The Anti-Capitalism Reader: Imagining a Geography of Opposition

By Joel Schalit

"Joel Schalit is one of that interesting new breed of young American leftist thinkers, with a large online presence, and a punk rock band and fanzine to run alongside his political collective and magazine Bad Subject . . . In just over 300 pages, Schalit and his contributors put forward an astounding array of anti-market arguments; survey countless pockets of anti-capitalist resistance (opposition to free-market logic comes from a surprisingly wide spectrum, from the WTO protesters in Seattle and the Zapatista rebellion, to fundamentalist religion and even some centrists and conservatives); and assess the role of culture as a public sphere in which opposition can be rehearsed. But what's most striking about this book is not so much its multiplicity of viewpoints or intellectual rigour, but the faint hint of optimism it contains . . . These essays are addressed to the intelligent but not necessarily academic reader, and there's a touching conviction that the ideas here should and will be discussed by ordinary people like me, and perhaps like you too." --The Independent on Sunday (UK)

" A] must-read for any up-and-coming revolutionary who hates market economy, but isn't sure why." --Portland Mercury

The collapse of Enron and WorldCom and the increasing evidence of corruption at the highest levels of corporate life has opened the door to a remarkable whirlwind of dialogue about the prevailing economic ideology of the post-Cold War era. While traditionally the province of the left, concerns about the legitimacy of market-driven societies are now being voiced by centrists and conservatives, who fear that their livelihoods and their investments are suddenly at the mercy of forces spinning out of control.

Enter The Anti-Capitalism Reader, a refreshingly non-doctrinaire anthology of writings and interviews covering much of the intellectual geography of the new anti-market left that has become increasingly visible since anti-capitalist protests rocked the World Trade Organization's 1999 meeting in Seattle.

Featuring essays by Doug Henwood, Naomi Klein, Ali Abunimah, Annalee Newitz, Paul Thomas, Ultra-red, and the Bad Subjects collective--and interviews with Slavoj Zizek, Toni Negri, Thomas Frank, and Wendy Brown--The Anti-Capitalism Reader moves from politics to culture, gender, and alternative economic systems. Each contributor presents accessible, hard-hitting (and sometimes humorous) critical insights that together make this volume an ideal partner in contemporary discourse about globalization, war, and economic decline.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1888451335
• ISBN13: 9781888451337
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Akashic Books, Ltd.
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Crucial Reading

I have to say that this book really took me by surprise. It's a first class introduction to its subject matter, in terms of how it maps the intellectual currents that inform post-Seattle anti-market politics today. Its accessible, moves quickly, and the interviews with Thomas Frank, Slavoj Zizek and Negri are a total hoot to see gathered together in the same bookspace. What is especially interesting is how many of the contributors to the book invoke the continuing importance of first and second generation Frankfurt School theory to the analysis of contemporary capitalism. While I wouldn't necessarily have thought this to be true, there's clearly some merit to this argument. Worth considering further.

You wont find this in Wall Street Journal

This anthology is provocative and guaranteed to create debate and discourse where ever two readers gather. It focuses on the writings and interviews of many proponents of the new anti-market left that has been around for awhile but gained increased visibility after the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle in 1999. Interestingly, increased numbers of centrists and conservatives are questioning the legitimacy of market driven societies that are destroying their investments and jobs. Serious questions about the role of the market driven economy are no longer the province of the left.The writers of this book discuss such topics as politics, culture, gender, and alternative economic systems in a non-doctrinaire manner that will give the reader an up-to-date discourse on globalization, war, and economic decline. This is not something you will read in The Wall Street Journal.