The Rise of a New Left - by Raina Lipsitz (Hardcover)

About the Book

A new progressive generation is on the rise in the United States, reflected in the mushrooming rolls of the Democratic Socialists of America (90,000 mostly twentysomething members), Marxist explainers in Teen Vogue, and perhaps most famously of all, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC and the Rise of a New American Left is the first book to look closely at this new politics. Propelled by interviews with AOC and the other key figures and organizations who have shaken up American politics, the book includes portraits of groups like Democratic Socialists of America, the Sunrise Movement, and Justice Democrats, explaining who they are, where they come from, and what they want. Investigating the panopy of strategies employed by the new movements and their relationship to politicians from Bernie Sanders to Nancy Pelosi, the book describes how the generational focus on insurgent electoral campaigns both aims to transform the Democratic Party and threatens to be captured by it. Written with panache by a member of this rising generation, this book immerses the reader in a youth culture the likes of which haven't been seen since Sixties.

Book Synopsis

HOW THE FIRST MAJOR LEFTWING GENERATION SINCE THE SIXTIES HAS SHAPED ELECTORAL POLITICS

The mushrooming rolls of the Democratic Socialists of America, Marxist explainers in Teen Vogue, and the outsized impact of the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, all herald a new, youth-inflected radical politics.

The Rise of a New Left gets behind the headlines about AOC and her cohort of elected officials to tell the stories of the young organizers who created the Squad and the new social movements that have roiled US politics, from the DSA to the Sunrise Movement to Justice Democrats. Ranging across the country to describe grassroots organizing in places like rural Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Kentucky, Florida, and California, this book examines the panoply of strategies and struggles of activists working in--and trying to transform--electoral politics and the climate justice, racial justice, and labor movements. Alongside Ocasio-Cortez, we hear from the even younger Alexandra Rojas, one of the strategists who guided her political insurgency.

Propelled by scores of immersive and absorbing conversations on political strategy with young activists determined to reshape the country, this book--by a writer who is herself a member of this generational movement--is a riveting account of a resurgent left.

Review Quotes

"The Rise of a New Left is an engrossing behind-the-scenes account of our decade's breakout political movement. It is also an invaluable second draft of history that readers and scholars will consult for many years to understand the opportunities and challenges of socialist organizing in the first decades of the 21st century."
--Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, author of The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen

"I was on the verge of getting sad about politics, again. Then I picked up The Rise of a New Left, I was reminded of all the energy on the young left, and I started feeling hope again. If you don't know this movement, you could find no better way to learn about it than this book."
--Doug Henwood, host, Behind the News, KPFA

"An exceptionally well-informed report from the ranks of the most dynamic, constructive movement in contemporary American politics. Few books can be profitably read as history, journalism, and political field manual, but this one succeeds on all three fronts."
--Patricia O'Toole, author of The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made

"An important primer on the young activists and politicians whose mandate is nothing less than saving our country."
--Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country Friends: A Novel

"An insider's account of how young progressives are influencing American politics and culture...an inspirational introduction to young progressives and the causes they're fighting for."
--Publishers Weekly

"A well-reported introduction to a growing, controversial movement among the younger electorate."
--Kirkus

"A sobering yet inspirational record of what leftists have been up to post-Bernie....by highlighting the work of a diverse array of left organizations and their leaders, most of whom are women, Lipsitz does justice to the Left as a whole."
--James J. Jackson, Democratic Left

"Lipsitz's The Rise of a New Left: How Young Radicals Are Shaping the Future of American Politics is the best book I've read on the evolution of radical politics in recent years."
--John Nichols, Cap Times

About the Author

Raina Lipsitz lives in Brooklyn and writes about politics and culture. Her work has appeared in Al Jazeera America, the Appeal, Atlantic, Nation, and New Republic, among other publications.