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Against the usual argument heard most frequently on the left, that there is no subject for a radical politics together with its form of political mobilization, there is - but in the absence of a radical leftist project, this subject has in the past transferred, and in many instances is still transferring, his/her support to the radical politics on offer from the other end of the ideological spectrum. The combination of on the one hand a globally expanding industrial reserve army, generating ever more intense competition in the labour markets of capitalism, and on the other the endorsement by many on the left not of class but rather of non-class identities espoused by the `new' populist postmodernism, has fuelled what can only be described as a perfect storm, politically speaking.
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Revolution and Its Alternatives
Studies in Critical Social Sciences Series Editor David Fasenfest (Wayne State University) Editorial Board Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (Duke University) Chris Chase-Dunn (University of California-Riverside) William Carroll (University of Victoria) Raewyn Connell (University of Sydney) Kimberle W. Crenshaw (University of California, la, and Columbia University) Raju Das (York University) Heidi Gottfried (Wayne State University) Karin Gottschall (University of Bremen) Alfredo Saad-Filho (University of London) Chizuko Ueno (University of Tokyo) Sylvia Walby (Lancaster University)
volume 129
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/scss
Revolution and Its Alternatives Other Marxisms, Other Empowerments, Other Priorities
By
Tom Brass
leiden | boston
Cover illustration: Citta by Anna Luisa Brass, courtesy of the artist. The drawing depicts the continuing attempts by Marxists to build socialism, a task symbolized in the illustration of a city steered into its historical place by wheelbarrow. Why at times this seems like a Sisyphean task is hinted at in the drawings that precede each of the three sections in the book. The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov lc record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2018043312
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1573-4234 isBn 978-90-04-38403-3 (hardback) isBn 978-90-04-38404-0 (e-book) Copyright 2019 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi, Brill Sense, Hotei Publishing, mentis Verlag, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh and Wilhelm Fink Verlag. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.
For Amanda, Anna, Ned, and Miles; and in memory of my parents
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Contents Acknowledgements XI
Introduction: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times? 1 1 The Vanishing 3 2 The Banishment 7 3 Making a Difference? 8 4 The Shrewd Scholar? 11 5 Something They Have Forgotten? 13 6 Themes 15
Part 1 Revolutionary/Counter-revolutionary Practice/Theory 1
Revolution in Practice 23 1 Introduction: Revolution, or Reform (and Counter-revolution) 23 2 Educate them to Revolt 25 3 The Greatest of All Proprietors 28 4 Desperation and Vengeance 31 5 As the Part to