Political ideologies and movements Books

Book SynopsisIn The Rise of Neoliberal Philosophy: Human Capital, Profitable Knowledge, and the Love of Wisdom, Brandon Absher argues that the neoliberal transformation of higher education has resulted in a paradigm shift in philosophy in the United States, leading to the rise of neoliberal philosophy. Neoliberal philosophy seeks to attract investment by demonstrating that it can produce optimal return. Further, philosophers in the neoliberal paradigm internalize and reproduce the values of the prevailing social order in their work, reorienting philosophical desire toward the production of attractive commodities. The aim of philosophy in the neoliberal university, Absher shows, has become the production of human capital and profitable knowledge.Trade Review"This is an important book that should be part of a national conversation at APA conferences and in all philosophy departments. Professional philosophers ought to ask ourselves what kind of philosophy we support and when (not if) will marginalized, especially BIPOC faculty, move to the center to reconceptualize the discipline from below. As someone who hosts a large philosophy for children’s project at various educational sites, including a forest school for unschooled children, I was pleased to learn that such an initiative is validated as 'two-dimensional' philosophizing. In fact, as Brandon Absher argues, the neoliberal university tolerates only one-kind: one-dimensional philosophy that performs its performativity for optimization of ROIs, which, of course, is nothing short of sophistry in our late capitalist era. With a stirring call for action, he deftly critiques the monochromatic content and demographics of most philosophy departments and implores us to engage in a pedagogy of discontent." -- Mechthild Nagel, SUNY Cortland"Brandon Absher offers an important and timely update to John McCumber’s argument that American philosophy sold itself out to the political needs of Cold War America, except now it has succumbed to profit hungry neoliberalism. The author shows how this has fundamentally altered and adulterated what it is to do philosophy, further shifting it away from love and wisdom towards profitable knowledge." -- Justin Pack, CSU Stanislaus"Drawing upon thinkers such as Hebert Marcuse, Wendy Brown, and Jean-François Lyotard , The Rise of Neoliberal Philosophy diagnoses the many ills that have befallen philosophy in the contemporary market-driven university while proposing a radical cure. Returning to the roots of philosophy in the figure of Socrates, Absher argues that philosophy must work together with the oppressed masses that neoliberalism forgot in order to show how another world is possible." -- Corey McCall, Cornell Prison Education Program"Brandon Absher offers a thoughtful treatment of the effects of neoliberalism on the discipline of philosophy. While many in the humanities attempt to make the case for their discipline’s value to neoliberalism, Absher challenges us to chart a new path. After analyzing the transition from Cold War Philosophy to Neoliberal Philosophy, he imagines new possibilities for the practice of philosophy that are more capacious, inclusive of diverse publics, and liberatory. The Rise of Neoliberal Philosophy will be of interest to those outside the field of philosophy, as well, as Absher presents a helpful framework for understanding many of the troubling changes within higher education over the past century." -- Sarah Vitale, Ball State University"Absher rightly argues that neoliberal university has become 'one-dimensional' in adjusting us all to 'the prevailing social order.' We know that our social order has hurled us into global warming and that to stay our course is a 'suicide pact.' We need new philosophies and new theories of the university. A future is only possible if we become different, which begins with thinking differently." -- Tanya Loughead, Canisius CollegeTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: Philosophy in the Neoliberal UniversityChapter 2: The Performativity of Neoliberal PhilosophyChapter 3: The One-Dimensionality of Neoliberal PhilosophyChapter 4: Diversity and Neoliberal PhilosophyChapter 5: Toward an Alternative ParadigmConclusionBibliography

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Book SynopsisIn an age of climate catastrophes and extinction, world-renowned environmentalist Vandana Shiva shows why we must turn back to nature and learn, once again, how to live sustainably on planet Earth, beginning with our relationship to food.Four billion years ago, Earth was a hot, lifeless planet. Through the process of evolution, the Earth and its diversity of living organisms gradually reduced the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. About 200,000 years ago, the conditions aligned for our own species Homo sapiens to emerge and thrive.But what will it take to continue to survive?In The Nature of Nature, legendary activist and scientist Vandana Shiva argues that food is the currency of life, a thread woven throughout the web of all life, indivisible from Earth and its natural systems. When this interdependence is ruptured, the conditions for the metabolic disorder' of climate change and countless other e

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Book SynopsisIn this powerful collection of interviews, Noam Chomsky exposes the problems of our world today, as we stand in this period of monumental change, preparing for a more hopeful tomorrow.''For the left, elections are a brief interlude in a life of real politics, a moment to ask whether it''s worth taking time off to vote . . . Then back to work. The work will be to move forward to construct the better world that is within reach.''He sheds light into the phenomenon of right-wing populism, and exposes the catastrophic nature and impact of authoritarian policies on people, the environment and the planet as a whole. He captures the dynamics of the brutal class warfare launched by the masters of capital to maintain and even enhance the features of a dog-eat-dog society. And he celebrates the recent unprecedented mobilizations of millions of people internationally against neoliberal capitalism, racism and police violence.We stand at a precipice and we must fight to pull the world back from it.Trade ReviewThe Precipice is a vehement discussion of how American politics have changed, particularly over the past forty years * Foreword Reviews *

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Book Synopsis''Stimulating and provocative'' The TimesThe once-dominant philosophy of the West, defined by free expression, equal treatment of individuals, national solidarity and scientific rationality, is under threat. Cultural socialism' which advocates harsh restrictions on free speech, due process and national symbols in order to reduce psychological harm and bolster the esteem of formerly marginalized groups is on the rise.Rather than focusing on Marxist revolutionaries or equality law, Eric Kaufmann concentrates on well-meaning left-liberals. He argues that the genesis of woke' cultural socialism emerged from liberal taboos around race that arose in the 1960s and came to be weaponised and extended to other areas, such as gender. Using extensive survey data, he shows that this process is driven mainly by values, not fear, and is only going to accelerate as culturally leftist generations enter the workforce and electorate. Its rise suppresses the op

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Book SynopsisOne of TIME magazine's All-TIME 100 Best Nonfiction Books One of Times Literary Supplement's Hundred Most Influential Books Since the War One of National Review's 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Century One of Intercollegiate Studies Institute's 50 Best Books of the 20th Century How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of an immensely influential economic philosophy--one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom. First published in 1962, Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom is one of the most significant works of economic theory ever written. Enduring in its eminence and esteem, it has sold nearly a million copies in English, has been translated into eighteen languages, and continues to inform economic thinking and policymaking around the world. This Trade Review"In Capitalism and Freedom, published in 1962, Friedman makes his most important contribution to his profession: the argument that the best medicine for curing a recession and stabilizing economies is for a nation's central bank (the Federal Reserve for the U.S.) to be slowly but constantly increasing the amount banks are allowed to lend and therefore increasing the supply of money--but only in brief."-- "TIME Magazine, All-TIME 100 Best Nonfiction Books"Table of ContentsForeword by Binyamin Appelbaum Preface, 2002 Preface, 1982 Preface, 1962 Introduction I. The Relation between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom II. The Role of Government in a Free Society III. The Control of Money IV. International Financial and Trade Arrangements V. Fiscal Policy VI. The Role of Government in Education VII. Capitalism and Discrimination VIII. Monopoly and the Social Responsibility of Business and Labor IX. Occupational Licensure X. The Distribution of Income XI. Social Welfare Measures XII. The Alleviation of Poverty XIII. Conclusion Index

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Book SynopsisSilk Mirage is a compelling portrait of Uzbekistan, a country at the heart of the ancient Silk Road and now the centre of a power struggle between reformers and reactionaries for the soul of this strategic land in Central Asia. In 2016, the long-ruling dictator Islam Karimov one of the last Soviet-era strongmen died, sparking a period of transformation under his successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, which became known as the Uzbek Spring'. But, as investigative journalist Joanna Lillis shows, spring has struggled to break through in one of the world's most repressive and totalitarian states. As one of the few western journalists with access to Uzbekistan and with over two decades of experience covering the country, Lillis travels deep into the heart of the Karimov regime, portraying all the excesses and atrocities that made it such a brutal dictatorship. She also penetrates the system that replaced it, exploring how life has changed for Uzbeks under Mirziyoyev's rule and how it has not. A tale of both reform and repression, this book illustrates the challenges of dragging a country out of dictatorship.Lillis explores Uzbekistan's politics, economics, history, arts and culture and asks where the country stands nearly a decade after the death of its dictator, and 600 years since its ancient capital Samarkand was the centre of the world's trade network. Lillis weaves in the extraordinary stories of ordinary people: from politicians to former political prisoners, from journalists to human rights crusaders, from entrepreneurs to environmentalists, from artists to architects, from silk makers to carpet weavers.Conjuring up Uzbekistan as a place full of life and loss, Silk Mirage tells the stories of courageous people who probe to find the cracks in an authoritarian regime through which the light gets in.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"For those unable to devote the time to reading The Bourgeois Virtues, Bourgeois Dignity, and Bourgeois Equality, McCloskey has teamed here with Carden to write a popular version. While the argument is the same—namely that respect for human liberty is what led to the Great Enrichment—this book is not a Reader’s Digest condensed version of the trilogy. Carden and McCloskey use this opportunity to make the ideas of the trilogy more contemporary. They do so in two ways. Current policy proposals, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren’s proposal for a 2 percent tax on the wealthy, are used where appropriate. Modern examples, from changes to the television set as owned by the TV Simpsons family to a long list of failed business ideas that wasted resources, such as the New Coke or Trump Airlines, are added to the mix alongside McCloskey's literary and historical examples. Even readers of McCloskey's three prior volumes will find much to enjoy in this updated reprise. Recommended." * Choice *“At a time when the mood—and reality—of the times is swinging toward state intervention in the economy—and rightly so, given the potentially Hobbesian world to which the combination of market power and pandemic have brought us—it’s all the more important to keep an open mind and take these arguments from economic liberty seriously. . . . The sweep of McCloskey’s historical knowledge is such that the book is just a good read (if you like the tone), and a fraction of the length of the [Bourgeois] trilogy!” -- Diane Coyle * The Enlightened Economist *"This thought-provoking work is recommended for economics faculty and students, and researchers in economics and history to ‘think differently’ about these respected disciplines.” * Library Journal *"For half a century Deirdre McCloskey has been a member of the starting lineup of economic history. The author of numerous books and hundreds of research papers and essays, her magnum opus is the monumental 'Bourgeois Trilogy' that appeared between 2006 and 2016 and laid out her view of economic history and much else in about 2,000 pages. The slim volume here, co-authored with Art Carden, summarizes her views of what she has termed the 'Great Enrichment' and makes it accessible to a wider public. In every way, this comparatively slim volume is vintage McCloskey: written in a rather informal conversational style, she states her views in her inimitable crystal-clear prose." * EH-Net *"Read this book and learn why you must know the truth, what truth you need to know, and why the freedom it brings has made almost everyone better off than their parents and grandparents." -- Vernon L. Smith, Chapman University and 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics"If you are feeling down about the state of the world or pessimistic about its prospects then this is the book to cheer you up. McCloskey and Carden show how much off everyone is today compared to everyone who lived before, and how this is explained not by the usual suspects such as institutions, or capitalism or the profits of slavery and colonialism, or the exploitation of natural resources, but simply by the practice of liberty, letting people be and allowing them to do their thing (and, crucially, to innovate). They also show how fashionable pessimism about the future is wrong in all its modish variants—as it has been since 1798. This is a work for economists, historians, and anyone who wants to understand why the world has become so much better for human beings in the last two hundred and fifty years and is set to continue doing so." -- Stephen Davies, Institute of Economic Affairs“There is nobody writing today who mixes erudition and eloquence, or wit and wisdom as richly as McCloskey. Together with Carden, she has now found another virtue: brevity. This is the book I want all young people to read to understand how and why they are so much better off than any previous generation.” -- Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation Works and The Rational OptimistTable of ContentsPreface Part I Poverty Is on the Run 1 Liberalism Liberated 2 It’s the End of the World as They Knew It, and You Should Feel Pretty Good 3 Nostalgia and Pessimism Worsen Poverty 4 Under Liberalism the Formerly Poor Can Flourish Ethically and Spiritually 5 Consider the Possibility That Your Doubts Might Be Mistaken 6 Pessimism Has Been since 1800 a Rotten Predictor 7 Even about the Environment 8 In Fact, None of the Seven Old Pessimisms Makes a Lot of Sense 9 Nor Do the Three New Ones 10 So to Get Better, the World Had Better Keep Its Ethical Wits about It 11 And True Liberalism Celebrates a Life Beyond WealthPart II Enrichment Didn’t Come for the Reasons You Imagine 12 Liberal Ideas, Not European Horrors or Heroism, Explain the Great Enrichment 13 Liberalism Supported Innovism and the Profit Test 14 The Great Enrichment Did Not Come from Resources or Railways or Property Rights 15 Nor Thrift or “Capitalism” 16 Schooling and Science Were Not the Fairy Dust 17 It Wasn’t Imperialism 18 Nor Slavery 19 Nor Wage Slavery Ended by Unions and RegulationPart III It Came Because Ideas, Ethics, Rhetoric, and Ideology Changed 20 The Talk and the Deals Changed in Northwestern Europe 21 That Is, Ethics and Rhetoric Changed 22 “Honest” Shows the Change 23 And “Happiness” Itself Changed 24 The Change in Valuation Showed in English Plays, Poems, and NovelsPart IV The Causes of the Causes Were Not Racial or Ancient 25 Happy Accidents Led to the Revaluation 26 And Then Old Adam Smith Revealed / The Virtues of the Bourgeois Deal Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisA decade ago, a wave of mass mobilisations described as "horizontal" and "leaderless" swept the planet, holding the promise of real democracy and justice for the 99%. Many saw its subsequent ebb as proof of the need to go back to what was once called "the question of organisation". For something so often described as essential, however, political organisation remains a surprisingly under-theorised field. In this book, Rodrigo Nunes proposes to remedy that lack by starting again from scratch. Redefining the terms of the problem, he rejects the confusion between organisation and any of the forms it can take, such as the party, and argues that organisation must be understood as always supposing a diverse ecology of different initiatives and organisational forms. Drawing from a wide array of sources and traditions that include cybernetics, poststructuralism, network theory and Marxism, Nunes develops a grammar that eschews easy oppositions between "verticalism" and "horizontalism", centralisation and dispersion, and offers a fresh approach to enduring issues like spontaneity, leadership, democracy, strategy, populism, revolution, and the relationship between movements and parties.Trade ReviewThis is the book we've been waiting for: Rodrigo Nunes systematically assesses the problems the left has faced since the Occupy movement and its failure. A must-read for the activists of our time. -- Franco 'Bifo' Berardi, author of Futurability: The Age of Impotence and the Horizon of PossibilityThis is quite an achievement: one of those period-defining books that turns all usual assumptions upside down. -- Wu Ming, authors of Q and AltaiThis is an exciting, innovative book. Rodrigo Nunes has utterly revitalised the stale theory of political organisation with new evidence, new thinking and new strategic concepts. All of the suffocating clichés of both horizontalists and vanguardists are briskly overturned here. Everyone can learn something from this book. -- Richard Seymour, author of Corbyn: The Strange Rebirth of Radical PoliticsHow is to be done? With whom? With what? Soberly reckoning with the limits of a decade of mass movements against austerity and authoritarianism, and writing in the harsh glare of our warming condition, Nunes enjoins us to revisit the theory of organisation beyond the party as fetish or bogeyman. Drawing on a rich trove of sources - from Spinoza to Bogdanov, cybernetic theory to contemporary activism - Neither Vertical nor Horizontal is an indispensable critical and clinical intervention into the principal political problem of our time. -- Alberto Toscano, author of Fanaticism: On the Uses of an IdeaA tremendous book - a thoughtful, deep synthesis of lessons learned over the last twenty years of struggle for a world beyond capital. I was not only constantly struck by the many insights you generate from a novel theoretical collocation (I love the second-order cybernetics plus Spinozist Marx combination), but also deeply moved. Reading the book was therapeutic: after completing it I felt partially healed from the political disappointments, traumas and feuds of the last two decades, because you demonstrate how something can be learned from it all, something that goes forward. It's a courageous and brilliant volume. -- Nick Dyer-Witheford, University of Western Ontario, author of Cyber-Proletariat: Global Labour in the Digital VortexA crucial part of our thinking on the future of organisation is rooted in Rodrigo Nunes' work. -- Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams, authors of Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without WorkIn Neither Vertical Nor Horizontal, Rodrigo Nunes has handed a great gift to anyone attempting to create a more just world. Both theoretically rich and intensely practical, Nunes's book is not a guide to what is to be done. Rather, it is much more important: it is a guide to thinking more honestly, clearly, and generously about the work of social movements. It will help us to ask better questions and to be better comrades, to be more willing to admit to and learn from mistakes as well as successes. Most importantly, it will help the thing we call "the movement" not just to fail better but to have a real chance to win. -- Sarah Jaffe, author of Necessary Trouble and Work Won't Love You BackThe sudden explosions, fleeting victories, and apparent failures of the last fifteen years have raised very difficult questions for people committed to building a better world. This book provides many of the answers. -- Vincent Bevins, author of The Jakarta Method and If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing RevolutionNeither Vertical Nor Horizontal charts a clear path out of the conceptual and tactical impasse within which much of the radical left has found itself stuck for decades. Clear, rigorous and readable, this is one of the most important books to have been published at the junction between political theory and political strategy for many years. -- Jeremy Gilbert, University of East London, co-author of Hegemony Now: How Big Tech and Wall Street Won the World (and How We Win it Back)In this book Rodrigo Nunes brings classic issues of political organisation back to the table in light of the experiences that social movements have encountered in the first decades of the 21st century. With a style that stresses provocations and contradictions as a method for transcending exclusive dichotomies between horizontality versus verticality and between the subjective versus the objective, this book updates for the struggles of the present debates that cannot be taken for finished, let alone settled. Full of useful formulas for synthesising contemporary debates, this work is an exhaustive analysis of how "diversity of strategies" can coexist with the search for structural effects on various scales. The non-linear and combined strategy that emerges from Nunes' proposal is of both philosophical and political interest, and a key contribution to the movements facing the urgent dilemmas of our day. -- Verónica Gago, University of Buenos Aires, author of Feminist International: How to Change EverythingThis is a book born out of a passionate participation in movements and struggles over the last twenty years in different parts of the world. It makes key contributions to the vexed question of organization, revisiting it in a world made up by complex dependences, circuits, and connections. Rethinking organization and political action ecologically, Rodrigo Nunes displaces alternatives that have haunted debates on the left for some time now, as for instance the between vertical and horizontal, movement and party, micro and macropolitics. In so doing, he opens a new space for political experiments on the field of organization -- that is, for the effectiveness (or "fitness") of transformative political action. -- Sandro Mezzadra, University of Bologna, co-author of Border as Method and The Politics of Operations"Don't Mourn, Organize" is a slogan that gained popularity in the wake of the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street. However, the imperative to organize contains its own divisions and contradictions: between notions of organization from outside and within, hierarchy and spontaneity, vertical and horizontal. Rodrigo Nunes examines the unstated philosophical presuppositions underlying these divisions in order to advance a new theory of organization based on a diverse ecology of different forces and factors, overcoming those dualisms for good. In doing so, Nunes engages with thinkers as diverse as Spinoza, Bateson, and Lenin, demonstrating that such concepts as affect, transindividuality, and ecology are not philosophical distractions from the political but necessary to rethink the basis of politics itself. -- Jason Read, University of Southern Maine, author of The Politics of TransindividualityPolitical theory and philosophy have relegated the question of organization to the social sciences and management. In breaking this mold, Rodrigo Nunes releases the debate on organization from historical experiences of trauma and melancholia. Neither Vertical nor Horizontal opens vistas in which the left can win, not once and for all but here and now. -- Brett Neilson, Western Sydney University, co-author of Border as Method and The Politics of OperationsIs vertical or horizontal organisation more desirable for social movements and left-wing parties? Rodrigo Nunes intervenes in this longstanding debate about more hierarchical and participatory forms of organisation by thoughtfully revealing how organisational decisions always need to be taken in light of a broader ecology of organisations and relations. No man is an island, an no organisation exists in the void. -- Paolo Gerbaudo, King’s College London, author of The Great Recoil: Politics After Populism and PandemicNeither Vertical nor Horizontal provides compelling insights about several key issues of contemporary militancy, in particular the need for social movements to organize ecologically in order to be effective. It also assesses the link between the rise of complexity theory and the process of increasing depoliticization since the 1980s in such a way that a radical 'reclaiming strategy' becomes not only possible, but necessary. -- Emanuele Leonardi, University of BolognaRodrigo Nunes's triple background as philosopher, journalist, and activist make him the ideal person to write this wonderful book. Nunes deftly sidesteps the stagnant debates structured by the "horizontalism" vs "party" distinction, showing that organization is essential, but has many forms beyond that of the party. The most interesting move for me is the way Nunes places intentional political organization in a wider field of natural self-organizing processes. With this move, Nunes is able to bring to bear an astonishingly wide variety of scientific and philosophical investigations, from thermodynamics to Spinoza, from cybernetics to Simondon, and more besides. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a second look at their system of thought and practice. -- John Protevi, Louisiana State University, author of Political Affect: Connecting the Social and the SomaticA compelling book that alternates the critique of classic and contemporary authors of the revolutionary tradition with an analysis of the social movements that have disrupted the past decade. Rodrigo Nunes' beautiful and dense book deserves to be read and discussed collectively. -- Davide Gallo Lassere * Contretemps *Neither Vertical nor Horizontal is neither just a book of political theory, nor just a critique of organizational failures. Nunes takes theory seriously while also never losing sight of the precise limitations and challenges that organizers and political actors confront. -- Kevin Potter * Jacobin *Nunes creates a vocabulary to begin conversations about what organization there is, and therefore what organization we may desire, as agents seeking a particular change. (.) Neither Vertical nor Horizontal should be crucial reading for those attempting to overcome the impasses we face on the left. -- Alex James * Cosmonaut *Neither Vertical nor Horizontal offers a sober theory of organisation that builds on an eclectic mix of theorists and historical experience. It does not provide an ideal model to be followed but prompts the scholar/activist/organiser to ask, 'what can we do now, in these circumstances?' instead of the disengaged 'what should be done?' Indeed, the greatest strength of the book lies in Nunes's skilfulness at offering practical tools for activists and organisers while retaining scholarly rigour, without compartmentalising theory from practice. -- Birgan Gokmenoglu * LSE Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisAN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEARHumanity's embrace of openness is the key to our success. The freedom to explore and exchange - whether it's goods, ideas or people - has led to stunning achievements in science, technology and culture. As a result, we live at a time of unprecedented wealth and opportunity. So why are we so intent on ruining it?From Stone Age hunter-gatherers to contemporary Chinese-American relations, Open explores how across time and cultures, we have struggled with a constant tension between our yearning for co-operation and our profound need for belonging. Providing a bold new framework for understanding human history, bestselling author and thinker Johan Norberg examines why we're often uncomfortable with openness - but also why it is essential for progress. Part sweeping history and part polemic, this urgent book makes a compelling case for why an open world with an open economy is worth fighting for more than ever.Trade ReviewClear, colourful and convincing, marshalling evidence from a range of eras and civilisations. [...] The author is often amusing as well as illuminating. * The Economist *No person or society is smart enough or wise enough or noble enough to solve the wicked problems of life by themselves. With clarity and grace, Johan Norberg reminds us that openness to things and ideas from others is the only route to well-being. * Steven Pinker *If we are to recover from the pandemic of 2020, the world needs openness more than ever: open minds, open hearts, open communications, open markets. Johan Norberg's superb book demonstrates, with hundreds of examples, how openness has been the key to the success of our species over 10,000 years and is the secret of prosperity and peace today. * Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist *Johan Norberg has a great story to tell: how, throughout history, open societies have always closed down, but never for good. The tension between closed and open, between trading and tribalism drives both progress and reaction. Why are the virtues and benefits of openness always under threat? We can't live without it, yet too often it seems that we can't live with it either. Norberg has a powerful argument to give us insight and hope that man's curiosity and imagination is unstoppable. * Margaret Heffernan, author of Wilful Blindness *Norberg's excellent book tells us that openness is more than a defensive reaction to those who want to close borders to migrants, trade and new ideas... [it is] a deeply rooted trait that has played a major role in the success of individuals, nations and humanity itself. * Vince Cable *Johan Norberg makes a compelling case that we all thrive -- in every sense -- on 'open'... This is big thinking that deserves everyone's attention. * Michael Blastland, author of The Hidden Half *Johan Norberg reminds us that every great civilization has been destroyed by the end of openness. His essential book, then, is a timely reminder that the fate of our civilization rests on a defense of openness. Strongly recommended. * Andrew Keen, author of The Internet Is Not The Answer *A prophet of anti-pessimism. -- Simon Jenkins * Guardian *This book is a blast of good sense. * The Economist on Progress *Norberg has a strong case and he makes it with energy and charm. A pertinent book for grumpy times. * The Times on Progress *Table of Contents0: Traders and tribalists 1: Open exchange 2: Open doors 3: Open minds 4: Open societies 5: Us and them 6: Zero-sum 7: Anticipatory anxiety 8: Fight or flight 9: Open or closed?

