Left-of-centre democratic ideologies and movements Books

Book SynopsisHow can we reduce inequalities? How can we make work get better recognition and better pay?Philippe Askenazy in this new book shows that the current share of wealth is far from natural; it results from rising rents and their capture by the actors best endowed in the economic game. In this race for rents, the world of work is the big loser: while many workers feed capital rents by increased productivity and worsened working conditions, they are stigmatized as unproductive and their earnings stagnate. By proposing a new description of the capital-work relationship, calling for a remobilization of the world of work, and particularly poorly paid employees, Askenazy shows that there is a more radical alternative to neoliberalism beyond simply redistribution.Trade ReviewThe latest book by Philippe Askenazy is extraordinarily refreshing and innovative and deserves a wide international readership. Askenazy shows convincingly that is above all the relationship of forces and the legal and institutional system in which these relations are expressed that determine the share of wealth. The descriptions of the possible emergence of a new, participatory trade unionism are particularly successful: by describing the innovative mobilisations of subway drivers in New York, London or Paris, of American nurses, not to speak of cleaning workers in the luxury hotels in Paris's 'golden triangle' or bus drivers in Silicon Valley, Askenazy gives one hope again and shows that several futures are possible in the framework of the existing globalisation that is underway. -- Thomas Piketty

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Book SynopsisThe political ambitions of the movement behind Bernie Sanders have never been limited to winning the White House. Since Bernie first entered the presidential primaries in 2016, his supporters have worked to organize a revolution intended to encourage the active participation of millions of ordinary people in political life. In Bigger than Bernie, activist writers Meagan Day and Micah Uetricht give us an intimate map of this movement to remake American politics top to bottom, profiling the grassroots organizers who are building something bigger, and more ambitious, than the career of any one candidate. As participants themselves, Day and Uetricht provide a serious analysis of the prospects for long-term change, offering a strategy for making "political revolution" more than just a campaign slogan. They provide a road map for how to entrench democratic socialism in the halls of power and in our own lives.This new edition offers unmatched insights into the people behind the most unique campaign in modern American history and explores how the political revolution has been re-tooled for a time of economic crisis and pandemic.Trade ReviewAn indispensable guide to twenty-first-century socialism from the viewpoint of clear-eyed,sharp-witted, smart, funny authors . They give me hope! -- Jane McAlevey, author of A Collective Bargain"Part history lesson, part guidebook; this is a love letter to the everyday people and movementswho transformed this country. Bigger than Bernie isn't just about the man who's spent themajority of his political career on the fringes. It's about fighters. It's about thinkers. It's aboutlove. It's about us." -- Phillip Agnew, Cofounder of the Dream DefendersAn exhilarating account of what we'll be doing in the coming years. Anyone who thinks, withdread or relief, that the work comes to an end after Election Day in 2020 will think again. I'mgoing to keep coming back to them and their book -- Corey Robin, author of The Enigma of Clarence ThomasBigger than Bernie is a comprehensive and necessary read . an essential roadmap forachieving permanent change, and an energizing account that brings socialism into the presenttense. -- RoseAnn DeMoro, former Executive Director of National Nurses UnitedUrgent and essential . no one could better capture the promise and perils of this once-in-a-generation moment. I try never to miss a word that they write, and you shouldn't either. -- Krystal Ball, cohost of Rising on HillTVDay and Uetricht are two of the most brilliant and courageous intellectuals of the Sandersmovement. This indispensable book is a powerful, pioneering analysis of these new radicaltimes and a compelling vision of where it all might be going -- Cornel West, author of Race Matters

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Deutscher Memorial Prize 2023Capital is currently cannibalizing every sphere of life-guzzling wealth from nature and racialized populations, sucking up our ability to care for each other, and gutting the practice of politics. In this tightly argued and urgent volume, leading Marxist feminist theorist Nancy Fraser charts the voracious appetite of capital, tracking it from crisis point to crisis point, from ecological devastation to the collapse of democracy, from racial violence to the devaluing of care work. These crisis points all come to a head in Covid-19, which Fraser argues can help us envision the resistance we need to end the feeding frenzy. What we need, she argues, is a wide-ranging socialist movement that can recognize the rapaciousness of capital - and starve it to death.Trade ReviewNancy Fraser is a legendary radical philosopher grounded in the best of the Marxist and feminist traditions yet whose genuine embrace and profound understanding of Black, ecological, immigrant and sexual freedom movements make her a unique figure on the contemporary scene! Cannibal Capitalism is not only a singular gem - it is an instant classic for our bleak times! -- Cornel West, author of Race MattersA brilliant synthesis of Fraser's many pathbreaking contributions to a Marxian theory of capitalism for the twenty-first century, beautifully written. -- Wolfgang Streeck, author of How Will Capitalism End?Cannibal Capitalism conjures up a monster that voraciously consumes the very land, labor and natural world upon which it thrives. With characteristically clear and inventive prose, Nancy Fraser unpacks capitalism's historically shifting, interlaced dynamics, revealing the interrelations between seemingly disparate crises and social violences. Throughout, we see the powerful potential of an anti-racist, eco-social reproduction critique. And we see why the future of the planet and humanity depend upon the socialist left building anti-capitalist struggles that reach across workplaces, streets, forests and oceans. -- Sue Ferguson, author of Women and WorkNancy Fraser has produced the most elegant theory yet of capitalism in our age - capitalism not in the narrow economic sense, but capitalism in the sense of a total omnivore, a system that cannot stop devouring everything around it, destroying the lives of people and nature. This is Marxist theory for our age of crisis - and, we shall hope, of reckoning. -- Andreas Malm, author of How to Blow Up a PipelineShould serve to remind ... that capitalism remains a guzzler of care, and this is an unsustainable position -- Rachel Andrews * White Review, Best Books 2022 *An explicit plea for a political project. The parallels between care and ecology are instructive. -- James Butler * London Review of Books *Fraser captures how gender oppression, racial domination, and ecological destruction are not incidental to capitalism, but structurally embedded in it. -- Rhoda Feng * The Nation *Table of ContentsPreface: Cannibal Capitalism: Are We Toast?1. Omnivore: Why We Need to Expand Our Conception of Capitalism2. Glutton for Punishment: Why Capitalism Is Structurally Racist3. Care Guzzler: Why Social Reproduction Is a Major Site of Capitalist Crisis4. Nature in the Maw: Why Ecopolitics Must Be Trans-environmental and Anti-capitalist5. Butchering Democracy: Why Political Crisis Is Capital's Red Meat6. Food for Thought: What Should Socialism Mean in the Twenty-First Century?Epilogue: Macrophage: Why COVID Is a Cannibal Capitalist Orgy

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Book Synopsis 'Funny, angry, urgent. Ghodsee is going to start a revolution' Daisy Buchanan, author of The Sisterhood A witty, fiercely intelligent exploration of why capitalism is rigged against women and what we can do about it.Unregulated capitalism is bad for women. Socialism, if done properly, leads to economic independence, better labour conditions, better work/family balance and, yes, even better sex. If you like the idea of such outcomes, then come along for an exploration of how we can change women’s lives for the better.Trade ReviewWonderful … Kristen Ghodsee doesn’t wear rose-tinted spectacles … but she seeks with great brio and nuance to lay out what some socialist states achieved for women … That Ghodsee also makes this a joyous read is the cherry on the cake -- Suzanne Moore * Observer *Ghodsee’s book could not have been published at a better moment ... There are many reasons to revisit socialist policies in a time of widening inequality, but a feminist perspective offers some of the most powerful incentives -- Emily Witt * Guardian *Brilliant ... engaging ... Ghodsee is not naive [and] brings the necessary scepticism to her thesis [which] comes into sharp focus when she looks at what happened after the Wall fell ... [a] valuable record of how things were and how they could be -- Rosie Boycott * Financial Times *Convincing, provocative and useful * Times Higher Education *Capitalism’s triumph is a calamity for most women. Kristen Ghodsee’s incisive book brilliantly reveals their plight -- Yanis Varoufakis

