Gray is beautiful confronting the retreat of democracy from the radical center Jeffrey C. Goldfarb

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goldfarb, Jeffrey C., author.

Series:

CEU press perspectives

CEU Press perspectives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Goldfarb, Jeffrey C.

United States--Politics and government--1989-.

United States.

United States--Politics and government--1945-1989.

Political participation.

Democracy.

New Left.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

[Budapest, Hungary] CEU Press [2026]

System Details:

digital

Summary:

"With "the age of democracy" apparently coming to an end, Jeffrey C. Goldfarb offers hope against hopelessness, turning away from the canned political perspectives of the left, right, and center to recognize the beauty of the less than perfect and to emphasize the centrality of free public life. In Gray is Beautiful, he reflects on a lifetime of political engagement and scholarship, drawing upon experiences as a radical New Leftist, participant observer of the democratic opposition "behind the iron curtain," teacher in Afghanistan, and publisher of online public forums. Offering original insights, this book considers the promise rather than the problems of political uncertainty, uses Tocqueville's mistakes to understand the present state of democracy in America, and considers the ironies of collaboration. Goldfarb helps readers confront today's central challenges in fresh ways, demonstrating that the political gray is indeed beautiful and how this sensibility provides a way to confront the global retreat of democracy"-- De Gruyter Brill

Contents:

The sensibility, the commitment, the context, and the approach

Uncertainty in times of pandemic : Confronting the social condition

Intellectuals in dark times : Reflections on lived experience

Hannah Arendt and the radical center

Art after Auschwitz

Teaching in Afghanistan : Acting as if we live in a free society

Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and making America great again

A collaborator : To be or not to be?

The cynical society (revisited) and the retreat of democracy

Confronting the enemy : Hope against hopelessness

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes

Online resource; title from PDF title page (De Gruyter Brill, viewed February 18, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version Goldfarb, Jeffrey C. Gray is beautiful

ISBN:

9633868629

9789633868621

9633868637

9789633868638

OCLC:

1547421309

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license