Against Racial Capitalism

‘Amidst all this talk of racial capitalism and abolition, there is one thinker we should all be reading: Neville Alexander. He is a revolutionary intellectual for our times and for our planet. For anyone committed to abolishing, not just studying, racial capitalism, this is the book to read’--Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams

‘Profound and provocative. Grounded in history, engaged with revolutionary theory, and informed by a lifetime of practice, Neville's intellectual acuity and passion for freedom shine through in every page. Read, learn, and join the growing global struggle against racial capitalism’--Barbara Ransby, historian, activist, author of Making All Black Lives Matter

‘Alexander's beautiful writing patiently connects theory and method with purpose. Against Racial Capitalism is absolutely necessary for all who struggle to understand and change twenty-first-century conditions’--Ruth Wilson Gilmore, author of Abolition Geography

As a revolutionary public intellectual, activist, and former political prisoner, Neville Alexander is among the most important theorists of racial capitalism to emerge during the struggle against apartheid. Alexander's writings engage with some of the important debates in South Africa from the last 50 years, many of which have international resonance today. An opponent of the neoliberal trajectory embarked upon by the post-apartheid establishment in the 1990s, Alexander was always reflective and humble but never wavered from his own self-description: a non-dogmatic Marxist, pan-Africanist, and internationalist.

This carefully curated collection brings his incredible body of work to an international audience for the first time. It features a comprehensive introduction, a timeline of key events in the life of Alexander, selected articles, speeches, op-eds, book chapters, and a bibliography of his writings.

Neville Alexander was a revolutionary scholar, educator, and activist in the struggles against apartheid and in post-apartheid South Africa. He spent ten years (1964–74) as a political prisoner on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela and others before emerging as one of South Africa's foremost public intellectuals.

Neville Alexander was a revolutionary scholar, educator and activist in the struggles against Apartheid and in post-Apartheid South Africa. He spent ten years (1964-74) as a political prisoner on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela and others before emerging as one of South Africa's foremost public intellectuals. His writings are a key reference point for understanding some of the most important debates in that country over the past half-century.

Salim Vally is Professor and Director of the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation (CERT) at the University of Johannesburg and the National Research Foundation’s South African Research Initiative’s Chair in Community, Adult and Workers Education (CAWE). He is co-editor with Enver Motala of Education, Economy and Society, and with Aziz Choudry of Reflections on Knowledge, Learning and Social Movements: History's Schools.

Enver Motala has worked in education for five decades. He has worked in the labour movement, an education NGO, in government and at various universities. He is currently an Associate of CERT and CAWE and of the Centre for Integrated Post-School Education and Training at the Nelson Mandela University.