Liberal Practicality and the US Left

Abstract

There is a large left constituency in the United States but it is mainly invisible, lacking any central organizational basis in the society as a whole. The partnership of the state and capital operates relatively smoothly in comparison to other advanced capitalist societies. Consequently, the dominant organs of power have been able, with considerable success even in times of crisis, to project a hegemonic 'consensus' from above that has left a majority of the population marginalized, effectively removing them from meaningful participation in the polity. The chief tenets of this hegemonic consensus are: (1) 'America' is an essentially classless society in which Emerson's 'infinitude of the private man' is a working reality. (2) 'The genius of American politics' lies in its rejection of all closed ideological systems, hence the lack of fundamental controversy over values. (3) The political sphere is an equilibrium of freely competing pluralist interests. (4) Conquest of the natural-technological frontier through the growth of private enterprise will allow for steady improvement in the human condition with no alteration in the already ideal social relationships. And (5) America is the leader of the Free World.