Does the left learn?

New Centrist has an excellent post, starting from the Mitchell Cohen essay mentioned here, and addressing the same question that Marko Attila H's first couple of blog posts also raises, and the question worried away at in the meme that included this post, namely: is the left worth saving from itself or should it be left to rot?

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Transmontanus has a post about a similar issue, prompted by Zizek's recent LRB essay. He (Terry) responds to Hoare's fairwell to the left thus:

Fighting words, so fair play to him, but to be really fair you'd have to concede that there is a "Left" that is anti-capitalist but is still capable of facing the facts Hoare demands we face. For starters, you could read "Against the Anti-Globalization Critiques" or this treatise, "Regional War in the Mid-East Calls for Class Struggle and Solidarity with Israel." Even the "anti-war" movement has clear thinkers: here's an anti-war movement I can really get behind.

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The Contentious Centrist has given us links to places she has commented lately, including the above-mentioned post. These are very worth reading.