Skip navigation

Monthly Archives: September 2014

Education Crisis

Education Crisis

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION RESEARCH SEMINARS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION: 2014–15 PROGRAMME

 

7 Oct 2014 (room 537)
Responsiveness to Reasons
David Bakhurst (Queen’s University, Canada)

 

15 Oct 2014 (room 728)
Unfinished adults and defective children: the nature and value of childhood
Anca Gheaus (Sheffield University)

 

22 Oct 2014 (room 728)
Crises in Education, Crises of Education
Glenn Rikowski (Anglia Ruskin University)

 

29 Oct 2014
To be confirmed

 

5 Nov 2014 (room 728)
Narrativity, childhood and parenting
Judith Suissa (Institute of Education)

 

12 Nov 2014 (room 728)
Recognition, Trust, and Reliance: some considerations on authority, leadership, and power in education

Morgan White (Independent Researcher)

 

19 Nov 2014 (Nunn Hall)
Launch of “Education, Philosophy and Wellbeing: New perspectives on the work of John White”
Edited by Judith Suissa, Carrie Winstanley and Roger Marples. Panel discussion (speakers to be confirmed) followed by wine reception.
Judith Suissa et al.

 

26 Nov 2014 (room 728)
On Being Foreign: art’s disposition as an “exit pedagogy”
John Baldacchino (University of Dundee)

 

3 Dec 2014 (room 728)
Perspectives on the implications of Bion’s epistemology for the work of caring professionals
Joseph Mintz (Institute of Education)

 

10 Dec 2014 (room 728)
The Eternal Recurrence of the Same: Vocational Education in the Second Machine Age
Patrick Ainley (University of Greenwich)

 

See: http://www.ioe.ac.uk/research/64026.html

Free to attend

No registration required

 

Institute of Education, University of London
20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL
**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Volumizer: http://glennrikowski.blogspot.com

Teaching Marx

Teaching Marx

MARX READING GROUP – LONDON

We are writing to inform you about a meeting to plan a London-based Marxist reading group. Our initial idea is to attempt to grapple with a number of classic texts in the Marxist tradition that are frequently cited but rarely read, and yet might help to develop our analytical method, spark useful theoretical discussion and raise the confidence of people engaged in critical and radical practice.

We are interested in doing some study on Marx’s philosophical and historical views and on his political and economic writings (as well as those of other Marxists such as Engels, Gramsci and others). However, the design and content of the group (or groups) is still completely open and shall be decided at the initial organizing meeting.

The initiative is independent of any organizations and is open to all those interested in engaging with Marxist theory in the hope that it will provide some answers to the questions confronting radicals today.

DETAILS:  Saturday 27th September, 4pm at B101, Brunei Gallery, SOAS University.

In solidarity: Sai E, Kevin O, Jonas L, Luke S

First published in http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/news/distributed/marxist-reading-group-to-be-launched-this-saturday-london

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Karl Marx

Karl Marx

MARX AND PHILOSOPHY REVIEW OF BOOKS: SEPTEMBER 2014

New reviews and an updated list of books for review recently published online in the Marx and Philosophy Review of Books

  • Margaux Portron on Mark Neocleous, War Power, Police Power
  • Kevin Anderson on Gilbert Achcar’s Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising
  • Nathaniel Barron on Ernst Bloch and the Future of Utopia
  • Sean Ledwith on Robert Lanning, In the Hotel Abyss
  • Dylan Bailey on Sloterdijk, Philosophical Temperaments
  • Bill Jefferies on The Preobrazhensky Papers

To receive notification of new reviews and comments when they appear join the Marx and Philosophy Society’s new email list or follow us on facebook or twitter

First published in http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/news/distributed/marx-and-philosophy-review-of-books-7

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

 

The Falling Rate of Learning

The Falling Rate of Learning

MARXISM AND EDUCATION: RENEWING DIALOGUES XXII – AND A PROFESSORSHIP IN EDUCATION

The 22nd MARXISM AND EDUCATION: RENEWING DIALOGUES (MERD) SEMINAR presents:

David J. Blacker, Professor of Philosophy, University of Delaware

The Race to Nowhere: Abandoning the Promise of Universal Education

Universal education is beloved as an ideal while its reality is being extinguished. Heralded as expansions of access where we “race to the top” and “leave no child behind,” initiatives involving marketization, austerity, privatization and student debt combine to eliminate and expel growing segments of the rising generation.

Why is this happening?  And why now?  David J. Blacker outlines a coherent framework for understanding the current onslaught against all levels of public education. It all comes down to deep and troubling changes in the economy that “education reform” cannot touch and that nobody wants to talk about.

Wednesday November 12th 2014, 5–6pm

University of East London, Stratford Campus, CASS School of Education, Room: ED2.04

Convener: Alpesh Maisuria (University of East London)

***

Employment Opportunity:

PROFESSORSHIP IN EDUCATION

CASS School of Education, University in East London.

Details on the UEL website: http://jobs.uel.ac.uk/vacancies.aspx?cat=234

Closing date 5th October 2014.

If anybody would like an informal conversation about the post, please contact Alpesh Maisuria: worthers21@hotmail.com or A.Maisuria@uel.ac.uk

 

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Books

Books

THEORIES OF IDEOLOGY: THE POWER OF ALIENATION AND SUBJECTION

New in Paperback from Haymarket

Theories of Ideology: The Powers of Alienation and Subjection

HM series Marxism & Socialism

BY JAN REHMANN

The emergence of ideology theories marked a re-foundation of Marxist research into the functioning of alienation and subjection. Going beyond traditional concepts of ‘manipulation’ and ‘false consciousness’, they turned to the material existence of hegemonic apparatuses and focused on the mostly unconscious effects of ideological practices, rituals and discourses.

In this magisterial work Jan Rehmann reconstructs the different strands of ideology theories ranging from Marx to Adorno/Horkheimer, from Lenin to Gramsci, from Althusser to Stuart Hall, from Bourdieu to W.F. Haug, from Foucault to Butler. He compares them in a way that a genuine dialogue becomes possible and applies the different methods to the ‘market totalitarianism’ of today’s high-tech-capitalism

About the author

Jan Rehmann, Dr. phil. habil, teaches philosophy and social theories at Union Theological Seminary in New York and the Free University in Berlin. He is co-editor of the Historical-Critical Dictionary of Marxism (HKWM) and author of books on ideology, Neo-Nietzscheanism, Max Weber, the churches in Nazi Germany, and poverty.

See: http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/Theories-of-Ideology

First published in http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/news/distributed/new-in-paperback-from-haymarket-theories-of-ideology-the-powers-of-alienation-and-subjection-by-jan-rehmann

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Modernism

Modernism

CRITICAL GEOGRAPHIES OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE – FINAL CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

A two-day conference and open discussion organised by the Urban Geography Research Group (UGRG) of the RGS-IBG.

6-7 November 2014

The Bartlett School of Planning, University College London

 

Call for Contributions

This year’s UGRG Conference will explore the relationship between critical urban theory and infrastructure. Critical urbanism may be defined by Brenner et al (2009: 179) as concerned:

(a) to analyze the systemic, yet historically specific, intersections between capitalism and urbanization processes;

(b) to examine the changing balance of social forces, power relations, sociospatial inequalities and political-institutional arrangements;

(c) to expose marginalizations and injustices that are inscribed and naturalized within existing urban configurations;

(d) to decipher the contradictions, crisis tendencies and lines of potential or actual conflict within contemporary cities, and on this basis;

(e) to demarcate and to politicize possibilities for more progressive, socially just, emancipatory and sustainable formations of urban life.

 

Since the publication of Splintering Urbanism (Graham and Marvin, 2001), there has been a heightened focus on employing critical urbanist perspectives to study the fundamental issues of urban infrastructure, of who gets what infrastructure and where? This includes work on the assemblage and effects of different types of infrastructure including water, waste and other metabolic systems (Gandy 2002; Marvin and Medd 2006; Nikolas et al 2006), traffic and city streets (Hamilton-Baillie 2008; Buiter 2008) motorways and flyovers (Harris 2013; Merriman 2007; Norton 2008), various forms of public transportation (Butcher 2011), cycling (Aldred 2012) and airports (Guller and Guller 2003; McNeill 2010). Emerging research has highlighted the particular materialities of different infrastructure systems as they sustain and disrupt the circulations that constitute urban life (Amin and Thrift 2002; Gandy 2004; Latham and McCormack 2004; Hommels 2005). It has also examined practices of dwelling and experiences of inhabiting infrastructural systems as particular kinds of public spaces (Bissell 2010, 2014; Koch and Latham 2014; McIlvenny 2010; Sheller and Urry 2003; Wilson 2012).

