In the first full length analysis of the rise of left-wing hobbyists, performative radicals and the 'Identity Left', A Left for Itself interrogates the connection between socio-economic realities and politico-cultural views and boldly asks what is a worthy politics, one for the follower count or one for effecting change.
David Swift astutely diagnoses the pathological narcissism at the heart of what he calls the ‘hobbyist left', which has captured the Labour Party. With its preoccupation with language and virtue-signalling, and scant interest in the concerns and culture of actual working people, today's middle-class elitist left no longer speaks to the voters who once gave their support to the Labour Party.
This book is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the contemporary state of the left.
David Swift rides a coach and horses through the self-indulgence, radical chic and bloviating of too much of today's British left.
