> The conclusion of Elena Kagan's Princeton undergrad thesis,
> transcribed by Brad De Long. She was clearly some sort of leftist back
> in 1981.
I'm not sure. The acknowledgments say it was her brother's politics that got her interested:
> Finally, I would like to thank my brother Marc,
> whose involvement in radical causes led me to explore the
> history of American radicalism in the hope of clarifying my
> own political ideas.
And keep in mind, her BA adviser was Sean Wilentz (who wasn't yet famous outside academe), so it was probably to be expected that she would write a thesis on New York City labor radicalism - that was Wilentz's bailiwick. And she grew up a Jewish intellectual on the Upper West Side in the 70's, so even if she herself was totally apolitical, she would have been surrounded by this stuff.
Anyone know who Marc Kagan is/was?
SA