Such work has demonstrated the exercise of social and political power through infrastructural provisioning, and the challenges of governance which might bring about more inclusive and democratic forms of urban infrastructure (Boudreau et al 2009; McFarlane and Rutherford 2008; Spinney 2010; Swyngedouw 2005).

Much work remains, however, in exploring the key dynamics through which infrastructure structures and restructures urban spaces. In particular, the UGRG is keen to hear from scholars working on topics and theoretical perspectives which include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • state versus private provision, management and maintenance of infrastructure
  • dynamics of access and exclusion
  • privatization of key urban infrastructure
  • Global North and Global South standards and models of infrastructure provision
  • comparative studies of infrastructural provision and innovation
  • policy mobility and the circulation of ‘best practice’
  • dwelling and inhabitation within infrastructural spaces
  • new imperatives of sustainability, austerity and resilience agendas
  • innovations ranging from micro-scale to regional master-planning

Papers are welcom from researchers at any stage of their careers (including doctoral students). We will also be holding a ‘pecha-kucha’ session as we did in 2012.

Abstracts of approx 200 words should be emailed to ugrg2014@gmail.com  by Friday 19 September 2014 (tomorrow).

Please contact Luke Binns (luke.binns@gmail.com) and Gabriel Silvestre (gabriel.silvestre.11@ucl.ac.uk) if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Critical Education

Critical Education

SEEING THROUGH THE EYES OF THE POLISH REVOLUTION

New in Paperback from Haymarket

Seeing Through the Eyes of the Polish Revolution: Solidarity and the Struggle Against Communism in Poland

HM series Marxism & Socialism World History

BY JACK M. BLOOM

In 1980 Polish workers astonished the world by demanding and winning an independent union with the right to strike, called Solidarity–the beginning of the end of the Soviet empire. Jack M. Bloom’s Seeing Through the Eyes of the Polish Revolution explains how it happened based on 150 interviews of Solidarity leaders, activists, supporters and opponents. Bloom’s invaluable and insightful study shows how an opposition was built, documents the battle between Solidarity and the ruling party, outlines the conflicts that emerged within each side during this tense period, explains how Solidarity survived the imposition of martial law, and how the opposition forced the Stalinist government to negotiate itself out of power.

About the author

Jack Bloom is Associate Professor of Sociology and Adjunct Associate Professor of Minority Studies and of History at Indiana University Northwest. He has published the award-winning Class, Race and the Civil Rights Movement (Indiana University Press, 1987).

See: http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/Seeing-Through-the-Eyes-of-the-Polish-Revolution

First published in http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/news/distributed/new-in-paperback-from-haymarket-seeing-through-the-eyes-of-the-polish-revolution-solidarity-and-the-struggle-against-communism-in-poland-by-jack-m.-bloom

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

 

Education Not for Sale

Education Not for Sale

DEMOCRACY AND DECENCY: WHAT DOES EDUCATION HAVE TO DO WITH IT?

CALL FOR CHAPTER PROPOSALS

FOR A BOOK ENTITLED

DEMOCRACY AND DECENCY: WHAT DOES EDUCATION HAVE TO DO WITH IT?

EDITORS: PAUL R. CARR, P. L. THOMAS, BRAD PORFILIO & JUIE GORLEWSKI

PUBLISHER: INFORMATION AGE PUBLISHING

Democracy can mean a range of concepts, including freedoms, rights, elections, governments, processes, philosophies and a panoply of abstract and concrete notions that can be mediated by power, positionality, culture, time and space.

Democracy can also be translated into brute force, hegemony, docility, compliance and conformity, as in wars will be decided on the basis of the needs of elites, or major decisions about spending finite resources will be the domain of the few over the masses, or people will be divided along the lines of race, ethnicity, class, religion, etc. because it is advantageous for maintaining exploitative political systems in place to do so. Often, these frameworks are developed and reified based on the notion that elections give the right to societies, or segment of societies, to install regimes, institutions and operating systems that are then supposedly legitimated and rendered infinitely just simply because formal power resides in the hands of those dominating forces.

