The Politics of Betrayal : Renegades and Ex-radicals From Mussolini to Christopher Hitchens

The radical who is transformed into a conservative is a common theme in political history. Benito Mussolini, the Italian socialist who became a fascist, is the best-known example, but there have been many others, including the numerous American Trotskyists and Marxists who later emerged as neo-conservatives, anti-communists or, in some instances, McCarthyists.The politics of betrayal examines why several one-time radicals subsequently became parts of the establishment in various countries, including the former Black Panther Party leader turned Republican Eldridge Cleaver, the Australian communist Adela Pankhurst who became an admirer of the Nazis, and the ex-radical journalist Christopher Hitchens, whose defection to the camp of George W. Bush’s neo-conservatives following 11 September 2001 offers one of the most startling examples of the phenomenon in recent times.How and why do so many radicals betray the cause? Is it simply a reaction to political defeat? Were their politics always problematic, even as radicals? Were the ex-radicals psychologically flawed to begin with? What implications does it have for left politics? This book, the first of its kind, answers these and more questions. The radical who becomes a conservative is a common theme in political history. Benito Mussolini, the Italian socialist who became a fascist, is the best-known example, but there have been many others, including the numerous American Trotskyists and Marxists who later became neo-conservatives, anti-communists or, in some instances, McCarthyists. The politics of betrayal examines why several one-time radicals subsequently became part of the establishment in various countries, including the former Black Panther Party leader turned Republican Eldridge Cleaver, the Australian communist Adela Pankhurst who became an admirer of the Nazis, and the ex-radical journalist Christopher Hitchens, whose defection to the neo-conservative camp of George W. Bush's administration following 11 September 2001 offers one of the most surprising instances of the phenomenon in recent times. How and why do so many radicals betray the cause? What implications does it have for left politics? Were the ex-radicals right to become conservatives? This book, the first of its kind, answers these and more questions." -- Front matter Contents Preface and acknowledgements Abbreviations A note on terms and sources Introduction: A road well travelled Part I Worlds turned upside down Introduction to part I Turncoats and collaborationists: early twentieth-century renegades ‘Turn on, tune in, drop out’ ... drop back in: 1960s ex-radicals Conclusion to part I Part II The experience of defeat Introduction to part II The First World War: a defeat borne of nationalist bloodshed 1960s radicals and political defeat: a lost cause? The full force of the law: defeat by state repression? Conclusion to part II Part III Flawed radicals Introduction to part III Flawed early twentieth-century radicals: Mussolini, Parvus, and co. Overstated radicals For thirty pieces of silver? Conclusion to part III Part IV: The renegade ‘mentality’ Introduction to part IV Psychohistory Arthur Koestler, the twentieth-century ‘sceptic’, and other Cold War pilgrims Conclusion to part IV Conclusion References Index