The World We Wish to See: Revolutionary Objectives in the Twenty First Century

The World We Wish to See presents a sweeping view of twentieth-century political history and a stirring appeal to take political organization seriously. Amin offers provocative analysis of contemporary resistance to neoliberalism,while boldly calling for a new global movement, “an internationalism of peoples,” to challenge the current order and fashion a better world.

Throughout the last century, great revolutions, the socialist and communist internationals, and national liberation movements presented a serious challenge to global capital. Neoliberalism and the U.S. drive for military hegemony have given birth to new political and social movements and new attempts at international organization, such as the World Social Forum. Amin maps these oppositional formations, new and old, critically assessing their potential and limitations for the revolutionary project today.

The World We Wish to See draws a distinction between “political cultures of conflict” and “political cultures of consensus.” Amin explains that effective opposition must be based in a “convergence in diversity” of the world’s oppressed and exploited—workers, students, peasants and other opponents of the neoliberal order. What is required today is a new “international” with an open and flexible organizational structure to coordinate the work of oppositional movements around the globe. Included in this volume is the full text of the Bamako Appeal, described as a Communist Manifesto for our age, and Amin’s provocative new essay “Political Islam in the Service of Imperialism.” Amin’s masterful analysis offers new ground for realizing the world we wish to see.

Contents

Preface

1. The Internationalism of Peoples in the Twentieth Century
2. New Era, New Challenges
3. What to Do?

APPENDIX 1: Political Islam in the Service of Imperialism

APPENDIX 2: The Bamako Appeal

Notes

Samir Amin is director of the Third World Forum in Dakar, Senegal. His numerous works include The Liberal Virus, Accumulation on a World Scale, Unequal Development, and Spectres of Capitalism.