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Book SynopsisGlorious' GUARIDAN''Vigorous, rigorous and eminently readable' SPECTATORLondon is a city of dreamers. A city of possibility and experiment. A city of fervent imaginings and courageous aspirations. For centuries, it has been the capital of utopian thought. The Infinite City tells this history for the first time. In his soaring new book, Niall Kishtainy draws us into the imaginative worlds of Thomas More, the Diggers, William Morris and Extinction Rebellion protestors. He introduces us to thinkers like Thomas Spence who threw coins stamped with the words YOU FOOLS' into the alleys of Holborn. To Ada Salter who was the first woman borough councillor in London and ignited the Bermondsey Revolution. To ninety-two-year-old Dolly Watson who became the queen of Claremont Road in Leytonstone during the Reclaim the Streets protests in the 1990s. These are inspiring tales of people who drew might from the city around them and fought for their ideologies in an increasingly transforming world.BeginTrade Review A Waterstones Best Book of 2023 A TLS Best Book of 2023 ‘Engaging… The Infinite City bravely challenges those who view London merely “as an infernal maze, as a centre of wealth, power and empire” and highlights instead those who have imagined it as a place of “possibility and experiment”’ TELEGRAPH, **** star review ‘An excellent history of London-based Utopian thought . . . vigorous, rigorous and eminently readable’ SPECTATOR ‘In a series of vivid depictions of London spanning centuries, Kishtainy brings back to life some of London’s utopian dreamers, including the Diggers, Thomas Spence and the socialist mystic James Pierrepont Greaves, founder of the Ham Common Concordium, an austere utopian spiritual co-operative’ LITERARY REVIEW ‘I was fascinated by every page, every anecdote and every detail’ BEN JUDAH, author of This is London ‘From More’s Utopia to the forlorn hopes for a more equitable post-pandemic society, this is a fresh and fascinating look at utopias in theory and practice, artfully framed as a history of London. Conscientiously researched, yet brimful of memorable anecdotes about man-eating sheep and medieval churches made out of pudding, it impresses upon us the importance of daring to dream — and dream big — for yesterday’s impossibility can be tomorrow’s reality’ MATHEW GREEN, author of Shadowlands ‘Reconstructing some of the many utopian fantasies that London has inspired since the sixteenth century, Niall Kishtainy has written a richly informative, elegantly argued book that introduces us to a series of dreamers who, far from appearing eccentric, seem all too relevant in the twenty-first century. The Infinite City will prompt us to rethink the value of utopia as well as to reconsider our understanding of the metropolis’ MATHEW BEAUMONT, author of Nightwalking

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Book SynopsisReissue of an incisive exploration of the many faces of modern nationalism by the esteemed author of On Consolation In 1993 Michael Ignatieff set out on a journey to the former Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Germany, Quebec, Kurdistan and Northern Ireland in order to explore the many faces of modern nationalism. Why, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, were so many nation states disintegrating into ethnic conflict? What did nationalism promise, that so many were willing to shed blood in the name of an idea of belonging? In a stimulating mix of interviews, history and evocative reportage, Ignatieff provides a searching analysis of the brutal conflicts and powerful fantasies produced by ethnic nationalism, and questions the possibility of a nationalism based on shared civic values. Reissued with a new preface, Blood & Belonging is a nuanced, fascinating account of one of our era's defining political issues.Trade Review'An immensely impressive meditation on the post-Cold War period... powerful and subtle' - Library Journal'Ignatieff is a reporter and thinker, and both his reportage and reflections are useful and often illuminating' - LA Times'Vivid and readable... [It] provides unforgettable impressions of societies that are going in the wrong direction on the highway to brotherhood and unity' - Washington Post

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Book SynopsisTim Moore - indefatigable travelling everyman – switches two wheels for four as he journeys across Trumpland in an original Model T Ford.‘Alarmingly full of incident, very funny – even mildly transformative’ Daily MailLacking even the most basic mechanical knowhow, Tim Moore sets out to cross Trumpland USA in an original Model T Ford. Armed only with a fan belt made of cotton, wooden wheels and a trunkload of ‘wise-ass Limey liberal gumption’, his route takes him exclusively through Donald-voting counties, meeting the everyday folks who voted red along the way.He meets a people defined by extraordinary generosity, willing to shift heaven and earth to keep him on the road. And yet, this is clearly a nation in conflict with itself: citizens ‘tooling up’ in reaction to ever-increasing security fears; a healthcare system creaking to support sugar-loaded soda lovers; a disintegrating rust belt all but forgotten by the warring media and political classes.With his trademark blend of slapstick humour, affable insight and butt-clenching peril, Tim Moore invites us on an unforgettable road trip through America. Buckle up!Trade ReviewAn easy and enjoyable read, it’s as much about the roadtrip in a vintage car as it is observations on the current political climate in America * Classic Ford *Moore… [is] very good at soaking up the strangeness of America and relating it to readers with an easy-going observational humour that only threatens to desert him when he contemplates the excesses of the current administration -- Alistair Mabbott * The Herald *Hilarious and scary often in equal measure -- Nat Barnes * Daily Express *This is The Wizard of Oz in reverse – an attempt to uncover the source of what went wrong in America… What lingers is the stories of communities brimming with people who worked like dogs to learn a trade in a country they believed would reward them -- Jane Graham * Big Issue *Alarmingly full of incident, very funny – even mildly transformative -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail *

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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 SynopsisIn No One Left to Lie To, Christopher Hitchens portrays President Bill Clinton as one of the most ideologically skewed and morally negligent politicians of recent times. In a blistering polemic which shows that Clinton was at once philanderer and philistine, crooked and corrupt, Hitchens challenges perceptions - of liberals and conservatives alike - of this highly divisive figure.With blistering wit and meticulous documentation, Hitchens masterfully deconstructs Clinton's abject propensity for pandering to the Left while delivering to the Right and argues that the president's personal transgressions were inseparable from his political corruption.Trade ReviewBy far the best of all the books on the Clinton era. * Edward Said *You don't buy Christopher Hitchens's book because you want to find out whether Bill Clinton is really as terrible a liar as some people say he is. You buy it because you know he is a terrible liar, and the invitation to have a pungent fellow like Hitchens confirm every prejudice you ever had on the subject, plus a few you might not even have known you had, is an invitation you cannot resist. -- Louis Menand * New York Times Magazine *With a witty bluntness uncommon in today's political discourse, Hitchens boldly puts the pieces of the Clinton puzzle together - and isn't afraid to describe the result. Hitchens' brave willingness to show all the sordid scenarios in which our emperor has removed his clothes is beyond refreshing. -- Karen Lehrman * New York Times Book Review *Table of Contents1: Triangulation 2: Chameleon in Black and White 3: The Policy Coup 4: A Question of Character 5: Clinton's War Crimes 6: Is There a Rapist in the Oval Office? 7: The Shadow of the Con Man

