The New New Left: How American Politics Works Today (Hardcover)

by Steven Malanga (Author)
Key Phrases: most creative cities, labor studies programs, tax eaters, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this short, punchy polemic from urban affairs expert Malanga, the gloves come off right away. Malanga decries what he sees as the leftward tilt in the nation's cities, where, he says, the heirs of the original New Left, 1960s social and political activists, have retreated in the face of right-wing dominance on the national scene. This development, he contends, pits ordinary taxpayers against "tax eaters," an "increasingly cynical coalition" of public-employee unions and social service providers. In his view, these groups drag down city and state economies with expensive programs and onerous laws that serve only to boost their own ranks. He also argues that union-supported living wage legislation sends businesses elsewhere; university labor studies programs exist merely to provide foot soldiers for union organizers; and Wal-Mart opponents undermine America's consumer-driven economy. "Radical left wing" groups like ACORN, a community organization of low-and moderate-income families incur the author's particular scorn, as do journalists Barbara Ehrenreich and David Shipler, so-called "prophets of victimology." However, beyond delivering "bad news" in lively, op-ed style chapters, the author is silent on the problems faced by many low-wage workers. For Malanga, the antidote to the country's economic ills is entrepreneurship, a curious claim when one considers that independent businesses are the very ones threatened by the expansion of superstores like Wal-Mart. In a concluding paean to small business owners, Malanga says, "urban health results from city governments doing the basics well and then allowing the marketplace to work its magic for everyone." He neglects, however, to explore how communities should respond to the issues faced by people whom the magic never touches.
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From Booklist
Purporting to set aside Left and Right, red and blue, Malanga argues that the defining dynamic of divided America is actually animosity between those who pay taxes and those who tap public funds. Examining the sometimes conflicting interests--and hence political valences--of taxpayers and "tax eaters," this book claims that the cumulative power of multiple groups demanding public monies hamstrings municipalities and saps efficient government. Familiar to readers of the New York Post and New York Sun op-ed pages, Malanga's perspective is very much informed by his proximity to big-city politics; his most nuanced moments are devoted to the Bronx Democratic Party and modern-day echoes of Tammany Hall. Extrapolated to the national sphere, however, his editorial essays are less original, unsubtly amplifying right-wing criticism of labor unions, socialist university professors, and Barbara Ehrenreich. Though it may attract and please readers who would otherwise ignore a book about New York City Hall, this book's partisan bite ultimately overshadows its otherwise intriguing attempt to reassess traditional political dichotomies. Brendan Driscoll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher (May 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566636442
• ISBN-13: 978-1566636445
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #399,058 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on how U.S. politics works, September 7, 2005

By	John - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

On one of the flaps of this book, a reviewer states: "American politics is not about parties, it is about special interest group against special interest group". Very true. Increasingly, the Left is dominated by what Steven Malanga calls "tax eaters", which are mostly public unions in large U.S. cities that exist to consume tax funds (and provide "services" to client groups, but in a very inefficient way that does not solve the underlying problem). It is interesting to note that as the U.S. moves more to the "Right" (free market economics, individual responsibility and low taxes), the big cities are dominated by groups perpetualy stuck in the 1960s Welfare State (tax heavily to fund a huge public bureaucracy that ostensibly redistributes money to victim groups and minorities). The latter is, as the late 20th century shows, increasingly inefficient and decrepit. Go to any big city and see the inner city stagnating, and the periphery growing and thriving (that is really the case where I live, which is Dallas, Texas). Public unions increasingly use the rhetoric of "helping the poor", when in reality, they are just out to defend their own power. This is very clear, for example, when Walmart attempts to move into a ghetto. Mostly, the people living there are for Walmart, becuase to them it means shopping cheaper, and thus, an increase in their disposible income. Then, inevitably, "activists" show up (mostly from outside the community that they perportedly speak for), claiming to "speak for the community". Those groups mainly object to Walmart because Walmart is non-union, not because Walmart "oppresses the poor". Thus, the special interest groups involved want to defend their own power, above all else. This is especially true of the teachers' unions in big cities. The sheer cynicism coupled with the hypocrisy is so startling ("activist" organizations demanding that companies pay their workers "a living wage", but then not paying their own workers the minimum wage !). The book provides short, readable chapters on Walmart, Barbara Ehrenreich (who "job slums" at low end jobs all to "prove" her tendentious point that the poor get the shaft in America). I highly recommend this book for a real look at the dynamics of how big city politics works today, and why our big cities are so dysfunctional.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parasites versus Producers, June 5, 2006

By	Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The New New Left of the 21st century is the heir to the 1960s New Left, demolished so well by Ayn Rand in her book The New Left: The Anti Industrial Revolution. The movement that Malanga investigates is still ideological but far more cynical. In place of the earlier hippies, they are dedicated careerists. Now it is all about wielding power on the local level, especially in the inner cities, in order to benefit themselves. Like all leftists they are parasites and Malanga quite rightly labels them Tax Eaters.

Who are they? Coalitions of politicians, state-funded social service agencies, public employee unions, community activists and interest groups of various stripes. They aim to expand government programmes in order to reap more of the good life from the sweat of the labor of others, and they use the language of social justice and political correctness to further this aim. In the process they invariably do more harm than good to their communities.

Unions are one of the remaining redoubts of the Left and the reason that the Democrats still control many cities. Once that support dissipates with the decline in union membership, the leftist inner city councils like that of New York City will be all that remains. Describing how they have reversed Giuliani's reforms, the author predicts the return of urban decay. The Tax Eaters are driving out the Tax Payers.

The book also deals with the continuing attempt to demonise Wal-Mart. Malanga demonstrates how caring this company really is and its popularity amongst poor people. The non-union chain is a threat to union control over the labor market and it undermines leftist theories of "market failure." Those who oppose it are doing so for their own selfish and ideological ends, whilst denying the poor the chance to find jobs and save money.

For a broader look at this latest manifestation of the Left on the national level, I recommend The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy: The Untold Story of the Democrats' Desperate Fight to Reclaim Power by Byron York. That book also looks at the eccentric billionaires and Hollywood celebrities and how this crowd have taken over the Democratic Party. Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy by Peter Schweizer exposes these types for the hypocrites that they are. For a juicy history of the shameful record of the Dems, I highly recommend Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party by Lynn Vincent and Robert McCain.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening look at the war between "tax eaters" and "tax payers", January 12, 2007

By	Excerpt from "The Independent Review" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

In THE NEW, NEW LEFT Steven Malanga argues that contemporary American politics is a battle between those who gain and those who lose economically when government expands. Malanga, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, claims that this battle between "the tax eaters" and "the tax payers" has reached a tipping point, with the tax eaters gaining ascendancy, especially in large cities.

In Malanga's view, the driving force of the tax eaters, the "New New Left," consists of labor unions in general and government-employee unions in particular. Aiding the unions in advancing their goals are numerous social-activist "advocacy" organizations. As Malanga illustrates repeatedly, the programs that these activists and organizations push usually serve to benefit only themselves.

Especially valuable is Malanga's detailed review of the various battles that the New New Left is fighting. First is the ongoing war to enact "living wage" ordinances in cities all over the country. Another battle is taking place on college campuses, where organized labor (especially under the leadership of John Sweeney) is attempting systematically to co-opt academic programs and departments. A third, fiercely fought battle involves the New New Left's attempt to destroy Wal-Mart.

Taken as a discussion of the tactics and growing danger of leftist unions and activist organizations, Malanga's book is worthwhile. He is right that these organizations are working to increase the size and reach of the welfare state out of manifest or latent self-interest, regardless of whether these welfare programs help or hurt the country. Although this economic perspective is nothing new, Malanga gives us a detailed, nitty-gritty descriptions of precisely how the elitists are successfully pushing their statist agenda.

Notwithstanding the book's virtues, however, it does have limitations. Most notably, although the thesis is that the New New Left is controlling the national economy, or at least that we have collectively reached a "tipping point" at which the tax eaters have come to dominate society, Malanga's evidence hardly supports that conclusion. He does not present data to show whether aggregate government spending as a proportion of national product has increased dramatically or has approached 50 percent. He gives no statistical evidence that either the recipients of social-welfare benefits have increased in the aggregate as a proportion of the population or that the government workers attached to the welfare programs have increased as a proportion of the total workforce. He does not examine these groups' voting behavior to establish that they cohesively back a common agenda.

Instead, a disproportionate amount of Malanga's exposition focuses on New York City. Although Gotham is a major city, it is in many ways atypical of the nation as a whole, and its politics may be atypical, too. Therefore, THE NEW, NEW LEFT constitutes only a warning about what may be happening more widely rather than a convincing demonstration that tax eaters have taken over the U.S. economy.