The Left That Is Not. On the Concept of “Left” in The Resurgence of the American Left

Authors

  • Roberto Gargarella Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Universidad de Buenos Aires

Keywords:

Left, Right, Latin America, Property, Market

Abstract

In this article I critically examine the concept of the “left” that is employed in the book The Resurgence of the Latin American Left, by Steven Levitsky y Kenneth Roberts.
The critique can be seen as part of a long academic conversation concerning the meaning and implications of the re-emergence of a “new left” in Latin America. I object to their definition not only as a consequence of the political and economic content that they associate with the idea of the “left”, but also as a result of the programatic objectives that they relate to leftist governments. By the end of the text, I offer an alternative definition of the term, which is based on the ideals of economic and political democracy.

Author Biography

  • Roberto Gargarella, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Universidad de Buenos Aires

    Profesor ordinario de la Escuela de Derecho
    de la Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, y profesor asociado de la Facultad de Derecho de la
    Universidad de Buenos Aires.

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How to Cite

Gargarella, R. (2014). The Left That Is Not. On the Concept of “Left” in The Resurgence of the American Left. Política Y Gobierno, 21(2). http://www.politicaygobierno.cide.edu/index.php/pyg/article/view/31