Letter to the New Left. In Vpered, 2012-10-11.

The article is a translation of a letter by Charles Mills published in New Left Review. The author criticizes the concept of “the end of ideology” for its inability or unwillingness to see global social trends behind fragmented events and for ignoring non-Western contexts. Parallels are drawn between “post-ideological” liberalism and Soviet socialist realism. According to the author, the task of the new left is to systematically critique the status quo politically and culturally, followed by making demands and programs. A call is made to renew left-wing political philosophy by adapting it to modern conditions. First and foremost, this call concerns a rethinking of the subject of radical political change. The author argues that today, in most countries, the driving historical force is not the working class, but the young intellectuals.

Translated from English: Roman Tysa for «Vpered»

Original: Charles Wright Mills: “Letter to the New Left”, in New Left Review (Vol. 1, Issue 5), 1960.