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Book SynopsisFully Automated Luxury Communism promises a radically new left future for everyone. New technologies will liberate us from work, providing the opportunity to build a society beyond both capitalism and scarcity. Automation, rather than undermining an economy built on full employment, is instead the path to a world of liberty, luxury and happiness. Solar power will deliver the energy that we need, while asteroid mining will deliver the necessary resources, allowing us to end the devastation of our environment. Innovations in AI, gene editing, food technology will leads us to new ways of living better lives. In his first book, radical political commentator Aaron Bastani conjures a new politics: a vision of a world of unimaginable hope, highlighting how we move to energy abundance, feed a world of nine billion, overcome work, transcend the limits of biology and build meaningful freedom for everyone. Rather than a final destination, such a society heralds the beginning of history.Trade ReviewIn 100 years' time many of the ideas in this book will be mainstream, while kindergarten students laugh at our mainstream economic textbooks. Bastani's genius is to see the future with crisp clarity, unafraid of the consequences of being right -- Paul Mason, author of PostcapitalismOne of the most important books to come out of the British left in recent years. Incredibly ambitious and wide-ranging, but also well-written and readable, it provides a fascinating glimpse into a future beyond scarcity and beyond capitalism. Not simply a set of predictions about an unknowable future, it is a call to action to those seeking to bring an entirely new world into being. -- Grace Blakeley, New StatesmanThe debate is no longer about tinkering with our current broken social order, but replacing it: this fascinating book is an absolutely critical contribution, and a must-read for all those who aspire to build a new society. -- Owen Johns, author of The EstablishmentAt a time when our horizons have shrunk, when instead of striving for a better world we look backward to old comforts, Aaron Bastani calls us to dream and struggle for the type of society finally fit for humanity to live as humans should. -- Bhaskar Sunkara, author of The Socialist ManifestoRousing * Red Pepper *In a world where we are constantly told we have no choice but to accept the status quo his confidence in the possibility of change is refreshing. * Socialism Today *

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Book SynopsisBy the middle of the twenty-first century, war, famine, economic collapse, and climate catastrophe had toppled the world's governments. In the 2050s, the insurrections reached the nerve center of global capitalism—New York City. This book, a collection of interviews with the people who made the revolution, was published to mark the twentieth anniversary of the New York Commune, a radically new social order forged in the ashes of capitalist collapse.Here is the insurrection in the words of the people who made it, a cast as diverse as the city itself. Nurses, sex workers, antifascist militants, and survivors of all stripes recall the collapse of life as they knew it and the emergence of a collective alternative. Their stories, delivered in deeply human fashion, together outline how ordinary people's efforts to survive in the face of crisis contain the seeds of a new world.Trade Review “A really fascinating glimpse into a future New York City after a revolution has transformed the US and much of the world into an antifascist, communist utopia…necessary and empowering, providing a hypothetical foundation for an ideal future.“—Buzzfeed, "34 New Summer Books You Won’t Be Able To Put Down" "Every socialist needs to read this book. Every abolitionist, every Marxist, every anarchist, every revolutionary needs to read this book. Every person who has ever wondered how the world will function after the final retirement of the market, the commodity form, money, wages, rent, coercive gender roles, prisons, police, class, nation states, borders, profit, and in general the dominating power of any humans over any others…It’s a book that will engage seasoned organizers, well-read academics, and street-level agitators. It also could serve quite well as a dazzling introduction for newly politicizing folks who would benefit from a clear end-goal and would want to know what could be accomplished by the movements for human liberation.”—Spectre Journal“[Everything for Everyone] challenges us to not just write fiction about revolution but to make books that practice the kinds of collaboration necessary to make revolution…This book is an uncompromising, anticolonial, profoundly queer and trans, buoying, addictive, and wholly original creation…Everything for Everyone has no patience with docile truisms about how we are supposed to write. Instead, it’s a shot across the bow for contemporary fiction, raising the bar on how to crystallize utopian longings in literary form.“—BOMB Magazine“But if you come to Everything for Everyone for the politics, stay for the writing. Barring Vladimir Nabokov in Pale Fire, I can’t think of another author who uses an academic form to achieve a literary result so successfully. Each of the interviewees and interviewers has an entirely unique and authentic voice. The book is utterly plausible as the archival project it claims to be, while also telling gripping stories and slipping in details to delight sci-fi fans (a space elevator in Quito! Sentient algae-based AI! Augmented reality implants for dance parties!).“—TruthOut“Charts dizzying, delightful new futures for science fiction, urban planning, and engaged social practice. I spent 15 years as a community organizer and never dreamed of seeing something that so bravely, brilliantly combines liberational nonfiction and radical documentary with the exuberance of the best speculative storytelling.“ —Sam J. Miller, Nebula-Award-winning author of Blackfish City and The Art of Starving“Eman Abdelhadi and M. E. O’Brien’s tall tales of the future draw on real experiences of the past and present. The book’s multiple narratives, equal parts hope and pain, merge into a prayer for collective survival and for the eventual flourishing of our powers of love and invention. Voices from as-yet-unlived lives instill faith that our becoming is not yet done. Abdelhadi and O’Brien have created a vivid image of the possibility that we will one day make a home of the world.” —Hannah Black “The special magic of Everything for Everyone is that it combines the genres of the oral history interview with speculative utopian fiction. Oral histories can show how in their everyday lives ordinary people can make the world. Utopian fiction can show the worlds we might want to be making. Every cook, or sex worker, can govern. And this is the life they might build from the ruins of this civilization, such as it is. Such a pleasure to feel one could be making the world over with them.” —McKenzie Wark, author of The Beach Beneath the Street “Eman Abdelhadi and M. E. O’Brien are changing the game of what the novel is and what the novel can be. Much as James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Imani Perry did with the epistolary form in non-fiction, Everything for Everyone uses speculative oral history to expand and explode the limits of what fiction can do. Their imagined oral histories from many parties help us understand the present from many possible points of view in the future looking back, like Rashômon meets House of Leaves. In Everything for Everyone, binaries (of male-versus-female, fiction-versus-non-fiction, past-versus-future) are irrelevant compared to something much more interesting and important that Abdelhadi and O’Brien seek to illustrate: truth, and the way we might find liberation in it.” —Steven W. Thrasher, author of The Viral Underclass“I had no idea I was a post-revolution speculative fiction fangirl till I started reading Everything for Everyone, which kicks off with a food riot at the Hunts Point Market led by a sex worker. I’m really bummed out by the fact that I’ll be 82—hopefully!—when their fictional revolution kicks off and dead by the time the dust settles. Exciting to read something hopeful, intersectional and an antidote to our dystopian doldrums.” —Sherry Wolf, author of Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics and Theory of LGBT Liberation “In this genre-bending work of utopian fiction, O'Brien and Abdelhadi imagine a world that might emerge from the ashes of our own. Part speculative social science, part abolitionist manifesto, it explores the social forms and political possibilities of life after capitalism—the novel ways of organizing life, doing gender, and coping with the psychic costs of transformation that may follow the inevitable crises of capital and climate that lie in our future. Like the best utopian fiction, Everything for Everyone is also a startling work of political theory: it gives us the opportunity, as all utopias do, to learn about our own desires and hopes for a way out of our current conjuncture.” —Katrina Forrester, author of In the Shadow of Justice “Leftists are often accused of being against everything, but not having a vision of what we're fighting for. Everything for Everyone is a corrective, a sweeping vision of the type of world and society we imagine can and will provide for us all, abundantly. Not all beautiful novels are invested in social restructuring, and not all social restructuring is envisaged in novels, but here we have exactly their meeting point: a beautiful novel bristling with the necessary changes we must make to survive on this planet. The future has sex in it, and community; it has food and labor and joy. It has trauma and memories of the harm, the nightmare, of capitalist precarity. The future is sure to exist; will it have us in it? Everything for Everyone imagines that it will, and, given this remarkable vision, this perpetual possibility, it's now our work to live up to it.” —Joseph Osmundson, author of Virology“Everything for Everyone is a window into a possible future and a powerful antidote to our present moment’s ubiquitous moods of anti-utopianism, despair, nostalgia, and capitalist-realism…this must-read speculative fiction…chronicle[s] the first stages of the abolition of the family; the history of the ecological restoration projects and interplanetary technologies that might render our planet liveable and leisurely; the invention of real democracy; and the armed conflagrations that were necessary along the way. So, if you have ever wondered to yourself, What will the triumph of indigenous land struggles, the overthrow of colonial occupations, and the fall of capitalism look like? Which parts of New York would be at the forefront of a communist revolution, and which would double down into religious, hyper-patriarchal fascism? Whose knowledges of facilitation, healing, conflict resolution and partying will help the population heal from its collective trauma?—then this superb novel is the book for you.”—Sophie Lewis, author of Abolish the Family: A Manifesto of Care and Liberation

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Book SynopsisOn Anarchism is an essential introduction to Noam Chomsky''s political theory.On Anarchism sheds a much needed light on the foundations of Chomsky''s thought, specifically his constant questioning of the legitimacy of entrenched power. The book gathers his essays and interviews to provide a short, accessible introduction to his distinctively optimistic brand of anarchism. Refuting the notion of anarchism as a fixed idea, and disputing the traditional fault lines between anarchism and socialism, this is a book sure to challenge, provoke and inspire. Profoundly relevant to our times, it is a touchstone for political activists and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of anarchism, or of Chomsky''s thought.''Arguably the most important intellectual alive'' New York Times

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Book SynopsisIn Who Will Build the Ark?, leading radical thinkers debate left alternatives to runaway global heating, capitalist crisis and wider environmental breakdown, clarifying the stakes in today's key disputes between Green New Deal supporters and proponents of 'degrowth'. In a series of landmark texts first published by New Left Review, Herman Daly and Benjamin Kunkel discusses the possibility of an egalitarian, steady-state economy, while Robert Pollin warns against the worldwide slump 'degrowth' could bring and calls instead for a single-issue campaign - 2 per cent of global GDP dedicated to the switch to renewable energy - as the swiftest solution to the emissions crisis. Nancy Fraser envisages an eco-socialist exit from capitalism's multifold crises, while Troy Vettese advocates eco-austerity and half-earth rewilding. Lola Seaton draws out the strategic implications of these contested perspectives, in a set of unavoidable 'green questions'. In the realm of contemporary politics, Alyssa Battistoni writes on the dead-end of COP diplomacy, Cédric Durand asks whether energy shortages will derail the transition away from fossil fuels, and Thomas Meaney compares Green New Deal proposals to the pinched reality of Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.The world's major powers accept the likelihood of dangerous climate change, yet seem incapable of averting it. Can radical green models generate the social leverage needed to do so? Or, as Mike Davis puts it: Who will build the Ark?Trade ReviewIn recent years, an intense debate has unfolded over the policy and politics of the green transition. Important contributions to this debate have appeared in New Left Review's 'Debating Green Strategy' series. -- Max Krahé * Phenomenal World *

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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 *

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Book SynopsisKen Livingstone is a product of the political changes that have already taken place in the Labour Party. As Leader of the Greater London Council he has provided a voice and a vision for tens of thousands of party activists and Labour supporters, in the process implementing a set of measures that indicate the possibilities of a real alternative to Thatcherism. His determined opposition on the Falklands War, subsidised public transport, Ireland, the 1984 miners strike, sexual liberation and racism has made him a far more effective spokesperson for Labour than the shadow luminaries who occupy the front benches in the House of Commons.In these fascinating conversations with Tariq Ali, the Marxist writer and activist debarred from the Labour Party by Kinnock/Hattersley, the two men discuss the future of Labour and socialist politics in Britain. What emerges is a picture of Livingstone as a formidable socialist politician and an adroit tactician, who displays a refreshing ability to

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Book SynopsisThis volume illustrates the variety of William Morris's prose, while focusing on one theme: the earthly paradise. The Nowhere of News from Nowhere (1890) is England in 2102, an ideal pastoral society born out of revolution. It is as compelling a dream of the future as the nightmares of Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Exhilaratingly, it reminds us that nothing is inevitable about the way we live—now or in 1890.Table of ContentsPart 1 Romance: the story of the unknown Church; a King's lesson; two extracts from "A Dream of John Ball"; "News from Nowhere". Part 2 Lectures: the lesser arts; some hints on pattern-designing; useful work versus useless toil; the hopes of civilization. Part 3 Occasional prose: "Looking Backward" - a review of "Looking Backward" by Edward Bellamy; under an elm-tree, or, thoughts in the countryside; preface in "The Nature of Gothic" by John Ruskin; foreword to "Utopia" by Sir Thomas More; how I became a socialist; a note by William Morris on his aims in founding the Kelmscott Press. Part 4 Letters: [the Eastern question]: letter to the "Daily News"; [anti-scrape]: letter to the "Athenaeum"; [St Mark's, Venice]: letter to the "Daily News".

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Book SynopsisGeorge Orwell''s moving reflections on the English character and his passionate belief in the need for political change.The Lion and the Unicorn was written in London during the worst period of the blitz. It is vintage Orwell, a dynamic outline of his belief in socialism, patriotism and an English revolution. His fullest political statement, it has been described as ''one of the most moving and incisive portraits of the English character'' and is as relevant now as it ever has been.

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Book Synopsis‘Building a society that operates within ecological constraints requires an unleashing of our political imaginations, and this book helps us do just that’—Astra Taylor, author of The Age of InsecurityHalf-Earth Socialism is a radical call to action to save the planet, including trenchant proposals to rewild half the earth to absorb carbon emissions and restore biodiversity; rapidly transition to renewable energy, paired with drastic cuts in consumption; and shift to global veganism to reduce energy and land use. As this thrilling and provocative book makes clear, we must humbly accept that humanity cannot fully understand or control the earth — but we can plan new energy systems, large-scale rewilding, and food production for the common good.'Half-Earth Socialism embraces the hardest choices, the most exacting ecological constraints, and thinks with them to reinvent climate utopianism’—Richard Seymour,

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Book SynopsisCapitalism has transformed the world and increased our productivity, but at the cost of enormous human suffering. Our shared values equality and fairness, democracy and freedom, community and solidarity can both provide the basis for a critique of capitalism, and help to guide us towards a socialist and democratic society. In this elegant book, Erik Olin Wright has distilled decades of work into a concise and tightly argued manifesto analyzing the varieties of anti-capitalism, assessing different strategic approaches, and laying the foundations for a society dedicated to human flourishing. How to Be an Anticapitalist is an urgent and powerful argument for socialism, and a unparalleled guide to help us get there. Another world is possible.Trade Review"Deserves to be widely read. In 150-odd pages, Wright makes the case for what's wrong with capitalism, what would be better, and how to achieve it. This is the rare book that can speak to both the faithful and the unconverted. You could buy it for your skeptical uncle or your militant cousin: there is something here for the reader who needs persuading that another world is possible, and the reader who wants ideas for bringing that world into being." --Ben Tarnoff, Guardian "His ideas captured the imagination of audiences, intellectuals and activists across the globe ... Wright reinvented the meaning of socialism." --New York Times "Erik Olin Wright was a visionary writer gifted with the imagination to foresee what life after capitalism might look like, but he was much more than that. He embodied an entire way to think about capitalism and the world: clear, precise, and free of bullshit. This book, his last, should be an indispensable reference point for those who want to change the world for the better." --Bhaskar Sunkara, founder and publisher of Jacobin magazine "Erik will be remembered as the most important theorist of class in the second half of the twentieth century, and the greatest Marxist sociologist of his time." --Vivek Chibber, author of Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital "Possessed of an unlimited capacity to render his ideas precise and simple, without diluting them, Erik gave activists a vision of a collective project to which each could contribute. Given the resurgent interest in 'socialism' among a new generation of thinkers and activists, Erik had an ever-increasing following." --Michael Burawoy, from the afterword "[An] eloquent and accessible volume." --Tom Mayer, Colorado Daily

