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….

“A world worth fighting for”: Agrarian South reviews Creating an Ecological Society

“A world worth fighting for”: Agrarian South reviews Creating an Ecological Society

February 20, 2024

At a time when capitalism is widely considered as the only and inevitable system, there are seldom critiques that go beyond understanding the inherent faults of the capitalist system to establishing the possibility of an alternative. This book is the latest contribution by Fred Magdoff and Chris Williams in their lifelong commitment not only to elucidate the ecological crises entailed in capitalism, but to provide the basis and the possibilities for an alternate system: eco-socialism....

Calling out the corporate program to deform schools: Educational Justice reviewed by Counterfire

Calling out the corporate program to deform schools: Educational Justice reviewed by Counterfire

February 20, 2024

Howard Ryan is an educationalist and journalist, who has written a handbook that offers ‘theory, strategy and organizing case studies to inform and inspire those who are working to rebuild public education and put an end to the corporate occupation of our schools’. The book can be read as a whole, or can be used as a reference guide to explore some key ideas, as the book is neatly divided up into sections...

Super-Size that Commodity: A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism reviewed by Resilience

Super-Size that Commodity: A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism reviewed by Resilience

February 20, 2024

Don’t expect a whole lot of taste when you sit down to a plateful of commodities. That might be a fitting but unintended lesson for foodies who work through the new book by Eric Holt-Giménez. A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism will reward a careful reader with lots of insights—but it won’t do much for the taste buds. While A Foodie’s Guide is lacking in recipes or menu ideas, it shines in helping us to understand the struggles of the men and women who work in the farms and packing plants...

Is Capitalism a Barrier to Food Justice? Author Eric Holt-Giménez interviewed by Civil Eats

Is Capitalism a Barrier to Food Justice? Author Eric Holt-Giménez interviewed by Civil Eats

February 20, 2024

No consumer, farmer, or activist participates in the food system without also participating in capitalism. To Eric Holt-Giménez, the director of Food First, this is a basic truth that’s too often overlooked in the struggle to change our broken food system. In his new book, A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism, Holt-Giménez delineates the basic truths of capitalism and how they are connected to the history of our food system. Part history book, part practical guide, the book links many of the injustices associated with food to other inequities, arguing that capitalism fuels and is fueled by oppression. If we better understand “the rudiments of how capitalism operates,” he explains, ‘we can better grasp why our food system is the way it is, and how we can change it

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...

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