Abstract

The present situation of the Left in industrialized countries is, in a word, deplorable. A large part of the Left has already joined or is in the process of joining the social “establishment,” and should therefore no longer be called “Left.” That part of the Left further from the establishment is also in bad shape. Bound by acquired interests or by affective-ideological ties to diverse so-called socialist bureaucracies — be they moderate or extremist — it does not have a clear and consistent perspective of the contemporary social process. Consequently, its project of social transformation does not provide a truly radical alternative to the alienation structures of contemporary societies.