New from Resistance Books

How far did the Bolcheviks introduce a ‘decolonial communism’,  later destroyed by Stalin’s ‘socialism in one country’? Did the Tito-Stalin break in 1948 and the other revolutions transform these objectives? How far did the struggles and debates in the Yugoslavia of ‘market socialism’ in the mid 1960s follow a path towards democracy and the commons? The contributors in this book review past and present experiences and Catherine Samary reconsiders the debates in the light of current emancipatory thinking and movements.
 
 
What they say about the book

Catherine Samary applies an appropriately international and historical perspective to reclaim marginalised traditions of workers control at a very opportune moment. Samary provides an invaluable intellectual resource for the task of carrying through a project of popular control in today’s conditions of corporate and financial rule. Bravo! — Hilary Wainwright, co-editor Red Pepper

Vivid historical memory, global outreach, and emancipatory nerve are all present in this necessary compendium that guides us through our current situation and arms us with heavy intellectual artillery in face of dramatic challenges ahead. Under the guidance of Catherine Samary, whose erudition, perseverance and energy are legendary, she and other authors leave no stones unturned: from October 1917 to the Left’s new dilemmas and imperatives hundred years later, from socialist Yugoslavia and its self-management to the new Balkan rebels, via Prague in 1968, Chile and Portugal in the 1970s, and the 1989 ‘velvet’ revolutions, all the way to the Zapatistas and the worldwide defence of the commons. — Igor Štiks, author of Nations and Citizens in Yugoslavia and the Post-Yugoslav States and co-editor of Welcome to the Desert of Post-Socialism

We are facing a multifaceted threat to the planet. Crucial resources are running out. Pollution is choking the ecosystems. From a defence of the remarkable ecological content of classical Marxism – lost during the 20th century to the rise of productivism – the book is an appeal to the socialist left to take the ecological crisis far more seriously.

The author engages with major debates that are unresolved on the left. He promotes a transitional approach, distinct from those that think capitalism will find a solution and those who think revolutionary propaganda is enough. Alan Thornett argues that defending the planet today requires the broadest possible movement.

What they say about the book

This is an important book! One may disagree on this or that issue – e.g. population, which I do not see as a problem in itself – but Alan Thornett’s arguments are an outstanding contribution to ecosocialist thinking – and action. In clear and precise language, without academic jargon, Facing The Apocalypse is not only a powerful “civilisational wake-up call”, but also a precious compass for the socio-ecological struggles of the future. – Michael Löwy (co-author of the International Ecosocialist Manifesto of 2001 and the Belém Declaration of 2009).

Alan Thornett’s book is an essential read for all who wish to challenge climate change and other environmental threats, from ocean acidification to mass extinction, that put our future in question. It is inspiring that a former car worker is such a passionate advocate of ecological politics. This is an original and wonderfully engaging contribution to the practical politics of climate change action. Alan is not one for pat slogans, but engages in vital debates about how to make our action effective in the face of an ecocidal system of global capitalism. It is vital that we read this book, engage with its arguments and build a movement for ecosocialism. – Derek Wall, writer and a former principal speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales.