European University Institute Library

The Port Huron statement, sources and legacies of the New Left's founding manifesto, edited by Richard Flacks and Nelson Lichtenstein

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-313) and index

illustrations

no index present

non fiction

The Port Huron statement

893455619

edited by Richard Flacks and Nelson Lichtenstein

sources and legacies of the New Left's founding manifesto

The Port Huron Statement was the most important manifesto of the New Left student movement of the 1960s. Initially drafted by Tom Hayden and debated over the course of three days in 1962 at a meeting of student leaders, the statement was issued by Students for a Democratic Society as their founding document. Its key idea, "participatory democracy, " proved a watchword for Sixties radicalism that has also reemerged in popular protests from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street. Featuring essays by some of the original contributors as well as prominent scholars who were influenced by the manifesto, The Port Huron Statement probes the origins, content, and contemporary influence of the document that heralded the emergence of a vibrant New Left in American culture and politics. Opening with an essay by Tom Hayden that provides a sweeping reflection on the document's enduring significance, the volume explores the diverse intellectual and cultural roots of the Statement, the uneasy dynamics between liberals and radicals that led to and followed this convergence, the ways participatory democracy was defined and deployed in the 1960s, and the continuing resonances this idea has for political movements today. An appendix includes the complete text of the original document. The Port Huron Statement offers a vivid portrait of a unique moment in the history of radicalism, showing that the ideas that inspired a generation of young radicals more than half a century ago are just as important and provocative today.--, Provided by Publisher

Introduction / Richard Flacks and Nelson Lichtenstein -- Crafting the Port Huron Statement : measuring its impact in the 1960s and after /Tom Hayden -- Intellectual and cultural foundations -- Two cheers for utopia / Michael Kazin -- Port Huron and the origins of the international New Left / Lisa McGirr -- The romance of rebellion / Grace Elizabeth Hale -- Liberalism and radicalism conjoined and divided -- The New Left and liberalism reconsidered : the Committee of Correspondence and the Port Huron Statement / Daniel Geary -- A moment of convergence / Nelson Lichtenstein -- The New Left's love-hate relationship with the university / Robert Cohen -- Putting participatory democracy into practice -- The democratic process at Port Huron and after / Robert J.S. Ross -- A manifesto of hope / Barbara Haber -- Putting participatory democracy into action / Jennifer Frost -- Port Huron and the New Left movements in Federal Germany / Michael Vester -- Lessons and legacies -- Did we learn how to make participatory collectives work? / Jane Mansbridge -- Participatory democracy and the fate of Occupy Wall Street / James Miller -- Radical democracy as a real utopia / Erik Olin Wright -- Philosophical and political roots of the American New Left / Richard Flacks -- The Port Huron Statement