-ment. Sassen asks of the USA: ‘could the emergent internationalism ofthe executive branch, now used to further the global corporate econ-omy, be used for addressing some of our pressing global challenges?’Such provocative statements, contentious within this book of conflictingopinions, demonstrate the diverse but open possibilities within radicalpolitics today.

5. Initial reflections

We are at a watershed moment for radical politics. Despite a global crisis,there is no obvious alternative to neo-liberalism for people to mobilisearound. Given that the dominant institutions of politics have visiblyfailed us all, radical politics is being forced into the spotlight. For afterthe spectacular collapse of neo-liberalism, everyone is reflecting uponthe radical alternatives. The question – what is radical politics today? –is no longer of peripheral concern to the population at large. This is asobering time.As an important aside for students, we should remember that in the

1980s and 1990s large amounts of money were injected into Right-wing think tanks and educational institutions (particularly in the USA).Whereas the Left was uncertain about its educational agenda, the Rightcertainly was not. This meant that educational institutions focused uponthe (nowdiscredited) theories underlying neo-liberalism. Neo-liberal ide-ology filtered through the educational system, which became a point ofindoctrination. Given that neo-liberalism is now discredited, millionsof people educated in the 1980s and 1990s, in turn, naturally have a

What is Radical Politics Today? 13

sense of alienation from both education and politics. Because when theeconomic crisis came, these were not places where seriously discussedalternatives to neo-liberalism could be found.This book therefore seeks to reinvigorate the importance of a critical

survey into the spirit of radical politics in our times. As will now be seen,there is a wide range of perspectives to reflect upon.

Jon Pugh, Director, ‘What is radical politics today?’ project1

Newcastle UniversityEngland

Note

1. If you are interested in this ongoing project, please email: Jonathan.Pugh@ncl.ac.uk. Or respond through the magazine, found at: http://www.spaceofdemocracy.org

Part IGrand Visions