I got a few leads on classic 20th c authors and texts to follow up on, but otherwise this book rambles a bit too much. It is a bit inbred, I think, in that he assumes an interest in, and a familiarity with, the history of the ideas of the left in the course of the 20th century (especially in France).
He does bring up the point of the death of big ideologies as a result of the horrendous revolutions we've seen through the 20th c. - particularly the discrediting of the very concept of revolution and designed human society. I'm not so sure though that the right has moved away from big ideologies - and he doesn't seem to address this. How can the left stand as an alternative to the right if they don't have a vision, a narrative, a story that can stand up to the ideologies of the right? (Thinking of american politics here...)
Levy does raise some interesting points regarding human rights, cosmopolitanism, and tolerance vs respect (tolerance accepts from a distance without wanting to engage; respect implies willingness to engage, incorporate a presence into your society. Levy also addresses the issue of cultural relativity vs. human rights, coming down strongly on the human rights side. (If tradition and culture are worth more than human rights, it is a double standard in relation to our own western society, where rights over tradition has come to be the norm - and lead to positive social change.)
Levy also looks at the Israel/Palestine conflict, but from a very shallow, historically narrow point of view. He raises some interesting points about links to Nazism and fascism in arab political organizations, but this could be seen as similar to the Finnish link with Germany as an ally against Russia in WWII. (Part of his overall assumption in the book that ideas lead society - whereas my view is that ideas are often made to fit one's own personal advantage - like his interpretation of Israel/Palestinian history.)
To find:
The Gulag Archipelago
- Cambodian revolution
Arthur Koestler - Darkness At Noon
Panait Istrati - The Confessions of a Loser/The Other Flame
Karl Popper
Star of Redemption - Rosenzweig
Philippe Sollers
Marcel Pleynet (Tel Quel magazine)
Origins of Totalitarianism - Hannah Arendt
Are We Rome? Cullen Murphy
Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon
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