What’s a good leftist book for a liberal who is looking to learn more about the left?

I asked this question on Twitter the other day, got a lot of interesting suggestions, and several people asked me to post it.  If you suggested any of these to me, and would like credit, let me know (since I didn’t say I was doing that ahead of time, I didn’t want to do it without asking). I’d love to hear more from people about their thoughts, and I’m glad to add more books if you have further suggestions. I’ve left off a couple that were either jokes or that I think missed what I was getting at–it’s possible I missed some.

I’m less interested in a book that a liberal would like than one that would be a good starting point if they are looking to explore beyond where they are today. Of course, asking this question leaves two crucial ones unanswered–what do we mean by liberal and what do we mean by left? I left these terms vague because I was curious to see what people’s answers were without me imposing my definitions. My sense is that this list leans U.S.-centric and white male. And it’s also true that different books would make sense for different people.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

And here’s the list, in no particular order:

Who knew the reason libertarianism was so noxious was plagiarism?

For reasons that are somewhat baffling, the coverage of Senator Rand Paul’s plagiarism in speeches and writings got wall-to-wall coverage for some time, although it has now died down. I’m not a fan of Paul, and I don’t think this sort of rampant taking of other people’s words and passing them off as his own is acceptable. Yet I find the whole episode strange. Now that it’s over, I wanted to step back to ruminate on the reaction to this and what it means for the left.

Two claims, largely implicit, have become quite common in Democratic-leaning circles, which are in tension.  First, is the idea that libertarians pose an existential threat to the country. Often, libertarian here is used interchangeably for ‘Tea Party,” and while that doesn’t always make sense, it might when it comes to Paul. And while some would make this same claim about the GOP as a whole, libertarians are singled out for particular scorn. Paul, then, is treated as far more threatening that the senior senator from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell. 

Now, I’m not sure how I would rate the two senators from Kentucky.  I’m sure one could make a case here. But it strikes me that the case is generally presumed, and the differences in terms of whose worse are generally presumed to be really large. This is even more troublesome give that, as minority leader, McConnell likely has a great deal more power in the Senate, regardless of what the comparison might tell us in the abstract.

Justice and equality aren’t things to be asked for; they’re to be claimed.

Corey Robin likes to say that the mission of the Left is to dispossess people of their privileges. He’s right. Justice and equality aren’t things to be asked for; they’re to be claimed. But the thing about dispossession is that it don’t come easy or without a fight. You don’t dispossess the insurance industry and Wall Street with tax credits. That’s a lesson that today’s Democrats forget — especially when it’s fundraising time.

Elias Isquith, Conflict-Averse Liberals

(For some related thoughts from me, see Economic Rights Must Be Contested)

Pluralism and Narratives, Left and Right

Matt Bruenig has an interesting post addressing the problem of pluralism in the left project.

The left is a massively pluralistic segment of the political spectrum. There is no single or even dominant moral and political framework that leftists utilize. On the economic side of things alone, there are people who are primarily interested in decommodification and people who are primarily interested in distrbutive justice, among others. These are very different frameworks. The things you would say to create a decommodification narrative are very different from the things you would say to create a distributive justice narrative. So which ones do you use? Do you talk about the horror of having human interactions funneled through market mechanisms or do you talk about the horrors of inequality and want?

These two narratives are generally compatible (though not always), but the problem is that they are not unified. And that’s just two of them: there are dozens more. Conservatives have basically been saying the same unified thing for decades. It’s silly and jokish, but there is message discipline. While a pluralistic left is not that problematic in theory, when it comes to spinning a political and moral narrative in order to win, it presents a serious obstacle.

To start, I agree that it’s a serious obstacle.