Wrong Turnings

How the Left Got Lost

Geoffrey M. Hodgson

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English

University of Chicago Press
03 January 2018

Socialism & left-of-centre democratic ideologies

The Left is in crisis. Despite global economic turbulence, left-wing political parties in many countries have failed to make progress in part because they have grown too ideologically fragmented. Today, the term Left is associated with state intervention and public ownership, but this has little in common with the original meaning of the term. What caused what we mean by the Left to change, and how has that hindered progress?

With Wrong-Turnings, Geoffrey M. Hodgson tracks changes in the meaning of the Left and offers suggestions for how the Left might reclaim some of its core values. The term Left originated during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries sought to abolish the monarchy and privilege and to introduce a new society based on liberty, equality, fraternity, and universal rights. Over time, however, the meaning radically changed, especially through the influence of socialism and collectivism. Hodgson argues that the Left must rediscover its roots in the Enlightenment and readopt Enlightenment values it has abandoned, such as those concerning democracy and universal human rights. Only then will it be prepared to address contemporary problems of inequality and the survival of democracy. Possible measures could include enhanced educational provisions, a guaranteed basic income, and a viable mechanism for fair distribution of wealth.

Wrong-Turnings is a truly pathbreaking work from one of our most prolific and respected institutional theorists. It will change our understanding of how the left got lost.

By: Geoffrey M. Hodgson
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 23mm, Width: 16mm, Spine: 2mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780226505886
ISBN 10: 022650588X
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 03 January 2018
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Geoffrey M. Hodgson is research professor at Hertfordshire Business School, University of Hertfordshire, England, and the author or coauthor of over a dozen books.

Reviews for Wrong Turnings: How the Left Got Lost

Hodgson is among the most interesting scholars writing today on the history of economic and social thought. In Wrong Turnings, he provides a highly illuminating and interesting discussion of the meanderings over the years of the intellectual orientation of the political Left. His arguments broadened and in some ways reoriented my thinking about a number of political and ideological issues. --Richard Nelson, Columbia University