Subversion of Politics (Revolutionary Studies) - Softcover

George Katsiaficas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0391040456 ISBN 13: 9780391040458

Publisher: Humanities P.,U.S., 1997

Synopsis

From the reviews: "Widely overlooked but important account of the autonomous movements in Europe in the 70's and 80's. Also a nice discussion of political (direct) action and it's consequences. Examples of when direct action succeeded and when it failed to achieve it's intended aims and why." "A fascinating excavation of obscured recent radical movements... Katsiaficas follows up on his book on the New Left and 1968 with this fascinating history that connects the dots between the upheavals of the late 60s and the anti-corporate globalization movements of the turn of the millenium. If you thought the 70s and 80s were a dead period for radical social movements, and if you thought revolution in the belly of the capitalist beast was impossible, check this book out and be inspired. The Autonomists waged a new struggle not to seize power from the state, but to check its influence and create free spaces." The book looks first at the wave of militancy that swept Italy in the 70s after the "Hot Autumn" of 1969, in which workers and students organized outside the bounds of party politics and bureaucratic trade unions and fought for freedom and justice on their own terms. Though the movement ultimately lost its way in the adventurism of the underground guerrilla tactics of the Red Brigades, the Autonomista rocked the roots of the system in new and unexpected ways, with a militant popular presence in the streets."

About this title

About the Author

George Katsiaficas is a Fulbright fellow, a student of Herbert Marcuse, a long-time activist, and Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts. He has authored and/or edited more than 10 books. Professor Katsiaficas is also the Managing Editor of "New Political Science", a popular academic journal.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Looking back on the end of the Cold War and the immense geopolitical transformations accomplished, nearly all observers give credit to Mikhail Gorbachev or to impersonal forces such as the expense of the arms race, the Chernobyl disaster, or the crisis in the Soviet Union's political economy. Left out of our understanding is the role of popular movements . . . Searching for direct solutions, thousands of people constituted themselves as social forces which helped stimulate world leaders to act by providing them with a sense of the necessary and a glimpse of the possible. -- from the Preface

Edition details

• Publisher: Humanities P.,U.S.
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0391040456
• ISBN 13: 9780391040458
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328