The Exhaustion of Left and Right: Perspectives on the Political Participation of the Disadvantaged

Abstract

While it is often assumed that those of a left political conviction favor the increased political participation of the disadvantaged and those of a more conservative bent oppose it, examination of the views of five ideologically defined intellectual tendencies raises doubts about this conclusion. Political orientations of a left-right character are not consistently linked to issue positions on this question. In general, Liberals call for measures to increase the participation of the disadvantaged and Conservatives warn against such action. But New Right Conservatives, surprisingly, also seek to mobilize the disadvantaged, and generally favor their participation. Western Marxists often argue that the disadvantaged must actively participate in the struggle for social change while the Marxist-Leninists contend that to attribute such an active role to the disadvantaged could seriously threaten the entire socialist-communist project.

Fundamental values, in the form of philosophical assumptions about human nature are hypothesized to be as helpful as political ideology of a left-right character in understanding views on the participation of the disadvantaged. Western Marxists and Liberals are both optimistic about human nature and they favor participation of these groups while Conservatives and Marxist-Leninists are pessimistic about humankind and discourage it. The New Right characterizations of human nature are contradictory and their enthusiasm for the political participation of the disadvantaged can be interpreted as either a deeply held emotional commitment, or merely one element in a calculated electoral strategy.