Monthly Review Press

John Bellamy Foster on "Why We Occupy, What We Know"

February 20, 2024

We are here as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which in a few short weeks has become a global movement in hundreds of cities around the world. We are part of the 99 percent not only in this country but the world. I have been reading the mainstream, corporate media. I have been listening to the pundits, the power brokers, the politicians. They criticize our movement, saying we don't really know why we are here. They are wrong. We are part of the growing army of the Occupy Wall Street movement worldwide. And we know why we are here.

John Bellamy Foster speaks at Occupy Wall Street on "Capitalism and Environmental Catastrophe"

February 20, 2024

The Occupy Wall Street movement arose in response to the economic crisis of capitalism, and the way in which the costs of this were imposed on the 99 percent rather than the 1 percent. But "the highest expression of the capitalist threat," as Naomi Klein has said, is its destruction of the planetary environment. So it is imperative that we critique that as well. I would like to start by pointing to the seriousness of our current environmental problem and then turn to the question of how this relates to capitalism. Only then will we be in a position to talk realistically about what we need to do to stave off or lessen catastrophe.

Class Dismissed reviewed on Counterfire

February 20, 2024

It is the erroneous idea that more university graduates will solve America's economic and social woes with which Marsh has a problem. He dissects this idea so forensically, with the help of a range of data on poverty in the US, that his case becomes unanswerable. The research is rigorous and the author's handling of it ensures the book never becomes dry. Marsh teaches English literature and has a non-specialist's eye for the need to make economic data and analysis fresh and engaging. His lively writing style is a great strength, with an ability to interweave hard data with illuminating examples from his own life, others' experiences and history.

The Great Financial Crisis reviewed in Work, Employment, & Society

February 20, 2024

An impressive and stimulating analysis of the historical origins and structural roots of the financial crisis, The Great Financial Crisis has much to commend it, providing an excellent reminder of the power of Marxist political economy in revealing the dynamics and contradictions of the present financial crisis, and indeed, of capitalist crises in general.

Two Events with Fred Magdoff & William Camacaro in DC, 2/17

February 20, 2024

Join MR Press authors Fred Magdoff and William Camacaro for a discussion on food sovereignty and Venezuela following a screening of the film Growing Change at Howard University in Washington DC.

José Carlos Mariátegui book party, NYC

February 20, 2024

Join Marc Becker, co-editor of José Carlos Mariátegui: An Anthology (with Harry E. Vanden), for a book party at the Brecht Forum in NYC on March 1, 2012.

Domitila Barrios de Chungara, 1937-2012

February 20, 2024

Domitila Barrios de Chungara, a renowned union leader, feminist, and revolutionary from Bolivia, died on March 13 at age 74. Monthly Review Press is proud to have published her classic memoir, Let Me Speak!, co-authored with Moema Viezzer. The book is a gripping account of her early life in a Bolivian mining town, her subsequent radicalization, and her efforts to organize miners and their wives in the struggle against exploitation and against U.S.-backed dictatorships. Available for a discount of 40% off until the end of April.

Antonio Gramsci reviewed in Socialist Studies [PDF]

February 20, 2024

The fortunes of Antonio Gramsci as a Marxist thinker and Communist Party leader have been so curious it is worth foregrounding their recent past within academic and intellectual circles. Particularly in the English-speaking world, Gramsci's popularity has undoubtedly only increased since the fall of the Soviet bloc, the advance of neoliberalism and the deeper disorganization of the Left. Such a phenomenon leaves us asking why it is that this Marxist revolutionary has been spared the same fate as Marx and Engels, who either have continued to be held in disrepute or, worse, been relegated to irrelevance.

The People's Lawyer reviewed in The Progressive Populist

February 20, 2024

In a post-9/11 world, a "new normal" exists in the US. It tilts in no small way towards the power of government's three branches. The trio focuses, almost obsessively, on national safety and security. Against that backdrop, Albert Ruben's new book amplifies the strengths and weaknesses of a progressive institution involved in civil liberties and human rights struggles for nearly five decades.

The Ecological Rift reviewed in Journal of World-Systems Research

February 20, 2024

Ecological degradation is the elephant in the room for many people; they are aware of its presence yet would prefer to ignore it rather than be forced to consider both its severity and possible remedies. This practiced ignorance occurs despite numerous problems, such as global climate change, species extinction, deforestation, overfishing, and dramatic disasters such as the recent oil "spill" from offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and the radiation releases from nuclear power plants in post-tsunami Japan. This elephant is enormous, destructive, and cannot be imagined away. John Bellamy Foster, Brett Clark, and Richard York have been taking on the elephant for years.