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Left Turn
The 2008 financial crisis opened the door for a bold, progressive social movement. But despite widespread revulsion at economic inequity and political opportunism, after the crash very little has changed.
Has the Left failed? What agenda should progressives pursue? And what alternatives do they dare to imagine?
Left Turn is aimed at the many Australians disillusioned with the political process. It includes passionate and challenging contributions by a diverse range of writers, thinkers and politicians, from Larissa Berendht and Christos Tsiolkas to Guy Rundle and Lee Rhiannon. These essays offer perspectives largely excluded from the mainstream. They offer possibilities for resistance and for a renewed struggle for change.
Has the Left failed? What agenda should progressives pursue? And what alternatives do they dare to imagine?
Left Turn is aimed at the many Australians disillusioned with the political process. It includes passionate and challenging contributions by a diverse range of writers, thinkers and politicians, from Larissa Berendht and Christos Tsiolkas to Guy Rundle and Lee Rhiannon. These essays offer perspectives largely excluded from the mainstream. They offer possibilities for resistance and for a renewed struggle for change.
279 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2012
5 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Antony Loewenstein
15 books224 followersAntony Loewenstein is an independent journalist, best-selling author, filmmaker and co-founder of Declassified Australia. He's written for The Guardian, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books and many others. His books include The Palestine Laboratory, Pills, Powder and Smoke, Disaster Capitalism and My Israel Question. His documentary films include Disaster Capitalism and the Al Jazeera English films West Africa's Opioid Crisis and Under the Cover of Covid. He was based in East Jerusalem 2016-2020.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 4, 2013
nothing very life changing, just some left wing people who do write about how like australia was invaded and is racist and has really shit refugee policies so it could be a good basic intro on these issues inc police racism and stuff and some of the authors were good...and it was cool reading a politics thing actually australian based instead of u.s. based in a book...but like pretty shit article on why gay marriage is most important queer issue, and how gays are normalnow, those gay sluts in the city are "unrepresentative" most of us live in the suburbs and are normal...pretty boring article on "sexiness and sexisn" seemed whorephobic but mostly just boring..jeff sparrow (ed) adds his own stupid whorepboa about how neolieralism is shit (obvs) but then tries to claim that it aggressively extends market forces to "realms previpusly governed by different roles. a billion dollar adult industry now servoces our sexual lives; while cap and trade environmental mechanisms introduce market mechanisms into the natural world." this is just a fucking stupid statement to make...i agree capitilism isnt the way to take care of the environment....but trying to make out like sex is never traded for anything or its like some natural spirotual thing being corrupted by late capitilism is just like bad history researching...anyway the other editor also uses "prostitute" to mean people or orgs who have comprimised their values...i mean come on left wing...
May 9, 2020
A series of essays less on the current state of leftist thinking, this book is a little dated in regard to a lot of the matters covered (although still relevant in others). It makes some decent points, but it has a bit of a blase attitude to the way in which the current insidiousness of things like our news media function. The essays highlight issues, but there is little heed paid to the fact that there are radical alterations that need to occur to topple the Murdoch media empire, as well as far further pastures than just marriage equality for the LGBT+ community.
There are some interesting points made, especially if you enjoy broad strokes regarding politics, but there's not as much substance as could have been created. The essays are short and provide little context, and realistically, offer little in respect to the necessity of the new left. A book worth reading if you're entrenched in leftist thinking, but perhaps not one that's great for beginners.
There are some interesting points made, especially if you enjoy broad strokes regarding politics, but there's not as much substance as could have been created. The essays are short and provide little context, and realistically, offer little in respect to the necessity of the new left. A book worth reading if you're entrenched in leftist thinking, but perhaps not one that's great for beginners.
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January 3, 2022I seem to have quite the knack in picking up oddly unpopular non fiction pieces...this also marks my second book(?) by Jeff sparrow
On one hand, there are some interesting talking points and very salient topics that are discussed and addressed through this collection of essays. On the other, given their brevity and the wide range of topics that are usually covered there is unfortunately a limit on how much analysis and proper, meaningful discussion can occur.
The two editors, Anthony Lowrenstein and Jeff Sparrow mention in the introduction that 'political definitions are always fraught, but by' Left' we refer to ideas that define themselves as much against conventional liberalism as against conservatism, that aim for something more than simply a more efficient management of the status quo, that embrace a transformative project of some sort'
The resulting broadness of the target audience for this specific collection of essays creates a melting point of complexities, target audiences and even viewpoints themselves. There is no coherent overall message, which was, upon reflection not exactly conducive for cover to cover reading. Overall, this is often the issue with any attempted categorisations of the 'Left' - there is so much variation in beliefs, values and standpoints that any attempt to hegemonise the concept of the 'Left' is almost always wholly futile.
For the complexity of the essays themselves - some are much more digestible, even to laypeople and those who lack prior reading on the topic. Others however, like the piece by Guy Rundle, Kim Bullimore or Tad Tietze and Elizabeth Humprhys are much more esoteric, and may be easily misinterpreted without prior reading.