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Book SynopsisThe age of party democracy has passed, argues Peter Mair in Ruling the Void. The major parties have become so disconnected from society that they no longer seem capable of sustaining democracy in its present form.First published in 2013, Ruling the Void presciently observed that the widening gap between citizens and their political leaders posed a crisis of legitimacy for the governing class, and was fuelling populist mobilizations against it. Europe's political elites had remodelled themselves as a homogeneous professional class, withdrawing into state institutions that offer relative stability in a world of fickle voters. Meanwhile, non-democratic agencies and practices proliferated - not least among them the European Union itself. Mair weighs the impact of these changes, and offers an authoritative assessment of the prospects for popular political representation today, not only in the varied democracies of Britain and the EU but throughout the developed world.With a new Introduction by Chris Bickerton, author of The European Union: A Citizen's Guide.Trade ReviewA deep and prophetic analysis. -- John McDermott * Financial Times *So original, perfectly crafted, accurate and true that you can't get it out of your head. -- Peter Oborne * Telegraph *A canary in the coalmine that pointed to the real dangers of democratic decline before they were widely acknowledged. -- Anne Applebaum * Guardian *Essential reading for anyone concerned with twenty-first century politics. -- Wolfgang Streeck * New Left Review *Mair's brilliance as a political scientist comes through clearly. The evidence he marshals is overwhelming. -- Jan-Werner Müller * London Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisFrom the Arab Spring and London riots through the era of Brexit and Trump, the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Europe, this volume collects eleven years of lively, informative and entertaining essays and polemics, focusing on media treatment of major global conflicts, political entanglements and culture-war squabbles. --- Taking aim at the distortions and omissions of news reports and cultural narratives in the Western world, Stephen Harper highlights the dislocation between humanity's existential crisis and the failure of the corporate media to register its underlying causes - or even to entertain any real discussion of its solution. Instead, he argues, the media blithely serve the narrow interests of a global elite that is subjecting the planet to a reign of fire in the form of endless wars and ecological destruction. --- Harper reviews contemporary journalistic, cinematic and televisual coverage, engaging with broad cultural topics such as 'cancel culture', the incel phenomenon and Covid conspiracy theories, as well as media events like the debate between Jordan Peterson and Slavoj Zizek. For all its eclecticism, Hot Planet, Cool Media has an ideological cohesiveness, rejecting popular left and right political positions and advocating the cause of socialism or communism in the Marxian sense of a classless, leaderless, moneyless society.Table of ContentsPreface - 2011 - Tunisia and Egypt: New Media 'Revolutions'? (2/2/2011) - Sophisticated Sinophobia? (20/2/2011) - 'Humanitarian Intervention' in Libya: Pull the Other One (25/3/2011) - 'Very Clear, Very Clean': Killing Bin Laden (6/5/2011) - One Less Obama-Maniac (25/5/2011) - Justice is Serbed (1/6/2011) - Bigmouth Strikes Again (27/6/2011) - Hackgate: Recuperating the Crisis (9/7/2011) - Islamist Terror Strikes Norway! (25/7/2011) - UK Riots: Echo of the Past, Glimpse of the Future (13/8/2011) - The Deaths of Others (22/9/2011) - Return of the Poppy-Burning Scum (5/11/2011) - Christopher Hitchens, Pro-Imperialist Bully (16/12/2011) - 2012 - Lady Bountiful (17/1/2012) - No True Scotsman (29/3/2012) - 'Terrible Things Happen': On The Bbc's Occupation (30/4/2012) - Neither Hollywood Nor Belgrade! (6/6/2012) - Rihanna Is A Satanist! (19/8/2012) - Stephanie Flounders (8/10/2012) - Whoever You Vote For The Government Gets In (4/11/2012) - Peter Kosminsky's The Promise (Channel 4, 2011) (12/12/2012) - 2013 - Bigelow's Back (19/1/2013) - Our Girls And Theirs (31/3/2013) - Doing Whatever It Takes (3/4/2013) - Mental Illness And The Media (25/5/2013) - Back To Iraq (17/6/2013) - Brand/Paxman (18/11/2013) - 2014 - The War According To Jeremy (5/2/2014) - Did Somebody Say 'Radicalisation'? (29/6/2014) - Israel, Gaza And 'Balance' (17/7/2014) - Scottish Separatism: Is The Subaltern Speaking? (2/9/2014) - War Is Peace: Malala, Our Girl And 'Feminist' Imperialism (11/10/2014) - 2015 - Two Ways Not To Respond To The Charlie Hebdo Massacre (20/1/2015) - Disoriented: Adam Curtis's Bitter Lake (1/2/2015) - Oblique Strategies (15/6/2015) - Srebrenica Revisited, BBC-Style (9/7/2015) - On The Ashley Madison Hack (25/8/2015) - This Is What An Influx Looks Like (3/9/2015) - On Jeremy Corbyn (13/10/2015) - 2016 - The Eu Referendum: Not Our Fight (21/6/2016) - From Obama To Trump: An Orange Thermidor? (13/11/2016) - 2017 - Jolie Jingo (6/3/2017) - Shame And The Soldier Of Conscience (30/4/2017) - Oklahoma City And The Denial Of History (30/4/2017) - From Bosnia To Syria; 'Fake News', Imperialist Agendas (4/5/2017) - Evacuated: Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk (30/7/2017) - Inside The State Of Hate (1/9/2017) - 2018 - Getting Real About Depression (30/1/2018) - Syria And The Media: Neither Rt Nor The Bbc (3/3/2018) - Talk: The Media And Capitalism (6/6/2018) - The Lady Vanishes (28/8/2018) - 9/11: What Happened And Who (Still) Cares? (11/9/2018) - 2019 - Christchurch: Media And Politicians Respond (21/3/2019) - Peterson-Zizek: Debate Of The Century? (1/5/2019) - Election Reflection (28/5/2019) - A Sense Of An Ending (28/6/2019) - People Power In Hong Kong (2/8/2019) - Communism Or Corbynism? That Is The Question (19/11/2019) - 2020 - Hot Planet, Cool Media (3/1/2020) - Cancel Culture: The Loony Left Lives (4/4/2020) - Covid And The Media: Myths And Mystifications (1/5/20) - The Return Of Black Lives Matter (5.7.20) - Making A Conspiracy Out Of A Crisis (2.8.20) - 2021 - Portrait Of The Incel As A Young-Girl (20/07/2021) - Entschlossenheit, Pet (29/12/21) - Postscript, Ukraine (5.3.2022) - Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisWhat is socialism? Does it have a future, or has it become an outdated ideology in the 21st century?This Very Short Introduction considers the major theories in socialism, and explores its historical evolution from the French Revolution to the present day. Michael Newman argues that socialism has always been a diverse doctrine, while nevertheless containing a central core of interconnected values and goals: a critique of capitalism; an optimistic view of human beings; and the belief that it is possible to establish societies based on egalitarianism, social solidarity, and co-operation. In this new edition, he draws on case studies such as Cuba, Sweden, and Bolivia, to consider attempts to implement socialism in practice, before discussing New Left challenges to conventional notions of socialism on such questions as feminism, climate change, and direct action. Rejecting the widespread view that socialism is an out-dated doctrine, Newman argues that it remains ultimately relevant in today''s world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books ar the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewThis edition of Socialism: A Very Short Introduction is informative and accessible. It will benefit both graduate and undergraduate students in all disciplines, and it would be useful for the Core programs and the general reader. * Arab Studies Quarterly *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Illustrations Introduction 1: Socialist traditions 2: Cuban communism and Swedish social democracy 3: New Lefts - enrichment and fragmentation 4: Beyond the Dominant Orthodoxies 5: Socialism today and tomorrow References Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisFrom longtime labor organizer Jane McAlevey, a vital call-to-arms in favor of unions, a key force capable of defending our democracyFor decades, racism, corporate greed, and a skewed political system have been eating away at the social and political fabric of the United States.Trade Review“An introduction to the world of unions and their enemies. . . . McAlevey’s writing is an attempt to circulate organizers’ skills, breathing life into the long-quiescent labor movement. . . . A Collective Bargain, like the rest of McAlevey’s work, is indispensable.” —Alex Press, Bookforum — Alex Press, Bookforum “Incisive, brilliant, combined with trenchant strategic analysis. If we had more organizers like Jane McAlevey, we’d be winning.” — Van Jones, CNN host and author of Beyond the Messy Truth “A half century ago, the Koch family targeted workers’ collective power with so-called right-to-work laws. Now they and their allies have expanded their agenda to shackling democracy writ large... McAlevey shows us how workplaces provided a laboratory for this audacious project of domination—and better still, she explains how following the strategies and tactics of savvy union organizers could help save America from an ever more ruthless right...This empowering book could not be more timely.” — Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America “Jane McAlevey has devoted her life to reigning the destructive power of concentrated wealth and she is consumed with one over-arching question: How do we win? In this essential book, she draws on decades of organizing experience to make an overwhelming case that the new face of working-class power is female and fiercely feminist. It’s past time to listen up.” — Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything “Jane McAlevey is a brilliant strategist, rousing organizer, and razor-sharp critic inside the labor movement. In this critical moment when labor is resurgent, McAlevey’s small “d” democratic spirit, and her humane, and deeply informed reporting and analysis is needed more than ever.” — Katrina vanden Heuval, Editorial Director & Publisher, The Nation “Read this book! It’s full of effective strategies for overcoming voter suppression against even the stiffest odds. Jane McAlevey is the type of experienced organizer the current White House fears.” — Benjamin Todd Jealous, Former National President and CEO of the NAACP “A battle cry for union rights in a time hostile to labor organizations.” —Kirkus — Kirkus Reviews “Labor activist McAlevey delivers a persuasive argument that the power of ‘strong, democratic’ trade unions can fix many of America’s social problems in this timely cri de coeur. . . . She offers a useful primer on how labor organizing works, and effectively refutes common assumptions about unions. . . . McAlevey’s . . . humor and contagious confidence in the efficacy of organized labor give this succinct volume an outsize impact.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Book SynopsisFor readers of Putin's People by Catherine Belton comes the stunning story of Russia's slide back into a dictatorship led by Vladimir Putin - and how the world is now paying the price. 'Brave, trenchant and convincing' Sunday Times'Ferocious and unforgiving' Financial TimesThe ascension of Vladimir Putin - a former lieutenant colonel of the KGB - to the presidency of Russia in 1999 was a strong signal that the country was headed away from democracy. Yet in the intervening years - as America and the world's other leading powers have continued to appease him - Putin has grown not only into a dictator but an international threat. With his vast resources and nuclear arsenal, Putin is at the centre of a worldwide assault on political liberty and the modern world order.For Garry Kasparov, none of this is news. He has been a vocal critic of Putin for over a decade, even leading the pro-democracy opposition to him in the farcical 2008 presidential election. Yet years of seeing his Cassandra-like prophecies about Putin's intentions fulfilled have left Kasparov with a darker truth: Putin's Russia, like ISIS or Al Qaeda, defines itself in opposition to the free countries of the world.As Putin has grown ever more powerful, the threat he poses has grown from local to regional and finally to global. In this urgent book, Kasparov shows that the collapse of the Soviet Union was not an endpoint - only a change of seasons, as the Cold War melted into a new spring. But now, after years of complacency and poor judgement, winter is once again upon us.Argued with the force of Kasparov's world-class intelligence, conviction and hopes for his home country, Winter Is Coming reveals Putin for what he is: an existential danger hiding in plain sight.Trade ReviewThe main target of this brave, trenchant and convincing book is not the thuggish and dangerous regime that misrules Russia, but the cowardly wishful thinking in the West that refuses to stop it... The book ably summarises the many other alarm calls the West has missed... Let us hope that Kasparov's book becomes a bestseller -- Edward Lucas * The Times *In this punchy polemic, Kasparov reflects on how far the world has gone from the heady "end of history" days of the early 1990s to what some see as the advent of a new Cold War... Kasparov's moral clarity is admirable and informed by personal experience. -- Peter Conradi * Sunday Times *Ferocious and unforgiving... This is a book that should be read by every policymaker dealing with Russia (or any other autocracy) -- John Thornhill * Financial Times *A compelling story of courage... Winter Is Coming presents a picture of the internal forces propelling Russia's descent into aggressive authoritarianism. And if offers a scathing analysis of the contribution of the West to that outcome. * Wall Street Journal *It's always important to read Garry Kasparov, who warned of the dangers of Putinism long before so many others. He is that rare thing: A Russian democrat who is realistic about his country, but remains hopeful for the future. * Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag and Iron Curtain *Garry Kasparov has the information-processing capacity of a supercomputer and the eloquence of an extraordinary orator. It takes a mind and a heart like his to analyze the last twenty-five years of the history of Russia in the world and emerge with not only an indictment of Western complicity but a clear call for Western action. * Masha Gessen, author of Man Without a Face and Words Will Break Cement *Garry Kasparov is a mastermind in chess and politics, and he understands the evil of the Putin regime better than anyone. This book is a clear and accurate observation of the mess we are in due to the West's inaction towards Putin, and a stark warning of what will happen if we fail to act in the future. It should be required reading for every head of state and their electorate. * Bill Browder, author of Red Notice *Garry Kasparov has written a passionate indictment both of Russia's kleptocracy and the complacency of Western democracies in the face of Putin. This threat has become our central foreign policy challenge, and Kasparov's arguments are essential in understanding how to face it. * Francis Fukuyama *

