
Fools, Frauds and Firebrands
Thinkers of the New Left
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Narrated by:
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Rory Barnett
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By:
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Roger Scruton
About this listen
From one of the leading critics of leftist orientations comes a study of the thinkers who have most influenced the attitudes of the New Left. Beginning with a ruthless analysis of New Leftism and concluding with a critique of the key strands in its thinking, Roger Scruton conducts a reappraisal of such major left-wing thinkers as E. P. Thompson, Ronald Dworkin, R. D. Laing, Jurgen Habermas, Gyorgy Lukacs, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida, Slavoj Žižek, Ralph Milliband, and Eric Hobsbawm. In addition to assessments of these thinkers' philosophical and political contributions, the book contains a biographical and bibliographical section summarizing their careers and most important writings.
In Fools, Frauds and Firebrands Scruton asks, what does the Left look like today, and how has it evolved? He charts the transfer of grievances, from the working class to women, gays, and immigrants, asks what we can put in the place of radical egalitarianism, and what explains the continued dominance of antinomian attitudes in the intellectual world. Can there be any foundation for resistance to the leftist agenda without religious faith? Writing with great clarity, Scruton delivers a devastating critique of modern left-wing thinking.
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An Explanation of The Politics of 2020
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Exhaustive
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Essential reading for a world adrift.
The Delivery From the (Prevalent) Nonsense
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very informative with sufficient background
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Best Audible Book I’ve Read so Far
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Simply outstanding
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Fool, et al
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Liberals would undoubtedly benefit from listening to this book as a way to understand a prominent conservative's serious critiques of the New Left. But the book will also be quite spicy.
Equally wonderful is this audiobook's narrator, Rory Barnett. He masterfully inflects the book's sophisticated prose so that the reader has no trouble following dense passages, such as Scruton's critiques of what he calls the Parisian School of Nonsense. His tone is lively and engaging, making a book critiquing postmodern thought into an enjoyable listen. I will be looking to read more of Scruton, and to listen to more of Rory Barnett.
Excellent Author, Excellent Narrator
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Amazing depth given its brevity
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This is my second review of a Roger Scruton book this week. FOOLS, FRAUDS AND FIREBRANDS is more difficult reading than How to Be a Conservative but the rewards make the efforts well worthwhile. Socialism, modern leftism, in all of its forms including Communism, Fascism and plain vinella socialism have failed utterly every time they have been tried. One would think that this book would be unnecessary, but the ideas of the new left simply refuse to die. Scruton thoroughly debunks new leftism by taking on and destroying the works of all of the major new left thought leaders.
Deconstructing the New Left
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