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Book SynopsisAn urgent and galvanizing argument for an Economic Bill of Rightsand its potential to confer true freedom on all Americans. Since the Founding, Americans have debated the true meaning of freedom. For some, freedom meant the provision of life's necessities, those basic conditions for the pursuit of happiness. For others, freedom meant the civil and political rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights and unfettered access to the marketplacenothing more. As Mark Paul explains, the latter interpretationthanks in large part to a particularly influential cadre of economistshas all but won out among policymakers, with dire repercussions for American society: rampant inequality, endemic poverty, and an economy built to benefit the few at the expense of the many. In this book, Paul shows how economic rightsrights to necessities like housing, employment, and health carehave been a part of the American conversation since the Revolutionary War and were a cornerstone of both the New Deal and thTrade Review"Paul’s book is a welcome contribution to thinking about policies that might help build a more just, freer society." * Jacobin *"Without a new foundation of economic rights for all, grounded in ecological safety and racial justice, democracy will not survive. Paul is one of the economists reimagining his field to meet this moment of compounding crises, and his new book brilliantly traces the history and irresistible logic behind the demand for an economic bill of rights. It’s a gift to the social movements who are fighting to put those rights back on the political agenda, and to anyone contemplating the deeper meaning of freedom." -- Naomi Klein"This is a fascinating book about a forgotten US intellectual tradition. Paul forcefully shows that there can be no real freedom without substantial and well-guaranteed economic rights for all: the right to education, the right to a job, and the right to housing. A must-read!" -- Thomas Piketty, L'ecole de hautes etudes en sciences sociales and Paris School of Economics"Paul tells the full story of the nation’s yet-to-be-fulfilled promise of a guarantee of a minimum standard of economic possibility and security for all Americans. As he shows, the principles of an Economic Bill of Rights date, at least, to the founding of the Republic. Not only does Paul give us the most comprehensive treatment of the history of the idea of a social floor for opportunity, but he provides a detailed plan appropriate for the twenty-first century. This is the book that throws down a forceful gauntlet on how, at last, to create an equitable America." -- William A. Darity Jr., Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Duke University"In highlighting how the notion of economic freedom was hijacked by the right, Paul has put his finger on the missing link in any progressive agenda that purports to work for all Americans. The book connects the various seemingly separate strands of political crisis into one coherent idea: we need to revive a robust vision for economic freedom that centers on racial justice. Building on the core impetus of Roosevelt's Economic Bill of Rights, Paul revives it for the twenty-first century with an expert's understanding of economic trends and gaps in recent policy. This important and thorough account of history and economics will be an excellent resource for policymakers, students, activists, and citizens interested in achieving the promise of democracy." -- Mehrsa Baradaran, University of California, Irvine School of Law "Amidst the wreckage of the failed neoliberal project to shrink the idea of freedom down to limited government, Paul advances an expanded notion of 'freedom to' rather than just 'freedom from.' His program of economic rights may just be the best hope for securing a society built on positive freedoms in a sustainable democratic order." -- Samuel Bowles, Santa Fe Institute and author, The Moral Economy."Paul is sharp and deeply knowledgeable about his field, and his comprehensive approach is admirable. . . . A reminder of the country’s lost ideal of economic freedom and the many actions that might turn that ideal into reality." * Kirkus *“Paul argues that leaders need to prioritize providing equitable economic rights for all Americans. The book defines economic rights as the freedom to have basic necessities such as housing, employment, and health care. . . . To actualize these programs, the book calls for changes within the Medicare system and the creation of federal job-guarantees. This book will be of interest to scholars and general readers alike.” * Library Journal *"Mark Paul has done a useful public service in etching out the goals of progressive economic policy." * Counterpunch *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: American Freedom 1. States of America 2. Capitalism and Freedom 3. America’s Other Freedom Part II: Economic Rights 4. The Right to Work 5. The Right to Housing 6. The Right to an Education 7. The Right to Health Care 8. The Right to a Basic Income and Banking 9. The Right to a Healthy Environment Part III: A Budget for the People 10. How Do We Pay for It? Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisQuestions the idealization of ancient Athens as the source of philosophy and democracy by placing the origins instead in Ionia, a set of Greek colonies located in present-day Turkey.Trade Review"A work of historical importance, this book should be read by all who are interested in the innumerable conflicts that beset the contemporary world. Essential." -- J. A. Fischel * Choice *"Karatani’s Isonomia and the Origins of Philosophy is a deceptively complex work that offers numerous transdisciplinary insights for the philosophically initiated and uninitiated alike. And while its true value may be its intellectual historical angle – namely, its fascinating re-presentation of the history of Greek philosophy – Isonomia is a very worthwhile part of Karatani’s broader effort to offer readers an illuminating systematic perspective from which to view our contemporary political and philosophical situation." -- Brendan Harvey * Marx & Philosophy Review of Books *Table of ContentsTranslator's Note vii Map viii Author's Preface to the Japanese Edition ix Introduction Universal Religion 1 Ethical Prophets 5 Exemplary Prophets 7 1. Ionian Society and Thought Athens and Ionia 11 Isonomia and Democracy 14 Athenian Democracy 17 State and Democracy 20 Colonization and Isonomia 22 Iceland and North America 26 Isonomia and Council 31 2, The Background of Ionian Natural Philosophy Natural Philosophy and Ethics 35 Hippocrates 39 Herodotus 42 Homer 46 Hesiod 51 3. The Essential Points of Ionian Natural Philosophy The Critique of Religion 56 Self-Moving Matter 58 Poiesis and Becoming 62 4. Post-Ionian Thought Pythagoras 68 Heraclitus 80 Parmenides 87 Post-Eliatics 96 5. Socrates and Empire The Athenian Empire and Democracy 103 Sophists and Rule by Rhetoric 107 The Trial of Socrates 110 The Riddle of Socrates 114 Daimon 118 The Socratic Method 121 Plato and Pythagoras 125 The Philosopher-King 127 Isonomia and the Philosopher-King 130 Appendix. From Structure of World History to Isonomia and the Origins of Philosophy 135 Timeline of the Ancient World 141 Notes 143 Bibliography 155 Index 159

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Book SynopsisFirst publication in English of a groundbreaking book of revolutionary queer theory.Trade Review'An indispensable, pioneering example of the long, difficult effort to articulate queer struggle with anti-capitalist struggle' -- Kevin Floyd, author of The Reification of Desire: Toward a Queer Marxism (University of Minnesota Press, 2009)'Mieli was considerably ahead of his time... Towards a Gay Communism belongs to a visionary tradition of ecstatic utopianism... A fascinating document of its departed moment, but also as renewable inspiration for our contemporary desire to envision a future that is foreign to today' -- Tim DeanTable of ContentsForeword: 'I Keep My Treasure in My Arse' by Tim Dean Introduction by Massimo Prearo Translator’s Preface by Evan Calder Williams Preface 1. Homosexual Desire is Universal 2. Fire and Brimstone, or How Homosexuals Became Gay 3. Heterosexual Men, or Rather Closet Queens 4. Crime and Punishment 5. A Healthy Mind in a Perverse Body 6. Towards a Gay Communism 7. The End Appendix A: Unpublished Preface to Homosexuality and Liberation by Mario Mieli (1980) Appendix B: Translator’s additional note from Chapter 1 Index

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Book SynopsisGovernments recognise that national security in the turbulent conditions of the early twenty-first century must centre on the creation of public confidence that normal life can continue even in the face of threats such as terrorism and proliferation, and of natural hazards such as pandemics and climate change. Based on his own experience in government, David Omand argues that while public security is vital for good government, the effects of bad government will result from failure to maintain the right relationship between justice, liberty, privacy, civic harmony and security measures. His book examines in detail how secret intelligence helps governments to deliver security, but also risks raising public concern over its methods. A set of ethical principles is proposed to guide intelligence and security work within the framework of human rights. Securing the State provides a new way of thinking about the cycle of activities that generates secret intelligence, examines the issues that arise from the way that modern intelligence uses technology to access new sources of information, and discusses how the meaning of intelligence can best be elucidated. The limits of intelligence in enabling greater security are explored, especially in guiding government in a world in which we must learn not to be surprised by surprise. Illustrated throughout by historical examples, David Omand provides new perspectives for practitioners and those teaching security and intelligence studies and for a wider readership offers an accessible introduction to pressing issues of public policy.Trade Review'An invaluable handbook for politicians, intelligence professionals, journalists and anyone else who wants to know what should and should not be done in the name of securing the state in an age of surprise, turbulence and implacably hostile terrorist networks that are more than capable of using the latest technology.' * The Economist *'Few books on national security become instant classics in their field. Sir David Omand's brilliantly insightful and authoritative Securing the State will be one of those. It is one of the most important studies on the role intelligence services play in crafting successful counterterrorism measures by governments, the book's primary, although not sole, focus.' * The Washington Times *'David Omand's superb book is a reminder of why state security is important. ... Every security practitioner should read this book, which distils so much experience gathered at the sharp end of security. Sir David Omand is undoubtedly one of the most able people to have served in British government since the Second World War.' * Times Literary Supplement *'We live today in a complex, unstable and interconnected world which requires expert navigation if it is to be understood. David Omand's career in, and commitment to, the security of the British citizen is beyond peer and here, in a highly readable form, is simply the best available guide to the current challenges to our safety and what needs to be done to mitigate them.' * Rt Hon Lord Robertson of Port Ellen KT GCMG, former Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary General of NATO *'A thoughtful, exceptionally well-informed book. Essential reading for anyone seriously interested in the role of intelligence in modern government.' * Sir John Scarlett, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) 2004-2009 *'Anyone considering the complexities of security and intelligence work in the twenty-first century will find David Omand's masterly analysis stimulating and thought-provoking.' * Eliza Manningham-Buller, Director General of the Security Service (MI5) from 2002-7 *

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Book SynopsisConcise and Abridged EditionDo we really have the right to say the wrong' thing?I strongly recommend this book. Hume is right that the current proliferation of trigger warnings is absurd' GuardianIn a fierce defence of free speech in all its forms Mick Hume's blistering polemic exposes the new threats facing us today in the historic fight for freedom of expression. In 2015, the cold-blooded attacks in Paris on the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists united the free-thinking world in proclaiming Je suis Charlie'. But it wasn't long before many were arguing that the massacres showed the need to restrict the right to be offensive. Meanwhile sensitive students are sheltered from potentially offensive material and Twitter vigilantes police those expressing the wrong' opinion. But the basic right being suppressed to be offensive, despite the problems it creates is not only acceptable but vital to society. Without a total freedom of expression, other liberties will not be possible.Trade Review‘Superb…This is a first-rate polemic and the most important political book of the year so far’ Rod Liddle ‘This is an important book, and couldn’t be more timely. It’s strong-minded, unafraid, determined to knock down all the various specious arguments against free speech, unapologetic about insisting on the value of free expression, and terrifically well argued. In these weak-minded times it’s good to have so uncompromising a defence’ Salman Rushdie ‘What this book does tremendously is pull off the neat trick of summing up just what the hell is going on out there on the great frontiers of speech, offence, liberty and people shouting at each other’ The Times

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Book Synopsis'A gripping and rigorous crime story about the murder of a once thriving democracy, exposing an arsenal of lethal weapons, some wielded on the streets, others in the courts and press' NAOMI KLEIN Essential reading' YANIS VAROUFAKIS

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Book SynopsisWhy bother refuting your opponents, when you can just take away their platform or career?Greg Lukianoff was one of the first to raise the alarm about the troubling social and psychological consequences of the growing intolerance of opposing viewpoints on university campuses in America; a phenomenon which then swept through the English-speaking world.In this new book, he teams up with Rikki Schlott to show how this trend has spread to a wide range of workplaces and cultural spaces, which are giving up on a culture of free speech in favour of cancel culture. Drawing on original research and data, along with hundreds of new examples from publishing to psychotherapy, comedy, science and medicine, this book shows how the left and the right both work to silence their enemies in different ways. It''s not simply a matter of Twitter spats; people are losing their jobs, livelihoods and sometimes their lives over it.Eye-opening, urgent and transformative, The Canceling of the American Mind argues that cancel culture is not merely a moral panic, but a dysfunctional way in which people battle for power, status and dominance: moving us away from being able to argue productively, listen generously and ultimately be civil when we disagree. This book offers concrete steps towards reclaiming a culture of free speech, with materials specifically tailored for parents, teachers, business leaders and all those who use social media. It shows how we can all harness intellectual humility to become more resilient and open minded.Trade ReviewNo one has documented the facts and causes of this alarming trend more thoroughly than Greg Lukianoff, joined here by a collaborator, Rikki Schlott -- Steven Pinker * author of Rationality *Brilliant, an essential book... takes us one step further than simply describing and analyzing the problem. They offer serious, rational, and cogent solutions -- Ayaan Hirsi Ali * author of Heretic *Important and very timely... it should be required reading for everyone who believes in freedom of speech -- Piers Morgan * author Wake Up *Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott make an inconvertible case: If we had set out as a society to generate a doctrine designed specifically to demoralize young people-to deprive them of hope and fill them with anxiety-we could not have done better than Cancel Culture, which emphasizes victimhood, emotional fragility, a penchant for avoidance and the absolute right to self-conceptualization. We've enabled the purveyors of malicious gossip, the reputation-savagers, the masters of innuendo-and allowed them to cloak themselves in the guise of compassion. Lukianoff and Schlott are rightly calling on all of us to stand up and say so -- Jordan B. Peterson * author of 12 Rules for Life *Cancel Culture is very real and very dangerous - and this book is the most comprehensive look at the rot threatening our institutions and freedoms -- Ben Shapiro * founder of The Daily Wire *A humanizing and passionate cry for intellectual independence and those who want to think and speak for themselves -- Andrew Yang * co-founder of the Forward Party *This riveting book presents compelling stories about Cancel Culture and its devastating impact ... a game-changer in the Culture Wars -- Nadine Strossen * former president of the ACLU *bold, timely and buttressed by data * The Economist *

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Book SynopsisAn account drawn from primary sources and the firsthand accounts of survivors that chronicles the fierce and ungovernable rise of the Christian right over the last half-century that lays out the grim vision Evangelicals are trying to enforce on our democracy.All across America, a storm is gathering: from book bans in school libraries to anti-trans laws in state legislatures; firebombings of abortion clinics and protests against gay rights. The Christian right, a political force in America for more than half a century, has never been more powerful than it is right now--and they won''t stop until they''ve refashioned America in their own image.In Wild Faith: The Christian Right, Theocracy, and the Battle for America, author Talia Lavin goes deep into the beliefs that motivate the Christian right, from its segregationist past to a future riddled with apocalyptic visions. Along the way, she explores what motivates anti-abortion terrorists; the Christian Patriarchy movement, with its desire to place all women under absolute male control; the twisted theology that leads to rampant child abuse; and the ways conspiracy theorists and extremist Christians influence each other to mutual benefit. Readers will meet deliverance ministers who carry out exorcisms by the hundred; modern-day, self-proclaimed prophets and apostles; Christian militias, cults, zealots, and showmen; and the people in power who are aiding them to achieve their goals. From school boards to the Supreme Court, Christian theocracy is ascendant in America -- and only through exploring its motivations and impacts can we understand the crisis we face. Can a multiracial democracy survive in the face of an organized, fervent theocratic movement, one that seeks to impose its beliefs on every citizen of this country -- whether they believe in Jesus, or somebody else, or no God at all?