The book is interested in advancing a critical analysis of the hegemonic paradigm described above, one that seeks higher levels of political literacy and consciousness, and one that makes the connection with education. What does education have to do with democracy? How does education shape, influence, impinge on, impact, negate, facilitate and/or change the context, contours and realities of democracy? How can we teach for and about democracy to alter and transform the essence of what democracy is, and, importantly, what it should be? We are particularly interested in the notion of decency in relation to democracy, and underpinned by forms of meaningful, critically-engaged education.

Is it enough to be kind, nice, generous and hopeful when we can also see signs of rampant, entrenched and debilitating racism, sexism, poverty, violence, injustice, war and other social inequalities? If democracy is intended to be alegitimating force for good, how does education inform democracy? What types of knowledge,experience, analysis and being are helpful to bring about newer, more meaningful and socially just forms of democracy?

Some of the themes to be explored might include:

  • peace, peace education and democracy
  • media, media literacy and democracy
  • pedagogy and education for democracy
  • curriculum and education for democracy
  • race, anti-racist education and democracy
  • poverty, class and education for democracy
  • environment and ecology within the context of democracy and education
  • the meaning of kindness in relation to democracy and education
  • what is decency within the context of democracy and education?

If you are interested in submitting a chapter, please submit the following to paul.thomas@furman.edu  by September 30, 2014:

[1] a 400-word summary of your proposal, including:

Title

Focus and research questions

The connection to the subject of the book

The theoretical and/or conceptual framework

The major themes to be explored

Other pertinent information

[2] 8 keywords for the chapter

[3] a 100-word biography for each author

 

Process:

Call for Proposals (August 25, 2014)

Receive Proposals (September 30, 2014)3)

Communicate with contributors regarding decision on proposals (October 15, 2014)

First complete draft of 5,000 words due (January 15, 2015)

Comments from editors regarding first draft to contributors (Februrary 15, 2015)

Final complete draft due to editors (April 1, 2015)

Review by editors, and follow-up with contributors (May 1, 2015)

Liaison with publisher for final editing and proofing (May 15, 2015)

Publication (Summer 2015)

 

For all other inquiries about this book, please contact Paul R. Carr at prcarr@gmail.co

 

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

2001

2001

RADICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY

Autumn 2014

Symbolic culture emerged in Africa over 100,000 years ago, in a revolution whose echoes can still be heard in myths and rituals around the world. These talks are a general introduction to anthropology, including the latest findings from genetics, biology, primatology, cave painting research and archaeology. There is plenty of time for questions, discussion and socialising.

PROGRAMME:

Sep 23: What does it mean to be human? An introduction to anthropologyChris Knight

Sep 30: Claude Lévi-Strauss: The science of myths and fairy tales – Chris Knight

Oct 7: Africa, hunger and big business: How ‘development’ aids the corporate takeover of food – Chris Walker

Oct 14: Did women once rule the world? A new look at the myth of matriarchyChris Knight

Oct 21: The stars and the stones: An introduction to archaeoastronomy – Fabio Silva

Oct 28: Out of Africa or Multiregional Evolution for modern humans – why is there still a debate? – Chris Stringer

Nov 4: The problem of economics. Homo economicus and human science – William Dixon

Nov 11: The Golden Bough: Yesterday and today Robert Fraser

Nov 18: British Pakistani women and the menopause – Mwenza Blell

Nov 25: ‘Woman’s Biggest Husband Is the Moon’: How hunter-gatherers maintain social equalityJerome Lewis

Dec 2: How language evolved from singingJerome Lewis

Dec 9: Spirits of the Forest: a workshop on African polyphonic singing – Ingrid Lewis

Dec 16: A Christmas fairy tale: ‘The shoes that were danced to pieces’ – Chris Knight

 

All events held at the Cock Tavern, 23 Phoenix Rd., NW1 1HB (Euston).

Talks are free but small donations welcome.

