The New Left: Activists Or Intellectuals?

Abstract

Although the political expressions and campaigns of the 1960s were the result of very specific national circumstances and concerns, the individual groups that comprised the New Left in the countries we have explored so far shared many similarities in their political and ideological makeup. Throughout the book, Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of the field explored in Chapter one has been used to refer to the New Left. The “New Left field” thus becomes a heuristic tool that can help us locate both the dynamic relation of exchanges between the schools, journals, and individuals that constituted the field as well as the intellectual capital they traded. Part of the affinity among journals and individuals is demonstrated by the personal interaction and exchange that existed between them throughout the decade. This rich personal experience shared by members of the New Left field was reinforced by an abundant intellectual production that often showed signs of common interest and cross-fertilization.