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Book SynopsisThe extended critical interview is especially flexible as a form, by turns tenacious and glancing, elliptical or sustained, combining argument and counter-argument, reflection, history and memoir with a freedom normally denied to its subjects in conventional writing formats. Lives on the Left brings together sixteen such interviews from New Left Review in a group portrait of intellectual engagement in the twentieth century and since.Four generations of intellectuals discuss their political histories and present perspectives, and the specialized work for which they are, often, best known. Their recollections span the century from the Great War and the October Revolution to the present, ranging across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Psychoanalysis, philosophy, the gendering of private and public life, capital and class formation, the novel, geography, and language are among the topics of theoretical discussion. At the heart of the collection, in all its diversity of testimony and judgement, is critical experience of communism and the tradition of Marx, relayed now for a new generation of readers.Lives on the Left includes interviews with Georg Lukács, Hedda Korsch, Jean-Paul Sartre, Dorothy Thompson, Jir?i Pelikan, Ernest Mandel, Luciana Castellina, Lucio Colletti, K. Damodaran, Noam Chomsky, David Harvey, Adolfo Gilly, João Pedro Stédile, Asada Akira, Wang Hui and Giovanni Arrighi.New Left Review was founded in 1960 in London, which has remained its base ever since. In fifty years of publication, it has won an international reputation as an independent journal of socialist politics and ideas, attracting readers and contributors from every part of the world. A Spanish-language edition is published bi-monthly from Madrid.Trade ReviewThe biography of the review cannot be reduced to a formula: its experience so far has been too rich and too contradictory... It is up to date without being merely journalistic; it is scholarly but unscarred by citation-compulsion; and it is analytical about the long-term forces at work in politics rather than obsessed by the spume of the latest wavelet of manoeuvring and posturing... That's what I admire above all about NLR: its intellectual seriousness-its magnificently strenuous attempt to understand, to analyse, to theorise. -- Stefan Collini * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA unique source of reference, the "Dictionary of Labour Biography" brings together biographies of more than 300 individuals who have made significant contributions to the history of the Labour Party or the development of socialism in Britain.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisVisionary English Socialist and pioneer of the Arts and Crafts movement, William Morris argued that all work should be a source of pride and satisfaction, and that everyone should be entitled to beautiful surroundings no matter what their class. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

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Book SynopsisA new collection of Shaw's major political writings which reflect on his long career and influential role as a public intellectual. These essays reveal significant shifts in his positions and beliefs from the Victorian era to the aftermath of World War II.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: A Manifesto 2: Jevonian Criticism of Marx 3: Bluffing the Value Theory 4: Economics from Fabian Essays 5: What Socialism Is 6: Fabian Society - What it has done and how it has done it 7: Vote! Vote!! Vote!!! 8: The Impossibilities of Anarchism 9: Illusions of Socialism 10: Women as Councillors 11: Fabianism and the Empire 12: Socialism for Millionaires 13: Common Sense about the War 14: How to Settle the Irish Question 15: The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism 16: Socialism: Principles and Outlook 17: In Praise of Guy Fawkes 18: Everybody's Political What's What 19: The Unavoidable Subject Bibliography Note on the Text

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Book Synopsis'THE POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR' Tim ShipmanA blistering narrative exposé of infighting, skulduggery and chaos in Corbyn's Labour party, now revised and updated.* A Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times and i Newspaper Book of the Year *Left Out tells, for the first time, the astonishing full story of Labour's recent transformation and historic defeat.Drawing on unrivalled access, this blistering exposé moves from the peak of Jeremy Corbyn's popularity and the shock hung parliament of 2017 to Labour's humbling in 2019 and the election of Keir Starmer. It reveals a party at war with itself, and puts the reader in the room as tensions boil over, sworn enemies forge unlikely alliances and lifelong friendships are tested to breaking point.This is the ultimate account of the greatest experiment seen in British politics for a generation.'Gripping... Every bit as good as people say' Guardian'Reads like a thriller...told with panache and pace' Financial Times'The definitive post-mortem of the Corbyn project' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewA stunningly good book with jaw-dropping revelations on every page, Left Out is the ultimate inside story of how Jeremy Corbyn went from the brink of victory to one of the worst defeats in British political history. It is both a breath-taking work of political journalism and a gripping first draft of history that is unlikely ever to be bettered. Unquestionably the political book of the year -- TIM SHIPMAN, author of All Out WarAn outstanding, balanced account of the Corbyn leadership from 2017-2019. My one tip? Don't read it late, you won't be able to sleep because of the anger -- Aaron BastaniDeeply reported ... reads like a thriller ... one of the more riveting stories in modern British political history ... told with panache and pace ... Gossip aside, Left Out delivers a piercing analysis of the pressures on Labour's leadership as the party broke on the rocks of Brexit * Financial Times *Brimming with such jaw-dropping moments, forensically gleaned from interviews with virtually all the leading characters from this extraordinary political period ... entertaining and immensely readable ... the scars and grudges, captured magnificently by Pogrund and Maguire, are still fresh ... The authors don't attempt to take sides ... instead they give ample space to both sides ... to allow readers to make up their own minds ... as sensational a tale as any TV drama ... one of the most remarkable periods in British political history, and Left Out is an objective, fact-packed and fascinating record of it * Telegraph***** *It really is every bit as good as people say; superbly written, exceptionally detailed, scrupulously fair, but above all gripping. It's hard to put down -- Andrew Sparrow * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisActive in the 1830s and 1840s, Flora Tristan is best known for her book "Workers' Union", an account of the conditions of women and workers in Peru, London, Paris and the provinces of France. Regarded as something of a pariah, she was one of the first women radicals to draw clear connections between the plight of disaffected workers and powerless women. Her version of socialism has been regarded as leading towards Marx. Sandra Dijkstra aims to paint a clear picture of Tristan as a class- and gender-conscious women writer in a transitional historical period, and to demonstrate her influence on Marxism.Trade ReviewFlora Tristan was the pioneer social explorer of the early Victorian world, chronicling the condition of women and labor from the sugar plantations of Peru to the salons of the July Monarchy and the satantic mills of industrial England. In this brilliant study, Dijkstra restores Tristan to her rightful but complex place in the histories of socialism and feminism. -- Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums

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Book SynopsisFor the left and the right, major multinational companies are held up as the ultimate expressions of free-market capitalism. Their remarkable success appears to vindicate the old idea that modern society is too complex to be subjected to a plan. And yet, as Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski argue, much of the economy of the West is centrally planned at present. Not only is planning on vast scales possible, we already have it and it works. The real question is whether planning can be democratic. Can it be transformed to work for us? An engaging, polemical romp through economic theory, computational complexity, and the history of planning, The People's Republic of Walmart revives the conversation about how society can extend democratic decision-making to all economic matters. With the advances in information technology in recent decades and the emergence of globe-straddling collective enterprises, democratic planning in the interest of all humanity is more important and closer to attainment than ever before.Trade ReviewProvocative and lively book. * Morning Star *Philips and Rozworski's book is a timely exhortation to rethink the wisdom that markets always do it better. -- Hettie O'Brien * New Statesman *People's Republic of Walmart is fast-paced and provocative. It offers readers a refreshing perspective on today's highly planned capitalist enterprises, and the prospect of a new form of democratic, transparent and socialist planning. -- Ann Pettifor * TLS *

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Book SynopsisToday the word ''fascist'' is usually an insult aimed at those on the right, from neocons to big business. But what does it really mean? What if the true heirs to fascism were actually those who thought of themselves as being terribly nice and progressive - the liberals?Jonah Goldberg''s excoriating, opinion-driving, US bestseller explains why. Here he destroys long-held myths to reveal why the most insidious attemps to control our lives originate from the left, whether it''s smoking bans or security cameras. Journeying through history and across culture, he uses surprising examples ranging from Woodrow Wilson''s police state to the Clinton personality cult, the military chic of 60s'' student radicals to Hollywood''s totalitarian aesthetics, to show that it is modern progressivism - and not conservatism - that shares the same intellectual roots as fascism.This angry, funny, smart and contentious book looks behind the friendly face of the well-meaning liberal, and tTrade ReviewLove it or loathe it, Liberal Fascism is a book of intellectual history you won't be able to put down - in either sense of the term * Tom Wolfe *Deliciously amusing...witty intelligence that deals in ideas as well as insults * The New York Times *Brilliant, insightful and important * New York Sun *Bold and witty...insightful and honest * New York Post *Deliciously amusing...witty intelligence that deals in ideas as well as insults * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisA selection of Gramsci's writings in one volume including his most important political, cultural and historical work. The collection focuses on key concepts - such as hegemony, passive revolution, civil society, common sense - and important texts on Americanism and Fordism, and popular culture.

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1988, this book explores the socio-economic and political impacts of Chinese socialist movements, peasant initiatives, rural industrialization and economic reforms in China in the mid-twentieth century.Table of Contents1 Marx, Money, and Markets: A Legacy of Theory 2 Communication, Cooperation 3 The Evolution of Responsibility Systems 4 Specialized Households 5 Economic Associations 6 Rural Industrialization 7 Controversies 8 Prospects for a Society of Associated Producers

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Book SynopsisThis is the first full-length study of the material and visual culture of the British labour movement in almost half a century. It draws together the fruits of recent research into a comprehensive material and visual analysis of the nineteenth-century labour movement’s development. It analyses the meaning of ‘labour things’, the role they played in the lives of working people and the ways they have influenced the writing of labour history. Over ninety beautifully illustrated, expertly contextualised objects are used to narrate the history of British labour in its most crucial phase of development. Chapters on curation and preservation, a directory of museums where labour things may be seen, and a full bibliography complete the treatment of this important and rapidly developing field, making the book not just essential academic reading but a handbook for anyone who wishes to explore this vital part of our shared culture.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Foreword by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester Preface List of images 1 Understanding labour things 2 Images and objects 3 Preservation, collections, curation and conservation 4 Directory of places that have nineteenth- century labour and working- class objects Notes Select bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe climate crisis is not primarily a problem of 'believing science' or individual 'carbon footprints' - it is a class problem rooted in who owns, controls and profits from material production. As such, it will take a class struggle to solve. In this ground breaking class analysis, Matthew T. Huber argues that the carbon-intensive capitalist class must be confronted for producing climate change. Yet, the narrow and unpopular roots of climate politics in the professional class is not capable of building a movement up to this challenge. For an alternative strategy, he proposes climate politics that appeals to the vast majority of society: the working class. Huber evaluates the Green New Deal as a first attempt to channel working class material and ecological interests and advocates building union power in the very energy system we so need to dramatically transform. In the end, as in classical socialist movements of the early 20th Century, winning the climate struggle will need to be internationalist based on a form of planetary working class solidarity.Trade ReviewHuber has written a 'What Is To Be Done?' for all of us who are vexed by the failure of progressive climate activism to produce a blueprint for a national action with clear strategic goals. In a blazing critique, he skewers 'radical' as well as liberal environmentalists who advocate market solutions to a crisis whose very cause is the cost-and-profit logic of energy markets. Equally he shows that the electoral road to a Green New Deal is a dead-end without a massive public struggle, integrally involving labor, for public ownership of the power industry. The shelves groan with books on the coming apocalypse , but here, at long last, is a concrete strategy for socialists. -- Mike DavisMore and more people recognize capitalism as a primary driver of climate change. Matt Huber takes the crucial next step. He powerfully demonstrates not just why working class power is indispensable to a just transition but how we build it. -- Jodi DeanThe most powerful missile yet hurled against bourgeois climate politics. With a laser-sharp focus, it strikes at the central fortress: the sphere of production, where one class dominates another and wrecks the planet in the process. A book for every union organiser and every climate activist and everyone who wishes for the two to join forces - to be read, studied, debated, aimed and fired. -- Andreas MalmThis book represents an important and timely contribution to the climate fight. -- Jonathan Rosenblum * Jacobin *We know we need to challenge the power of fossil capital to preserve a habitable planet - but how? Climate Change as Class War injects a necessary dose of strategic thinking into debates about the way forward, arguing for a mass climate politics rooted in the decommodification of basic needs and an organizing strategy focused on workers who can exert power at the point of electricity production. Huber's sharp analysis and challenging arguments open up debates that climate, labor, and socialist movements badly need to have. -- Alyssa BattistoniClimate Change as Class War is an audacious argument, particularly in its unabashed revitalization of Marxism. -- Ryne Clos * Spectrum Culture *

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Book SynopsisThe Assassination of Lumumba unravels the appalling mass of lies, hypocrisy and betrayals that have surrounded accounts of the 1961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba-the first prime minister of the Republic of Congo and a pioneer of African unity-since it perpetration. Making use of a huge array of official sources as well as personal testimony from many of those in the Congo at the time, Ludo De Witte reveals a network of complicity ranging from the Belgian government to the CIA. Patrice Lumumba's personal strength and his quest for African unity emerges in stark contrast with one of the murkiest episodes in twentieth-century politics.Trade ReviewDe Witte has assembled a staggering amount of detail to support his allegations of direct government participation in Lumumba's murder. * Washington Post Book World *De Witte has performed an important service in establishing the facts of Lumumba's last days and Belgium's responsibility for what happened. * New York Review of Books *De Witte writes without stylish frills or narrative tricks, but this is a vivid and utterly compelling account of a nation strangled at birth by the West. -- Ronan Bennett * Los Angeles Times *De Witte's book, politically passionate as it is, is an unignorable effort to bring the West face to face with its culpability in this entire sad and sanguinary tale. -- Richard Bernstein * New York Times *One Belgian author has triumphed over decades of official obfuscation: Belgium did collude in Patrice Lumumba's assassination ... It raises questions about Western policy in Africa that will reverberate for decades to come. -- Michela Wrong * Financial Times *One should never underestimate the ruthlessness of British gentlemen cradling endangered shares. -- Neal Ascherson * London Review of Books *Thoroughly researched, passionately written, deeply disturbing. * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *Whilst the battle for control over the resources of the Congo (now DR Congo) continues today this important book restores Congolese history and saves it from the official version peddled by those directly implicated in the affair. * New Internationalist *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Wolfson History Prize, and described by A.S.Byatt as ''one of the finest biographies ever published'', this is Fiona MacCarthy''s magisterial biography of William Morris, legendary designer and father of the Victorian Arts and Crafts movement. ''Thrilling, absorbing and majestic.'' Independent''Wonderfully ambitious ... The definitive Morris biography.'' Sunday Times ''Delicious and intelligent, full of shining detail and mysteries respected.'' Daily Telegraph''Oh, the careful detail of this marvellous book! . . . A model of scholarly biography''. New StatesmanSince his death in 1896, William Morris has been celebrated as a giant of the Victorian era. But his genius was so multifaceted and so profound that its full extent has rarely been grasped. Many people may find it hard to believe that the greatest English designer of his time - possibly of all time - could also be internati

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Book SynopsisPolitical parties with activists are in decline due to various external shocks. Societal changes, like the emergence of new technologies of communication have diminished the role and number of activists, while party elites increasingly can make do without grassroots activists. However, recent scholarship concerning different democracies has shown how activism still matters for representation. This book contributes to this literature by analyzing the unique case of the Uruguayan Frente Amplio (FA), the only mass-organic, institutionalized leftist party in Latin America. Using thick description, systematic process tracing, and survey research, this case study highlights the value of an organization-centered approach for understanding parties'' role in democracy. Within the FA, organizational rules grant activists a significant voice, which imbues activists'' participation with a strong sense of efficacy. This book is an excellent resource for scholars and students of Latin America and coTrade Review'This must-read book provides a crucial glimpse of the way one contemporary political party has maintained a vibrant base of constituents even as other parties have emaciated their grassroots infrastructure. This carefully researched, utterly innovative book helps us understand how political parties can help rebuild democracy in the twenty-first century.' Hahrie Han, Johns Hopkins University'This book reveals the organizational traits and forms of activism that have made Uruguay's Frente Amplio one of the most resilient leftist parties in Latin America. By explaining how party activism survives, it challenges conventional wisdom about the decline of mass party organizations and their participatory grassroots structures.' Kenneth M. Roberts, Cornell University'The theoretical implications of this study are far-reaching. The authors identify the selective and collective incentives that bring activists to invest their effort on party activities. They test their theory using the largest survey of activists implemented in Latin America, text analysis of party-meeting documents, and process-tracing of party administration.' Maria Victoria Murillo, Columbia University'Using rich, new evidence about one of Latin America's most successful left parties and a sophisticated, multi-method approach, the authors explain why Uruguay's Frente Amplio has been able to avoid oligarchization, challenging conventional wisdom, and remind us of the ways in which party activism invigorates democracy and improves policy formation.' Jennifer Pribble, University of Richmond'… a superb book and a must-read for scholars interested in parties and democracy … The effect is an impressive, persuasive piece of scholarship. Party and democracy scholars would do well to read it.' Brandon Van Dyck, Perspectives on Politics'Verónica Pérez, Rafael Piñeiro, and Fernando Rosenblatt have written a stellar book. It is empirically rich, theoretically interesting, and methodologically exemplary. Regarding method, the authors expertly apply cutting edge qualitative tools - thick description, systematic process tracing, a large online survey - to support their central descriptive and causal claims. The effect is an impressive, persuasive piece of scholarship. Party and democracy scholars would do well to read it.' Brandon Van Dyck, Perspectives on Politics'This book is an exemplary study of institutional stability and continuity. The authors tell a compelling story about why and how the FA has endured as a leftist, mass-organic party despite exogenous changes and endogenous challenges.' Jennifer Cyr, Latin American Politics and SocietyTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Context matters: the political and socioeconomic setting; 3. Voluntary activism in the FA; 4. Origins and reproduction of the mass organic structure; 5. Party structure, efficacy and activism; 6. The limits to strategic adaptation; 7. The FA in comparative perspective; 8. Theoretical conclusions and political implications; Appendiices; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis promising addition to the growing literature on the history of late socialism charts the development of youth culture and politics in socialist Yugoslavia, focusing on the 1980s. Rather than examining the 1980s as a mere prelude to the violent collapse of the country in the 1990s, the book recovers the multiplicity of political visions and cultural developments that evolved at the time and that have been largely forgotten in subsequent discussion. The youth of this generation, the author convincingly argues, sought to rearticulate the Yugoslav socialist framework in order to reinvigorate it and 'democratise' it, rather than destroy it altogether.Trade Review‘While the official statistics serve to emphasize the nature of crisis, as well as act as indicators of intergenerational changes of opinion in the YSFR, it is the wide range of interviews that make the book a vivid and fascinating portrait of growing up in a state that ceased to exist over a quarter of a century ago. Spaskovska utilises a wide ranging dramatis personae of the generation, each with a different series of anecdotes that provide a tableaux of the blurred lines between the official political youth organisations and the youthful dissidence of alternative Yugoslav culture. A diversity of voices are heard: from radio DJs fined for playing Laibach records, to early Slovene feminist and LGBT activists, to young JNA officers, all holding different views on political and cultural issues of the decade, some even regretting their youthful rebellion in retrospect.’Benjamin Stephens‘This book makes an essential contribution to the history of the break-up of Yugoslavia and indeed the history of late Cold War Europe.’Catherine Baker, University of Hull, Europe-Asia Studies'Ljubica Spaskovska’s book introduces an innovative and until now rarely explored, generational approach to the complexities of the late Yugoslav socialism of the 1980s.'Southeastern Europe -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction:Revisiting the 1980s through a generation lens1. 'Pockets of freedom' - the youth sphere and its spaces of negotiation and dissent2. Comrades, I don't believe you! - youth culture and the rethinking of historical legacies3. The 'phantom of liberty' - new youth activism4. The eighty-eighters - the arena of youth politics and the break-up of YugoslaviaConclusion: Rethinking youth politics and cultures in late socialist YugoslaviaSelect bibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThe British Labour Party has at times been a force for radical change in the UK, but one critical aspect of its makeup has been consistently misunderstood and underplayed: its Britishness. Throughout the party's history, its Britishness has been an integral part of how it has done politics, acted in government and opposition, and understood the UK and its nations and regions. The People's Flag and the Union Jack is the first comprehensive account of how Labour has tried to understand Britain and Britishness and to compete in a political landscape defined by conservative notions of nation, patriotism and tradition. At a time when many of the party faithful regard national identity as a toxic subject, academics Gerry Hassan and Eric Shaw argue that Labour's Britishness and its ambiguous relationship with issues of nationalism matter more today than ever before, and will continue to matter for the foreseeable future, when the UK is in fundamental crisis. As debate rages about Brexit, and the prospect of Scottish independence remains live, this timely intervention, featuring contributions from a wealth of pioneering thinkers, offers an illuminating and perceptive insight into Labour's past, present and future.

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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

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Book SynopsisThere has been an explosion of organising among workers many assumed to be unorganisable, from delivery drivers in London to tech workers in Silicon Valley. The culmination of years of conversations on picket lines, in community centres, and in union offices, with workers in Britain, the US, India, Argentina, South Africa, Brazil, and across Europe, Troublemaking brings together lessons from around the world. Precarious workers waste collectors in Mumbai show that no worker is "unorganisable", cleaner organising at LSE and St Mary's hospital in London and Sans-papier workers in France indicate that demanding more at work can lead to big wins. Struggles like The Water Wars in Cochabamba, Bolivia show how we can use our power beyond the workplace.From these movements, Lydia Hughes and Jamie Woodcock draw a number of lessons about why organising at work is the first step in building another world. They put forward three principles for organising. First, the need for action. Struggles can change the world, but they also change people who go through them. Rather than using action as a last resort, we need action to build a movement. Second, the need to build the rank-and-file of unions. Power comes from organising at work, not in trusting others to do it on our behalf. Third, democracy matters in organising. This is not only about winning, but also developing the confidence to build another kind of world. This is not a "how to" guide, but a set of principles for the politics of organising.Trade ReviewAn inspiring and compelling case for workplace organizing - and the radical politics we need to rebuild a powerful workers' movement. -- Eric Blanc, author of Red State RevoltNo advance for working people has been achieved without troublemaking and a read of this book will turn many more into effective troublemakers. Drawing on the hard fought struggles of workers to organise and mobilise in recent times the book not only inspires but also explains concisely how our economic system operates and how it can be challenged successfully. -- John McDonnell MPTroublemaking makes clear through real, lived examples in the book that we can learn from past workers' struggles and how looking at previous tactics and strategies can inform our actions today. -- Sarah Woolley, General Secretary, Bakers Food and Allied Workers UnionTroublemaking provides inspiring examples of workers struggles and puts them in the context of the nature of work under capitalism and the fight to transform society. It makes a powerful case for troublemaking at work and building workers' rank and file power. -- Ian Allinson, workplace activist and author of Workers Can Win! A Guide to Organising At WorkTroublemaking is a unique guide to the path from today's struggles to a socialist future that can help inspire a new generation of workplace and union activists to set foot on that risky road. -- Kim Moody, a founder of Labor Notes and author of Breaking the Impasse: Electoral Politics, Mass Action & The New Socialist Movement in the United StatesA galvanising book ... as timely as it is lucid. -- Mark Fisher * The Journalist *[Troublemaking] is undeniably hopeful. Through spotlighting historical examples of political struggles where workers' organisations have played a key role, it demonstrates the potential for our current period of renewed trade union militancy to turn into something greater. -- Laura Hone * Red Pepper *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion, Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain""Winner of the President’s Award for Research in History and Theory, Royal Institute of British Architects""One of the Financial Times' Summer Books of 2020: Architecture""Winner of the First Book Prize, International Planning History Society""Highly commended for the inaugural Architectural Book of the Year Award, History Category""This is one of those books that turns a discipline upside down – the cold war, state socialism, eastern Europe and 20th-century architecture all look different in the light of its findings . . . [it is] a pioneering work of revisionist history that ought to be read far beyond the those already interested in architecture . . . what [Stanek] achieves here is enormous: a book that rewrites not only the history of the cold war, but also the history of globalisation and global urbanization."---Owen Hatherly, The Guardian"A fascinating snapshot of a historic moment in which the future was in flux."---Edwin Heathcote, Financial Times"Architecture in Global Socialism strikes a generally successful balance between theoretical exposition and historical analysis, liberally illustrated, suitably informed but accessible to the general reader."---Alexander Adams, The Critic"This incisive book presents a new understanding of global urbanization and its architecture through the lens of socialist internationalism, challenging long held notions about modernization and development in the global South."---Georgina Johnston, World Architecture News"An epic, revisionist study many years in the making, centering on how Non-Aligned countries in the post-war era employed professionals from Eastern and Central Europe to plan and build their post-colonial urban spaces."---Owen Hatherley, Tribune"[Stanek’s] omniscience is impressive."---Jonathan Meades, Literary Review"[Architecture in Global Socialism] challenges cold-war preconceptions of the roles played by those from Eastern European socialist countries who worked collectively to urbanise and develop the Global South during the Soviet era."---Michael Boncza, Morning Star"Rather than describing global urbanisation as a process that was visited upon societies in the developing world by western consultants, Stanek’s history reveals the role played by socialist architects in constructing a negotiated future in which local rulers, authorities and communities took an active interest in shaping their own destinies. Free from big-name architects and landmarks, Architecture in Global Socialism also gives voice to a largely forgotten body of professionals who travelled to the non-aligned world – neither communist nor pro-West – during the Cold War and whose lives and careers were enriched and globalised in the process."---Nick Leech, The National"Architecture in Global Socialism is not only a book that successfully lifts the curtain on the importance of the “forgotten” socialist network with its backdrop and real effects on the life and environment of millions of people. It is also a refreshing point of view that allows you to look with valid optimism at the complex reality that surrounds us and the possibilities of understanding and describing it."---Alicja Gzowska, Polish History"Stanek’s book is extraordinarily well researched, clearly written and convincing in its conclusions. Being the first comprehensive presentation of an important chapter in recent architectural history, there is no doubt that it will soon become a classic in the field."---Florian Urban, Planning Perspectives"An important correction to architectural history’s neglect of detailed studies into West Africa and the Middle East."---Ben Tosland, Architectural Histories"Beautifully illustrated, extremely well researched, and extensively documented, this is a fascinating examination of the role played by architects, planners, and sometimes builders from the communist countries of Eastern Europe in the architecture of newly independent countries in Africa and the Middle East in the post–WW II era. . . . The large format of the volume does justice to the numerous illustrations, including drawings and buildings, a great many in color; these are accompanied by Stanek's perceptive comments, a host of endnotes, and an extensive bibliography. The result is an impressive investigation of an overlooked topic in 20th-century architectural history." * Choice *"The book will be a milestone, not just because of the almost encyclopaedic completeness of the contents but because it offers a repeatable research methodology, capable of communicating multiple dialogues between different cultures and identities."---Fabrizio Gallanti, Arbitare"Architecture in Global Socialism provides important lessons on many levels. It is not only groundbreaking in terms of filling an enormous “blind spot” in historiography, or through its development of a methodology that is not simply postulated but works in practice – it also proves to be relevant in discussions about the current urban condition."---Alicja Gzowska, View: Theories and Practices of Visual Culture"Architecture in Global Socialism is a much needed revisionist account of architectural practice and urbanism in the second half of the twentieth century."---Hannah Neate, Eurasian Geography and Economics"A welcome addition to the growing body of scholarship reassessing socialist architecture and urban design within the Cold War’s myriad economic and diplomatic networks . . . this book sets an undoubtedly strong precedent for further research on socialist architecture in a global context. . . . Architecture in Global Socialism [is] a truly compelling study."---Holly Bushman, Art Margins"A book about architecture, modernity and the world system of 'actually existing socialism' in the Soviet bloc and its allies. With rare photographs and designs, Stanek takes a tour through the forgotten world of the future society and cities architects planned and built."---Gerry Hassan, Scottish Review"Architecture in Global Socialism constitutes a significant contribution to the historiography of modern architecture in Eastern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East. It is the kind of book we need more of: expansive in scope, specific in analysis, and rigorous in argumentation. It recognizes the pluralism of actors and contexts in the Global South, which further dismantles the myth of a monolithic modernism and demands additional scholarship that both revises and builds. Stanek’s book promises to remain an essential reference for scholars and students well into the future."---David Rifkind, Art Bulletin"[In Architecture in Global Socialisms,] Łukasz Stanek shifts the lens to the so-called weak actors of Eastern European socialist states, as well as to professional groups that ‘built’ modernity—architects, but also contractors, building supervisors, and foreign trade representatives. This excellent study thus shows, convincingly, that global processes—in this case urbanization—were not monolithic and one cannot talk of exceptions to an existing rule of ‘globalization.’ —Victor Petrov, H-Net Reviews""Architecture in Global Socialism is an indispensable contribution to our understanding of the multifaceted process of globalization. . . . [The book is] the first study of its kind in architectural history. Ambitious in scope and breadth, it compellingly conveys the sheer scale and magnitude of the presence and work of architects from the socialist bloc in West Africa and the Middle East from 1957 (the year of Ghana’s independence) to the end of the Cold War. . . . The importance of [this book] cannot be overestimated."---Ayala Levin, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians"Architectural historians have recently discovered the outsize role that the former socialist world played in the Global South in the postwar decolonization process. Łukasz Stanek’s book Architecture in Global Socialism . . . was a signal achievement in this respect, as it mapped for the first time the astonishing extent of architectural exports from Eastern Europe to Africa and the Middle East."---Vladimir Kulić, The Architect’s Newspaper "Architecture in Global Socialism provides much-needed cornerstones to advance spatial political economy."---Franklin Obeng-Odoom, Housing Studies

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Book SynopsisThe essential introduction to the writings of Abdullah Öcalan, founder of Democratic ConfederalismTrade Review'Abdullah Ocalan seems to have done a better job writing with the extremely limited resources allowed him by his jailers than authors like Francis Fukuyama or Jared Diamond did with access to the world's finest research libraries' -- David Graeber, author of Debt: The First 5000 YearsTable of ContentsForeword by Nadje Al-Ali Introduction 1. War and Peace in Kurdistan: Perspectives on a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question 2. Democratic Confederalism 3. Liberating Life: Woman’s Revolution 4. Democratic Nation Index

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Book SynopsisThere have been many attempts to build a socialist society, from the Soviet Union to Maoist China to Venezuela. All of them have ended in failure. But, according to socialism's adherents, that is only because none of these experiments were real socialism. This book documents the history of this response.

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Book SynopsisWilliam Morris is perhaps best known today for the beautiful textile designs he created under the banner of Morris & Co, which continue to decorate homes around the globe. As one of the leading lights of British socialism, however, he is less well known, and this series of Morris's Manifestos seeks to highlight his extraordinary contribution to the literary canon on subjects socialist and artistic. Based on a lecture given at the Manchester Royal Institution in 1883, Art, Wealth and Riches is a thought-provoking essay that considers art as having educative and aesthetic value that should be shared with the many, rather than financial value that should be hoarded by the few. Morris asks: 'Is art to be limited to a narrow class who only care for it in a very languid way, or is it to be the solace and pleasure of the whole people?'

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Book SynopsisThis revised and enlarged edition of the leading anthology provides the essential writings of Marx and Engels--those works necessary for an introduction to Marxist thought and ideology.

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