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Book SynopsisSunday Times bestselling author of 50 People Who Buggered up Britain, Quentin Letts, is back, his wit sharper than ever as he reveals the real pandemic plaguing society: the passive-aggressive finger-wagging of the managerial class, as they use the coronavirus to assert their control.Trade ReviewAs witty as he's defiantly unwoke, the inimitable Quentin Letts dares to say in a new book what we've all been secretly thinking * Mail on Sunday *Underneath the jocularity of Letts's style is a lot of real anger -- Roger Lewis * The Times *Brilliantly critical, but always warm-hearted and fair -- Rory Knight Bruce * The Field *Parliamentary sketch-writer Letts gives a short, punchy account of how small-minded officials, virtue-signalling corporations and craven politicians are ruining Britain. His invective will have you fuming and chuckling by turns * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA radical biography of the author of the classic anti-colonial text Black Skin, White Masks.Trade Review'An iconoclastic exegesis of Fanon's life and work. In what is sure to become a classic text, Hudis shows himself to be one of the most important thinkers of our generation' -- Peter McLaren, Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies at Chapman University'If you are new to Fanon or you are returning to his work, Peter Hudis' biography is a must read!' -- Lenore Daniels, PhD, theorist, writer, activist'A lively and provocative reading of Fanon's life and work that challenges many of the more recent interpretations of this major figure' -- Paget Henry, Professor of Sociology at Brown University'A wonderful introduction to the life and work of Frantz Fanon' -- Morning StarTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction: Fanon in Our Time 1. The Path to Political and Philosophical Commitment 2. Self and Other: The Dialectic of Black Skin, White Masks 3. The Engaged Psychiatrist: Blida and the Psychodynamics of Racism 4. The Engaged Philosopher: The FLN and the Algerian Revolution 5. The Strategist of Revolution: Africa at the Crossroads 6. Toward a New Humanity: The Wretched of the Earth Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn this Element, the authors find that compared with other emerging capitalist economies, the Chinese bureaucracy has developed relatively strong capabilities to advance innovation-driven development. This Element seeks to provide avenues for comparing it with other late developers.Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. The Chinese Bureaucracy and Innovation-Driven Development; 3. Assessing Technological Upgrading: Semiconductors and Electric Vehicles; 4. Conclusion; References.

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Book SynopsisMultiple crises have led many to conclude that the current economic and political system is broken. The present and future look increasingly precarious – if not outright dystopian Stephen McBride calls for radical solutions to these crises to provide a more rational and sustainable future. He critiques other potential responses which would further curtail democracy and increase the inequalities associated with neoliberal globalism. Demonstrating how mainstream ideas, powerful interests and political institutions face major challenges but block progressive alternatives, he argues that for radical transformation to succeed, institutional changes are necessary.Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Trapped in Dystopia? 3. The Three Ds: Disaffection, Disarray, Democracy 4. Breaking the Mould through Anti-system Politics? 5. What Is to Be Done? Alternative Strategies 6. Restoring the Pre-crisis Neoliberal ‘Normal’ 7. Saving the System by Building Back Better? Liberal Reform 8. Radical Transformation 9. Obstacles to Progress 10. How Is It to Be Done? Democratic Process and Building the Public Domain 11. Escaping Dystopia

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Book SynopsisIn a series of 50 accessible essays, Adam Fleming introduces and explains the history, key ideas and tools of democracy developed by some of the world's greatest thinkers - spanning from the ancient Greeks to the present day.From the right to vote to the monarchy, viral politics to Brexit, 50 Democracy Ideas You Really Need to Know is a complete introduction to the most important democracy ideas throughout history.

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Book SynopsisAmerica’s most canceled intellectual presents a scorching defence of free thought and a devastating indictment of a left that has lost its way. Norman Finkelstein made his name debunking Israel’s apologists and exposing the cynical weaponization of Jewish history. In this work, Finkelstein trains that same forensic eye on identity politics writ large. After methodically parsing the canonical identity-politics texts, Finkelstein concludes that they’re lacking in intellectual substance. Instead, the real purpose of identity politics is to derail a class-based movement bent on radical change. Finkelstein shows how the cult surrounding Barack Obama used identity politics to burnish a status quo president’s radical sheen. When a truly progressive movement cohered around presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, these “woke” liberals mobilised identity politics to discredit him. Along the way, Finkelstein recalls his own life in radical politics and his close encounters with cancel culture, which left him unemployed and unemployable. He situates his personal story within broader debates on academic freedom and poignantly concludes that, although occasionally bitter, he harbors no regrets about the choices he made. “If I can’t laugh, I don’t want your revolution,” Finkelstein declares. Laced with his signature wit, readers of this book will get to laugh along with him. This revised edition of Finkelstein’s instant classic features a new chapter dissecting the Supreme Court''s landmark decisions on affirmative action. In a bracingly original analysis, Finkelstein shows the stark limits of affirmative action discourse in the face of an economic system that is fundamentally rigged.

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Book Synopsis'Mulhall watches the extreme right revival from the inside - as an anti-fascist infiltrator criss-crossing the global networks of modern fascism - but he brings a deep analytical focus. By the end of it we understand one thing: the threat of a second fascist era is real.' Paul Mason, author of Postcapitalism'An urgent missive from the global frontlines of the fight against fascism.' Nima Elbagir, CNN Senior International Correspondent A terrifying and timely look at the spread of far-right movements across the globe.Joe Mulhall knows what it's like to stare fascism in the face. For a decade, often undercover at significant personal risk, he has investigated hate groups.He infiltrated a US white supremacist militia, set up a fake Ku Klux Klan branch, has been on countless street marches with violent far-right groups across Europe, and got inside some of the most important 'alt-right' meetings ever held. Brazil, India and the US are still in thrall to authoritarian populism, and far-right views have become steadily normalised in mainstream politics. Mulhall's dramatic experiences on the front line of anti-fascist activism, coupled with his academic research, clearly explain the roots of both elected and non-elected far-right movements across the globe. Above all, he concludes, the far right should not be dehumanised - they are normal people, but with dangerous beliefs that can be defeated.'Joe has had a unique view of the far right over the past decade as it transformed from a marginal subculture into one of the defining political currents of our time. He understands how these groups think and operate, and is perfectly placed to guide readers through this disturbing but vital story.' Daniel Trilling, journalist and author of Lights In The Distance: Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe'Few, if any, are better placed to write a book of this breadth and scale than Joe Mulhall.' Mark Townsend, Home Affairs editor of the ObserverTrade ReviewMulhall watches the extreme right revival from the inside - as an anti-fascist infiltrator criss-crossing the global networks of modern fascism - but he brings a deep analytical focus. By the end of it we understand one thing: the threat of a second fascist era is real. * Paul Mason, author of Postcapitalism *Few, if any, are better placed to write a book of this breadth and scale than Joe Mulhall. Not only increasingly pertinent, the global far right needs to be understood on all levels if it is to be tamed. Many, me included, would enthusiastically embrace such a book. * Mark Townsend, Observer Home Affairs Editor and author of No Return: The True Story of How Martyrs are Made *Joe has had a unique view of the far right over the past decade as it transformed from a marginal subculture into one of the defining political currents of our time. He understands how these groups think and operate, and is perfectly placed to guide readers through this disturbing but vital story. * Daniel Trilling, author of Bloody Nasty People: The Rise of Britain’s Far Right *An urgent missive from the global frontlines of the fight against fascism. * Nima Elbagir, CNN Senior International Correspondent *A blend of journalism, history, and memoir, Drums in the Distance serves as a dramatic warning of the resurgence of racialized violence and the normalization of extremism in public life and politics around the world. [The book] documents the growing danger of far-right extremism and makes a convincing argument for doing something about it. * Foreword Reviews *What struck me about [Drums in the Distance] is that Joe Mulhall is someone who has walked the walk [...] and he also offers fascinating analysis into the global Far Right movement. * Mobeen Azhar, BBC Radio 5 Live *

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Book Synopsis'Mulhall watches the extreme right revival from the inside - as an anti-fascist infiltrator criss-crossing the global networks of modern fascism - but he brings a deep analytical focus. By the end of it we understand one thing: the threat of a second fascist era is real.' Paul Mason, author of Postcapitalism'An urgent missive from the global frontlines of the fight against fascism.' Nima Elbagir, CNN Senior International Correspondent A terrifying and timely look at the spread of far-right movements across the globe.Joe Mulhall knows what it's like to stare fascism in the face. For a decade, often undercover at significant personal risk, he has investigated hate groups.He infiltrated a US white supremacist militia, set up a fake Ku Klux Klan branch, has been on countless street marches with violent far-right groups across Europe, and got inside some of the most important 'alt-right' meetings ever held. Brazil, India and the US are still in thrall to authoritarian populism, and far-right views have become steadily normalised in mainstream politics. Mulhall's dramatic experiences on the front line of anti-fascist activism, coupled with his academic research, clearly explain the roots of both elected and non-elected far-right movements across the globe. Above all, he concludes, the far right should not be dehumanised - they are normal people, but with dangerous beliefs that can be defeated.'Joe has had a unique view of the far right over the past decade as it transformed from a marginal subculture into one of the defining political currents of our time. He understands how these groups think and operate, and is perfectly placed to guide readers through this disturbing but vital story.' Daniel Trilling, journalist and author of Lights In The Distance: Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe'Few, if any, are better placed to write a book of this breadth and scale than Joe Mulhall.' Mark Townsend, Home Affairs editor of the ObserverTrade ReviewMulhall watches the extreme right revival from the inside - as an anti-fascist infiltrator criss-crossing the global networks of modern fascism - but he brings a deep analytical focus. By the end of it we understand one thing: the threat of a second fascist era is real. * Paul Mason, author of Postcapitalism *Few, if any, are better placed to write a book of this breadth and scale than Joe Mulhall. Not only increasingly pertinent, the global far right needs to be understood on all levels if it is to be tamed. Many, me included, would enthusiastically embrace such a book. * Mark Townsend, Observer Home Affairs Editor and author of No Return: The True Story of How Martyrs are Made *Joe has had a unique view of the far right over the past decade as it transformed from a marginal subculture into one of the defining political currents of our time. He understands how these groups think and operate, and is perfectly placed to guide readers through this disturbing but vital story. * Daniel Trilling, author of Bloody Nasty People: The Rise of Britain’s Far Right *An urgent missive from the global frontlines of the fight against fascism. * Nima Elbagir, CNN Senior International Correspondent *A blend of journalism, history, and memoir, Drums in the Distance serves as a dramatic warning of the resurgence of racialized violence and the normalization of extremism in public life and politics around the world. [The book] documents the growing danger of far-right extremism and makes a convincing argument for doing something about it. * Foreword Reviews *What struck me about [Drums in the Distance] is that Joe Mulhall is someone who has walked the walk [...] and he also offers fascinating analysis into the global Far Right movement. * Mobeen Azhar, BBC Radio 5 Live *

