Synopses & Reviews
The past few years have seen previously unthinkable change in North Africa and the Middle East. In mere days, protest movements were able to topple supposedly entrenched regimes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, a testament to the power of the peopleand the fundamental vulnerability of corrupt governments.
With First Measures of the Coming Insurrection, Eric Hazan and Kamo push the lessons of the Arab Spring to their next logical step: the eventual fall of failing regimes throughout the West. As multiple crises chip away at the democratic consensus, what should people do to prepare for the coming upheaval? Point by point, Hazan and Kamo explore what must be done in the aftermath of a regimes collapsehow to prevent established powers from re-taking control, how to reorganize society without central authority, and how to build governance according to peoples needs. Breaking from those who would envision a democratic transition” and the classical communist idea of a transition period,” they instead offer guidance for quick, effective action and organization in a time of crisis.
The sequel to a book that Glenn Beck called quite possibly the most evil thing I have ever read,” First Measures of the Coming Insurrection will be essential reading for a new generation of activists.
Synopsis
We have witnessed a beginning, the birth of a new age of revolt and upheaval. In North Africa and the Middle East it took the people a matter of days to topple what were supposedly entrenched regimes. Now, to the west, multiple crises are etching away at a 'democratic consensus' that has, since the 1970's, plagued and suppressed any sparks of revolutionary potential. It is time to prepare for the coming insurrection.
In this bold and beautifully written book, Eric Hazan and Kamo provide a short account of what is to be done in the aftermath of a regime's demise: how to prevent any power from restoring itself and how to reorganise society without a central authority and according to the people's needs. Arguing that neither the reshuffling of political leadership, in the guise of 'democratic transition' or 'constitutional progress', nor a 'transition period', classically advocated by 20th century communists, between a capitalist social order and a communist horizon will do, The Irreversible Insurrection is more than the voice of a new generation of revolutionary, it is the manual for the coming, global revolution.
About the Author
Eric Hazan is a writer, translator, historian, and publisher, as well as the author of The Invention of Paris.The anonymous Kamo claims to be a member of the Invisible Committee and may also be part of the Tarmac 9.
Table of Contents
A moment to bring us up to date
I. It is right to rebel
II. Creating the irreversible
III. There's everything to play for