Left in the Past: Radicalism and the Politics of Nostalgia

This book looks at the role nostalgia plays in the radical imagination to offer a new guide to the history and politics of the left. In "Left in the Past", Bonnett re-assesses the place of nostalgia within radical politics and, in doing so, provides a new introduction to the history and politics of the left. Bonnett argues that nostalgia has been a chronic, but repressed, aspect of the socialist imagination. "Left in the Past" is premised on the idea that, in our 'post-socialist era', the relationship between radicalism and a sense of loss, and the ambivalent position of socialism in and against modernity, can be viewed with greater clarity. In Section One of the book, Bonnett shows the centrality and repression of nostalgia in both 19th-century radicalism and anti-colonial radicalism. In Section Two, he explores the consequences of this inheritance by way of 20th century and contemporary studies of revolutionary intellectuals and intellectual culture. Bonnett's unique approach in how to understand the left in an age of post-socialism will make book a needed resource for anyone interested in the history and politics of the left and radicalism.

Introduction
       The Dilemmas of Radical Nostalgia
       Acknowledging Nostalgia: Four Provocations
       Six Windows onto Radical Nostalgia


Part One

Chapter One: Nostalgia and the Left: Denial, Danger and Doubt
    Introduction
    Nostalgia as the Modern Dilemma
    The 'ruthless criticism of all that exists'
    Radical Nostalgia
    'We have lost something': The End of Utopia
    Nostalgia's Uncertain Return
    Conclusion

Chapter Two: Nostalgia in and against English Socialist History, 1775-1894
    Introduction
    The Politics of Loss in English Socialist History
    From Poorman's Advocate to Proletarian: Thomas Spence and Radical Tradition
    William Morris: Nostalgia in an Age of Progress
    Robert Blatchford: The New Life and Old Traditions of Socialist Fellowship
    Conclusion

Part Two

Chapter Three: Worlds We Have Lost: Nostalgia in Anti-Colonialism and Postcolonialism
    Introduction
    Anti-Colonial Nostalgia: Roots Against Empire
    Postcolonial Nostalgias: Yearning for Resistance
    Conclusion

Chapter Four: The Melancholia of Cosmopolis
    Introduction
    Cosmopolitan Attachments
    Renewing resistance:  Nostalgia and anti-nostalgia in British radical anti-racism
    Nostalgia Strikes Back: Paul Gilroy's After Empire
    Conclusion: Sharing Loss

Part Three

Chapter Five: Yearning at the Extremes: Situationist Nostalgia
    Introduction
    The Spectacle as Loss
     'Whoever Sees the Banks of the Seine Sees Our Grief': Situationist Nostalgia for Place
    Conclusions and New Departures


Chapter Six: The Psychogeography of Loss
    Introduction
    Purgatory and Redemption around the M25: The Radical
    Nostalgia of Iain Sinclair
    adical Re-enchantments: Magic, Preservationism and
Nostalgia in Revolutionary Psychogeography
    Conclusion

Conclusion: Acknowledging Nostalgia

References
Index

"Alastair Bonnett persuades us that the left can come to terms with nostalgia, because nostalgia-if the left did but realize it-is both a fact and an underutilized quality of leftist thought, and to prove it, Left in the Past conspires an unexpected rendezvous between early socialism, post-colonialism, and situationism. Unforeseen too is how this examination of nostalgia sheds new light on its opponent, modernity, placing the two rivals for the hearts and minds of the left in a truly welcome exchange. The book's novel readings of renowned cultural theories on the one hand, and exposés of arcane psycogeography on the other, will intrigue scholars, activists and students alike in virtually any area of politics, the arts, the humanities and social sciences. Bonnett writes with the humanity of someone who has thought through the contradictions he has felt within himself and which he wants now to share with others. And in a delicious irony, his findings are presented clearly and unsentimentally."  --Simon Sadler, Professor of Architectural and Urban History, University of California, Davis
"Alastair Bonnett of Newcastle University in a brilliant new book, 'Left in the Past: Radicalism and the Politics of Nostalgia' writes that 'throughout the last century nostalgia was cast as the antithesis of radicalism. Emotions of yearning and loss were portrayed as embarrassing defects on the bright body of movement associated with the new and the youthful'. --Jon Cruddas, Member of Parliament (UK)
Praised by Labour MP Jon Cruddas in a lecture delivered in Liverpool March (UK) ''Alastair Bonnett of Newcastle University in a brilliant new book, 'Left in the Past: Radicalism and the Politics of Nostalgia' writes that 'throughout the last century nostalgia was cast as the antithesis of radicalism. Emotions of yearning and loss were portrayed as embarrassing defects on the bright body of movement associated with the new and the youthful'.''
Bonnett's brilliant book- which, quite simply, must be read by anyone wanting not only a richer understanding of the patriotic, conservative and radical nature of the English left's past, but a guide and contour to current debates- forces us to refine our attitude to nostalgia as a human impulse and deeply constructive trait.
Ambitious and wide-ranging . [A] scholarly and stimulating work, which makes a valuable and much-needed contribution to the scholarship on nostalgia, modernity and left politics.
[My] academic interests have been stimulated and my learning enhanced through the reading of this book. I highly recommend Left in the Past to anyone interested in exploring the history of radicalism and/or the politics of nostalgia.

Alastair Bonnett is Professor of Social Geography in the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University, UK. His other books include, The Idea of the West: Culture, Politics and History, White Identities: International and Historical Perspectives, Anti-racism and Radicalism, Anti-racism and Representation.