I would say that it was an interesting collection overall, with a roughly even split between economic left, and social left issues. Some of them definitely did not resonate as much with me, likely due to differing life experiences and a lack of personal interaction and knowledge regarding the topics at hand.
Some of my favourite soundbites from the essays below...
today it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism - Slavoj Zizek
we who are left.. must learn to argue, assemble and agitate from an understanding that we were, and continue to be, history's ideological losers
society as an aggregation of atomised individuals related only through consumption
if you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing - Malcolm X
the individualised 'I' that thrives among market forces has replaced the collective 'we' of feminist struggle
a liberalism that enshrines personal choice as the baseline of political emancipation
despite the gains from sexual liberation being subsumed by neoliberalism , women's reproductive rights are the one area the marketplace hasn't claimed
On one hand, there are some interesting talking points and very salient topics that are discussed and addressed through this collection of essays. On the other, given their brevity and the wide range of topics that are usually covered there is unfortunately a limit on how much analysis and proper, meaningful discussion can occur.
The two editors, Anthony Lowrenstein and Jeff Sparrow mention in the introduction that 'political definitions are always fraught, but by' Left' we refer to ideas that define themselves as much against conventional liberalism as against conservatism, that aim for something more than simply a more efficient management of the status quo, that embrace a transformative project of some sort'
The resulting broadness of the target audience for this specific collection of essays creates a melting point of complexities, target audiences and even viewpoints themselves. There is no coherent overall message, which was, upon reflection not exactly conducive for cover to cover reading. Overall, this is often the issue with any attempted categorisations of the 'Left' - there is so much variation in beliefs, values and standpoints that any attempt to hegemonise the concept of the 'Left' is almost always wholly futile.
For the complexity of the essays themselves - some are much more digestible, even to laypeople and those who lack prior reading on the topic. Others however, like the piece by Guy Rundle, Kim Bullimore or Tad Tietze and Elizabeth Humprhys are much more esoteric, and may be easily misinterpreted without prior reading.
I would say that it was an interesting collection overall, with a roughly even split between economic left, and social left issues. Some of them definitely did not resonate as much with me, likely due to differing life experiences and a lack of personal interaction and knowledge regarding the topics at hand.
Some of my favourite soundbites from the essays below...
today it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism - Slavoj Zizek
we who are left.. must learn to argue, assemble and agitate from an understanding that we were, and continue to be, history's ideological losers
society as an aggregation of atomised individuals related only through consumption
if you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing - Malcolm X
the individualised 'I' that thrives among market forces has replaced the collective 'we' of feminist struggle
a liberalism that enshrines personal choice as the baseline of political emancipation
despite the gains from sexual liberation being subsumed by neoliberalism , women's reproductive rights are the one area the marketplace hasn't claimed
August 30, 2012
Many excellent essays discussing the state of most issues of import to Australians of a progressive bent, but ... while most authors do a good job job of analysing their topics and some start to identify how they relate to the broader issues of market capitalism, none is really able to articulate any alternative path. Jeff Sparrow, in his article about the Occupy movement, at least recognises this; neoliberalism and the centre right has been winning on all fronts for well over 30 years and is now so dominant that it is difficult to think in any other way, so a new utopian vision is needed to provide us with something to aim for.
My suggestion would be to try conceptualising a society where the Information Revolution has run its course. Unfortunately, This seems to be deprecated in favour of a rehashed 'socialism' of some sort. We have a long way to go.
My suggestion would be to try conceptualising a society where the Information Revolution has run its course. Unfortunately, This seems to be deprecated in favour of a rehashed 'socialism' of some sort. We have a long way to go.
January 27, 2018
An amazing, diverse look into the struggle Australian leftists currently face against capital, racism, sexism and colonialism. Any Australian who considers themselves in any way socially and economically progressive should pick this book up.
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October 10, 2023Very of its time but nonetheless an interesting political juncture (pre-idpol but slightly post-occupy).
July 13, 2012
Sky spoke to Left Turn co-editor Jeff Sparrow about neo-liberalism, the state of the media and political arguments within Australia. Originally broadcast on the Book Club on 12/07/2012.
August 12, 2015
3.5
Some gems in this collection of essays. Kind of like reading a weekend newspaper, some of the columns are instantly forgettable and others seemlessly integrate into your way of thinking so that you forget where the idea came from.
Some gems in this collection of essays. Kind of like reading a weekend newspaper, some of the columns are instantly forgettable and others seemlessly integrate into your way of thinking so that you forget where the idea came from.
January 6, 2013
Very interesting perspectives, highly relevant to modern Australia, and well-written. I particularly liked the essays on Indigenous Australia and asylum-seeker policy.
June 6, 2013
One or two dud chapters, but the majority were well written and obviously insightful.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews