Does the Left Need New Heroes?

Whatever happened to the heroes, as the Stranglers once sang? This month the ACFM crew offer their weird-left perspective on the place of the hero (and heroine) in politics and culture. Are heroes a right-wing fantasy? Or do we need to be led by exceptional individuals?

Nadia, Jem and Keir assess theories of Great Men, the myth of the hero’s journey and the lure of the anti-hero, folding in ideas from Weber and Hegel and music from Tina Turner and Sonic Youth.

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Books: Joseph Campbell – The Hero with A Thousand Faces/ Jordan Peterson – Maps of Meaning / Fredric Jameson – Periodizing the 60s / Simone De Beauvoir – The Second Sex / Hegel – Lectures on the Philosophy of History

Music: John Lennon – Working Class Hero / Billy Bragg – Between the Wars / The Stranglers – No More Heroes / David Bowie – Heroes / Sonic Youth – Kill Yr Idols / Tina Turner – We Don’t Need Another Hero / Gang of Four – Not Great Men