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The Science and Humanism of Stephen Jay Gould reviewed in Counterfire

Jun 06, 2011

Darwin concluded his Origin of Species robustly claiming that ‘there is a grandeur about this view of life’, defending his theory against the inevitable objection that life is somehow devalued if it evolved rather than having being created. The scientist and writer Stephen Jay Gould borrowed the phrase for his monthly essays on ‘This View of Life’, through which he became known to a wide public, not least indeed for the sense of wonder and grandeur in the many peculiarities and byways of natural history. Yet exactly what the Darwinian view of life entails has been precisely at issue in controversies between Gould (and others sharing broadly similar perspectives such as Richard Lewontin or Stephen Rose), and other more mainstream figures, such as Richard Dawkins, or Daniel Dennett. | more…

NEW: The People's Lawyer by Albert Ruben

May 31, 2011

Just released! There is hardly a struggle aimed at upholding and extending the rights embedded in the U.S. Constitution in which the Center for Constitutional Rights has not played a central role. Whether defending the rights of black people in the South, opponents of the war in Vietnam, and victims of torture worldwide, or fighting illegal actions of the U.S. government, the CCR has stood ready to take on all comers, regardless of their power and wealth. When the United States declared that the Constitution did not apply to detainees at Guantánamo, the CCR waded fearlessly into battle, its Legal Director declaring that “My job is to defend the Constitution from its enemies. Its main enemies right now are the Justice Department and the White House.” | more…

Links review of The Ecological Rift

May 06, 2011

Climate change is often called the greatest environment threat facing humanity. The threat is very real. Unless we cut carbon pollution fast, runaway climate change will worsen existing environmental and social problems, and create new ones of its own. But it’s no longer enough to simply refer to the climate crisis. Climate change is one part of a broader ecological disaster, brought about by an economic system that relies on constant growth, endless accumulation, and ever-deepening human alienation. | more…

Progressive Populist review of Agriculture and Food in Crisis

Apr 28, 2011

A chilling trend stalks humanity: the price of food. It’s climbing now as it did in 2008. How and why is this nightmare back?… Let’s, briefly, look back to three years ago. “Prices for basic foodstuffs doubled or tripled in a short period, and food riots spread beyond Mexico to many countries in the global South,” write Fred Magdoff and Brian Tokar, co-editors of Agriculture and Food in Crisis: Conflict, Resistance and Renewal (Monthly Review Press, November 2010). | more…

Note to MR Press Customers

Apr 27, 2011

Welcome to the newly redesigned Monthly Review Press website. We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced over the last several days. Please contact us if you have had any issues with an order. Please read this message for important changes to the new store. | more…

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MR Friends and Associates

Apr 01, 2011

It is now possible to receive your 50 percent discount simply by logging in to this website. (Please read here about the new system if you have not logged in before). Before making a purchase, please read our discount policy. If you do not yet have a login and would like to purchase a book now please use the form below to retrieve a coupon code. We check each Associate Member order so you will not get the discount unless you are a current Associate, and your order will be cancelled. (If you are not sure if you are an Associate Member (please contact us using this form.) | more…

NEW: Social Structure and Forms of Consciousness, Volume II by István Mészáros

Apr 01, 2011

In The Dialectic of Structure and History, Volume Two of Social Structure and Forms of Consciousness, István Mészáros brings the comprehension of our condition and the possibility of emancipatory social action beyond the highest point reached to date. Building on the indicatory flashes of conceptual lightning in the Grundrisse and other works of Karl Marx, Mészáros sets out the relations of structure and agency, individual and society, base and superstructure, nature and history, in a dialectical totality open to the future. | more…

The Invisible Handcuffs of Capitalism

The Invisible Handcuffs of Capitalism reviewed in Sacramento News & Review

Mar 31, 2011

Michael Perelman, economics professor at CSU Chico, uses the Greek legend of Procrustes, who sadistically shortened or stretched unwary travelers to fit them on his iron bed, as a metaphor for a system that cruelly disciplines workers. In The Invisible Handcuffs of Capitalism: How Market Tyranny Stifles the Economy by Stunting Workers, Perelman shows how economic theory marginalizes workers and makes a robust case against the idea that competitive markets create freedom. | more…

Interview with John Tully, author of The Devil's Milk: A Social History of Rubber

Mar 31, 2011

Why, of all possible commodities, did you choose to write a book on rubber? “It started with direct experience of a rubber factory: namely working on a major overhaul of the Banbury internal mixer at the old Goodyear tire factory in suburban Melbourne. Before that, like most people, I hadn’t given much thought to it. Of course, when I was a small kid it was fascinating stuff, but after that it might as well have been invisible for all the attention I paid to it. Working on the Banbury made me think about it again and it became clear upon reflection that it was a pretty crucial commodity.” | more…

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