Description
Book SynopsisIf we hope to combat issues like climate change we must abandon individualistic approaches to activism. From Superstorm Sandy to Hurricane Katrina, the destructive power of climate change is impossible to deny, and yet we are told that 'buying green' will somehow end global warming. Confronting Injustice seeks to draw out the structural roots of man-made climate change and argues that today's activists must focus on mass collective action - like the recent mass mobilisation for climate justice in New York - and abandon hopeless consumer-based 'solutions'.
Trade Review"A highly recommended read for those who are interested in working together to transform society." Chelsey Rhodes, Founder of DelusionsofDevelopment.com "This book will force activists to check their intentions. I wasn't even halfway done before I wanted to share it with everyone I knew." Maryama Ahmed, Toronto-based Community Organizer Confronting Injustice is a wide-ranging and unflinching look at the global nature of the challenges contemporary activists seek to address. Its blend of environmental and anti-imperialist analysis, grounded in direct organizing experience, makes this a powerful and important resource. Dru Oja Jay, coauthor of Paved with Good Intentions What [Umair] provides is an opening statement in an important discussion that activists must have....A must-read book for today’s activists” Ian Angus, author of Too Many People? "Decades ago, I and my friends agonized over... our first steps in radical politics. But it was much easier then to find answers than it is now in the context of the relentlessly individualistic culture of neoliberalism. Muhammad has done well in his original and effective argument for commitment to collective and transformative social action." John Riddell, Toward the United Front: Proceedings of the Fourth Congress of the Communist International, 1922
"A highly recommended read for those who are interested in working together to transform society." —Chelsey Rhodes, Founder of DelusionsofDevelopment.com "This book will force activists to check their intentions. I wasn't even halfway done before I wanted to share it with everyone I knew." —Maryama Ahmed, Toronto-based Community Organizer Confronting Injustice is a wide-ranging and unflinching look at the global nature of the challenges contemporary activists seek to address. Its blend of environmental and anti-imperialist analysis, grounded in direct organizing experience, makes this a powerful and important resource. —Dru Oja Jay, coauthor of Paved with Good Intentions “What [Umair] provides is an opening statement in an important discussion that activists must have....A must-read book for today’s activists” —Ian Angus, author of Too Many People? "Decades ago, I and my friends agonized over... our first steps in radical politics. But it was much easier then to find answers than it is now in the context of the relentlessly individualistic culture of neoliberalism. Muhammad has done well in his original and effective argument for commitment to collective and transformative social action." —John Riddell, Toward the United Front: Proceedings of the Fourth Congress of the Communist International, 1922
Table of Contents• Chapter 1: The Age of Individualism Argues that the culture of individualism is an outgrowth of capitalism, and discusses the various ways in which this culture negatively impacts our activism. • Chapter 2: Inequality and Activism Discusses the historical roots of global inequality and highlights the failures of liberalism to combat it -- this chapter is in significant part framed as a critique of Peter Singer's popular book The Life You Can Save. • Chapter 3: Climate Change and Activism Points out that the environmental crisis has its roots in the structures of our social system. (The material in this chapter covers some of the same ground as Chris Williams’ Ecology and Socialism, which Haymarket published in 2010. Chris was given a copy of Confronting Injustice a few months ago and he wrote me an encouraging email about it.) • Chapter 4: The Way Forward Makes the case that we have to struggle to achieve socialism in order to create socially just and environmentally sustainable world. A pdf of the book is attached for you to review. If it turns out that Haymarket wants to publish Confronting Injustice, I would be interested in writing an afterword for the new edition.
