An appreciation of "first wave" Progressivism is critical to understanding our current political culture. Michael McGerr's 2003 history of that wave, A Fierce Discontent, offers a first-rate introduction to the well-springs of the movement, its successes, and its failures. One of the unintended benefits of reading this book is the way in which it aids the reader familiar with Richard Rorty's political thought in the task of placing his thinking within the broader context of American Progressivism. Insofar as a "second wave" of Progressivism may be rising to meet us, we must prepare ourselves for its coming. Rorty's insistence that we can (and should) cultivate a kind of "double life" ("Trotskyite" in the public sphere, devoted to "wild orchids" in private) is a potential safeguard against some of the excesses that brought about first wave Progressivism's "fall" in the aftermath of the First World War.
No comments:
Post a Comment