Left Adrift: What Happened to Liberal Politics

Dissent magazine editor Shenk (history, George Washington Univ.; Realigners: Partisan Hacks, Political Visionaries, and the Struggle To Rule American Democracy) looks at the decline of the political left by examining the careers of rival political strategists Stan Greenberg and Douglas Schoen. Both worked for the Democratic Party in the U.S. during the 1990s. This book starts with establishing their influences and worldview. They held different views about voter motivations and operated accordingly. For example, Greenberg believed in a populist approach that speaks to blue-collar workers’ economic concerns, whereas Schoen advocated for a more unified strategy that may have caused the Democratic Party to skew rightward. Shenk looks at both Greenberg’s and Schoen’s electoral strategies and dissects the results of major elections in which they participated. Greenberg and Schoen also worked abroad, and this book interrogates the waning popularity of the political left in Great Britain, Israel, and South Africa. Shenk’s analytical title looks at the big picture, includes broad next steps for left-leaning parties and provides an extensive list of books for further reading.