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Book SynopsisHow do we explain the strange survival of the forcesresponsible for the 2008 economic crisis, one of the worst since 1929? How do we explain the fact that neoliberalism has emerged from the crisis strengthened? When it broke, a number of the most prominent economists hastened to announce the 'death' of neoliberalism. They regarded the pursuit of neoliberal policy as the fruit of dogmatism.For Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval, neoliberalism is no mere dogma. Supported by powerful oligarchies, it is a veritable politico-institutional system that obeys a logic of self-reinforcement. Far from representing a break, crisis has become a formidably effective mode of government.In showing how this system crystallized and solidified, the book explains that the neoliberal straitjacket has succeeded in preventing any course correction by progressively deactivating democracy. Increasing the disarray and demobilization, the so-called 'governmental' Left has actively helped strengthen this oligarchical logic. The latter could lead to a definitive exit from democracy in favour of expertocratic governance, free of any control.However, nothing has been decided yet. The revival of democratic activity, which we see emerging in the political movements and experiments of recent years, is a sign that the political confrontation with the neoliberal system and the oligarchical bloc has already begun.Trade ReviewNever Ending Nightmare: How Neoliberalism Defeats Democracy comprehensively deconstructs the strategies of a global instrumental rationality that seeks to bring about the end of democracy. -- Cynthia Fleury * L’Humanité *This essay has a singular resonance at the contemporary moment; it echoes with urgency and immediacy. -- Céline Mouzon * Alternatives Économiques *For the most maximalist theorists of neoliberalism in thought and practice, look no further. -- Quinn Slobodian, author of Globalists : The End of Empire and the Birth of NeoliberalismDardot and Laval present the post-2008 radicalization of neoliberalism as a nightmare and an opportunity. The nightmare is the stranglehold of a system of norms and treaties that benefit the oligarchy while immiserating the rest of us. The opportunity stems from the complete break between the elites and everybody else; neoliberalism has lost even the veneer of legitimacy. The challenge facing the Left is whether we can develop the political vision - and capacity - that will make this an opportunity for us. -- Jodi Dean, author of The Communist Horizon and Crowds and PartyBuilding on their previous historical analysis of neoliberal rationality, Dardot and Laval now paint a much starker, more terrifying portrait of neoliberalism, that is alert to its violence and unyielding political logic. Never Ending Nightmare presents us with a bleak but compelling account of how neoliberal government has abandoned all pretence of democratic legitimacy. -- William Davies, author of Nervous States: How feeling took over the worldDardot and Laval's provocative study offers important insights with regard to the current state of radicalization of neoliberalism. Although the interpretation of the EU as a quintessential ordoliberal project will surely trigger objections, their emphasis on legal norms as social technology to advance neoliberal transformations is very well taken. Critical examination of forms of neoliberal oligarchy goes beyond staples of post-democracy. Aficionados of both national populism and traditional party organizations will dislike their message for those on the left who are keen to develop an alternative imaginary of the future. -- Dieter Plehwe, co-editor of The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making of the Neoliberal Thought Collective

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Book SynopsisIdeas that are employed to legitimize and make us consent to authority and its hierarchies also disempower us, leaving us anxious, depressed, and discontent. They are constantly hammered into us by the media, by our friends and family, and by institutions. They also come to us by way of films, motivational speakers, business gurus, as well as in the actions we take in our everyday lives and in the experiences of who we are. In The Ruling Ideas: How They Ruin Society and Make You Miserable, Ari Ofengenden examines many of these ideas, such as the entrepreneurial-self, the utility-oriented economic man, technological progress, virtues and values, as well as family values, God, nation and race. Ofengenden provides a deft analysis, on the one hand, of the beliefs we hold, the ideas behind them that make us consent to the social order, and how we often fool ourselves into believing these ideas; on the other hand, the author proffers a way to combat these ideas, to live without them and develop alternatives.

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Book SynopsisIn The Rise of Neoliberal Philosophy: Human Capital, Profitable Knowledge, and the Love of Wisdom, Brandon Absher argues that the neoliberal transformation of higher education has resulted in a paradigm shift in philosophy in the United States, leading to the rise of neoliberal philosophy. Neoliberal philosophy seeks to attract investment by demonstrating that it can produce optimal return. Further, philosophers in the neoliberal paradigm internalize and reproduce the values of the prevailing social order in their work, reorienting philosophical desire toward the production of attractive commodities. The aim of philosophy in the neoliberal university, Absher shows, has become the production of human capital and profitable knowledge.Trade Review"This is an important book that should be part of a national conversation at APA conferences and in all philosophy departments. Professional philosophers ought to ask ourselves what kind of philosophy we support and when (not if) will marginalized, especially BIPOC faculty, move to the center to reconceptualize the discipline from below. As someone who hosts a large philosophy for children’s project at various educational sites, including a forest school for unschooled children, I was pleased to learn that such an initiative is validated as 'two-dimensional' philosophizing. In fact, as Brandon Absher argues, the Neoliberal University tolerates only one-kind: one-dimensional philosophy that performs its performativity for optimization of ROIs, which, of course, is nothing short of sophistry in our late capitalist era. With a stirring call for action, he deftly critiques the monochromatic content and demographics of most philosophy departments and implores us to engage in a pedagogy of discontent." -- Mechthild Nagel, SUNY Cortland"Brandon Absher offers an important and timely update to John McCumber’s argument that American philosophy sold itself out to the political needs of Cold War America, except now it has succumbed to profit hungry neoliberalism. The author shows how this has fundamentally altered and adulterated what it is to do philosophy, further shifting it away from love and wisdom towards profitable knowledge." -- Justin Pack, CSU Stanislaus"Drawing upon thinkers such as Hebert Marcuse, Wendy Brown, and Jean-François Lyotard , The Rise of Neoliberal Philosophy diagnoses the many ills that have befallen philosophy in the contemporary market-driven university while proposing a radical cure. Returning to the roots of philosophy in the figure of Socrates, Absher argues that philosophy must work together with the oppressed masses that neoliberalism forgot in order to show how another world is possible." -- Corey McCall, Cornell Prison Education Program"Brandon Absher offers a thoughtful treatment of the effects of neoliberalism on the discipline of philosophy. While many in the humanities attempt to make the case for their discipline’s value to neoliberalism, Absher challenges us to chart a new path. After analyzing the transition from Cold War Philosophy to Neoliberal Philosophy, he imagines new possibilities for the practice of philosophy that are more capacious, inclusive of diverse publics, and liberatory. The Rise of Neoliberal Philosophy will be of interest to those outside the field of philosophy, as well, as Absher presents a helpful framework for understanding many of the troubling changes within higher education over the past century." -- Sarah Vitale, Ball State University"Absher rightly argues that the Neoliberal University has become 'one-dimensional' in adjusting us all to 'the prevailing social order.' We know that our social order has hurled us into global warming and that to stay our course is a 'suicide pact.' We need new philosophies and new theories of the university. A future is only possible if we become different, which begins with thinking differently." -- Tanya Loughead, Canisius CollegeAbsher’s writing is clear and his argumentation is solid. The focus of most books on neoliberalism and academia is on the university in general, but Absher narrows the attention to the discipline of philosophy. For philosophers this brings the analysis much closer to home. It enables the author to turn a critical eye to the language and practices of key institutional powerbrokers like the philosophical gourmet and the APA…. As Absher correctly notes, neoliberalism tends to suck everything into itself. Frankly it is not clear that academic philosophers have the integrity to do what needs to be done. Further analysis is needed on why not: if philosophers are thinkers, why does there seem to be so much thoughtlessness and inaction about neoliberalization? Of course, that the book leads to further questions is an indication that it is asking important ones. Hopefully it will be widely read and inspire change. * Radical Philosophy Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: Philosophy in the Neoliberal UniversityChapter 2: The Performativity of Neoliberal PhilosophyChapter 3: The One-Dimensionality of Neoliberal PhilosophyChapter 4: Diversity and Neoliberal PhilosophyChapter 5: Toward an Alternative ParadigmConclusionBibliography

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Book SynopsisThe election of Barack Obama as President of the United States was a defining moment in American history. After years of failed policies, Barack Obama was given the chance to reclaim the American dream. He proved himself to be a new kind of leader - one who could bring people together, be honest about the challenges we all face and move his nation forward. Change We Can Believe In outlines his vision for America and its standing in the world.Trade ReviewObama radiates an ethos of integrity, humanity, good manners and elegance * * New York Times * *The best kind of storyteller * * Observer * *Like Bill Clinton, he has the knack of weaving together the personal and the anecdotal with the political and the conceptual, so that each point seems both persuasive and commonsensical * * Guardian * *"Yes we can" is the best political statement of the century so far * * The Times * *Speaking in public seems to be both a personal need and a political creed for Obama. He is not just a fine orator: he is consciously putting oratory at the centre of his political being - and in doing so seeks to embed himself in a vital American tradition * * Financial Times * *The speeches are crafted for Obama as a great orator; on the page they still sing with sincerity * * The Times * *An impassioned speaker whose eloquence ranks with that of Abraham Lincoln * * New York Times * *The most exciting politician of the day * * Independent * *

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Book SynopsisCapitalism now dominates the globe, both in economics and ideology, shapes every aspect of our world and influences everything from laws, wars and government to interpersonal relationships. Introducing Capitalism tells the story of its remarkable and often ruthless rise, evolving through strife and struggle as much as innovation and enterprise. Dan Cryan and Sharron Shatil, with Piero's brilliant graphics, cover the major economic, social and political developments that shaped the world we live in, such as the rise of banking, the founding of America and the Opium Wars.The book explores the leading views for and against, including thinkers like Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Theodor Adorno and Milton Friedman, the connections between them and their historical context. Few ideas have had as much impact on our everyday lives as capitalism. Introducing Capitalism is the essential companion.