More Info: http://radicalanthropologygroup.org For updates on meetings and anthropology news, follow us on @radicalanthro and Facebook

 

First published in http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/news/distributed/radical-anthropology-talks-london-autumn-2014

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Marx's Grave

Marx’s Grave

HISTORICAL MATERALISM LONDON CONFERENCE 2104 – REGISTRATION

Online registration for the Historical Materialism London Conference 2014 now up:

See: http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/conferences/annual11/register

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

University for Strategic Optimism

University for Strategic Optimism

THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRAXIS: MARX, LUKACS AND THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL

OUT NOW

By ANDREW FEENBERG

The origins of “Western Marxism”

http://www.versobooks.com/books/1638-the-philosophy-of-praxis

————

The early Marx called for the “realization of philosophy” through revolution. Revolution thus became a critical concept for Marxism, a view elaborated in the later praxis perspectives of Lukacs and the Frankfurt School. These thinkers argue that fundamental philosophical problems are, in reality, social problems abstractly conceived.

Originally published as Lukacs, Marx and the Sources of Critical Theory, THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRAXIS traces the evolution of this argument in the writings of Marx, Lukacs, Adorno and Marcuse. This reinterpretation of the philosophy of praxis shows its continuing relevance to contemporary discussions in Marxist political theory, continental philosophy and science and technology studies.

————

ANDREW FEENBERG is the author of Critical Theory of Technology (1991), Alternative Modernity (1995), Questioning Technology (1999), Transforming Technology (2002), Heidegger and Marcuse: The Catastrophe and Redemption of History (2005), and Between Reason and Experience: Essays in Technology and Modernity (2010).

————-

“Feenberg’s subtle and wide-ranging study of Lukacs’ History and Class Consciousness reaches forward to Marcuse and the Frankfurt School and backwards into Marx’s 1844 manuscripts. The book offers a whole new framework in which to grasp the history of Marxist theory, at the same time restoring Marcuse’s centrality in it.” – Fredric Jameson

“A model of lucid and sophisticated intellectual history.” – Martin Jay

“A most fascinating and significant book.” – Theory and Society

“A vigorous and thoughtful reassessment of both Lukacs and the Western Marxist tradition … of great interest to anyone interested in critical theory or continental philosophy.” – Robert Pippin

“Feenberg achieves his goal of demonstrating the relevance of seemingly dusty and abstract philosophical conundrums not only to contemporary social theory but to politics as well.” – The American Political Science Review

“Feenberg’s sensitive and intelligent treatment of a complex constellation of interrelated problems in Marxist studies should commend his book to a wide audience of interested scholars.” – Man and World

“Poses the central problem of history in such a way that every reader can identify its elements…. The author knows the subject thoroughly, and illuminates many points in the texts of his main authors, as well as in those of such subsidiary figures as Marcuse and Habermas.” – The Review of Metaphysics

————

PAPERBACK: JULY 2014 / 272 pages / ISBN: 9781781681725 / $29.95 / £16.99 /$35.00 (Canada)

HARDBACK: JULY 2014 / 272 pages / ISBN: 9781781681732 / $95.00 / £60.00 / $108 (Canada)

ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK

THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRAXIS is also available at a 40% discount (paperback) and 50% discount (ebook) on our website, with free shipping and bundled ebook. Purchasing details here:  http://www.versobooks.com/books/1638-the-philosophy-of-praxis

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

AnarchismSOCIAL STRUCTURES OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY

Social Structures of Direct Democracy: On the Political Economy of Equality

By John Asimakopoulos

Hardcover ISBN: 9789004262720 E-ISBN: 9789004262751

Dear All and especially LIBRARIANS,

Please consider asking your academic library to obtain a copy of my new book published by Brill or get your personal copy. Any help in announcing the book through online social networks, listservs, and blogs is greatly appreciated. Gratitude to all! Sincerely, John

Brill

Amazon.com

Facebook

“Ambitious in scope, timely in content, and rigorous in argumentation and analysis, John Asimakopoulos’ Social Structures of Direct Democracy promises to make a significant and lasting contribution to contemporary discussions in democratic theory and political economy. By combining the utopian ethical ideal of the libertarian socialist tradition with the technical precision and analytic cohesiveness of Marxism and classical political economy, Asimakopoulos offers a fresh and innovative perspective on the present and future of democracy, both political and economic, around the globe. The book deserves praise for its interdisciplinary breadth and critical depth.” —Nathan Jun, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Midwestern State University

