The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements and the Decolonization of Everyday Life (Revolutionary Studies S.) - Softcover

Katsiaficas, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1573924415 ISBN 13: 9781573924412

Publisher: Humanity Books, 1997

Synopsis

George Katsiaficas provides a unique portrayal of direct-action European social movements in Italy, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and Denmark from 1968 to 1996. Paying special attention to the role of autonomous feminist movements, he traces the effect of squatters and feminists on the disarmament movement and on efforts to shut down nuclear power, and also discusses antifascist social movements developed in response to the neo-Nazi upsurge.
In addition to providing a rare depiction of these often overlooked movements, Professor Katsiaficas develops a specific notion of autonomy from the statements and aspirations of these movements. Autonomy is seen as a type of freedom transcending neo-Kantian individualism and postmodern consumerism--as the political form appropriate to contemporary societies. Drawing from the practical actions of social movements, his analysis is extended into a universal standpoint of the species, a perspective he develops by uncovering the partiality of Antonio Negri's workerism, Seyla Benhabib's feminism, and notions of uniqueness of the German nation.

A sequel to Professor Katsiaficas's THE IMAGINATION OF THE NEW LEFT: A GLOBAL ANALYSIS OF 1968 (South End Press, 1986), this book updates and expands his understanding of antisystemic social movements in the advanced capitalist societies.

About this title

About the Author

George Katsiaficas is a Fulbright fellow, a student of Herbert Marcuse, a long-time activist, and currently Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of VIETNAM DOCUMENTS: AMERICAN AND VIETNAMESE VIEWS OF THE WAR and INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL SOCIOLOGY with R.G. Kirkpatrick. Professor Katsiaficas is also the Managing Editor of "New Political Science".

Edition details

• Publisher: Humanity Books
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1573924415
• ISBN 13: 9781573924412
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 312