{"product_id":"optimistic-leftist-hardcover","title":"Optimistic Leftist - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRuy Teixeira\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Advances an analysis that should encourage progressives, be cautionary for conservatives, and engage and enlighten everyone who cares about America's political and economic future.\" --James Fallows, national correspondent, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A tonic--not because it will make you feel better, although it might, but because he makes a powerful, provocative and persuasive case that progressives are in a better position than they realize to make our world better.\" --E. J. Dionne Jr., author of \u003ci\u003eWhy the Right Went Wrong\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe words \"optimism\" and \"the left\" do not seem to go together very well these days. The dominant view on the left--reinforced by the election of Donald Trump--is as follows: (1) progress in today's world has largely stopped and in many ways reversed; (2) the left is weak and at the mercy of a rapacious capitalism and a marauding right; and (3) the outlook for the future is bleak, with ordinary citizens suffering even more deprivation and the planet itself sliding inexorably toward catastrophe. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut all these propositions are wrong. It is not the case that progress has stopped. Today, we live in a freer, more democratic, less violent and more prosperous world than we ever have before. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt is not the case that the left is at the mercy of the right. The form of the left is changing but its numbers are strong and growing. It remains a vital force--\u003ci\u003ethe\u003c\/i\u003e vital force--for reforming capitalism. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnd it is not the case that the future of humanity is bleak. The problems we face today are solvable and, moreover, are likely to be solved in the coming decades. Life for ordinary citizens should improve dramatically over the course of the 21st century. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt is not just that these pessimistic propositions are wrong. They also do real harm to the left by undermining its appeal. Pessimism makes people less likely to believe in positive change, not more likely. It is time for the left to realize that their romance with pessimism is a bug not a feature of their current practice. There is no substitute for optimism and an economic climate that promotes optimism. The time has come, as Ruy Teixeira argues in this book, for the optimistic leftist.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRUY TEIXEIRA is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and author or co-author of several books on American politics. Teixeira s book, \u003ci\u003eThe Emerging Democratic Majority\u003c\/i\u003e, written with John Judis (Scribner, 2002), was the most widely discussed political book of that year.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 8.5 x 5.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 07, 2017\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47354396967161,"sku":"9781250089663","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/WnVJZU5QYmxnL3pMcWZrWTh5MHhxUT09.webp?v=1769838013","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/optimistic-leftist-hardcover","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}