Fools, Frauds and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left

by Roger Scruton

Overview

A devastating critique of modern left-wing thinking from a leading political philosopher.

In Fools, Frauds and Firebrands, philosopher Roger Scruton, one of the leading critics of leftist orientations in modern Western civilization, examines the thinkers who have been most influential on the attitudes of the New Left. What does the Left look like today, he asks, and how has it evolved? Is there any foundation for resistance to its agenda without religious faith?

Scruton begins with a ruthless analysis of New Leftism and concludes with a critique of the key strands in its thinking. He conducts a reappraisal of such major left-wing thinkers as: E. P. Thompson, Ronald Dworkin, R. D. Laing, Jurgen Habermas, Gyorgy Lukacs, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida, Slavoj Zizek, Ralph Milliband and Eric Hobsbawm.

Scruton's exploration of these important issues is written with skill, perception and at all times with pellucid clarity. In addition to assessments of these thinkers' philosophical and political contributions, the book contains a biographical and bibliographical section summarizing their careers and most important writings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472965219
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	04/23/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Sir Roger Scruton is widely seen as one of the greatest conservative thinkers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and a polymath who wrote a wide array of fiction, non-fiction and reviews. He was the author of over fifty books.

A graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge, Scruton was Professor of Aesthetics at Birkbeck College, London; University Professor at Boston University, and a visiting professor at Oxford University. He was one of the founders of the Salisbury Review, contributed regularly to The Spectator, The Times and the Daily Telegraph and was for many years wine critic for the New Statesman. Sir Roger Scruton died in January 2020.

Table of Contents

1 What is Left? / 2 Resentment in Britain: Hobsbawm and Thompson / 3 Disdain in America: Galbraith and Dworkin / 4 Liberation in France: Sartre and Foucault / 5 Tedium in Germany: Downhill to Habermas /6 Nonsense in Paris: Althusser, Lacan and Deleuze / 7 Culture Wars Worldwide: The New Left from Gramsci to Said / 8 The Kraken Wakes: Badiou and Žižek /9 What is Right?

Editorial Reviews

Eminent British philosopher and polymath Scruton gives a sharp-edged, provocative critique of leading leftist thinkers since the mid-twentieth century ... complex and erudite” —Publisher's Weekly US

“Caustic, highly recherché, and simply great fun to read for the questing intellectual soul.” —Kirkus Reviews

“From the standpoint of a serious conservatism, it honestly assesses the political and philosophical contributions of the Left. The book also addresses what is likely our most pressing question: 'Can there be any foundation for resistance to the leftist agenda without religious faith?'” —Catholic World Report

“Since he no longer has a university career to protect, Scruton can now tweak the nose of academic leftism to his heart's content… Scruton is at his best, (and funniest) when trying to make sense of [Alain] Badiou's weird confection historical materialism and Platonic mathematical theory” —Jonathan Derbyshire, Prospect

“The book is a masterpiece ... In crisp, sometimes brilliant prose, Mr. Scruton considers scores of works in three languages, giving the reader an understanding of each thinker's overarching aim and his place within the multifaceted movement known as the New Left. He neither ridicules nor abuses the writers he considers; he patiently deconstructs them, first explaining their work in terms they themselves would recognize and then laying bare their warped assumptions and empty pretensions.” —Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal

“I enjoyed this immensely, both for Scruton's dry, British wit as well as for the sheer breadth of intellectuals covered in his survey” —Against the Grain Blog

“Highly recommended” —Powerline US Blog

“Here Scruton thoroughly and fairly debunks the ostentation, obfuscation, and terrible writing and downright deceitfulness of much of postwar Marxist-inspired philosophy. For Scruton the culprits are mainly from France and Germany-beginning with Sartre and carrying through to Foucault, Habermas, Althusser, Lacan, Deleuze, Gramsci, and Said-and he carries the attack forward to Badiou and Žižek. Even Galbraith and Dworkin take a few hits. Scruton writes from the perspective of an old-school conservative. His sympathies are with the virtues of the countryside and historically rooted associations of every sort, from churches and the US Constitution to volunteer fire departments, brass bands, and the local Grange. His personal point of view could be called sentimental … but his arguments against his foes are substantial and deep. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.” —CHOICE

From the Publisher