“Social Structures of Direct Democracy is a lucid and powerful analysis of the threat that inequality poses to any viable democracy while also providing a brilliant analysis of the mechanisms that make it so savage and unsustainable. But the book provides more than a critique of inequality, it also offers a stirring program for change at a time when democracy is under dire siege. A must read for anyone concerned about the fate of democracy in the United States.” —Henry Giroux, Center for Research in the Public Interest, McMaster University

“Social Structures of Direct Democracy will undoubtedly make an impressive and timely contribution to the literature. The excellent structure, original focus and critical content will ensure that the book enjoys a broad appeal across a range of academic disciplines, at all levels. Indeed, anyone with an interest in (engaging with) new, wonderfully alternative responses to address the current political and economic crisis should buy this book now!” —Richard J White, Senior Lecturer in Economic Geography, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

ABOUT THE BOOK: Neoliberalism has pushed capitalism to its limits hollowing out global economies and lives in the process while people have no voice. John Asimakopoulos addresses the problem with a theory to practice model that reconciles Marxism with diverse radical currents and democratic theory. Social Structures of Direct Democracy develops a political economy of structural equality in large-scale society making strong empirical arguments for radical transformation. Key concepts include filling positions of political and economic authority e.g., legislatures and corporate boards, with randomly selected citizens leaving the demos as the executive; a common wage combined with markets and currency. Asimakopoulos shows that an egalitarian society leads to greater innovation and sustainable economic growth with positive social benefits in contrast to economies based on individualism, competition, and inequality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Asimakopoulos, is Full Professor of Sociology at the City University of New York and executive director of the Transformative Studies Institute (TSI), an educational think tank. He has advanced degrees in and has taught sociology, political science, and economics resulting in a unique interdisciplinary perspective. His students include undergraduates and graduates from diverse ethnic, economic, and educational backgrounds who honor him for over 20 years with the highest teaching evaluations. His research is focused on social movements, critical theory, and international political economy. Asimakopoulos is author of Revolt! (2011) The Accumulation of Freedom (2012), many journal articles, and is editor in chief of Theory in Action, an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal.

For interviews and presentations contact the author at: jasimakopoulos@transformativestudies.org

CONTENTS

Foreword

Mark Zepezauer

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Theory, Praxis, and Change

The Ragged Edge of Anarchy: Direct Democracy

Mutualism

Collectivism

Communist Anarchism

Conflict Theory

Why Capitalism Must Always Collapse

The Relationship between Change and Radicalism

Structural Limitations to Change

Insurrection versus Revolution

A Case Study in Political Revolution: Egypt

Does Direct Democracy Require Small-scale Societies?

McDonald’s Iron Cage

2 Relations of Authority

The Fraud of Representative Democracy

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

Stealing Democracy Old School

Political Parties

A Path to Direct Democracy

Economic Authority

Political Authority

Constitution

3 Material Relations

Economic Utilities of Direct Democracy

Markets and Prices

Currency, Income, Banking, and Credit

Profit and Worker-owned Firms

Authority over Productive Property

Innovation and Small Business

Relations of Consumption

Income Distribution

Regulated Labor Markets: Hiring Halls

Distribution of Productive Property

Resource Use

What to Produce

How to Produce

Can the System Adapt?

4 Social Structure

Culture and Social Integration

Organizing Principles of Social Structure

Social Statuses

Social Roles

Virtual Worlds

Institutions and Socialization

Religion

Family and Sexuality

Education

The Means of Violence

Compulsion and Discipline

Journalism

The Social Network: The Future that Can be Now

Conclusion: No Islands of Egalitarianism in a Sea of Inequality

Afterword: What Can Grow in the Graveyard for Orthodoxies?

Richard Gilman-Opalsky

Bibliography

Index

**END**

‘Human Herbs’ – a song by Cold Hands & Quarter Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au-vyMtfDAs

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski?ev=hdr_xprf

Online Publications at The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=pub&sub=Online%20Publications%20Glenn%20Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk