Politics/Current Affairs

Why Don\'t The Poor Rise Up? Organizing the Twenty-First Century Resistance

Michael Truscello & Ajamu Nangwaya

Poverty is on the rise, especially since the 2008 economic meltdown. Riots and urban insurrections are also on the rise, and are becoming increasingly confrontational and intense. Why Don't the Poor Rise Up? asks why the former hasn't led to more of the latter, and discusses how that can - and is likely to - change within the coming years. It is a vibrant collection of essays about the ways in which the poor are defined, the ways they resist, and the obstacles to that resistance both expanding and succeeding.

Sexuality And Socialism. History, Politics, and Theory of LGBT Liberation

Sherry Wolf

Sexuality and Socialism is a remarkably accessible analysis of many of the most challenging questions for those concerned with full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Inside are essays on the roots of LGBT oppression, the construction of sexual and gender identities, the history of the gay movement, and how to unite the oppressed and exploited to win sexual liberation for all. Sherry Wolf analyzes different theories about oppression--including those of Marxism, postmodernism, identity politics, and queer theory--and challenges myths about genes, gender, and sexuality. "Sexuality and Socialism is the most intelligent and enlightened discussion on sexuality to come from the Left in a long time. No other work that comes to my mind explains the history of sexuality and sexual repression in the United States as comprehensively and compellingly."--Ron Jacobs, Dissident Voice "Sherry Wolf: Lesbian, Activist, Communist & Badass-ist... spoke to a pre-National Equality March rally. She. Blew. It. Up."--Austin Chronicle "Sherry speaks with such eloquence and plain common sense that I can't help but want to know more about her ideas and convictions."--Derek Washington, "In the LV" radio host, Director of LGBT Outreach, Clark County Democratic Black Caucus "The icons of the new generation of activists are people like Lady Gaga, Dustin Lance Black, Judy Shephard, Lt. Daniel Choi (ret.) and Sherry Wolf (author of Sexuality and Socialism)."--Don Gorton, Join the Impact Board Member "Surprisingly funny, very readable and a fitting tome for a new movement in these troubled times."--Dave Zirin for Progressive's Best Books of 2009 "'What humans have constructed they can tear down.' This is the powerful insight of this rare book that is at once politically important, theoretically and historically sophisticated, and clearly written. Sexuality and Socialism is enlivened in its engagement with a number of controversies, including those over the alleged biological determination of homosexuality, the myth of Black homophobia, and the consequences of postmodernist theories for the politics of gay liberation. Above all else, Wolf puts forward a cogent defense of the Marxist tradition--long and wrongly reviled as homophobic in itself--as a way to explain how LGBT oppression arose and what we can do to put it to bed."--Dana Cloud, University of Texas at Austin Sherry Wolf is the associate editor of the International Socialist Review. She was on the executive committee of the National Equality March Oct. 11, 2009 and has written for publications including the Nation, MRZine, Counterpunch, Dissident Voice, and Socialist Worker and speaks frequently across the country on the struggle for LGBT liberation as well as a wide range of social and economic justice issue.

Extracting Profit. Imperialism, Neoliberalism, and the New Scramble for Africa

Lee Wengraf

A piercing historical explanation of poverty and inequality in African societies today and the social impact of resource-driven growth, Extracting Profit explains why Africa, in the first decade and a half of the twenty-first century, has undergone an economic boom. Rising global prices in oil and minerals have produced a scramble for Africa's natural resources, led by investment from U.S., European and Chinese companies, and joined by emerging economies from around the globe. African economies have reached new heights, even outpacing rates of growth seen in much of the rest of the world. Examined through the lens of case studies of the oil fields of the Niger River Delta, the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline and the East African infrastructure boom, this period of "Africa rising" did not lead to the creation of jobs, but has instead fueled the extraction of natural resources, profits accruing to global capital, and an increasingly wealthy African ruling class. Extracting Profit argues that the roots of today's social and economic conditions lie in the historical legacies of colonialism and the imposition of so-called "reforms" by global financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The chokehold of debt and austerity of the late twentieth century paved the way for severe assaults on African working classes through neoliberal privatization and deregulation. And while the scramble for Africa's resources has heightened the pace of ecological devastation, examples from Somalia and the West African Ebola outbreak reveal a frightening surge of militarization on the part of China and the U.S. Yet this "new scramble" has not gone unchallenged. With accounts of platinum workers' struggles in South Africa, Nigerian labor organizing and pro-democracy upheavals in Uganda and Burkina Faso, Extracting Profit offers several narratives of grassroots organizing and protest, pointing to the potential for resistance to global capital and fundamental change, in Africa and beyond.

The No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration

Peter Stalker

The End of The World As We Know It? Crisis, Resistance, and the Age of Austerity

Deric Shannon (ed)

Shannon explores the origins and ramifications of the Great Recession, as well as the experiences of those living through it. Crisis is a recurring trait of capitalism and a necessary one for the economy to continue as it does. How can we learn from capitalist catastrophes unless we connect historical patterns to contemporary conditions? Divided into five sections - Origins, Effects, The Response of the Dispossessed, The Ruling Class Response and Education and the Student Response - the contributors outline the problem and offer tangible strategies for economic sustainability.

Abolish Rent

Tracy Rosenthal & Leonardo Vilchis

Abolish Rent takes aim at one of the foremost engines of inequality and injustice. Rent drives millions to debt, despair, and onto the streets. The social cost of rent is too damn high. Written for anyone fed up with the permanent housing crisis, complicit politicians, and real estate greed, Abolish Rent dissects our housing system from the perspective of those it immiserates. Through brisk, unequivocating analysis and striking stories of resistance, it shows us how tenants can, through organizing and collective action, finally rebalance the scales. From two co-founders of the largest tenants union in the country, this deeply reported account of the resurgent tenant movement centers poor and working-class people who are fighting back, staying put, and remaking the city in the process. Authors Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis take us to trilingual strategy meetings, raucous marches against gentrification, and daring eviction defenses where immigrants put their lives on the line. These are the seeds of the revolutionary movement we need to make our housing, our cities, and the world our home.

Southern Insurgency. The Coming Of The Global Working Class

Immanuel Ness

The Essence Of Capitalism. The Origins of Our Future.

Humphrey McQueen

We are Millions. Neo-Liberalism and New Forms of Political Action in Argentina.

Marcela López Levy

Since the 1970s, a brutal transference of resources from the poor to the rich has taken place here in Argentina. This book looks at the politics which led to mass poverty and unemployment, and describes the rich and varied social responses to economic meltdown and political crisis.

The Battle For Paradise. Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists.

Naomi Klein

Worth Fighting For. Bringing the Rojava Revolution Home

Jenni Keasden & Natalia Szarek

The Trouble with National Action

Mark Hayes

Dancing With Dynamite. Social Movements and States in Latin America

Benjamin Dangl

Vagabonds 003. We Are 'Nature' Defending Itself. Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones

Isabelle Fremeaux & Jat Jordan

Chronicles the story of the ZAD (zone to defend), a resistant land occupation emerging out of a decades-long struggle which stopped a new airport project

Invisible. A Diary of Rough Sleeping in Britain

Andrew Frazer

The UK Border Regime: a Critical Guide

CORPORATE WATCH.

Divided World Divided Class. Global Political Economy and the Stratification of Labour Under Capitalism

Zak Cope

Divided World Divided Class charts the history of the 'labour aristocracy' in the capitalist world system, from its roots in colonialism to its birth and eventual maturation into a full-fledged middle class in the age of imperialism. It argues that pervasive national, racial and cultural chauvinism in the core capitalist countries is not primarily attributable to 'false class consciousness', ideological indoctrination or ignorance as much left and liberal thinking assumes. Rather, these and related forms of bigotry are concentrated expressions of the major social strata of the core capitalist nations' shared economic interest in the exploitation and repression of dependent nations. The book demonstrates not only how redistribution of income derived from super-exploitation has allowed for the amelioration of class conflict in the wealthy capitalist countries, it also shows that the exorbitant 'super-wage' paid to workers there has meant the disappearance of a domestic vehicle for socialism, an exploited working class. Rather, in its place is a deeply conservative metropolitan workforce committed to maintaining, and even extending, its privileged position through imperialism. This second edition includes new material such as data on growing inequality between the richest and poorest countries; data illustrating rising real wages in Imperial Britain; explication of the concepts of value, monopoly capital and unequal exchange and their ramifications for the global class structure; discussion of social imperialism on the left; responses to critiques surrounding the thesis of mass embourgeoisement through imperialism; as well as further information on a range of subjects.

On Western Terrorism. From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare

Noam Chomsky & Andre Vltchek

Admired by some, condemned by others, and feared by all--the military might of the West is undeniably colossal. In On Western Terrorism, world-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky discusses Western power and propaganda with filmmaker and investigative journalist Andre Vltchek. It offers the perfect introduction to Chomsky's significant political thought and provides an accessible approach for anyone who wishes to better understand the West's fraught role in the world. Beginning with stories of the New York newsstand where Chomsky started his political education as a teenager, the discussion broadens out to encompass colonialism, imperial control, propaganda, the Arab Spring, and drone warfare. Chomsky and Vltchek offer a powerful critique of the legacy of colonialism, touching upon many countries including Syria, Nicaragua, Cuba, China, Chile, and Turkey. Updated with a fresh design and a new foreword by Chomsky, On Western Terrorism remains an influential and powerful critique of the West's role in the world, inspiring all who read it to think independently and critically.

The Precipice. Neoliberalism, the Pandemic and the Urgent Need for Social Change.

Noam Chomsky

A collection of extensive interviews with the world's greatest public intellectual on four years of an American nightmare.

Emergent Strategy. Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

Adrienne Maree Brown

Emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. In the framework of emergence, the whole is a mirror of the parts. Existence is fractal - the health of the cell is the health of the species and the planet. Change is constant. This book is about how we can shape the changes we experience to match our intentions using strategic methods that are as adaptive, resilient decentralised, and interdependent as the patterns of flocking birds or differentiating cells. A secular spirituality based equally on science and science fiction.

Their End is Our Beginning. Cops, Capitalism, and Abolition

Brian Bean

A deeply reported analysis of the connections between policing and capitalism, centering global lessons of revolt and resistance Where do cops come from and what do they do? How did "modern policing" as we know it today come to be? What about the capitalist state necessitates policing? In this clear and comprehensive account of why and how the police--the linchpin of capitalism--function and exist, organizer and author brian bean presents a clear case for the abolition of policing and capitalism. Their End Is Our Beginning traces the roots and development of policing in global capitalism through colonial rule, racist enslavement, and class oppression, along the way arguing how police power can be challenged and, ultimately, abolished. bean draws from extensive interviews with activists from Mexico to Ireland to Egypt, all of whom share compelling and knowledgeable perspectives on what it takes to--even if temporarily--take down the cops and build a thriving community-organized society, free from the police. The lessons they offer bring nuance to the meaning of "solidarity" and clarity to what "abolition" and "revolution" look like in practice. Featuring illustrations by Chicago-based artist Charlie Aleck, Their End Is Our Beginning is an incendiary book that offers a socialist analysis of policing and the capitalist state, a vital discussion of the contours of abolition at large, and the revolutionary logic needed for liberation.

Revolutionary Rehearsals In The Neoliberal Age

Colin Barker, Gareth Dale & Neil Davidson (eds)

This indispensable volume surveys revolutionary upheavals across the world between 1989 and 2019, drawing lessons for theorizing revolution today.

Education And Capitalism. Struggles for Learning and Liberation.

Jeff Bale, Sarah Knopp

A conservative, bipartisan consensus dominates the discussion about what's wrong with our schools and how to fix them. It offers solutions" that scapegoat teachers, vilify unions, and impose a market mentality. But in each case, students lose. This book, written by teacher-activists, speaks back to that elite consensus and offers an alternative vision of learning for liberation.

Abolish Carceral Society

Abolition Collective

The bold voices and inspiring visions of today's revolutionary abolitionist movement--a creative range of approaches to dismantling interlocking institutions of oppression and transforming the world.