Go forward to meet the new: Daniel Bensaid's “An Impatient Life”

Rjurik Davidson — 2014-04-13T06:47:34Z

There are several problems with the use of the term, â€˜the sixties generation'. To begin with, it tends to play into the dubious narrative of youthful rebellion followed by gradual conservatisation in the face of of career, family life and disappointed hopes. It's a narrative that sees the sixties as both defining – ah, the glories of youth! – and long left behind. By linking the generation with the decade (or even the year: a â€˜68er' or soixante-huitard ), the term suggests that those years were the apogee of the participants' lives. The most recent cinematic expression of this view is Olivier Assayas' nostalgic 2012 film, Apres Mai.

- Reviews section / France, Fourth International, Reviews, Daniel Bensaid, Historical events and figures

Norman Geras: “An adult life divided into two distinct chapters”

Rjurik Davidson — 2013-11-01T21:42:22Z

The only time I briefly met Norman Geras was at the Marxism 2000 conference, held in Amherst, Massachusetts. Geras was one of three keynote speakers. Angela Davis spoke on the prison-industrial complex, with typical charisma; Gayatri Spivak packed the hall and gave a paper that was interminable and incomprehensible (though to be fair, her work really only suits the printed page).

- Features / Obituary, Features

International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

Go forward to meet the new: Daniel Bensaid's “An Impatient Life”

Norman Geras: “An adult life divided into two distinct chapters”