How Class Disappeared From Western Politics

Shalom Lappin in Dissent

It is tempting to see the alliance of people who claim to be secular socialists with religious extremists pursuing a totalitarian theocratic vision as a temporary marriage of convenience based on a common opposition to Western imperialism. Although this explanation is correct for the distance that it covers, it does not account for the fact that rather than using Islamic militants as a vehicle for progressive politics many left-wing participants in this alliance have effectively become advocates of the Islamists' agenda.