On this edition of Parallax Views, we delve into the intellectual life and thought of Michael Harrington, a key figure of the American New Left who helped found the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America). The author of the influential The Other America: Poverty in the United States, Harrington was a proponent of what he called "the left wing of the possible" and thus believed that socialists must push for a re-alignment of the Democratic Party.
Joining us to offer a critique Harrington's thought is Doug Greene, author of the zer0 books title A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism.
Among the topics covered in this conversation:
- The early intellectual development of Michael Harrington and his interest in bohemianism
- Harrington's anti-communism, his belief in a popular front sans Stalinists, and his relationship to New Left in the 60s
- Harrington's "left wing of the possible" strategy and the Democratic Party
- The influence of theorist Max Schachtman on Harrington's thinking; Harrington's concept of "Democratic Marxism"
- Liberalism, Capitalism, Michael Harrington, and the reformist vs. revolutionary divide
- Michael Harrington, the DSA, and the Israel/Palestine conflict
- Michael Harrington, the Vietnam War, and imperialism
- Harrington's value beyond the criticisms Greene has of him
- Harrington's The Other America, FDR the New Deal coalition, and LBJ's Great Society
- Harrington's debates with or critiques of right-wing figures like William F. Buckley and Milton Friedman
- And much, much more!
