Westernism and the Eastern Left
Abstract
Westernism and the Eastern Left SAGE Publications, Inc.1992DOI: 10.1177/072551369203200109 Paul Thibaud Johann P. Arnason I would like to begin with a preliminary remark. If the notions of "Left" and "Right" are an indispensable part of the vocabulary of democratic politics in all countries and all situations, despite the constant complaint that they lack a clear-cut content and are therefore easy to manipulate, this is because it is impossible to define the objectives of democratic politics in an unequivocal fashion. Whenever we use a concept to refer to a political good, we also need its opposite, not simply to identify the bad alternative, but also to describe a necessary counterweight. In a political regime where the ultimate values have become matters for debate, there are intrinsic limits to the validity of every affirmation. If we claim, for example, that the goal of the Left is the emancipation of the individual, it might at first seem that no higher value can be proposed, and that all conceivable positive aims can be incorporated into this objective. But as soon as we start thinking about the realization of this project of emancipation, it becomes clear that individuals are not born free and