ABSTRACT
Partisans of the radical democratic, anti-capitalist left, residing in any part of the English-speaking world today, finds themselves in an awkward position. The enormous success of neoliberalism in the so-called Anglo-Saxon world has created a situation in which the likelihood of any serious political challenge to the prevailing order at home seems decidedly slim. There are a number of issues to consider when reflecting upon the shortcomings of a politics of disclosure, all of which touch upon long-running debates on the nature and functioning of ideology in advanced societies. The conceptual and terminological elision which allowed all of these types of activism to go under the heading of direct action had a longer history, of course. The model of effective politics which emerges is one which would have a number of implications, many of which might be contested by the representatives of the activist imaginary, and all of which would problematise some of its most characteristic assumptions and habits.
