Far-left political ideologies and movements Books

Book SynopsisNo other Marxist text has come close to achieving the fame and influence of The Communist Manifesto. Translated into over 100 languages, this clarion call to the workers of the world radically shaped the events of the twentieth century. But what relevance does it have for us today? In this slim book Slavoj Zizek argues that, while exploitation no longer occurs the way Marx described it, it has by no means disappeared; on the contrary, the profit once generated through the exploitation of workers has been transformed into rent appropriated through the privatization of the ‘general intellect’. Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have become extremely wealthy not because they are exploiting their workers but because they are appropriating the rent for allowing millions of people to participate in the new form of the ‘general intellect’ that they own and control. But, even if Marx’s analysis can no longer be applied to our contemporary world of global capitalism without significant revision, the fundamental problem with which he was concerned, the problem of the commons in all its dimensions – the commons of nature, the cultural commons, and the commons as the universal space of humanity from which no one should be excluded – remains as relevant as ever. This timely reflection on the enduring relevance of The Communist Manifesto will be of great value to everyone interested in the key questions of radical politics today.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNo other country and no other period has produced a tradition of major aesthetic debate to compare with that which unfolded in German culture from the 1930s to the 1950s. In Aesthetics and Politics the key texts of the great Marxist controversies over literature and art during these years are assembled in a single volume. They do not form a disparate collection but a continuous, interlinked debate between thinkers who have become giants of twentieth-century intellectual history.Trade ReviewThese are key texts in the study of modernism, of expressionist drama and of realism, and of many closesly related general questions. ... It is genuinely an indispensable volume. -- Raymond WilliamsThis is vital reading for anyone concerned with the relationship between art and socialism. -- John FowlesUnlike conventional anthologies of Marxist writings on art, Aestheticand Politics has the form of an intellectual epic, presented as a series of mutual confronations between its protagonists. * Telos *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisWritten in Paris in the early 1950s, this book created instant controversy in its analysis of modern society that had allowed itself to be hypnotized by socio-political doctrines, and to accept totalitarian terror on the strength of a hypothetical future.Table of ContentsThe pill of the Murti-Bing; looking to the West; Ketman; Alpha, the moralist; Beta, the disappointed lover; Gamma, the slave of history; Delta, the troubadour; man, his enemy; the lessons of the Baltics.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''A Latin American James Dean or Jack Kerouac'' Washington Post''It''s true; Marxists just wanna have fun... a revolutionary bestseller'' GuardianAt the age of twenty-three, Ernesto ''Che'' Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado set out from their native Argentina to explore their continent, with only a single 1939 Norton motorcycle to carry them, nicknamed La Poderosa (''the powerful one''). They travelled not to visit the usual tourist attractions, but to meet ordinary people and understand Latin American life. In amidst the tales of youthful adventures - of women, wine, thrilling escapes and the power of friendship - the young Che also learns first-hand about poverty, philosophy and philosophy and forms himself into the man who would become the world''s most famous and admired revolutionary and freedom fighter. ''For every comic escapade of the carefree roustabout there is an equally eye-opening moment in the development of the future revolutionary leader. By the end of the journey, a politicized Guevara has emerged to predict his own legendary future'' TimeTrade ReviewIt's true; Marxists just wanna have fun...A revolutionary bestseller * Guardian *For every comic escapade of the carefree roustabout there is an equally eye-opening moment in the development of the future revolutionary leader. By the end of the journey, a politicized Guevara has emerged to predict his own legendary future * Time *The vision of the noble loner, whether freedom-fighter or biker...gives hope to world-weary revolutionaries and non-revolutionaries alike. * Telegraph *A Latin American James Dean or Jack Kerouac * Washington Post *

Read more less

Book SynopsisProgress requires the conquest of nature. Or does it? This new account overturns conventional interpretations of Marx and in the process outlines a more rational approach to the current environmental crisis. Marx, it is often assumed, cared only about industrial growth and the development of economic forces. John Bellamy Foster examines Marx's neglected writings on capitalist agriculture and soil ecology, philosophical naturalism, and evolutionary theory. He shows that Marx, known as a powerful critic of capitalist society, was also deeply concerned with the changing human relationship to nature. Marx's Ecology covers many other thinkers, including Epicurus, Charles Darwin, Thomas Malthus, Ludwig Feuerbach, P. J. Proudhon, and William Paley. By reconstructing a materialist conception of nature and society, Marx's Ecology challenges the spiritualism prevalent in the modern Green movement, pointing toward a method that offers more lasting and sustainable solutions to the ecological crisis.Table of ContentsThe materialist conception of nature; the really earthly question; parsonian naturalism; the materialist conception of history; the metabolism of natue and society; coevolution and sustainability.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA powerful account of the decline of the Cuban Revolution, told through the lives of five ordinary Cuban citizens. 'Masterful... Dore uses oral history to tell a history of Cuba from the bottom up' Professor Linda Gordon 'A vital addition to Cuba's rich oral tradition' Will Grant, BBC Cuba Correspondent 'Opens wide a window on the last forty years of Cuban history' Professor Gerald Martin 'To have gathered these life stories together with such grace, eloquence and trust is a towering achievement' Professor Ruth Behar Cuba is not the country it used to be. The regime is disintegrating, and unprecedented protest marches are challenging the gerontocratic Communist Party leadership. How Things Fall Apart reveals the decay of this political system through the lives of five ordinary Cuban citizens. Born in the 1970s and 80s, these men and women recount how their lives changed over a tumultuous stretch of thirty-five years: first when Fidel opened the country to tourism following the fall of the Soviet bloc; then when Raúl Castro allowed market forces to operate, thinking it would stop the country's economic slide; and finally when President Trump's tightening of the US embargo combined with the Covid-19 pandemic to cause economic collapse. With warmth and humanity, they describe learning to survive in an environment where a tiny minority has grown rich by local standards, the great majority has been left behind, and inequality has destroyed the very things that used to give meaning to Cubans' lives. Born out of the first oral history project authorized by the Cuban government in forty years, Professor Elizabeth Dore gathers these stories to illuminate the slow and agonizing decline of the Cuban Revolution over the past four decades. For over sixty years the government controlled the historical narrative. In this book, Cubans tell their own stories.Trade ReviewMasterful... Dore uses oral history to tell a history of Cuba from the bottom up, accompanied by her own astute commentary. How Things Fall Apart reads like a set of vivid short stories -- Professor Linda GordonAn elegant account of the evolution of a revolution. Writing on a topic which still has the power to provoke the most visceral responses across the political spectrum, Dore has done a rare thing: she has let the Cuban people speak for themselves. Dore handles their stories of triumph and hardship with honesty, compassion and respect, and in the process has held up a mirror to the state of the Cuban Revolution in the twenty-first century. How Things Fall Apart is a vital addition to Cuba's rich oral tradition -- Will Grant, BBC Mexico, Central America and Cuba CorrespondentThese life stories of Cubans are so raw, so honest, so moving, that you feel as if you know each of them personally. To have gathered them together with such grace, eloquence and trust is a towering achievement... This book serves as a testament to the audacity and sorrow Cubans experienced in seeking to change not only their own history but the history of the world -- Professor Ruth Behar, author of Letters from CubaElizabeth Dore's book opens wide a window on the last forty years of Cuban history and allows us to listen, uniquely, to the always vivid memories and conclusions of ordinary Cubans as they look back on the lives they lived during the most arduous and troubled years of the Revolution -- Professor Gerald MartinCuba through human lenses. Dore's impressive book sadly portrays the unraveling of the revolutionary utopian dream -- Professor Susan EcksteinThe chronicle of a death foretold * Spectator *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWalter Benjamin is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic intellectual figures of this century. Not only was he a thinker who made an enormous impact with his critical and philosophical writings, he shattered disciplinary and stylistic conventions. This collection, introduced by Susan Sontag, contains the most representative and illuminating selection of his work over a twenty-year period, and thus does full justice to the richness and the multi-dimensional nature of his thought. Included in these pages are aphorisms and townscapes, esoteric meditation and reminiscences of childhood, and reflections on language, psychology, aesthetics and politics.Trade ReviewThe most important German aesthetician and literary critic of this century -- George SteinerBenjamin was one of the unclassifiable ones ... whose work neither fits the existing order nor introduces a new genre. -- Hannah ArendtBenjamin was the interlocutor of all the demons and angels of storytelling. And this is why he knew its endless secrets. Listen to him. -- John BergerA complex and brilliant writer * J. M. Coetzee *

