Radical Futures series
Hilary Wainwright, A New Politics from the Left
Graham Jones, The Shock Doctrine of the Left
Gianpaolo Baiocchi, We, the Sovereign
Keir Milburn, Generation Left
polity
Copyright © Keir Milburn 2019
The right of Keir Milburn to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 2019 by Polity Press
Polity Press
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Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK
Polity Press
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Medford, MA 02155, USA
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3226-1
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Milburn, Keir, author.
Title: Generation left / Keir Milburn.
Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA, USA : Polity Press, 2019. | Series: Radical futures | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018050590 (print) | LCCN 2019000291 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509532261 (Epub) | ISBN 9781509532230 | ISBN 9781509532247 (pb)
Subjects: LCSH: Right and left (Political science) | Young adults--Political activity. | Generations--Political aspects. | Age--Political aspects.
Classification: LCC JA83 (ebook) | LCC JA83 .M55 2019 (print) | DDC 320.53--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050590
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Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.
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Theory is never simply generated by individuals. At best, authors immerse themselves in the general intellect of their times, find new ways of articulating the problems that social movements are struggling with and suggest avenues for addressing them. Out of that general intellect there are several people I’d like to thank. Firstly, my thanks go to my editors at Polity, George Owers and Julia Davies, for both their patience and their thoughtful editorial suggestions. I also want to thank Rodrigo Nunes and Bue Rubner Hansen for commenting on drafts of the book. Huge thanks go to my comrades in Plan C who have helped frame the problems with which I’ve engaged since 2011 and provided the invaluable lessons that come with attempting to address them practically. Over the last year or so I’ve also participated in the Acid Joy Collective, whose discussions have both raised my consciousness and helped me think through the electoral turn. Many of the ideas in this book have been incubated for a long time after getting their first development within the collective writing project The Free Association. In particular, I’d like to thank members David Harvie and Brian Lyang, who, along with Gareth Brown, have influenced my thinking and helped frame the conceptual assemblage in the book the most. Last but not least, my thanks go to Alice Nutter and Mae Rose Milburn not just for being supportive but also for being good fun.
Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.
Frantz Fanon
The storms of youth precede brilliant days.
Comte de Lautréamont