The Rise of a New Left: How Young Radicals Are Shaping the Future of American Politics

(Hardback)

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Description

A new progressive generation is on the rise in the United States, reflected in the mushrooming rolls of the Democratic Socialists of America (90,000 mostly twentysomething members), Marxist explainers in Teen Vogue, and perhaps most famously of all, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC and the Rise of a New American Left is the first book to look closely at this new politics. Propelled by interviews with AOC and the other key figures and organizations who have shaken up American politics, the book includes portraits of groups like Democratic Socialists of America, the Sunrise Movement, and Justice Democrats, explaining who they are, where they come from, and what they want. Investigating the panopy of strategies employed by the new movements and their relationship to politicians from Bernie Sanders to Nancy Pelosi, the book describes how the generational focus on insurgent electoral campaigns both aims to transform the Democratic Party and threatens to be captured by it. Written with panache by a member of this rising generation, this book immerses the reader in a youth culture the likes of which haven't been seen since Sixties.

Reviews

The Rise of a New Left is an engrossing behind-the-scenes account of our decade's breakout political movement. It is also an invaluable second draft of history that readers and scholars will consult for many years to understand the opportunities and challenges of socialist organizing in the first decades of the 21st century. -- Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, author of The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen
I was on the verge of getting sad about politics, again. Then I picked up The Rise of a New Left, I was reminded of all the energy on the young left, and I started feeling hope again. If you don't know this movement, you could find no better way to learn about it than this book. -- Doug Henwood, host, Behind the News, KPFA
An exceptionally well-informed report from the ranks of the most dynamic, constructive movement in contemporary American politics. Few books can be profitably read as history, journalism, and political field manual, but this one succeeds on all three fronts. -- Patricia O'Toole, author of The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made
An important primer on the young activists and politicians whose mandate is nothing less than saving our country. -- Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country Friends: A Novel
An insider's account of how young progressives are influencing American politics and culture...an inspirational introduction to young progressives and the causes they're fighting for. * Publishers Weekly *
A well-reported introduction to a growing, controversial movement among the younger electorate. * Kirkus *
A sobering yet inspirational record of what leftists have been up to post-Bernie....by highlighting the work of a diverse array of left organizations and their leaders, most of whom are women, Lipsitz does justice to the Left as a whole. -- James J. Jackson * Democratic Left *

Author Bio

Raina Lipsitz writes about gender, politics, and culture. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Nation, Al Jazeera America, Jewish Currents, The Atlantic, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour.