Synopses & Reviews
and#147;
Another Politics is a much needed and indispensable exploration of the roots of efforts to develop radical politics leading up to Occupy Wall Street and beyond. With the collaboration of dozens of those involved in this process, Chris Dixon provides guidance for transformational change.and#8221;
and#151;Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States
and#147;The product of a major research effort, based on more than two hundred interviews and conversations with organizers from contemporary social movements, Chris Dixonand#8217;s Another Politics is an invaluable book. It is a map to a new world of struggles and organizational forms, outside the logic of traditional political parties and unions, written with great clarity, insightfulness, and ability to listen to the new voices of our time. All those aspiring to be part of a broad process of social change should have Dixonand#8217;s book on their shelves.and#8221;
and#151;Silvia Federici, author of Revolution at Point Zero and Caliban and the Witch
"Another Politics is an insightful, much-needed contribution to US and Canadian movements working for transformative change.and#160; Chris Dixon provides a clear framework for interpreting the methods being developed across our local experiments and contextualizes them in the longer trajectories from which they developed.and#160; Another Politics is revealing and energizingand#151;it will be a great tool for scholars of social movements in activist reading groups and university classrooms.and#160;and#160;It will also help activists engaged in vibrant local work learn about each otherand#8217;s projects and approaches.and#160; This book helps us understand what weand#8217;re doing, how we came to be doing it and why."
and#151;Dean Spade, author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics and the Limits of Law
Review
"An excellent distillation of what Dixon calls 'another politics,' a shared political orientation that unites grassroots organizers working from similar principles in the United States and Canada across issue, movement, sector, strategy and identity. . . . Like a good organizing mentor, Dixon (and his interviewees) gives us insight without 'right' answers, helping to deepen our understanding of commonalities and remind us of the deep roots of the 'another politics' leftist lineage."
Review
"An invaluable snapshot of the North American left today. . . . To understand the state of the left in North America, in all its aspirations and its limitations, Another Politics is an important book."
Review
"With such widespread challenges and injustice facing our society, combined with the shifting energies and momentum of people power, the 'another politics' Chris Dixon documents in Another Politics: Talking Across Today's Transformative Movements offers perhaps the most promising and exciting approaches to collectively addressing these problems while simultaneously moving us into the world in which we wish to live."
Review
andquot;Gripping and politically productive . . . impressive and important . . . A compelling work of social and political theory.andquot;
Synopsis
Amidst war, economic meltdown, and ecological crisis, a and#147;new spirit of radicalism is bloomingand#8221; from New York to Cairo, according to Chris Dixon. In Another Politics, he examines the trajectory of efforts that contributed to the radicalism of Occupy Wall Street and other recent movement upsurges. Drawing on voices of leading organizers across the United States and Canada, he delivers an engaging presentation of the histories and principles that shape many contemporary struggles.
Dixon outlines the work of activists aligned with anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist, and anti-oppression politics and discusses the lessons they are learning in their efforts to create social transformation. The book explores solutions to the key challenge for todayand#8217;s activists, organizers, fighters, and dreamers: building a substantive link between the work of and#147;against,and#8221; which fights ruling institutions, and the work of and#147;beyond,and#8221; which develops liberatory alternatives.
About the Author
Chris Dixon is an activist, writer, and educator who received a PhD from the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His writing has appeared in We Are Many: Reflections on Movement Strategy from Occupation to Liberation, Anarchist Studies, Clamor, the Earth First! Journal, Left Turn, Social Movement Studies, and Upping the Anti. He has been involved in transformative social movements for more than two decades.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Foreword by Angela Y. Davis
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1. Politics
1. Fighting against amnesia”: Movement Histories of Another Politics
2. Defining ourselves in opposition”: The Four Antis”
3. Organizing now the way you want to see the world later”: Prefigurative Politics
Part 2. Strategy
4. Do you want to have a chance at winning something?”: Developing Strategy
5. In the world but not of it”: An Emerging Strategic Framework
Part 3. Organizing
6. Bringing people together to build their power”: Anti-authoritarian Organizing
7. Leadership from below”: Taking Initiative and Building Capacities
8. Vehicles for movement-building”: Creating Organizations
Conclusion: Imagining ourselves outside of what we know”
Resources for Movement-Building
Organizations and Projects Mentioned
Biographies of Interviewees
Notes
Bibliography
Index