The Left's Power and Constraints in Capitalist Societies

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The chapter discusses the limited power of the left in capitalist societies to impose its demands due to the organization of the ruling class by the state. It explains that even when the left is relatively more powerful, its effects are usually mediated through coalition partners who both manage and isolate the left for their own purposes. The chapter also references Polanzas' idea that the state establishes compromises between dominant and dominated classes to reproduce class hegemony, and emphasizes that all measures taken by the capitalist state, even those imposed by the popular masses, are ultimately pro-capitalist.

Featuring Amna Akbar, Gabriel Winant, and Thea Riofrancos on the emerging terrain of struggle. Is American liberalism exhausted or revitalized? What are the successes and limits of the new US left electoral strategy? Is there a new anti-electoral mood amongst socialists? Why don't we have a powerful climate movement? What forces are making and remaking the American working class today? The second and final part of a very wide-ranging interview. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Check out our newsletter and vast archives at thedigradio.com Buy Reform, Revolution, and Opportunism: Debates in the Second International, 1900-1910 haymarketbooks.org/books/2109-reform-revolution-and-opportunism