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Book SynopsisOutcast is an exploration - and explanation - of how the very possibility of recognising anti-Jewish racism has been displaced by the commonplace leftist belief that when Jewish people cry 'antisemitism!' their true intent is to cover up the real racism propagated by Israel against the Palestinians. This has come about through the academic notion that racism is a colonial phenomenon of 'white over black' domination, as well as the antisemitic idea of 'the Jewish question': that something must be done about the harm Jews pose to humanity. Outcast shows that when both are translated into an understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Zionism and all associated Jews become the representation of racism incarnate, demanding the unprecedented wipe-out of Israel. As a route forward, Camila Bassi offers an analysis of the conflict through the wider historical context of European antisemitism, colonialism and nationalism, and free from 'the Jewish question'. Escaping the confines of identity politics, including 'racial' identity politics, based on the idea that there are intrinsic differences dividing and excluding humanity, Outcast makes the case for a genuinely universal politics of human liberation.Trade Review'Through a forensic and detailed excavation, Bassi illustrates the subtle and insidious ways antisemitic tropes, presumptions and fallacies continue to creep into a wide range of academic arguments and left-wing political policies. Singular in its willingness to swim against the currents of so many contemporary political tides, this is a substantive academic work that should stimulate academic debate far beyond its immediate subject matter.' -- Dr Mitch Rose, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Aberystwyth University'Outcast makes an original and unusually valuable contribution to the existing literature on contemporary Left antisemitism. This compelling book, drawing as it does on direct experience as well as on key scholarly work, provides a searching analysis which also demonstrates some welcome hope of redemption.' -- Lesley Klaff, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 1991 Elaine and David Spitz Book Prize for the best book on liberal and/or democratic theory, this book discusses what democracy is and why it is important. It examines basic assumptions of democratic theory and tests them against the questions raised by critics.Trade Review"Like democratic theory itself, Dahl's book is hugely inspiring. . . . this is a hugely impressive book, which traces the assumptions of democratic theory from 5th-century Athens to the present day and beyond. it is remarkable for its sustained attempt to connect theory and practice."—Susan Mendus, The Times Higher Education Supplement"One of the foremost contemporary theorists of pluralist democracy."—Jack Lively, Times Literary Supplement"[This book] could not have come at a more opportune moment. . . . Democracy and Its Critics is a work of extraordinary intelligence and, what is even rarer, a work of extraordinary wisdom. Mr. Dahl writes clearly and effectively. . . . The discussion is fresh and illuminating, the treatment of alternative views careful and respectful, the difficulties in his own views spelled out in detail. An attentive reader of this book will receive a real education in the meaning of democracy. . . . Beneath all the moderation and devotion to intellectual clarity that are so evident in this book, there is the moving presence of a profound passion for democracy."—Robert N. Bellah, New York Times Book Review"America's leading expert on democratic theory delivers his magnum opus."—Philadelphia Inquirer"Like democratic theory itself, Dahl's book is hugely inspiring. . . . This is a hugely impressive book, which traces the assumptions of democratic theory from 5th-century Athens to the present day and beyond. it is remarkable for its sustained attempt to connect theory and practice."—Susan Mendus, The Times Higher Education Supplement"Dahl defends democracy against various criticisms, including anarchism and its tenet that even democracy is coercive. . . . A necessary purchase."—David Steiniche, Library Journal"A necessary purchase for graduate libraries and recommended for undergraduate and public libraries."—Library Journal"Robert Dahl is one of the great communicators. . . . Democracy and its Critics sums up a career of 30 years as the leading American writer on the theory and the practice of democratic government."—Alan Ryan, New Statesman and SocietyWinner of the 1991 Elaine and David Spitz Book Award given by the International Conference for the Study of Political Thought for the best book published on liberal and/or democratic theory Winner of the 1990 Woodrow Wilson Foundation Book Award given by the American Political Science Association for the best book published in the United States during the previous year on government, politics, or international affairs "Robert Dahl is both a subtle analyst and a staunch defender of democratic values. What impresses me most is that he sees democracy not just as something fixed or given, but as a process that needs to be extended into every area of society, the economic as well as the political. His new book continues his splendid work."—Irving Howe"This elegantly written book presents a synthesis of over thirty years of work by America's leading post-war democratic theorist. Dahl's clear, incisive style will appeal to the general reader as well as to specialists in political theory and comparative politics."—Alan Ware, University of WarwickTable of ContentsPart 1 The sources of modern democracy: the first transformation - to the democratic city-state; toward the second transformation - republicanism, representation, and the logic of equality. Part 2 Adversarial critics: anarchism; guardianship; a critique of guardianship. Part 3 A theory of the democratic process: justifications - the idea of equal intrinsic worth; personal autonomy; a theory of the democratic process; the problem of inclusion. Part 4 Problems in the democratic process: majority rule and the democratic process; majority rule - practise; process and substance; process versus process; when is a people entitled to the democratic process? Part 5 The limits and possibilities of democracy: the second democratic transformation - from the city-state to the nation-state; democracy, polyarchy, and participation; how polyarchy developed in some countries and not others; is minority domination inevitable?; pluralism, polyarchy and the common good; common good as process and substance. Part 6 Toward a third transformation: democracy in tomorrow's world; sketches for an advanced democratic country.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"In her disturbing book Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right, Professor Cynthia Miller-Idriss argues convincingly that “innovative, flexible and youth-driven ideas” are vital in the battle to counter the online transnational recruiting of fascist zealots."---Martin Chilton, The Independent"A timely book that calls for vigilance against extremism in hitherto unexpected corners, online and off." * Kirkus Reviews *"This is an incredible book . . . that I found impossible to put down. Miller-Idriss has put it together here; the actors, the methods, and the history." * Jason Stanley on Twitter *"In Hate in the Homeland Cynthia Miller-Idriss describes how ideas once limited to extremist circles, such as that of a 'demographic replacement'—whereby American citizens will be overrun—are now promoted by mainstream figures such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham of Fox News." * The Economist *"Miller-Idriss explains [how] the market for hate is thriving."---Eric Spitznagel, New York Post"Hate in the Homeland locates the issue within a broader analytic context and opens avenues for scholars to develop more fulsome conceptualizations of radicalization and recruitment into far-right extremist ideologies."---Kelsey C. Boismier, Symbolic Interactions"Hate in the Homeland is an important contribution to our understandings of the places and spaces in which young people encounter extremist messages. The author does an excellent job of guiding readers through what can be a tricky epistemological terrain, providing a comprehensive, accessible and thoughtful overview of what the far right is, what they believe and the places and spaces they inhabit. The book will undoubtedly prove very useful to scholars working in the field as well as readers unfamiliar with the topic."---Katherine Williams, London School of Economics Review of Books"Hate in the Homeland is the best account I have read so far on how extensive the mainstreaming of the far right is."---Katrine Fangen, Norsk sosiologisk tidsskrift"It is an important book for anyone trying to piece together what has been happening for the past few years and what can be done about it, because the far right is trending, and it sure shows no sign of withering away."---Axelle Germanaz, Amerikastudien

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Book SynopsisLevi-Strauss continues his assault on the myth of the primitice as savage by turning to the phenomena of totemism an totoemix classification ... to show, contrary to this myth, that primitive thought rests upon a rich and complex conceptual structure. - Commentary

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Book SynopsisKeith Tribe’s new translation presents Economy and Society as it stood when Max Weber died. One of the world’s leading experts on Weber’s thought, Tribe has produced a clear and faithful translation that will become the definitive English edition of one of the few indisputably great intellectual works of the past 150 years.Trade ReviewMax Weber is out of style…It is about time for a reappraisal, and an excellent opportunity has been provided in the form of Keith Tribe’s new translation of Weber’s masterpiece. -- Nick Burns * New Criterion *A boon to first-time readers of Weber as well as specialist scholars. -- Joshua Derman * Journal of Modern History *Keith Tribe is one of the best Weberians around, and has been for decades. This excellent translation will make Max Weber’s work more readily available to a new generation of scholars. Weber’s major ideas never go stale, and Tribe’s translation will assure reliable access to them. -- Alan Sica, Pennsylvania State UniversityHarvard University Press could not have found a better translator than Keith Tribe for this project, and no Anglophone writer knows Weber better. Tribe has produced a fine translation that will help the non-specialist appreciate the greatness of Weber’s work. -- Peter Baehr, Lingnan University, Hong KongThe great Anglo-American tradition of Max Weber translation has never been more necessary than today, when English is the near-universal language of the academy and the German-language understanding of Weber has recently undergone a revolution. Keith Tribe brings us up to date with a new and appropriately revolutionary re-presentation of Max Weber’s final text of Economy and Society. In the 1960s Economy and Society was said to be the ABC of sociological theory; now we can see it is the Everest. -- Peter Ghosh, University of OxfordGenerations of sociologists have thought they really understood what Max Weber was really doing in writing Economy and Society. Historians have long known this is more mythology than reality. And Keith Tribe has been one of the leading figures in putting back into proper context the emergence of those bits of text we can be certain that Weber was most on top of before he died. Tribe’s introduction to this volume is exemplary, letting us see quite how original and still surprising the first several chapters of Weber’s approach to action, interpretation, meaning and the conceptual construction of the economy are. Furthermore, his new translation, with its greater fidelity to the original texts and clarity in its presentation of Weber’s emphatic and didactic intent, effectively gives English-language readers a completely new text, and thus a new Weber, to grapple with. -- Duncan Kelly, University of Cambridge

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Book SynopsisRethinking Political Thinkers explores a uniquely diverse set of political thinkers, from traditionally canonical theorists such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Mill, to marginalized women and thinkers of colour, such as hooks, Du Bois, Butler, Fanon, Firestone, Said, and Goldman. Placing traditional thinkers alongside and in conversation with neglected and unheard voices opens up important debates, and presents political thought in a new light. Each thinker is examined within the contexts of patriarchy, white supremacy, and imperialism, and the relations and structures of race, gender, and class which different theories have reflected, defended, or challenged. The text is organized thematically, rather than simply chronologically, in order to explore central ideas such as social contract theory and its critics, freedom and revolution, the liberal self and black consciousness, colonial domination, and the environment. In each chapter students are encouraged to thinTrade ReviewThis well-conceived and well-executed book offers accessible and thoughtful chapters on theorists (including Gandhi, C.L.R. James, DuBois and Fanon) and themes (including black consciousness and colonial domination) that do not usually find a place in political theory textbooks, and yet have been central to political thinking in modern times. It will be welcomed by teachers and students who want to avoid the seemingly incorrigible Eurocentrism of their discipline. * Sanjay Seth, Professor and Director of the Centre for Postcolonial Theory, Goldsmiths, and author of Beyond Reason: Postcolonial Theory and the Social Sciences (OUP 2020). *The book provides a refreshing overview of key political thinkers, bringing to the fore ideas and authors which have long been unjustly neglected in the discipline and thus offering a richer and more inclusive introduction to the defining questions and debates in political theory. * Dr Davide Schmid, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK *Rethinking Political Thinkers answers a long-felt need of students and faculty alike. Through obviously careful planning, Ramgotra and Choat have pulled together a superb resource to restructure political theory curricula so as to bring critical engagement with questions of race, gender, sexuality, and colonialism into university coursespositioning such questions as integral rather than supplemental to understanding the history, present, and future of political theory. Rethinking political Thinkers will very quickly become an essential text for undergraduate courses. * Dr Samantha Frost, Professor, University of Illinois, USA *This is the dream textbook we have been looking for. It offers a way to rethink the teaching of political theory that does not abandon the canon, but instead expands and interrogates it, situating the thinkers within contemporary concerns. * Dr David Moon, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Bath, UK *An excellent volume which can be used to widen the curriculum of political theory to include more diverse authors and cover important subjects such as colonialism, imperialism, slavery, non-Western philosophy, feminism and poststructuralism critiques. Accessible for students, and a clear resource for lecturers keen to vary their teaching, it is a welcome addition to the field. * Dr Charles Devellennes, Senior Lecturer in Political and Social Thought, University of Kent, UK *This is a ground-breaking introduction to political thought. It offers an indispensable tool for students and teachers and shows how political theory can be taught in a way that respects diversity and shows the radical potential of political thought. * Dr Alasia Nuti, Senior Lecturer, University of York, UK *This timely volume highlights positive possibilities for the future of political theory and philosophy. By refocusing our attentions on many of those intellectual voices who have usually held them the least, the volume's chapters refuse-in theme and method- to narrowly conform to the accepted modes of the discipline. Indeed, the volume excels in making clear that, should it wish to, political theory and philosophy are eminently capable of allowing for innovations in thought and method drawn from as full an epistemic range as the historical and contemporary world offers. As the editors emphasise, the benefit will be to the discipline and, also, to the intellectual understandings of our societies. Certainly, this volume will inspire new and diverse entrants into political thought- who will, as a result, be unafraid to break and cultivate ever more original ground. * Dr Eniola Anuoluwapo Soyemi, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, UK *Table of ContentsI. Boundaries of the Political 1: Simon Choat and Manjeet Ramgotra: Introduction 2: Patrizia Longo: Plato, Socrates and Sojourner Truth 3: Manjeet Ramgotra: Aristotle and bell hooks 4: Deepshikha Shahi: Kautilya II. Social Contract Theory and its Critics 5: Signy Gutnick-Allen: Thomas Hobbes 6: Caroline Williams: Baruch de Spinoza 7: Hagar Kotef: John Locke 8: Allauren Forbes: Mary Astell 9: Peter Hallward: Jean-Jacques Rousseau 10: Terrell Carver: Carole Pateman and Charles Mills III. Liberal Modernity and Colonial Domination 11: Manjeet Ramgotra: Charles-Louis de Secondat Montesquieu 12: Inder S. Marwah: John Stuart Mill 13: Simon Choat: Karl Marx 14: Willow Verkerk: Friedrich Nietzsche 15: Ayesha Omar: Sayyid Qutb 16: Edward W. Said, Rahul Rao IV. Freedom and Revolution 17: Alan Coffee: Catharine Macaulay and Edmund Burke 18: Robbie Shilliam: C. L. R. James 19: Kei Hiruta: Hannah Arendt 20: Viren Murthy: Zhang Taiyan V. Inclusion and Equality 21: Ashley Dodsworth: Mary Wollstonecraft 22: Neus Torbisco-Casals: Iris Marion Young 23: Varun Uberoi: Bhikhu Parekh 24: Nikita Dhawan: Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak VI. Violence, Power, and Resistance 25: Yves Winter: Niccolo Machiavelli 26: Ruth Kinna: Emma Goldman 27: James Casas Klausen: Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi 28: Keally McBride: Frantz Fanon VII. The Liberal Self and Black Consciousness 29: Stella Sandford: Immanuel Kant 30: Kiara Gilbert and Karen Salt: Frederick Douglass 31: Elvira Basevich: W. E. B. Dubois 32: Maeve McKeown: John Rawls VIII. Sex and Sexuality 33: Paul Patton: Michel Foucault 34: Victoria Margree: Shulamith Firestone 35: Manjeet Ramgotra: Angela Davis 36: Clare Woodford: Judith Butler IX. The Environment, Human, and Non-Human 37: Eva-Maria Nag: Dipesh Chakrabarty 38: Claire Colebrook: Donna Haraway 39: Esme G. Murdock: Indigenous ecologies

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive blueprint for a new post-capitalist order?which values our collective future over immediate economic gainsThe fate of all economic systems is written in the energy flows they obtain from the natural world. Our collective humanity very much depends on nature?for joy, for comfort, and for sheer survival. In his prescient new book, The Physics of Capitalism, Erald Kolasi explores the deep ecological physics of human existence by developing a new theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between economic systems and the wider natural world. Nature is full of complex and dynamic systems that are constantly interacting with our societies. The collective physical interactions of the natural world guide and forge many fundamental features of human societies and civilizations. Humanity does not exist on a magical pedestal above the rest of reality; we are just one slice in a grand continuum of physical systems that interact, combine, and transform over time. We too belong to the natural world. And it?s this critical fact that controls the long-term fate of our economies and civilizations. Among all the living organisms that have called this blue marble home, humans are a very recent species. In that short period of time, we have managed to become one of the most dominant life forms in the history of the planet, creating powerful civilizations with elaborate cultures, large populations, and extensive trade networks. We have been nomads and farmers, scientists and lawyers, nurses and doctors, welders and blacksmiths. Our achievements are both astonishing and unprecedented, but they also carry great risks. Throughout history, economic growth has depended heavily on people converting more energy from their natural environments and concentrating the resulting energy flows towards the application of specific tasks. The economic and demographic growth of human civilization over the last ten thousand years has profoundly impacted natural ecosystems throughout the planet, triggering major instabilities across the biosphere that threaten to reverberate on civilization and to destabilize its long-term trajectory. Swamped with multiple ecological challenges of historic proportions, global civilization now stands at a critical tipping point that deserves closer scrutiny. If we are to have any hope of addressing the difficult challenges we face, then we must begin by understanding them and appreciating their complexity. And then, we must act. This book offers a comprehensive blueprint for our collective future, pointing the way to a new post-capitalist order that can provide long-term viability and stability for human civilization on a global scale.

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Book SynopsisThis book demonstrates that populism's threat to democracy is less severe than often feared. The comprehensive, systematic analysis of contemporary Latin America and Europe over the last four decades and of the US under Trump shows that populist chief executives destroy democracy only under special, restrictive conditions.Trade Review'When do populists destroy democracy? In this nuanced and incisive analysis, Kurt Weyland argues that populist governments erode democracy only under specific conditions. This is a welcome and innovative intervention to an important debate.' Anna Grzymala-Busse, Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of International Studies, Stanford University'In this magisterial study, Weyland analyzes when and how democracies withstand the threat of populist authoritarianism. Weyland's comprehensive analysis is a must-read for all those interested in the prospects for democracy around the world - including for students of American politics who will see recent US experiences set in global perspective.' Frances Lee, Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, Princeton University'Many scholars assume that populism is a threat to democracy, but rarely do they specify how severe that threat is, or the conditions under which it is more or less likely to prove fatal to democracy. Kurt Weyland tackles that challenge in this ambitious and path-breaking book. Weyland compares populist leaders in thirty countries across Europe and Latin America to develop a theory of democratic resilience in the face of populist challenges. He demonstrates that most democratic regimes are capable of withstanding populist threats, and these threats are only likely to bring about democracy's demise under a restrictive set of conditions. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned about democracy's fate in the modern world and it offers critical insights for those seeking to identify the nature and sources of democratic resiliency.' Kenneth M. Roberts, Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government, Cornell UniversityTable of Contents1. The Populist Threat to Democracy; 2. How Institutional Constraints and Conjunctural Opportunities Condition Populism's Threat to Democracy; 3. Neoliberal and Rightwing Populism in Latin America; 4. 'Bolivarian' and Leftwing Populism in Latin America; 5. Rightwing and Traditionalist Populism in Europe; 6. Rightwing Populism in the US: Donald Trump in Comparative Perspective; 7. Conclusion: Theoretical and Comparative Implications.

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Book SynopsisLate in life, William F. Buckley made a confession to Corey Robin. Capitalism is boring, said the founding father of the American right. Devoting your life to it, as conservatives do, is horrifying if only because it''s so repetitious. It''s like sex. With this unlikely conversation began Robin''s decade-long foray into the conservative mind. What is conservatism, and what''s truly at stake for its proponents? If capitalism bores them, what excites them?Tracing conservatism back to its roots in the reaction against the French Revolution, Robin argues that the right is fundamentally inspired by a hostility to emancipating the lower orders. Some conservatives endorse the free market, others oppose it. Some criticize the state, others celebrate it. Underlying these differences is the impulse to defend power and privilege against movements demanding freedom and equality. Despite their opposition to these movements, conservatives favor a dynamic conception of politics and society--one that involves self-transformation, violence, and war. They are also highly adaptive to new challenges and circumstances. This partiality to violence and capacity for reinvention has been critical to their success.Written by a keen, highly regarded observer of the contemporary political scene, The Reactionary Mind ranges widely, from Edmund Burke to Antonin Scalia to Donald Trump, from John C. Calhoun to Ayn Rand. It advances the notion that all right-wing ideologies, from the eighteenth century through today, are historical improvisations on a theme: the felt experience of having power, seeing it threatened, and trying to win it back.When its first edition appeared in fall 2011, The Reactionary Mind set off a fierce debate, in the New York Review of Books, on academic blogs, and throughout the internet. So intense was the controversy that it became the subject of a profile in the New York Times. Now updated to include Trump''s election and the rise of global populism, The Reactionary Mind is more relevant than ever.Trade ReviewAcclaim for The Reactionary Mind:“Robin is an engaging writer, and just the kind of broad-ranging public intellectual all too often missing in academic political science…. Robin's arguments deserve widespread attention." * The New Republic *A very readable romp through the evils of Conservatism." * The Observer *The common opinion on the Left is that conservatives are fire-breathing idiots, who make up in heat what they lack in light. Robin's book is a welcome correction of this simplistic view and puts the debate where it ought to be: on the force and content of conservative ideas." * Dissent *This little book will continue to spark controversy, but that is not the reason to read it: it is a witty, erudite and opinionated account of one of the most significant movements of our times." * Times Higher Education *...written with panache. The series of scholarly strikes Robin makes against conventional wisdom are often exhilarating." * The Daily *The Reactionary Mind is a wonderfully good read. It combines up-to-the-minute relevance with an eye to the intellectual history of conservatism in all its protean forms, going back as far as Hobbes, and taking in not only restrained and sentimental defenders of tradition such as Burke, but his more violent, proto-fascist contemporary Joseph de Maistre. Some readers will enjoy Corey Robin's dismantling of different recent thinkers * Barry Goldwater, Antonin Scalia, Irving Kristol; others will enjoy his demolition of Ayn Rand's intellectual pretensions. Some will be uncomfortable when they discover that those who too lightly endorse state violence, and even officially sanctioned torture, include some of their friends. That is one of the things that makes this such a good book." Alan Ryan, Professor of Political Theory, Oxford University *A fascinating exploration of a central idea: that conservatism is, at its heart, a reaction against democratic challenges, in public and private life, to hierarchies of power and status. Corey Robin leads us through a series of case studies over the last few centuries * from Hobbes to Ayn Rand, from Burke to Sarah Palinshowing the power of this idea by illuminating conservatives both sublime and ridiculous." Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University *Table of ContentsTK

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A cornerstone for building a fairer and more inclusive society. A must-read." -- Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twenty-First CenturyTable of ContentsIntroduction: For a Fairer, More Democratic, Greener Society Julie Battilana Manifesto: Work. Democratize. Decommodify. Decarbonize. From the Politically Impossible to the Politically Inevitable: Taking Action Isabelle Ferreras Democratize Firms . . . Why, and How? Hélène Landemore Equal Dignity for All Citizens Means Equal Voice at Work: The Importance of Epistemic Justice Lisa Herzog Democratizing Work to Reverse Increasing Inequalities Imge Kaya-Sabanci Work in Dignity Adelle Blackett Dual Majorities for Firm Governments Sara Lafuente Rescuing Journalism by Decommodifying the Media Julia Cagé Decommodifying Work: The Power of a Job Guarantee Pavlina R. Tcherneva All Workers Produce Value Neera Chandhoke The Subaltern Worker-Body Speaks; Will the Privileged Listen? Flávia Máximo Sustaining Life on This Planet Alyssa Battistoni Working Against an End: Shifting Gears for a New Beginning Dominique Méda Acknowledgments About the Authors Index

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of historical memory and networks of meaning in the context of today’s crises of extremism and polarization.As authoritarianism continues to rise around the world, the stories we tell ourselves about what has happened and what is happening become ever more relevant. In Memory, Edited, Abby Smith Rumsey examines collective memory, how it binds us, and how it can be used by bad actors to manipulate us. Bringing forward the voices of a rich cast of Eastern European artists from the past two hundred years—from Fyodor Dostoevsky to Gerhard Richter—Rumsey shows how their work and lives illustrate the devastation wrought by regimes dependent on entrenched lies to survive. This hijacking of the narrative polarizes communities even as it commandeers our future.Through an interdisciplinary lens that includes the best thinking from history, the arts, cognitive science, psychology, and political philosophy, Rumsey lays bare our na

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