The Next Revolution: Popular Assemblies and the Promise of Direct Democracy

Um livro importante e bem escrito. dada a crescente crise social e ecológica que está ocorrendo em todo o mundo, há uma forte necessidade de compreender a base para elas em um nível fundamental. O autor Murray Bookchin fornece esta contribuição bem informada e perspicaz para aqueles que buscam respostas. Juntamente com seus muitos outros livros, não é de surpreender que "Google Murray Bookchin" tenha se tornado uma chamada comum para aqueles que desejam informar os outros.

Great summary of bookchin's final political ideology 'communalism'. I prefer his works from when he was an anarchist, but I understand why he felt the need to distance himself from the movement with the rise of extreme individualist anarchism. Good read for anyone interested in libertarian socialism or ecological issues.

Read Soil and Soul by Alastair McIntosh and then read The Next Revolution...or vice versa! Both texts set the stage for a Communitarian approach to human lifestyle arrangements (and possibly revolution). Murray Bookchin was for many years an ardent anarchist, but came late in life to become a staunch champion of Communitarian values. Quite a turn-from the generally unworkable "I don't listen to anyone" position of anarchy to the "I put the common good ahead of personal interests" of Communitarianism. Bookchin comes to his senses within an international urban intellectual context. McIntosh arrives at the same station through analysis of the history of some very specific tiny rugged rural islands. The men and their styles couldn't be more different. Both books get 5 stars from me precisely because they converge on the same truth while coming from such diverse contexts. Sort of like charting a course with sextant and compass, then verifying with GPS...or vice versa!

Murray Bookchin was one of the most original thinkers of the twentieth century. His books influenced major political theorists like Noam Chomsky and Herbert Marcuse. Those who have followed his work will welcome this new book, which brings together new writing and seminal essays that would otherwise be scattered in libraries around the world. Readers less familiar with Bookchin's work should find this essay collection an accessible introduction to his radical but timely ideas.The essays elaborate a new politics for direct democracy on the municipal level via forms designed to work in a globalized world. Bookchin is no blue-sky theorist. He goes into detail on the measures needed to save our planet and safeguard human freedom.Murray Bookchin was an impassioned and inspiring writer, and his voice rings out in these pages. He’s feisty in critiquing the muddled thinking behind past failures of leftist movements for social change. He’s fiery in attacking the rapacious ethos of grow-or-die capitalism. He’s forceful in his analysis of the errors of Communism, anarchism and socialism. In expounding his own theories he's a hard-nosed rationalist. As he ventures into the uncharted waters of a new politics, he is energetic and confident despite the lack of models or paradigms.I found the two introductions very helpful, too, in giving an overview of Bookchin's political philosophy. They are well written and lively and offer some biographical tidbits. I was particularly taken by the image of the nine-year-old Bookchin as a street agitator starting on the path that would lead him to become a respected advocate of social transformation.These essays form a very practical guidebook for our social and ecological survival – stimulating reading for anyone concerned about the future of the species.

A must read for all lefties. Intellectual laziness or complacency is something we are all in danger of slipping into. This excellent collection is a good antidote to that. Definitely food for thought. Unfortunately, Bookchinism will probably not become a mass movement. Nomenclature is agin it!