Category: Monthly Review Press /

International Socialist Review: Helena Sheehan’s The Syriza Wave

International Socialist Review: Helena Sheehan’s The Syriza Wave

February 20, 2024

Anyone interested in a comprehensive account of what happened in Greece between 2012 and 2016—the struggles of the Left; the social devastation as a result of austerity; the rise, election, and capitulation of Syriza—should pick up Helena Sheehan’s latest book. Those already familiar with the period’s political drama, in search of an opportunity to reengage with the debates of the time, should also read The Syriza Wave, for the book opens multiple windows on a story that is still unraveling...

The Ammunition to Answer Back: Counterfire on The Politics of Immigration

February 20, 2024

‘I’m not against immigrants. I’m against illegal ones. … Our country is already too full. We must put a limit on how many can come in. We simply can’t afford it. They’ll put too much pressure on our already squeezed public finance. It’s a simple case of supply and demand. Wages will fall if you increase the supply of workers.’ ¶ Who hasn’t heard such statements in our workplace, pubs or family meals? You disagree with them, but you might not have the facts or arguments to back up your opinion, so you keep quiet to avoid a shouting match and to keep the peace….

“Better than any author, Sheehan captures the profound disillusion of Syriza activists”: The American Hellenic Institute Fdn Policy Journal on The Syriza Wave

“Better than any author, Sheehan captures the profound disillusion of Syriza activists”: The American Hellenic Institute Fdn Policy Journal on The Syriza Wave

February 20, 2024

Helena Sheehan’s 'Syria Wave' moves from artistic culture to the mass culture that created and then abandoned (or was abandoned by) Syriza. The author, an Irish journalist and political activist who visits Greece frequently, offers a unique view of the Syriza phenomenon. The first of her six essays was written in 2012 and the last in 2016. Since the essays have not been revised, they convey the euphoria and heartbreak of the movement as they were occurring….

ResoluteReader reviews A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism

ResoluteReader reviews A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism

February 20, 2024

There is a growing movement of people thinking about how their food is grown, what it contains and its impact on their health and the environment. Often this is tied up with an individualistic view of improving the world – the idea that you can save the world by simply choosing the best food with the least impact on the planet. Eric Holt-Giménez explains he wrote "A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism" precisely to argue that this approach is inadequate...

Ecosocialism or planetary barbarism: International Socialist Review considers Facing the Anthropocene

Ecosocialism or planetary barbarism: International Socialist Review considers Facing the Anthropocene

February 20, 2024

According to Stephen Bannon and Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt, poor little America got hoodwinked by devious Asians, signing a deal that would wreck the economy and throw millions of people out of work, especially (white) coal miners in Appalachia, whom the president loves dearly. Climate change is an insignificant issue compared to these hardships and injustices. Coal is a fantastic fuel that will return America to greatness. ¶ Contrast this with the closing of Ian Angus’s Facing the Anthropocene: Fossil Capitalism and the Crisis of the Earth System...

New! Rethinking Democracy: Socialist Register 2018

New! Rethinking Democracy: Socialist Register 2018

February 20, 2024

For years, intellectuals have argued that, with the triumph of capitalist, liberal democracy, the Western World has reached “the end of history.” Recently, however, there has been a rise of authoritarian politics in many countries. Concepts of post-democracy, anti-politics, and the like are gaining currency in theoretical and political debate. Now that capitalist democracies are facing seismic and systemic challenges, it becomes increasingly important to investigate not only the inherent antagonism between liberalism and the democratic process, but also socialism. Is socialism an enemy of democracy? Could socialism develop, expand, even enhance democracy?

Sabotaging Apartheid: A Jacobin interview with “Red” Ronnie Kasrils

Sabotaging Apartheid: A Jacobin interview with “Red” Ronnie Kasrils

February 20, 2024

Ronnie Kasrils is the author of The Unlikely Secret Agent, an account of his wife Eleanor’s work as a clandestine agent for the underground ANC. Here, he talks with Jacobin‘s Marcus Barnett about his own work as a revolutionary, and the future of South Africa’s left:

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