Read more less

Book Synopsis ''The superb, funny, fascinating story of Lenin''s trans-European rail journey and how it shook the world'' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Evening Standard, Books of the Year''Splendid ... a jewel among histories, taking a single episode from the penultimate year of the Great War, illuminating a continent, a revolution and a series of psychologies in a moment of cataclysm and doing it with wit, judgment and an eye for telling detail'' David Aaronovitch, The TimesBy 1917 the European war seemed to be endless. Both sides in the fighting looked to new weapons, tactics and ideas to break a stalemate that was itself destroying Europe. In the German government a small group of men had a brilliant idea: why not sow further confusion in an increasingly chaotic Russia by arranging for Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the most notorious of revolutionary extremists, currently safely bottled up in neutral Switzerland, to go home?Catherine Merridale''s Lenin on the Train recreates Lenin''s extraordinary journey from harmless exile in Zurich, across a Germany falling to pieces from the war''s deprivations, and northwards to the edge of Lapland to his eventual ecstatic reception by the revolutionary crowds at Petrograd''s Finland Station.With great skill and insight Merridale weaves the story of the train and its uniquely strange group of passengers with a gripping account of the now half-forgotten liberal Russian revolution and shows how these events intersected. She brilliantly uses a huge range of contemporary eyewitnesses, observing Lenin as he travelled back to a country he had not seen for many years. Many thought he was a mere ''useful idiot'', others thought he would rapidly be imprisoned or killed, others that Lenin had in practice few followers and even less influence. They would all prove to be quite wrong.Trade ReviewTwice I missed my stop on the Tube reading this book... this is a jewel among histories, taking a single episode from the penultimate year of the Great War, illuminating a continent, a revolution and a series of psychologies in a moment of cataclysm and doing it with wit, judgment and an eye for telling detail... Catherine Merridale, who won the Wolfson history prize for Red Fortress, her 2013 book about the Kremlin, is one of those historians whose work allows you to understand something more about the world we inhabit now. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *'A detailed look at the famous train journey... fascinatingly realist... [Merridale] is good at capturing the frankly dodgy atmosphere of high politics and low motives that swirled around post-abdication Russia... Merridale can bring humour into the most gruesome moments. -- André Van Loon * Spectator *Catherine Merridale is one of the foremost foreign historians of Russia, combining wry insights with deep sympathy for the human beings suffering the tragedies she writes about... It combines diplomatic intrigue, spycraft, towering personalities, bureaucratic bungling, military history and ideology. Ms Merridale neatly unites background and foreground, and deftly evokes the atmosphere of the time... excellent * Economist *Praise for RED FORTRESS: 'Magnificent ... [a] a superbly written book' Telegraph 'A zingy, razor-keen history of the Kremlin' Spectator Books of the Year 'Exhilarating' * Guardian *A brisk and often witty overview for the lay reader of the circumstances leading up to the February and October revolutions. -- Helen Rappaport * The Sunday Times *With a novelists' readability and a fertile imagination... Merridale retraces his week-long journey... At the same time, she skilfully weaves into the story the unfolding revolution * Observer Review *With the 100th anniversary of the two Russian revolutions of 1917 around the corner... surely no author will give a better account than Merridale of how, in that fateful year, Lenin made his way with German help from exile in Switzerland to Russia. * Financial Times BOOKS OF THE YEAR *Fills a lacuna in the canonical record of Soviet communism.... A superbly written narrative history that draws together and makes sense of scattered data, anecdotes, and minor episodes, affording us a bigger picture of events that we now understand to be transformative * Kirkus Reviews *Merridale corrects factual errors made by predecessors and opens a fresh interpretive perspective. Personal reenactment of Lenin's eight-day train-and-ferry journey gives force to materials uncovered through assiduous research in newly opened archives as Merridale resolves perplexities long surrounding the political gambles, devious espionage, and shadowy financing that transport Lenin through Germany on a sealed train bound for a land tempestuously shedding its czarist past and desperate for a leader to guide it into an uncharted future. . . . History recovered as living drama * Booklist *A colorful, suspenseful, and well-documented narrative * Publishers Weekly *[This] remarkable account recaptures the idealism that filled this ragtag band of revolutionaries with the desperate belief that their leader would bring a "springtime of hope" to their divided and brutalised country. This is a revealing portrait of Lenin and his fellow travellers at a crucial turning point in world history. -- PD Smith * Guardian *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Masterfully opens up a little explored realm: how the quest for religion and spirituality drives hundreds of millions of Chinese'' Pankaj Mishra''A fascinating odyssey ... a nuanced group portrait of Chinese citizens striving for non-material answers in an era of frenetic materialism'' Julia Lovell, Guardian ''The reappearance and flourishing of religion is perhaps the most surprising aspect of the dramatic changes in China in recent decades...this is a beautiful, moving and insightful book'' Michael SzonyiIn no society on Earth was there such a ferocious attempt to eradicate all trace of religion as in modern China. But now, following a century of violent antireligious campaigns, China is awash with new temples, churches, and mosques - as well as cults, sects, and politicians trying to harness religion for their own ends. Driving this explosion of faith is uncertainty - over what it means to be Chinese, and how to live aTrade ReviewIan Johnson has long been a resourceful and bracing guide to the biggest national transformation of modern history. In The Souls of China he masterfully opens up a little explored realm: how the quest for religion and spirituality drives hundreds of millions of Chinese -- Pankaj MishraJohnson succeeds in having produced a nuanced group portrait of Chinese citizens striving for non-material answers in an era of frenetic materialism. -- Julia Lovell * Guardian *Extraordinarily rich and intimate... This vividly written, deeply researched book will be the primary work about religious faith in China for years to come. -- Leslie T. ChangThis entrancing and engaging book challenges the modern assumption that religion is a thing of the past -- Karen ArmstrongIan Johnson breaks new ground with a brilliant approach, mixing theoretical explorations with real life vignettes from a convincing insider-outsider-combined perspective, making them commenting each other, illuminating in the same way as through the traditional Chinese criticism paradigm of 'I commentate the six classics which commentate me.' The Souls of China is a must read for an understanding of China -- Qiu Xiaolong * author of The Inspector Chen Novels *The great Chinese writer Lu Xun once wrote that when many men pass along the same way, a new road is made. The Souls of China shows us how the Chinese people, some with heroic steps and others with hesitant ones, are making a new road for Chinese religion in the twenty-first century. The reappearance and flourishing of religion is perhaps the most surprising aspect of the dramatic changes in China in recent decades. With great sensitivity Ian Johnson guides us on a tour of the rituals, festivals, and above all some of the remarkable characters who make up this new Chinese religious world. This is a beautiful, moving and insightful book -- Michael Szonyi * author of Cold War Island *The Souls of China is a rich, informative, and timely book, which explores a major aspect of Chinese life. Ian Johnson carries erudition lightly and describes the people and events with deep insights and personal involvement. Section by section, the writing shows long-term dedication and meticulous research. At heart this is also a personal book, full of feelings and exuberance. It's a tremendous accomplishment -- Ha JinHis tripartite masterpiece Wild Grass and his newest book, The Souls of China, are the most remarkable works to come from a western author in the past two decades. -- Liao Yiwu * exiled Chinese author of God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China *Through interviews conducted with a wide variety of practitioners, Johnson paints a vivid picture of the diversity of Chinese religious life....He provides a fascinating account of how traditional activities recovered after enduring severe repression during China's Cultural Revolution (1966-76). An excellent work that is highly recommended for readers interested in Chinese culture or religion * Library Journal *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAmong the most influential social forces of the 20th century, modern communism rests firmly on philosophical, political, and economic underpinnings developed by Lenin. This collection includes four of his most significant works, The Development of Capitalism in Russia, Imperialism, the Highest State of Capitalism, The State and Revolution, and the title text.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWith the recent revival of Karl Marx's theory, a general interest in reading Capital has also increased. But Capital – Marx’s foundational nineteenth century work on political economy – is by no means considered an easily understood text. Central concepts such as abstract labor, the value form, or the fetishism of commodities, can seem opaque to us as first time readers, and the prospect of comprehending Marx’s thought can be truly daunting. Until, that is, we pick up Michael Heinrich’s How to Read Marx's Capital. Paragraph by paragraph, Heinrich provides extensive commentary and lucid explanations of questions and quandaries that arise when encountering Marx’s original text. Suddenly, such seemingly gnarly chapters as “The Labor Process and the Valorization Process” and “Money or the Circulation of Capital” become refreshingly clear, as Heinrich explains just what we need to keep in mind when reading such a complex text. Deploying multiple appendices referring to other pertinent writings by Marx, Heinrich reveals what is relevant about Capital, and why we need to engage with it today. How to Read Marx's Capital provides an illuminating and indispensable guide to sorting through cultural detritus of a world whose political and economic systems are simultaneously imploding and exploding.Trade ReviewPraise for Michael Heinrich’s An Introduction to the Three Volumes of Karl Marx’s Capital: “Whether one is a ‘traditional worldview Marxist’ like myself, or a student who wants to understand this world we live in, or an activist who is committed to changing it, Michael Heinrich’s succinct, lucid, compelling summary of the three volumes of Marx’s Capital is a ‘must read’ in our time of crisis.” —Paul LeBlanc, author, From Marx to Gramsci and Marx, Lenin and the Revolutionary Experience

Read more less

Book SynopsisCelebrate your favourite radical publishing house with our official branded merch! The Verso V Notebook beautfully celebrates our logo, is fully lined in the signature Verso red and in a handy portable size and lined paper throughout.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this provocative and now-classic work, Friedrich Engels explores the interrelated development of the family and the state from ancient society to the Victorian era. Drawing on new anthropological theories of his time, Engels argued that matriarchal communal societies had been overthrown by class society and its emphasis on private, not communal, property and monogamous, rather than polygamous, sexual organization. This historical development, Engels argued, constituted "the world-historic defeat of the female sex." A masterclass in the application of materialist thought to history and anthropology, and touching on love, monogamy, property, and the development of the human, this landmark work is still foundational in Marxist and socialist feminist theory.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA rousing call to arms whose influence is still felt today, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels'' The Communist Manifesto is edited with an introduction by Gareth Stedman-Jones in Penguin Classics. Marx and Engels''s revolutionary summons to the working classes, The Communist Manifesto is one of the most important political theories ever formulated. After four years of collaboration, they produced an incisive account of their idea of Communism, in which they envisage a society without classes, private property or a state, arguing that the exploitation of industrial workers will eventually lead to a revolution in which Capitalism is overthrown. This vision provided the theoretical basis of political systems in Russia, China, Cuba and Eastern Europe, affecting the lives of millions. The Communist Manifesto still remains a landmark text: a work that continues to influence and provoke debate on capitalism and class.Gareth Stedman Jones''s extensive and scholarly introduction provides an unique assessment of the place of The Communist Manifesto in history, and its continuing relevance as a depiction of global capitalism. This edition reproduces Samuel Moore''s translation of 1888 and contains a guide to further reading, notes and an index.Karl Marx (1818-1883) was born in Trier, Germany and studied law at Bonn and Berlin. He settled in London, where he studied economics and wrote the first volume of his major work, Das Kapital (1867, with two further volumes in 1884 and 1894). He is buried in Highgate Cemetery, London.Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), as well as his collaboration with Marx, was the author of The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845), based on personal observations and research.If you enjoyed The Communist Manifesto, you might like Marx''s Capital, also available in Penguin Classics.''The words of the Communist Manifesto flare like the fiery writing on the wall above the crumbling bastions of capitalist society: socialism or barbarism!''Rosa Luxemburg

Read more less

Book SynopsisWith an introduction by Dr. Laurence Marlow. A spectre is haunting Europe (and the world). Not, in the twenty-first century, the spectre of communism, but the spectre of capitalism. Marx's prediction that the state would wither away of its own accord has proved inaccurate, and he did not foresee the tyrannies which have ruled large parts of the globe in his name. Indeed, he would have been appalled if he had witnessed them. But his analysis of the evils and dangers of raw capitalism is as correct now as when it was written, and some of his suggestions (progressive income tax, abolition of child labour, free education for all children) are now accepted with little question. In a world where capitalism is no longer held in check by fear of a communist alternative, The Communist Manifesto (with Socialism Utopian and Scientific, Engels's brief and clear exposition of Marxist thought) is essential reading. The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 is Engels's first, and probably best-known, book. With Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, it was and is the outstanding study of the working class in Victorian England.

Read more less

Book Synopsis**NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**‘A sort of survival book, a sort of symptom-diagnosis manual in terms of losing your democracy and what tyranny and authoritarianism look like up close’ Rachel Maddow 'These 128 pages are a brief primer in every important thing we might have learned from the history of the last century, and all that we appear to have forgotten' Observer History does not repeat, but it does instruct. In the twentieth century, European democracies collapsed into fascism, Nazism and communism. These were movements in which a leader or a party claimed to give voice to the people, promised to protect them from global existential threats, and rejected reason in favour of myth. European history shows us that societies can break, democracies can fall, ethics can collapse, and ordinary people can find themselves in unimaginable circumstances. History can familiarise, and it can warn. Today, we are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to totalitarianism in the twentieth century. But when the political order seems imperilled, our advantage is that we can learn from their experience to resist the advance of tyranny. Now is a good time to do so.Trade ReviewThe most coherent manifesto on confronting Trump… powerful. -- Sarah Ditum * New Statesman *Snyder’s beautifully weighted book is the perfect clear-eyed antidote to [Trump's] deliberate philistinism … Always measured in their observation, these 128 pages are a brief primer in every important thing we might have learned from the history of the last century, and all that we appear to have forgotten … You will read no more relevant field guide to that wisdom than this book. -- Tim Adams * Observer *On Tyranny is a slim book that fits alongside your pocket constitution and feels only slightly less vital... Clarifying and unnerving… a memorable work that is grounded in history yet imbued with the fierce urgency of what now. -- Carlos Lozada * Washington Post *Following paths trodden by Hannah Arendt, Czeslaw Milosz and Václav Havel, Snyder has written a manifesto for surviving the political rampages of our time with our rights and freedoms intact… Snyder’s book is addressed to the American reader, but its message is broader. Read in Budapest or Warsaw, it will have an especial resonance … Slim and accessible, On Tyranny is a book to read quickly, ponder slowly and pass on -- Annabelle Chapman * Prospect *Urgent, indignant, winningly ragged in execution, On Tyranny is in the best tradition of polemical pamphlets. Timely agitprop, it offers some relief from Trump anxiety disorder. -- Lewis Jones * Daily Telegraph *A chilling description of how authoritarian mindsets work -- Hillary ClintonSteeped in the history of interwar Germany, Snyder writes with bracing immediacy about how to prevent, or at least forestall, the repression of lives and minds. * Washington Post *We are rapidly ripening for fascism. This American writer leaves us with no illusions about ourselves -- Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize for LiteratureOn Tyranny will help you keep going for the next four years, or however long it takes. -- Masha GessenHe is undoubtedly a scholar of great distinction and authority… If more people follow Snyder’s injunctions to read newspapers, avoid falling for contrived online “scandals”, make friends across national boundaries and remember professional ethics then the world will indeed be a better place. -- Michael Gove * The Times *In an erudite yet accessibly manner, with brevity and precision, Snyder draws on his prodigious knowledge of 20th century despotism to present 20 sobering lessons for dealing with the Trump phenomenon -- Muhammad Idrees Ahmad * National *On Tyranny is [a] response to the rise of Donald Trump, although it is not, strictly speaking, about Trump, who is never mentioned by name. It is, rather, a primer in how to think historically -- Ken Early * The Irish Times *A slim volume more like a guide than a tome of historical scholarship, though Snyder drew on 25 years of research and writing -- Stav Ziv * Newsweek Europe *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Trouble in Paradise, Slavoj Žižek, one of our most famous, most combative philosophers, explains how by drawing on the ideas of communism, we can find a way out of the crisis of capitalism.There is obviously trouble in the global capitalist paradise. But why do we find it so difficult to imagine a way out of the crisis we''re in? It is as if the trouble feeds on itself: the march of capitalism has become inexorable, the only game in town.Setting out to diagnose the condition of global capitalism, the ideological constraints we are faced with in our daily lives, and the bleak future promised by this system, Slavoj Žižek explores the possibilities - and the traps - of new emancipatory struggles. Drawing insights from phenomena as diverse as Gangnam Style to Marx, The Dark Knight to Thatcher, Trouble in Paradise is an incisive dissection of the world we inhabit, and the new order to come.''The most dangerous philosopher in the West'' - Adam Kirsch, New Republic ''The most formidably brilliant exponent of psychoanalysis, indeed of cultural theory in general, to have emerged in many decades'' - Terry Eagleton ''Žižek leaves no social or cultural phenomenon untheorized, and is master of the counterintuitive observation'' - New Yorker

Read more less

Book SynopsisAndrei Lankov has gone where few outsiders have ever been. A native of the former Soviet Union, he lived as an exchange student in North Korea in the 1980s. He has studied it for his entire career, using his fluency in Korean and personal contacts to build a rich, nuanced understanding. In The Real North Korea, Lankov substitutes cold, clear analysis for the overheated rhetoric surrounding this opaque police state. After providing an accessible history of the nation, he turns his focus to what North Korea is, what its leadership thinks, and how its people cope with living in such an oppressive and poor place. He argues that North Korea is not irrational, and nothing shows this better than its continuing survival against all odds. A living political fossil, it clings to existence in the face of limited resources and a zombie economy, manipulating great powers despite its weakness. Its leaders are not ideological zealots or madmen, but perhaps the best practitioners of Machiavellian politics that can be found in the modern world. Even though they preside over a failed state, they have successfully used diplomacy-including nuclear threats-to extract support from other nations. But while the people in charge have been ruthless and successful in holding on to power, Lankov goes on to argue that this cannot continue forever, since the old system is slowly falling apart. In the long run, with or without reform, the regime is unsustainable. Lankov contends that reforms, if attempted, will trigger a dramatic implosion of the regime. They will not prolong its existence.Based on vast expertise, this book reveals how average North Koreans live, how their leaders rule, and how both survive.Trade ReviewIn his accessible and refreshingly fair-minded new book, Andrei Lankov does a fine job of making sense of the worlds most inscrutable state. ... Fizzing with anecdotes and insights, many of them provided by Lankovs countless contacts, it is a commanding overview of the countrys politics and society, and a significant contribution to policy debates in the United States and South Korea. * Francis Grove-White, International Affairs *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ; Introduction ; Transcription ; CHAPTER 1 The Society Kim Il Sung Built and How He Did It ; Captain Kim Returns Home ; The War and What came after ; Between Moscow and Beijing: The Foreign Policy of Kim Il Sung's North Korea ; Dealing with the South ; The Command Society ; A Country of Camps ; The World According to Kim Il Sung ; The Silver Lining in a Social Disaster ; The Birth of Juche, the Rise of the Son, and the Slow-Motion Demise of a Hyper-Stalinist Economy ; CHAPTER 2 Two Decades of Crisis ; And Then the World Changed ; Capitalism Reborn ; The State Withers Away ; Taking the Exit Option: Not an Exodus Yet, But ... ; Arrival in Paradise, aka Capitalist Hell ; Changing Worldviews ; CHAPTER 3 The Logic of Survival (Domestically) ; Reform as Collective Political Suicide ; Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle: (Not-So-Successful) Crackdowns on Market Activity ; A Disaster That Almost Happened: The Currency Reform of 2009 ; Still Poor and Malnourished, but Starving No More ; CHAPTER 4 The Supreme Leader And His Era ; The Belated Emergence of a <"Young General>" ; The Sudden Dawn of a New Era ; Collapse of the old guard ; The New Policy ; The New Logic ; Tensions with the South ; CHAPTER 5 Survival Diplomacy ; Playing the Nuclear Card ; Aid-Maximizing Diplomacy ; Meanwhile, in South Korea ... (the Rise of 386ers and Its Consequences) ; A Decade of Sunshine ; The Sun Sets ; The Entry of China ; Interlude The Contours of a Future: What Might Happen to North Korea in the Next Two Decades ; CHAPTER 6 What to Do about the North? ; Why Sticks Are Not Big Enough ; Why the Carrots Are Not Sweet Enough (and Why <"Strategic Patience>" Is Not a Great Idea, Either) ; Thinking Long Term ; The Hidden Benefits of Engagement ; Reaching the People ; Why They Matter: Working with the Refugees in South Korea ; CHAPTER 7 Being Ready for What We Wish For ; A Perfect Storm ; A Provisional Confederation as the Least Unacceptable Solution ; Something about Painkillers ... ; Conclusion ; Notes ; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewVivid and compelling * Economist *Guevara was a figure of epic proportions. These diaries, stark and moving, will be his most enduring monument * Observer *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen Timothy Snyder's book Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin was published in 2010, it quickly established its author as one of the leading historians of his generation, a scholar who combined formidable linguistic skills he reads or speaks 11 languages with an elegant literary style, white-hot moral passion and a willingness to start arguments about some of the most fraught questions of the recent past.' New York TimesTimothy Snyder is Levin Professor of History at Yale University, and has written and edited a number of critically acclaimed and prize-winning books about twentieth-century European history: Bloodlands won the Hannah Arendt Prize, the Leipzig Book Prize for European Understanding, the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award in the Humanities and the literature award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Black Earth was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.Snyder is a frequent contributor to the New York Review ofTrade ReviewA hugely important historian of this nightmarish era. Nobody has explained it this way before -- William Leith * Evening Standard *Table of Contents i: Preface: Europe INTRODUCTION: HITLER AND STALIN 1: THE SOVIET FAMINES 2: CLASS TERROR 3: NATIONAL TERROR 4: MOLOTOV-RIBBENTROP EUROPE 5: THE ECONOMICS OF APOCALYPSE 6: FINAL SOLUTION 7: HOLOCAUST AND REVENGE 8: THE NAZI DEATH FACTORIES 9: RESISTANCE AND INCINERATION 10: ETHNIC CLEANSINGS 11: STALINIST ANTI-SEMITISM CONCLUSION: HUMANITY ii: Numbers and Terms iii: Abstract iv: Acknowledgments v: Bibliography vi: Notes vii: Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis"The Communist Manifesto" still remains a landmark text: a work that continues to influence and provoke debate on capitalism and class. The author's extensive and scholarly introduction provides an assessment of the place of "The Communist Manifesto" in history, and its continuing relevance as a depiction of global capitalism.Table of ContentsPart 1 Introduction: the reception of the manifesto; the "spectre of communism"; the communist league; Engels' contribution; Marx's contribution - prologue; the young Hegelians; from republicanism to communism; political economy and "the true natural history of man"; the impact of Stirner; communism; conclusion; a guide to further reading. Part 2 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels - the communist manifesto: bourgeois and proletarians; proletarians and communists; socialist and communist literature; position of the communists in relation to the various existing opposition parties.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA watershed moment in transgender theoryTrade Review'A terrific collection of essays - I couldn't put it down' -- Kathi Weeks, author of 'The Problem with Work' (Duke UP, 2011)'A vibrant and much needed collection - not just for trans people - but the left in general' -- Shon Faye, author of 'The Transgender Issue' (Penguin, 2021)'Stunning ... trans becomes in these pages the vibrant event of a historical materialism from below, intimate and urgent' -- Jules Gill-Peterson, author of 'Histories of the Transgender Child' (University of Minnesota Press, 2018)'Powerful ... with stunning sophistication and insights, 'Transgender Marxism' challenges capitalism's social foundations in gendered patterns of property, work, and entitlement to develop new forms of sociality beyond the family and its dyadic sexual division' -- Petrus Liu, author of 'Queer Marxism in Two Chinas' (Duke University Press, 2015)'Brilliant, thoughtfully researched, and compelling. An immense contribution to the trans liberation struggle and to trans studies scholarship' -- Dean Spade, Associate Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law'Is there a transgender Marxism? This pioneering collection shows that the answer is there are many - inspired by psychoanalysis, union organizing, queer communities, Black struggles and more. Material realities matter, tremendously, in trans lives; and trans experiences can change our thinking about both capitalism and liberation' -- Raewyn Connell, author of 'Gender: In World Perspective' (Polity, 2020)‘A powerful contribution to the legacy of a Marx’ -- ‘Anti-Capitalist Resistance’‘This book provides the stepping-stones towards that much-needed Marxism, finally acknowledging the material realities and best strategies for all working class, oppressed trans people globally’ -- ‘Ebb magazine’Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction - Jules Joanne Gleeson and Elle O'Rourke 1. Social Reproduction and Social Cognition: Theorizing (Trans)gender Identity Development in Community Context - Noah Zazanis (reproductive health research assistant, New York) 2. Trans Work: Employment Trajectories, Labour Discipline and Gender Freedom - Michelle O'Brien (New York University) 3. Judith Butler's Scientific Revolution: Foundations for a Transsexual Marxism - Rosa Lee (editor at Viewpoint Magazine) 4. How Do Gender Transitions Happen? - Jules Joanne Gleeson 5. A Queer Marxist Transfeminism: Queer and Trans Social Reproduction - Nat Raha (University of Sussex) 6. Notes from Brazil - Virginia Guitzel (philosophy student, Federal University of ABC) 7. Queer Workerism Against Work: Strategising Transgender Labourers, Social Reproduction & Class Formation - Kate Doyle Griffiths (lecturer, Brooklyn College and editor of Spectre Journal) 8. The Bridge between Gender and Organizing - Farah Thompson (Black, bisexual trans woman who does tech while living in San Diego) 9. Encounters in Lancaster - JN Hoad (DIY transsexual in the North West of the UK) 10. Transgender and Disabled Bodies - Between Pain and the Imaginary - Zoe Belinsky (independent scholar) 11. A Dialogue on Deleuze and Gender Difference - The Conspiratorial Association for the Advancement of Cultural Degeneracy (Cultural Degeneracy and Sacrilege - a pseudonymous dialogue between friends) 12. Seizing the Means: Towards a Trans Epistemology - Nathaniel Dickson (PhD candidate, University at Bufflalo) 13. 'Why Are We Like This?' The Primacy of Transsexuality - Xandra Metcalfe (psychoanalytic communist and noise artist based in Melbourne) 14. Cosmos Against Nature in the Class Struggle of Proletarian Trans Women - Anja Heisler Weiser Flower (artist living in San Francisco) Afterword: One Utopia, One Dystopia - Jordy Rosenberg (Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst) Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAt the outset of Marx for Cats, Leigh Claire La Berge declares that “all history is the history of cat struggle.” Revising the medieval bestiary form to meet Marxist critique, La Berge follows feline footprints through Western economic history to reveal an animality at the heart of Marxism. She draws on a twelve-hundred-year arc spanning capitalism’s feudal prehistory, its colonialist and imperialist ages, the bourgeois revolutions that supported capitalism, and the communist revolutions that opposed it to outline how cats have long been understood as creatures of economic critique and liberatory possibility. By attending to the repeated archival appearance of lions, tigers, wildcats, and “sabo-tabbies,” La Berge argues that felines are central to how Marxists have imagined the economy, and by asking what humans and animals owe each other in a moment of ecological crisis, La Berge joins current debates about the need for and possibility of eco-sociaTrade Review“Marx for Cats is an undomesticated and indefinable meow de coeur. You can open this book anywhere---it's a Marxist Choose Your Own Adventure---and come away as unsettled, possessed, and reflective as any transportative encounter with a cat might leave you.” -- Jordy Rosenberg, author of * Confessions of the Fox *“Who knew that following cats could open up history and enliven Marxism? This delightful archive of the feline in class struggle reminds us that cats are our comrades. Hand in paw, we have a world to win!” -- Jodi Dean, author of * Comrade: An Essay on Political Belonging *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction. Cat out of the Bag 1 Part I. Menace and Menagerie: The Feudal Mode of Production and Its Cats, 800–1500 1. Lion Kings 25 Intermezzo 1. The Lion-Cat Dialectic 53 2. The Devil’s Cats 58 Part II. The Feline Call to Freedom: Slavery and Revolution in the Age of Empire, 1500–1800 3. Divine Lynxes 95 Intermezzo 2. The Tiger-Tyger Dialectic 125 4. Revolutionary Tigers 129 Part III. Our Dumb Beasts: The Rise of the Bourgeoisie and Its Appropriation of Cats, 1800–1900 5. Wildcats 177 Intermezzo 3. The Cat-Mouse Dialectic 207 6. Domestic Cats, Communal and Servile 212 Part IV. Every Paw Can Be a Claw: Revolutions with Cats, Revolutions Against Capitalism, 1900–2000 7. Sabo-Tabbies 251 Intermezzo 4. The Cat-Comrade Dialectic 288 8. Black Panthers 294 Epilogue. Pussy Cats 329 Notes 339 Bibliography 363 Index 383

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor the first time, here is the extraordinary true story of one of the most powerful men, and ruthless dictators, who ever lived. Mao Zedong had control over more people for a longer period than any other leader in history. In this intimate biography we learn not only about the imperial grandeur of his life in a country racked by poverty and the vicious infighting at his court, but also about his extraordinary personal habits that equal those of deceased Korean supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, another infamous and idiosyncratic dictator, equally deified and worshipped by his followers: Mao''s teeth turned black because he would only brush them with tea; he hardly ever bathed but then received Krushchev in his swimming pool where he obliged the Soviet President to join him. Li''s revealing account also chronicles Mao''s voracious sexual appetite that led to the seduction of thousands of peasant women because he believed in the mythical healing power of sex. Zhisui Li spent more time with Mao than perhaps any other person. He witnessed first-hand the catastrophic events that Mao''s dotage and paranoia sparked in a country that revered him as a demi-god. The Private Life of Chairman Mao is a landmark biography, as fascinating as it is important to the understanding of modern China, and a must buy for fans of Wild Swans.Trade ReviewLi is Mao's Boswell * Irish Times *A unique political and historical autobiography of inestimable worth, an astounding chronicle of human weakness, political intrigue and corruption and the near destruction of a great nation by a great ego -- Martin BoothOne of the most vivid descriptions of a dictator ever written * The Times *A classic . . . I see Dr. Li as the Tacitus of modern China -- Hugh Trevor-Roper

Read more less

Book SynopsisWritten during the winter of 1857-8, the Grundrisse was considered by Marx to be the first scientific elaboration of communist theory. A collection of seven notebooks on capital and money, it both develops the arguments outlined in the Communist Manifesto (1848) and explores the themes and theses that were to dominate his great later work Capital. Here, for the first time, Marx set out his own version of Hegel''s dialectics and developed his mature views on labour, surplus value and profit, offering many fresh insights into alienation, automation and the dangers of capitalist society. Yet while the theories in Grundrisse make it a vital precursor to Capital, it also provides invaluable descriptions of Marx''s wider-ranging philosophy, making it a unique insight into his beliefs and hopes for the foundation of a communist state.Table of ContentsIntroduction (Notebook M)1. Production in general2. General relation between production, distribution, exchange and consumption3. The method of political economy4. Means (forces) of production and relations of production, relations of production and relations of circulationThe Chapter on Money (Notebooks I and II, pp. 1-7)Darimon's theory of crisesGold export and crisesConvertibility and note circulationValue and priceTransformation of the commodity into exchange value; moneyContradictions in the money relation:(1) Contradiction between commodity as product and commodity as exchange value(2) Contradiction between purchase and sale(3) Contradiction between exchange for the sake of exchange and exchange for the sake of commodities(4) Contradiction between money as particular commodity and money as general commodity (The Economist and the Morning Star on money)Attempts to overcome the contradictions by the issue of time-chitsExchange value as mediation of private interestsExchange value (money) as social bondSocial relations which create an undeveloped system of exchangeThe product becomes a commodity; the commodity becomes exchange value; the exchange value of the commodity becomes moneyMoney as measureMoney as objectification of general labour time (Incidental remark on gold and silver)Distinction between particular labor time and general labour timeDistinction between planned distribution of labour time and measurement of exchange values by labour time (Strabo on money among the Albanians)The precious metals as subjects of the money relation:(a) Gold and silver in relation to the other metals(b) Fluctuations in the value-relations between the different metals(c) and (d) (headings only): Sources of gold and silver; money as coinCirculation of money and opposite circulation of commoditiesGeneral concept of circulation:(a) Circulation circulates exchange values in the form of prices (Distinction between real money and accounting money)(b) Money as the medium of exchange (What determines the quantity of money required for circulation) (Comment on (a))Commodity circulation requires appropriation through alienationCirculation as an endlessly repeated processThe price as external to and independent of the commodity: Creation of general medium of exchange; exchange as a special businessDouble motion of circulation: C-M; M-C, and M-C; C-MThree contradictory functions of money:(1) Money as general material of contracts, as measuring unit of exchange values(2) Money as medium of exchange and realizer of prices(Money, as representative of price, allows commodities to be exchanged at equivalent prices)(An example of confusion between the contradictory functions of money)(Money as particular commodity and money as general commodity)(3) Money as money: as material representative of wealth (accumulation of money)(Dissolution of ancient communities through money)(Money, unlike coin, has a universal character)(Money in its third function is the negation #negative unity# of its character as medium of circulation and measure)(Money in its metallic being; accumulation of gold and silver)(Headings on money, to be elaborated later)The Chapter on Capital (Notebooks II pp. 8-28, III, IV, V, VI and VII)The Chapter on Money as Capital:Difficulty in grasping money in its fully developed character as moneySimple exchange: relations between the exchangers (Critique of socialists and harmonizers: Bastiat, Proudhon)Section One: The Production Process of CapitalNothing is expressed when capital is characterized merely as a sum of valuesLanded property and capitalCapital comes from circulation; its content is exchange value; merchant capital, money capital, and money interestCirculation presupposes another process; motion between presupposed extremesTransition from circulation to capitalist production "Capital is accumulated labour (etc.)""Capital is a sum of values used for the production of values"Circulation, and exchange value deriving from circulation, the presupposition of capitalExchange value emerging from circulation, a presupposition of ciruclation, preserving and multiplying itself in it by means of labourProduct and capital. Value and capital. ProudhonCapital and labour. Exchange value and use value for exchange valueMoney and its use value (labour) in this relation capital: Self-multiplication of value is its only movementCapital, as regards substance, objectified labour. Its antithesis, living, productive labourProductive labour and labour as performance of a serviceProductive and unproductive labour. A. Smith etc.The two different processes in the exchange of capital with labourCapital and modern landed propertyThe marketExchange between capital and labour. Piecework wagesValue of labour powerShare of the wage labourer in general wealth determined only quantitativelyMoney is the worker's equivalent; he thus confronts capital as an equalBut the aim of his exchange is satisfaction of his need. Money for him is only medium of circulationSavings, self-denial as means of the worker's enrichmentValuelessness and devaluation of the worker a condition of capital(Labour power as capital!)Wages not productiveThe exchange between capital and labour belongs within simple circulation, does not enrich the workerSeparation of labour and property the precondition of this exchangeLabour as object absolute poverty, labour as subject general possibility of wealthLabour without particular specificity confronts capitalLabour process absorbed into capital(Capital and capitalist)Production process as content of capitalThe worker relates to his labour as exchange value, the capitalist as use valueThe worker divests himself of labour as the wealth-producing power; capital appropriates it as suchTranformation of labour into capitalRealization process(Costs of production)Mere self-preservation, non-multiplication of value contradicts the essence of capitalCapital enters the cost of production as capital. Interest bearing capital (Parentheses on: original accumulation of capital, historic presuppositions of capital, production in general)Surplus value. Surplus labour timeValue of labour. How it is determinedConditions for the self-realization of capitalCapital is productive as creator of surplus labourBut this is only a historical and transitory phenomenonTheories of surplus value (Ricardo; the Physiocrats; Adam Smith; Ricardo again)Surplus value and productive force. Relation when these increaseResult: in proportion as necessary labour is already diminished, the realization of capital becomes more difficultConcerning increases in the value of capitalLabour does not reproduce the value of material and instrument, but rather preserves it by relating to them in the labour process as to their objective conditionsAbsolute surplus labour time. RelativeIt is not the quantity of living labour, but rather its quality as labour which preserves the labour time already contained in the materialThe change of form and substance in the direct production processIt is inherent in the simple production process that the previous stage of production is preserved through the subsequent onePreservation of the old use value by new labourThe quantity of objectified labour is preserved because contact with living labour preserves its quality as use value for new labourIn the real production process, the separation of labour from its objective moments of existence is suspended. But in this process labour is already incorporated in capitalThe capitalist obtains surplus labour free of charge together with the maintenance of the value of material and instrumentThrough the appropriation of present labour, capital already possesses a claim to the appropriation of future labourConfusion of profit and surplus value. Carey's erroneous calculationThe capitalist, who does not pay the worker for the preservation of the old value, then demands remuneration for giving the worker permission to preserve the old capitalSurplus Value and ProfitDifference between consumption of the instrument and of wages. The former consumed in the production process, the latter outside itIncrease of surplus value and decrease in rate of profitMultiplication of simultaneous working daysMachineryGrowth of the constant part of capital in relation to the variable part spent on wages=growth of the productivity of labourProportion in which capital has to increase in order to employ the same number of workers if productivity risesPercentage of total capital can express very different relationsCapital (like property in general) rests on the productivity of labourIncrease of surplus labour time. Increase of simultaneous working days. (Population)(Population can increase in proportion as necessary labour time becomes smaller)Transition from the process of the production of capital into the process of circulationSection Two: The Circulation Process of CapitalDevaluation of capital itself owing to increase of productive forces(Competition)Capital as unity and contradiction of the production process and the realization processCapital as limit to production. OverproductionDemand by the workers themselvesBarriers to capitalist productionOVerproduction; ProudhonPrice of the commodity and labour timeThe capitalist does not sell too dear; but still above what the thing costs himPrice can fall below value without damage to capitalNumber and unit (measure) important in the multiplication of pricesSpecific accumulation of capital. (Transformation of surplus labour into capital)The determination of value and of pricesThe general rate of profitIf the capitalist merely sells at his own cost of production, then it is a transfer to another capitalist. The worker gains almost nothing therebyBarrier of capitalist production. Relation of surplus labour to necessary labour. Proportion of the surplus consumed by capital to that transformed into capitalDevaluation during crisesCapital coming out of the production process becomes money again(Parenthesis on capital in general)Surplus Labour or Surplus Value Becomes Surplus CapitalAll the determinants of capitalist production now appear as the result of (wage) labour itselfThe realization process of labour at the same time its de-realization processFormation of surplus capital ISurplus capital IIInversion of the law of appropriationChief result of the production and realization processOriginal accumulation of capitalOnce developed historically, capital itself creates the conditions of its existence(Performance of personal services, as opposed to wage labour)(Parenthesis on inversion of the law of property, real alien relation of the worker to his product, division of labour, machinery)Forms which precede capitalist production. (Concerning the process which precedes the formation of the capital relation or of original accumulation)Exchange of labour for labour rests on the worker's propertylessnessCirculation of capital and circulation of moneyProduction process and circulation process moments of production. The productivity of the different capitals (branches of industry) determines that of the individual capitalCirculation period. Velocity of circulation substitutes for volume of capital. Mutual dependence of capitals in the velocity of their circulationThe four moments in the turnover of capitalMoment II to be considered here: transformation of the product into money; duration of this operation. Transport costs. Circulation costs. Means of communication and transportDivision of the branches of labourConcentration of many workers; productive force of this concentrationGeneral as distinct from particular conditions of productionTransport to market (spatial condition of circulation) belongs in the production processCredit, the temporal moment of circulationCapital is circulating capitalInfluence of circulation on the determination of value; circulation time=time of devaluationDifference between the capitalist mode of production and all earlier ones (universality, propagandistic nature)(Capital itself is the contradiction)Circulation and creation of valueCapital not a source of value-creationContinuity of production presupposes suspension of circulation timeTheories of Surplus ValueRamsay's view that capital is its own source of profitNo surplus value according to Ricardo's lawRicardo's theory of value. Wages and profitQuinceyRicardoWakefield. Conditions of capitalist production in coloniesSurplus value and profit. Example (Malthus)Difference between labour and labour capacityCarey's theory of the cheapening of capital for the workerCarey's theory of the decline of the rate of profitWakefield on the contradiction between Ricardo's theories of wage labour and of valueBailey on dormant capital and increase of production without previous increase of capitalWade's explanation of capital. Capital, collective force. Capital, civilization.Rossi. What is capital? Is raw material capital? Are wages necessary for it?Malthus. Theory of value and of wagesAim of capitalist production value (money), not commodity, use value etc. ChalmersDifference in return. Interruption of the production process. Total duration of the production process. Unequal periods of productionThe concept of the free labourer contains the pauper. Population and overpopulationNecessary labour. Surplus labour. Surplus population. Surplus capitalAdam Smith: work as sacrificeAdam Smith: the origin of profitSurplus labour. Profit. WagesImmovable capital. Return of capital. Fixed capital. John Stuart MillTurnover of capital. Circulation process. Production process. Circulation costs. Circulation timeCapital's change of form and of substance; different forms of capital; circulation capital as general character of capitalFixed (tied down) capital and circulating capitalConstant and variable capitalCompetitionSurplus value. Production time. Circulation time. Turnover timeCompetition (continued)Part of capital in production time, part in circulation timeSurplus value and production phase. Number of reproductions of capital = number of turnoversChange of form and of matter in the circulation of capital. C-M-C. M-C-MDifference between production time and labour timeFormation of a mercantile estate; creditSmall-scale circulation. The process of exchange between capital and labour capacity generallyThreefold character, or mode, of circulationFixed capital and circulating capitalInfluence of fixed capital on the total turnover time of capitalFixed capital. Means of labour. MachineTransposition of powers of labour into powers of capital both in fixed and in circulatin capitalTo what extent fixed capital (machine) creates valueFixed capital and continuity of the production process. Machinery and living labour.Contradiction between the foundation of bourgeois production (value as measure) and its developmentSignificance of the development of fixed capital (for the development of capital generally)The chief role of capital is to create disposable time; contradictory form of this in capitalDurability of fixed capitalReal saving (economy)=saving of labour time=development of productive forceTrue conception of the process of social productionOwen's historical conception of industrial (capitalist) productionCapital and value of natural agenciesScope of fixed capital indicates the level of capitalist productionIs money fixed capital or circulating capital?Turnover time of capital consisting of fixed capital and circulating capital. Reproduction time of fixed capitalThe same commodity sometimes circulating capital, sometimes fixed capitalEvery moment which is a presupposition of production is at the same time its result, in that it reproductes its own conditionsThe counter-value of circulating capital must be produced within the year. Not so for fixed capital. It engages the production of subsequent yearsMaintanence costs of fixed capitalRevenue of fixed capital and circulating capitalFree labour=latent pauperism. EdenThe smaller the value of fixed capital in relation to its product, the more usefulMovable and immovable, fixed and circulatingConnection of circulation and reproductionSection Three: Capital as Fructiferous. Tranformation of Surplus Value into ProfitRate of profit. Fall of the rate of profitSurplus value as profit always expresses a lesser proportionWakefield, Carey and Bastiat on the rate of profitCapital and revenue (profit). Production and distribution. SismondiTransformation of surplus value into profitLaws of this and transformationSurplus value=relation of surplus labour to necessary labourValue of fixed capital and its productive powerMachinery and surplus labour. Recapitulation of the doctrine of surplus value generallyRelation between the objective conditions of production. Change in the proportion of the component parts of capitalMiscellaneousMoney and fixed capital: presupposes a certain amount of wealth. Relation of fixed capital and circulating capital (Economist)Slavery and wage labour; profit upon alienation (Steuart)Steuart, Montanari and Gouge on moneyThe wool industry in England since Elizabeth; silk-manufacture; iron; cottonOrigin of free wage labour. Vagabondage. (Tuckett)Blake on accumulation and rate of profit; dormant capitalDomestic agriculture at the beginning of the sixteenth century. (Tuckett)Profit. Interest. Influence of machinery on the wage fund. (Westminster Review)Money as measure of values and yardstick of prices. Critique of theories of the standard measure of moneyTransformation of the medium of circulation into money. Formation of treasures. Means of payment. Prices of commodities and quantity of circulating money. Value of moneyCapital, not labour, determines the value of money (Torrens)The minimum of wagesCotton machinery and working men in 1826. (Hodgskin)How the machine creates raw material. (Economist)Machinery and surplus labourCapital and profit. Relation of the worker to the conditions of labour in capitalist production. All parts of capital bring a profitTendency of the machine to prolong labourCotton factories in England. Example for machinery and surplus labourExamples from Glasgow for the rate of profitAlienation of the conditions of labour with the development of capital. InversionMerivale. Natural dependence of the worker in colonies to be replaced by artificial restrictionsHow the machine saves material. Bread. Dureau de la MalleDevelopment of money and interestProductive consumpion. Newman. Transformations of capital. Economic cycleDr. Price. Innate power of capitalProudhon. Capital and simple exchange. SurplusNecessity of the worker's propertylessnessGalianiTheory of savings. StorchMacCulloch. Surplus. ProfitArnd. Natural interestInterest and profit. CareyHow merchant takes the place of masterMerchant wealthCommerce with equivalents impossible. OpdykePrincipal and interestDouble standardOn moneyJames Mill's false theory of pricesRicardo on currencyOn moneyTheory of foreign trade. Two nations may exchange according to the law of profit in such a way that both gain, but one is always defraudedMoney in its third role, as money(I) Value (This section to be brought forward)Bastiat and CareyBastiat's economic harmoniesBastiat on wages

Read more less

Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY 2017''A deeply original and illuminating account of Marx''s journey through the intellectual history of the nineteenth century... a profound reappraisal and a gripping read'' Christopher Clark, author of The SleepwalkersAs the nineteenth century unfolded, its inhabitants had to come to terms with an unparalleled range of political, economic, religious and intellectual challenges. Distances shrank, new towns sprang up, and ingenious inventions transformed the industrial landscape. It was an era dominated by new ideas about God, human capacities, industry, revolution, empires and political systems - and above all, the shape of the future.One of the most distinctive and arresting contributions to this debate was made by Karl Marx, the son of a Jewish convert in the Rhineland and a man whose entire life was devoted to making sense of the hopes and fears ofTrade ReviewExhaustive and staggeringly well-researched -- Oliver Bullough * The Observer *Vast, dense and intellectually formidable -- Dominic Sandbrook * The Sunday Times *Rich and deeply researched -- John Gray * Literary Review *Superb ... so long as we persist in our tendency to hive off the study of economics from politics, philosophy and journalism, Marx will remain the outstanding example of how to overcome the fragmentation of modern social thought and think about the world as a whole for the sake of its betterment. And this book will be an admirable guide to how he did it. * Financial Times *An intellectual history of impeccable scholarship... the book is superb... for those interested in Marx's thinking, Stedman Jones's book is a treat * The Telegraph *There is no better guide to Marx than Gareth Stedman Jones * Economist *'A deeply original and illuminating account of Marx's journey through the intellectual history of the nineteenth century. Stedman Jones explores the friendships, affinities, rivalries and hatreds that shaped Marx's life with elegance and analytical brilliance. He anchors his narrative in a startlingly textured account of the society and politics of Marx's era. Most important of all, he brings to life the thoughts of a plethora of other writers, showing how Marx's engagements with the thoughts of others enabled him to navigate a course that often had little or nothing to do with the Marxism of the twentieth century. A profound reappraisal and a gripping read.' -- Christopher Clark (author of The Sleepwalkers)

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is the only book of its kind: it's a readable, yet expertly crafted, tour through the Frankfurt School, along with a forceful account of why the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory still matters a decade into the new millennium. I can't recommend it highly enough. * Jeffrey T. Nealon, professor of English, Penn State University; co-editor of Rethinking the Frankfurt School *The book's forthright critique and call to transformation are a breath of fresh air. * Joan Braune, Philosophy in Review *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Introduction: What is critical theory? Chapter 1: The Frankfurt School Chapter 2: A matter of method Chapter 3: Critical theory and modernism Chapter 4: Alienation and reification Chapter 5: Enlightened illusions Chapter 6: The utopian laboratory Chapter 7: The happy consciousness Chapter 8: The great refusal Chapter 9: From resignation to renewal Chapter 10: Unfinished tasks References Further Reading Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisA unique people's history of football, providing a global and diverse perspective from its origins to the present dayTrade Review'A fascinating journey through the game's history. While so much of today's attention is on the highest end of the sport- the money and the glory associated with today's biggest stars- football has always been about so much more: a vehicle of expression, of example and of change. A People's History of Football tells the stories of how, why and when.' -- Shaka Hislop, former footballer, anti-racist educator and broadcaster'Correia takes us around the world to examine how soccer has produced the kind of political energy that can change minds and even topple governments. But despite his global jaunt into many corners of the soccer world, there is nothing superficial here. This book is about the politics of passion and they sing from every page.' -- Dave Zirin, Sports Editor, 'The Nation''Often we lose sight of the real history of football, the time before the Premier League and state-owned football clubs. There are fans, players and teams that built the game and truly harnessed it as not just a sport but a force for good and a way to build long lasting communities. That history needs to be told, archived and remembered. This is an essential history of the people’s game.' -- Flo Lloyd-Hughes, freelance sportswriter and broadcaster'A wide-ranging and well-researched look at how the masses have attempted to protect and reclaim their sport from the classes, all over the world. An essential read for football fans everywhere.' -- Juliet Jacques, writer, filmmaker and Clapton CFC player'Soccer fans and players everywhere, in the stands or the pitch, recognize in their chests' pounding the collective heart of a heartless world. With the rise of popularity of the MLS in the United States, America's historically apolitical sports culture has been suddenly ruptured with the protests and tifos of dozens of radical-left fan clubs. A rich and superbly-researched materialist account of how soccer emerged from feudal origins to become the most popular, and most political modern sport.' -- A.M. Gittlitz, author, 'I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism''An enjoyable highlights reel of stories from Barcelona to Brazil that show why football can still legitimately be seen as the people’s game' -- Houman Barekat, ‘Irish Times’'Epic ... there is much to learn and enjoy in this book' -- 'Times Literary Supplement'Table of ContentsIntroduction: Football grounds, grounds of struggle Part I: Defend: Working class resistance to the bourgeois order 1. Kicking off: Riotous balls and social control 2. Normalising bodies, shaping minds: The birth of an industrial sport 3. The people's game: Football as a cultural trait of the working class 4. The Munitionnettes: The saga of the first women football players in Britain 5. Class against class: Working-class football in France, an extension of the field of struggle Part II: Attack: Assault on dictatorships 6. 'A small way of saying "no"': Italy, the USSR, Spain: stadiums under totalitarian regimes 7. Ball at the feet against the iron fist: Football's resistance to Nazi domination 8. 'Corinthian democracy': Football and self-organisation against the Brazilian dictatorship 9. On the front line, Tahrir Square: Ultras Ahlawy fans at the heart of the 2011 revolution in Egypt Part III: Dribble: Outmanoeuvring colonialism 10. The Algerian Independence Eleven: A liberation struggle in football boots 11. When Palestine occupies the pitch: Football as a political weapon in the hands of the Palestinians 12. Dribbling the ball, a decolonial art: Afro-Brazilian identities and indigenous resistance in football 13. Sending colonialism off: Football and emancipation struggles in sub-Saharan Africa Part IV: Support: Collective passions and popular cultures 14. 'You'll Never Walk Alone': Hooliganism and subcultures in British stands 15. The twelfth man: The Italian ultras movement: from political militancy to supporter autonomy 16. 'God and the devil': Maradona, between popular passion and fan cult 17. 'We are lovers, not fighters': Istanbul's ultras and Turkish power Part V: Outflank: Facing the football industry: fight and reinvent 18. Football for footballers!: From May'68 to the fans' revolt 19. Tackling sexism: Women's football against the French sporting patriarchy 20. "Here it's about punk football": Fan-owned clubs in England 21. Play on the left wing: Hamburg’s FC Sankt Pauli or the pirates of the football business 22. Wild balls, balls on the margins: Street football wrong-foots at the institutional game Postscript to the English edition Endnotes Acknowledgments Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first book from a former intelligence community insiderTrade Review‘Excellent… Former CIA analyst Jung H. Pak cuts through the regime’s opacity and the fog of gossip.’ * Los Angeles Times *‘Jung H. Pak has managed to shed more light on the current North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, than virtually anyone… An important book, both for the professional expert and for those who simply want to gain insight into the “hermit kingdom” and its enigmatic leader.’ -- James Clapper, former US Director of National Intelligence‘The young dictator comes under close scrutiny in this intelligent account.’ * Sunday Times *‘[Becoming Kim Jong Un] could be the most definitive account of North Korea’s supreme leader.’ * Newsweek *‘[An] expert assessment… An insightful analysis of perhaps the world’s most dangerous dystopia.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘How did a lazy, basketball-loving kid become the world's shrewdest tyrant by the age of twenty-six? Jung H. Pak's brilliant analysis strips away Kim's cult, bluster, and caricature to reveal a mind that is quite chillingly rational, with a rat-like cunning for out-smarting his enemies, be they close family members or nuclear-armed states. Easily the most insightful portrait of the man behind the propaganda.’ -- D. B. John, author of Star of the North‘Jung Pak exudes the authority and glamour of the spook.’ * The Times *‘Jung H. Pak’s sober but absorbing portrait of North Korea’s leader should be the starting point for any scholar, journalist, or policymaker trying to make sense of the most dangerous regime on earth. Pak ties together biography, national security analysis, and policy prescription with the precision one would expect from a scholar and former intelligence officer.’ -- Michael J. Green, former Asia adviser to President George W. Bush, and director of Asian studies at Georgetown University‘Becoming Kim Jong Un is the most complete account to date of a dictator who has too often been caricatured by the public. Highly readable, thoughtful, and dispassionate, this book offers important insights into an enigmatic leader who will shape the destiny of not only the Korean Peninsula but of the Northeast Asian region and the world. It’s the next best thing to receiving a top-secret CIA briefing.’ -- Sue Mi Terry, former CIA analyst and former Korea director at the National Security Council‘Cogently and concisely treating a broad sweep of issues central to North Korea, Dr Pak makes an essential contribution to the collective understanding of one of the world’s most dangerous and complex problems. It is must-read for the expert and casual observer alike.’ -- Mark Lippert, former US ambassador to South Korea and Trustee, The Asia Foundation

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first Westerner to meet Mao Tse-tung and the Chinese Communist leaders in 1936, Edgar Snow came away with the first authorised account of Mao's life, as well as a history of the famous Long March and the men and women who were responsible for the Chinese revolution. Out of that experience came Red Star Over China, a classic work that remains one of the most important books ever written about the birth of the Communist movement in China.This edition includes extensive notes on the military and political developments in China, further interviews with Mao Tse-tung, a chronology covering 125 years of Chinese revolution and nearly a hundred detailed biographies of the men and women who were instrumental in making China what it is today.Trade ReviewThe remarkable thing about Red Star Over China was that it not only gave the first connected history of Mao and his colleagues and where they had come from, but it also gave a prospect of the future... This book has stood the test of time on both these counts - as a historical record and as an indication of a trend. * From the Introduction by John K. Fairbank *It truly was a book that shook the world. * China Daily *Irreplaceable... by far the most important single source regarding [Mao's] life * Stuart R. Schram *Scoop of the century * Foreign Affairs *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2020 MICHEL DÉON PRIZE'O'Clery takes us into the hidden heart of Soviet Russia... An arresting and evocative story' Keggie Carew, author of Dadland'A tour de force ... Love, politics, murder, wars, and the fracturing of ties, personal and ethnic. O'Clery is a gifted writer' Luke Harding, bestselling author of CollusionThe Soviet Union, 1962. Gifted shoemaker Stanislav Suvorov is imprisoned for five years. His crime? Selling his car for a profit. On his release, social shame drives him and his family into voluntary exile in Siberia, 5,000 kilometres from home. In a climate that's unfriendly both geographically and politically, it's their chance to start again. The Shoemaker and His Daughter is an epic story spanning the Second World War to the fall of the Soviet Union, taking in eighty years of Soviet and Russian history, from Stalin to Putin. Following the footsteps of a remarkable family Conor O'Clery knows well - he is married to the shoemaker's daughter - it's both a compelling insight into life in a secretive world at a siesmic moment in time and a powerful tale of ordinary lives shaped by extraordinary times.Trade ReviewConor O'Clery is a legend among foreign correspondents. Over four decades - in Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Asia - he has established himself as a voice of wit, close observation, and sane good sense. His new book will be welcomed by everyone who cares about good writing, and about the human stories that enable us to understand the great movements of world history. * Richard Lloyd Parry, author of Ghosts of the Tsunami *Conor O'Clery's latest book is a tour de force - a sweeping account of the turbulent decades of the Soviet Union and the new Russia, told through the prism of a Russian-Armenian family. The story features love, politics, murder, wars, and the fracturing of ties, personal and ethnic, brought about by Stalin and his Kremlin successors. O'Clery is a gifted writer. His subject is one he knows well: his wife's father, mother and relatives, as they make their own sure-footed journey through a treacherous twentieth century. * Luke Harding, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House *Highly readable, deeply informed telling of an ordinary, extraordinary story. * Sunday Times *Takes us into the hidden heart of Soviet Russia... an illuminating combination of history, politics, geography and humanity that's personal and close... An arresting and evocative story, brought alive through a host of characters, not least, the vast, hostile, secretive Russia herself. * Keggie Carew, author of Dadland *Transcends the confines of a mere family history... With his easy humour, engaging style and innate sympathy for the little guy, O'Clery shows how events and decisions in Moscow affected millions of Russians in myriad life-changing ways. * Financial Times *

Read more less

In February of 1917 Russia was a backward, autocratic monarchy, mired in an unpopular war; by October, after not one but two revolutions, it had become the world's first workers' state, straining to be at the vanguard of global revolution. How did this unimaginable transformation take place?In a panoramic sweep, stretching from St Petersburg and Moscow to the remotest villages of a sprawling empire, Miéville uncovers the catastrophes, intrigues and inspirations of 1917, in all their passion, drama and strangeness. Intervening in long-standing historical debates, but told with the reader new to the topic especially in mind, here is a breathtaking story of humanity at its greatest and most desperate; of a turning point for civilisation that still resonates loudly today. China Miéville tells the extraordinary story of this pivotal moment in history.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this much-lauded memoir, acclaimed for its blend of literary elegance and political passion, Rossana Rossanda, a legendary figure on the Italian left, reflects on a life of radical commitment.Active as a communist militant in the Italian Resistance against fascism during World War Two, Rossanda rose rapidly in its aftermath, becoming editor of the Communist Party weekly paper and a member of parliament. Initially a party loyalist, she was critical of the party's conservatism in the face of new radical movements and moved into opposition during the late 1960s. The breach widened after she and others publicly opposed the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and were expelled in 1969. She went on to create the influential daily il manifesto, which continues to this day.Her unique experience enables her to reconstruct that period with flair and authority. She paints a revealing picture of fascism, communism, post-war reconstruction and the revolts that shook Europe in the 1960s. In The Comrade from Milan, one of the most influential intellectuals of the European Left relives the storms of the twentieth century. Both cool-headed and precise, Rossanda provides a rare insight into what it means to be politically engaged.Trade ReviewRecent translations of Lucio Magri's The Tailor of Ulm, Rossana Rossanda's The Comrade from Milan, and Lucia Castellina's Discovery of the World have fed interest in the Italian road to socialism in Anglophone countries. Their defence of the PCI's struggle to build a Communist cultural and political hegemony appeals to a radical left today seeking to regain its transformative power. -- David Broder * Jacobin *The Italian Communist leadership of the generation of 1943-45 is exceptional: it has been described with wonderful skill in Rossana Rossanda's autobiography. -- Eric Hobsbawm * London Review of Books *Il manifesto's most individual editorialist and commentator. A unique signature in the Italian press. * New Left Review *The best book of the year. * La Stampa *Honest and painful. Party, relationships, victories and, most of all, defeats compose a memorable fresco and a precious testimony. * La Repubblica *A beautiful book, full of poetic pages. * Corriere della Sera *One of the most interesting works on the legacy of twentieth-century communism. For Rossanda, a partisan and communist to the last, the past was neither to be glorified nor taken as old hat - rather, it had to be understood in all its depth, with a view to the difficulty of real choices and the reasons for the paths not taken. -- David Broder * Jacobin *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAfter thirty years of retreat, the last decade has witnessed a resurgent left in the United States and Western Europe. This upsurge of anti-establishment candidates was not only left-wing but also populist. Though in most cases these movements ran out of steam before getting to a position to wield state power, many of the parties and figures associated with this wave of left populism have entered government and others are still contesting high office.Providing a blow-by-blow history of the rise and defeat of this movement, Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger guide us through the conditions that shaped it. Extreme and rising inequality, the collapse of civic life, and a lack of trust in traditional institutions have all played a part. In these circumstances, some form of populism was all but inevitable. And, despite defeats, left offensives will remain populist in nature for the foreseeable future. The formative conditions of crisis are still very much with us.Trade ReviewIn The Populist Moment, Borriello and Jäger provide much needed clarity and a grounded understanding of the origins, character, appeal, and limits of post-class populist mobilization as the basis for the left challenge to the dominant regime of intensifying global inequality. The book is a must-read for anyone serious about understanding the current political moment and especially for those seriously committed to generating an effective anticapitalist politics. -- Adolph Reed, author of The SouthA fascinating and original analysis of our current political economic conjuncture and an invaluable guide for socialists attempting to organize in this brave new world. Required reading for those struggling to understand the failures of the populist movements of the 2010s, and those trying to build new hegemonic coalitions in a world of permanent crisis. -- Grace Blakeley, author of The Corona CrashPopulism is a problem, but not for the reasons that any of its opponents or defenders think. With a few deft cuts, a series of sharp claims, and a voluminous catalog of historical examples and precedents, Jäger and Borriello brilliantly show how populism tries, again and again, to break the constraints of neoliberalism and hollowed-out democracy with none of the tools that once might have enabled it to do so-leaving us all with a pervasive sense of disappointment and dread. -- Corey Robin, author of The Enigma of Clarence Thomas

Read more less

Book SynopsisLenin's booklet The State and Revolution struck the world of Marxist theory like a lightning bolt. Written in the months running up to the October Revolution of 1917, Lenin turned the traditional socialist concept of the state on its head, arguing for the need to smash the organs of the bourgeois state to create a 'semi-state' of soviets, or workers' councils, in which ordinary people would take on the functions of the state machine in a new and radically democratic manner. This new edition includes a substantial introduction by renowned theorist Antonio Negri, who argues for the continued relevance of these ideas.Table of ContentsIntroduction by Antonio NegriPreface to First EditionPreface to Second Edition1: Class Society and the State The State: A Product of the Irreconcilability of Class AntagonismsSpecial Bodies of Armed Men, Prisons, etc.The State: An Instrument for the Exploitationof the Oppressed ClassThe 'Withering Away' of the State,and Violent Revolution2: The Experience of 1848-51The Eve of RevolutionThe Revolution Summed UpThe Presentation of the Question by Marx in 18523: Experience of the Paris Commune of 1871. Marx's AnalysisWhat Made the Communards' Attempt Heroic?What Is To Replace the Smashed State Machine?Abolition of ParliamentarismOrganization of National UnityAbolition of the Parasite State4: Supplementary Explanations by EngelsThe Housing QuestionControversy with the AnarchistsLetter to BebelCriticism of the Draft of the Erfurt ProgrammeThe 1891 Preface to Marx's The Civil War in FranceEngels on the Overcoming of Democracy5: The Economic Basis of the Withering Away of the StatePresentation of the Question by MarxThe Transition from Capitalism to CommunismThe First Phase of Communist SocietyThe Higher Phase of Communist Society6: The Vulgarization of Marxism by OpportunistsPlekhanov's Controversy with the AnarchistsKautsky's Controversy with the OpportunistsKautsky's Controversy with PannekoekPostscript

Read more less

Book SynopsisWinner of the 2010 W.J.M. Mackenzie Prize for Best Political Science Book of the Year 2010The relentless rise of Communism was the most momentous political development of the first half of the twentieth century. No political change has been more fundamental than its demise in Europe and its decline elsewhere. In this hugely acclaimed book Archie Brown provides an indispensable history that examines the origins of the ideology, its development in different countries, its collapse in many states following the Soviet perestroika, and its current incarnations around the globe.The Rise and Fall of Communism explains how and why Communists came to power; how they were able, in a variety of countries on different continents to hold on to power for so long; and what brought about the downfall of so many Communist systems. A groundbreaking work from an internationally renowned specialist, this is the definitive study of the most remarkable political and human story of our times.Trade ReviewSuperb...a hugely readable book -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *At its peak, communism controlled one third of the human race...Brown's scholarly, well-paced and critical overview contributes brilliantly to a reasoned reassessment * Sunday Times *To understand one of the central stories of the 20th century - read Brown's book * Independent *The breadth of his scholarship and research is hugely impressive... Brown offers clever insights, as well as some fascinating new revelations * Evening Standard *This book is the crowning achievement of Archie Brown's career... This volume will remain a definitive study of communism... Thank you, Archie Brown -- Oleg Gordievsky * Literary Review *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis landmark text by Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy is a classic of twentieth-century radical thought, a hugely influential book that continues to shape our understanding of modern capitalism.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE 2019 ''An ice-cold skewering of patriarchy, humanity and the darkness of 20th century Europe'' The Times_________________________________ ''It''s like this, Saul Adler.'' ''No, it''s like this, Jennifer Moreau.'' In 1988, Saul Adler is hit by a car on the Abbey Road. Apparently fine, he gets up and poses for a photograph taken by his girlfriend, Jennifer Moreau. He carries this photo with him to East Berlin: a fragment of the present, an anchor to the West. But in the GDR he finds himself troubled by time - stalked by the spectres of history, slipping in and out of a future that does not yet exist. Until, in 2016, Saul attempts to cross the Abbey Road again . . . _________________________________''A time-bending, location-hopping tale of love, truth and the power of seeing. Thoroughly gripping'' Sunday Telegraph ''Writing so beautiful it stops the reader on the page'' Independent ''Levy splices time in artfully believable, mesmerizing strokes'' Lambda Literary ''Skewering totalitarianism - from the state, to the family, to the strictures of the male gaze - Levy explodes conventional narrative to explore the individual''s place and culpability within history'' Guardian ''An utterly beguiling fever dream'' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewAn utterly beguiling fever dream of a novel... Its sheer technical bravura places it head and shoulder above pretty much everything else on the [Booker] longlist * Daily Telegraph *Writing so beautiful it stops the reader on the page * Independent *A time-bending, location-hopping tale of love, truth and the power of seeing... Increasingly surreal and thoroughly gripping * Sunday Telegraph *Exquisite... A brilliant Booker nominee... Ultimately, Levy is concerned with power – the forms it takes in our lives, the extent to which it is something we both possess and are subjected to * Guardian *One of the big stories in English fiction this decade has been the return and triumph of Deborah Levy... You would call her example inspiring if it weren't clearly impossible to emulate * New Statesman *An ice-cold skewering of patriarchy, humanity and the darkness of the 20th century Europe * The Times *In one short and sly book after another, she writes about characters navigating swerves of history and sexuality, and the social and personal rootlessness that accompanies both * The Atlantic *Charged with themes spanning memory and mortality, beauty and time, it's as electrifying as it is mysterious * Mail on Sunday *Intelligent and supple...a dizzying tale of life across time and borders * Financial Times *It's clever, raw and doesn't play by any rules * Evening Standard *Superbly crafted, enigmatic, tantalizing... Levy defies gravity in a daring, time-bending new novel... Head-spinning and playful, her writing offers sophistication and delightful artistry * Kirkus (Starred review) *One of the best books I have ever read -- Katherine Angel via Twitterplayful, consistently surprising...Levy brilliantly plumbs the divide between the self and others * Publishers Weekly Best Books 2019 *

Read more less

Book SynopsisKarl Marx was born in Trier, Germany and studied law at Bonn and Berlin. In 1848, with Freidrich Engels, he finalized the Communist Manifesto. He settled in London, where he studied economics and wrote the first volume of his major work, Das Kapital (1867, two further volumes were added in 1884 and 1894). He is buried in Highgate Cemetery, London. Friedrich Engles was born in Barmen, Germany. From 1842 he lived mostly in England.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIs socialism desirable? Is it even possible? This book presents a moral case for socialism and argues that the obstacles in its way are exaggerated.Trade Review"Characteristically lucid, engaging and gently humorous... Cohen says things that need to be said, often better than anyone else; and his last book is especially effective as an argument against the obstacles to socialism typically ascribed to human selfishness. His style of argument is very accessible, and it is certainly a more attractive mode of persuasion than dreary analyses of how capitalism actually works."--Ellen Meiksins Wood, London Review of Books "Is socialism really such an alien way of organizing human society? In this stimulating essay titled Why Not Socialism? (just 92 pages long), the late Oxford philosopher G. A. Cohen invites us to think seriously about what socialism has to offer in comparison with capitalism."--Sanford G. Thatcher, Centre Daily Times "Beautifully written... In sublimely lucid fashion, Cohen draws up taxonomies of equality, offers ethical objection to capitalism ... and distinguishes between two questions: is socialism desirable?; and, if desirable, is it feasible? ... Tiny books are all the rage in publishing nowadays; this is one of the few that punches well above its weight."--Steven Poole, The Guardian "[A] stimulating and thoughtfully argued advocacy of the better world that we need to fight for."--Andrew Stone, Socialist Review "A quietly urgent book."--Owen Hatherley, Philosophers' Magazine "Cohen brings his characteristic clarity to his final defence of socialism."--Tim Soutphommasane, The Australian "No doubt the best forms of socialist organization will emerge, like everything else, after much trial and error. But a vast quantity of preliminary spadework is necessary to excavate the assumptions that keep us from even trying. With Why Not Socialism?, Cohen has turned over a few shovelfuls, bringing us a little nearer the end of the immemorial--but surely not everlasting--epoch of greed and fear."--George Scialabba, Commonweal "[Here] we have a renowned scholar producing an accessible, concise work addressing a vital topic from a committed, progressive standpoint: would that more of today's academic star scholars would follow this example."--Frank Cunningham, Socialist Studies "Why Not Socialism? is a lucid and accessible statement of some of Cohen's deepest preoccupations."--Alex Callinicos, Radical Philosophy "However small the package ... the problems that Cohen addresses in this slim volume are of enormous importance, and can be taken seriously by readers ranging from those with only a tangential interest in the field, to serious scholars of egalitarian and socialist thought."--Robert C. Robinson, Political Studies ReviewTable of ContentsCHAPTER I: The Camping Trip CHAPTER II: The Principles Realized on the Camping Trip CHAPTER III: Is the Ideal Desirable? CHAPTER IV: Is the Ideal Feasible? Are the Obstacles to It Human Selfishness, or Poor Social Technology? CHAPTER V: Coda Acknowledgment

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"An important philosophical contribution highlighting the thoughts of one of the more important postwar advocates of liberalism in the 20th century." * Library Journal *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis international bestseller plumbs archives in the former Soviet bloc to reveal the actual, practical accomplishments of Communism around the world: terror, torture, famine, mass deportations, and massacres. The authors show how and why, wherever the ideology of Communism was established, it quickly led to crime, terror, and repression.Trade ReviewAn 800-page compendium of the crimes of Communist regimes worldwide, recorded and analyzed in ghastly detail by a team of scholars. The facts and figures, some of them well known, others newly confirmed in hitherto inaccessible archives, are irrefutable. The myth of the well-intentioned founders--the good czar Lenin betrayed by his evil heirs--has been laid to rest for good. No one will any longer be able to claim ignorance or uncertainty about the criminal nature of Communism, and those who had begun to forget will be forced to remember anew. -- Tony Judt * New York Times *When The Black Book of Communism appeared in Europe in 1997 detailing communism's crimes, it created a furor. Scrupulously documented and soberly written by several historians, it is a masterful work. It is, in fact, a reckoning. With this translation by Jonathan Murphy and Mark Kramer, English-language readers may now see for themselves what all the commotion was about. -- Jacob Heilbrunn * Wall Street Journal *The Black Book of Communism, which is finally appearing in English, is an extraordinary and almost unspeakably chilling book. It is a major study that deepens our understanding of communism and poses a philosophical and political challenge that cannot be ignored. The book's central argument, copiously documented and repeated in upwards of a dozen different essays, is that the history of communism should be read above all as the history of an all-out assault on society by a series of conspiratorial cliques led by cruel dictators (Lenin, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Kim II Sung, Pol Pot, and dozens of imitators) who were murderously drunk on their own ideology and power...Courtois and his collaborators have performed a signal service by gathering in one volume a global history of communism's crimes from the Soviet Union to China, from the satellite countries of Eastern-Europe to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and North Korea, and to a lesser degree in Latin America and Africa...The Black Book is enormously impressive and utterly convincing. -- Michael Scammell * New Republic *To the extent that the book has a literary style, it is that of the recording angel; this is the body count of a colossal, wholly failed social, economic, political and psychological experiment. It is a criminal indictment, and it rightly reads like one. -- Alan Ryan * New York Times Book Review *Most sensible adults are aware of communism's human toll in the Soviet Union and elsewhere--the forced starvations in the Ukraine, the Great Purge of the 1930s, the Gulag, the insanity of China's Great Cultural Revolution, Pol Pot's murder of one in every seven Cambodians, Fidel Castro's firing squads and prisons. All these horrors are now brought together in what the French scholar Martin Mali, in his foreword, calls a 'balance sheet of our current knowledge of communism's human costs, archivally based where possible and elsewhere drawing on the best available secondary evidence'...The book is all the more damning because each of the contributing scholars is either a former communist or close fellow traveler...That The Black Book infuriated the French left is a sure mark of its intrinsic worth. -- Joseph C. Goulden * Washington Times *The Black Book is a groundbreaking effort by a group of French scholars to document the human costs of Communism in the 20th century. Its publication caused a sensation in France when it was first released in 1997, but Americans were not able to see for themselves what the furor was all about until October 1999, when Harvard University Press finally released an English translation. It was worth the wait. Taking advantage of many newly available archives in former Communist states, the authors (many of them former Communists themselves) have meticulously recorded the crimes, terror and repression inflicted by Communist regimes across the world. It is a powerful work. -- Mark A. Thiessen * National Review *The authors of The Black Book of Communism are part of a welcome change in the moral-philosophical landscape in Paris, and one hopes elsewhere, as a result of which liberal and left-of-center intellectuals, scholars and politicians judge the crimes of communist regimes with the same severity they've applied to those of Nazism and fascism. -- Jeffrey Herf * Washington Post Book World *Arguing with the passion of former believers, [the contributors] charge that communism was a criminal system. They all make the case well. * Foreign Affairs *Now The Black Book of Communism is available in English, thanks to a stellar edition from Harvard University Press that appeared late last year, with an excellent introduction by Martin Malia, professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley. -- Stephen Goode * Insight *This black book has been a best seller across Europe. It details all the misery inflicted by Communism throughout the world: 25 million dead in the Soviet Union, 65 million in China, 1.7 million in Cambodia...Not a pleasant book, a necessary one. -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *A sober and balanced piece of work. [The Black Book of Communism] is particularly good on the origins of the Soviet police state under Lenin and on Stalin's Great Terror. It should be read by anyone who still has illusions that the Bolshevik revolution was a good thing--and anyone who believes that something worthwhile was lost when the Berliners destroyed the Wall 10 years ago. -- Paul Anderson * The Tribune *A serious, scholarly history of Communist crimes in the Soviet Union, Eastern and Western Europe, China, North Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, Africa, and Latin America...The Black Book does indeed surpass many of its predecessors in conveying the grand scale of the Communist tragedy, thanks to its authors' extensive use of the newly opened archives of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. -- Anne Applebaum * Weekly Standard *A generally even-toned and informative book, and one that will serve as a healthy dose of medication for those still afflicted by a wish to treat the Bolshevik revolution as a mistake, however monumental, or something that 'had to happen'...The Black Book's guiding purpose is to cut through the dense tissue of apologetics that has been deployed in the communist interest, both those devised in the thick of repression and those added after the collapse. -- Ben Webb * New Times *The Black Book of Communism] consists of scholarly yet readable (and superbly translated) essays, some based on recently opened Soviet archives, and covers the communist revolutions in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, including Cuba...The Black Book [is] a most important volume of contemporary history produced by a group of French Sovietologists...On finishing this magnificent volume, it is impossible not to see that in three-quarters of a century Soviet communism had left nothing behind except death and destruction. -- Arnold Beichman * Weekend Post *The heart of the Black Book is a compilation and description--in mesmerizing objective prose-- of the slaughters visited upon populations around the world by communist dictators in the 20th century...The Black Book is an elegantly simple and valuable record of a time many would like to forget--but will have to deal with. -- John Omicinski * Scottsdale Tribune *I can't think of any book that would be more important for Americans to read. If you are going to read only one book this year, make it The Black Book of Communism. This is an 800-page history of the terror, repression and killings of communism stretching from the Bolshevik Revolution to the present. Written by scholars who are ex-communists or former fellow travelers, the book establishes beyond doubt that communism is the greatest crime against humanity in the 20th century. -- Charley Reese * The Sentine *An important scholarly achievement of exhaustive breadth based on new archival material from the Stalin era...This impressive and important book is well worth the price. -- Zachary T. Irwin * Library Journal *A unique attempt by French historians--as important in its way as the works of Solzhenitsyn--to chronicle the crimes of communism wherever it has attained power in the world. Not the least remarkable thing about this book is that this is the first time such a study has been made. For the cumulative toll of victims of communist rule, estimated by the authors at between 85 and 100 million, dwarfs even the crimes of the Nazis...A devastating and important book, already hailed in Europe, and the more harrowing for its sobriety. * Kirkus Reviews *In France, this damning reckoning of communism's worldwide legacy was a bestseller that sparked passionate arguments among intellectuals of the Left. Courtois, along with the other distinguished French and European contributors, delivers a fact-based, mostly Russia-centered wallop that will be hard to refute: town burnings, mass deportations, property seizures, family separations, mass murders, planned famines--all chillingly documented from conception to implementation. * Publishers Weekly *In the end, the Black Book's body counts--necessary as they are--are less important than the soul-destroying connections between Marxist idealism and the violence committed in its name. -- Lawrence Osborne * salon.com *The publishing sensation in France this winter (1999) has been an austere academic tome, Le Livre Noir du Communisme, detailing Communism's crimes from Russia in 1917 to Afghanistan in 1989...[The Black Book of Communism] gives a balance sheet of our present knowledge of Communism's human costs, archivally based where possible, and otherwise drawing on the best secondary works, and with due allowance for the difficulties of quantification. Yet austere though this inventory is, its cumulative impact is overwhelming. At the same time, the book advances a number of important analytical points. -- Martin Malia * Times Literary Supplement *Table of Contents* Foreword: The Uses of Atrocity Martin Malia * Introduction: The Crimes of Communism Stephane Courtois I. A State against Its People: Violence, Repression, and Terror in the Soviet Union Nicolas Werth * Paradoxes and Misunderstandings Surrounding the October Revolution * The Iron Fist of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat * The Red Terror * The Dirty War * From Tambov to the Great Famine * From the Truce to the Great Turning Point * Forced Collectivization and Dekulakization * The Great Famine * Socially Foreign Elements and the Cycles of Repression * The Great Terror (1936 -1938) * The Empire of the Camps * The Other Side of Victory * Apogee and Crisis in the Gulag System * The Last Conspiracy * The Exit from Stalinism Conclusion II. Word Revolution, Civil War, and Terror Stephane Courtois, Jean-Louis Panne, and Remi Kauffer * The Comintern in Action Stephane Courtois and Jean-Louis Panne * The Shadow of the NKVD in Spain Stephane Courtois and Jean-Louis Panne * Communism and Terrorism Remi Kauffer III. The Other Europe: Victim of Communism Andrzej Paczkowski and Karel Bartoek * Poland, the "Enemy Nation" Andrzej Paczkowski * Central and Southeastern Europe Karel Bartoek IV. Communism in Asia: Between Reeducation and Massacre Jean-Louis Margolin and Pierre Rigoulot Introduction * China: A Long March into Night Jean-Louis Margolin * Crimes, Terror, and Secrecy in North Korea Pierre Rigoulot * Vietnam and Laos: The Impasse of War Communism Jean-Louis Margolin * Cambodia: The Country of Disconcerting Crimes Jean-Louis Margolin Conclusion Select Bibliography for Asia V. The Third World Pascal Fontaine, Yves Santamaria, and Sylvain Boulouque * Communism in Latin America Pascal Fontaine * Afrocommunism: Ethiopia, Angola, and Mozambique Yves Santamaria * Communism in Afghanistan Sylvain Boulouque Conclusion: Why? Stephane Courtois * Notes * Index * About the Authors

Read more less

Book SynopsisA timely and provocative account of the fall of New Labour, the rise of Corbyn, and what it means for the left in Britain.Lewis Goodall is one of the most exciting voices in British politics right now' Emily MaitlisHugely illuminating, thought-provoking and moving in its seriousness and optimism' Lord Andrew AdonisESSENTIAL READING DURING LABOUR'S LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN.In the 21st Century the Labour Party has undergone the most extraordinary transformation in its history. After more than a decade of political dominance, the party lost two consecutive general elections and found its leadership usurped by the obscure far-left MP Jeremy Corbyn. As Britain voted to leave the EU, Labour seemed destined for long term irrelevance.In Left for Dead? journalist Lewis Goodall tells the full story of this political journey with unprecedented access to all its key players, from Blair to Corbyn. Weaving together personal memoir, exclusive interviews, juicy gossip and incisive critique, he travels fromTrade Review‘Lewis Goodall is one of the most exciting voices in British politics right now – and this book shows clearly why he is worth listening to. Profoundly, exquisitely funny, Left for Dead is that rare gem – acute political observation told through intensely personal story’ Emily Maitlis ‘Lewis Goodall’s brilliant book is part memoir, part portrait of Labour and the Britain he grew up in under Blair. It is the best work I have read of his generation, which thank God is replacing mine. Hugely illuminating, thought-provoking and moving in its seriousness and optimism’ Lord Andrew Adonis ‘I cannot recommend Lewis Goodall’s book enough. I’m loving every page. It’s not just politically powerful but far more emotional to read than I’d expected’ Matt Forde ‘A rip-roaring ride, sparky and sharp … Goodall explores Labour’s story with rigour’ Daily Telegraph ‘An excellent new book on Corbynism, and where it stands in Labour’s history’ Andrew Sparrow, Guardian ‘Lewis Goodall argues compellingly that the 2017 general election didn’t change British politics, it revealed profound shifts that had been taking place for years. Goodall challenges the most entrenched assumptions and reveals a Britain utterly changed. This is big picture journalism informed but up close and intimate detail. Goodall’s reporting is energetic, astute, eloquent. His voice rings with a decency and respect for others that is often missing in an increasingly polarised and bitter political discourse – and left me feeling, by the end, surprisingly hopeful about the future’ Allan Little ‘Impassioned and insightful, this is the best book on Labour to appear in years. Lewis Goodall combines the precision of an expert analyst with the raw emotion that comes from growing up in a family rooted in the Labour Party’s past traditions’ Professor Marc Stears, Director, Sydney Policy Lab, University of Sydney (Formerly chief speechwriter to Ed Miliband MP)

Read more less

Book Synopsis''In the craven world of architectural criticism Hatherley is that rarest of things: a brave, incisive, elegant and erudite writer, whose books dissect the contemporary built environment to reveal the political fantasies and social realities it embodies'' Will SelfDuring the course of the twentieth century, communism took power in Eastern Europe and remade the city in its own image. Ransacking the urban planning of the grand imperial past, it set out to transform everyday life, its sweeping boulevards, epic high-rise and vast housing estates an emphatic declaration of a non-capitalist idea. Now, the regimes that built them are dead and long gone, but from Warsaw to Berlin, Moscow to post-Revolution Kiev, the buildings, their most obvious legacy, remain, populated by people whose lives were scattered and jeopardized by the collapse of communism and the introduction of capitalism.Landscapes of Communism is an intimate history of twentieth-century communist EuropTrade ReviewCan one talk yet of vintage Hatherley? Yes, one can. Here are all the properties that have made him one of the most distinctive writers in England - not just 'architectural writers', but writers full stop: acuity, contrariness, observational rigour, frankness and beautifully wrought prose. This is a tempered love letter to eastern Europe and a fullblown love letter to an eastern European woman. I can't think of anything remotely akin -- Jonathan MeadesThe latest heir to Ruskin. -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Hatherley is the most informed, opinionated and acerbic guide you could wish for. -- Hugh Pearman * Sunday Times *

Read more less