The Democracy Project: A History, a Crisis, a Movement

Description

The effects of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations continue to reverberate throughout the world and can be seen in mass protests all around us, from Rio to Istanbul. Activist David Graeber, who was at the heart of the 99% movement, takes a provocative look at their actions and asks- why was it so effective? What can we learn from their tactics? And what can we all do now to make our world democratic once again? Both a treatise on power and protest and an energetic account of contemporary events, The Democracy Project will change the way you think about political action. 'Captures the joys and fears of a movement that believed it was on the cusp of achieving something special.' John Kampfner, Observer 'Clear, pungent and right . . . a compact and incisive account of why capitalism has run with such a smash into the buffers.' Times Higher Education 'Graeber's talent is to take big, basic concepts such as debt and democracy and unpack them, forcing us to examine their implications for society . . . the book is a cool drink of water after so much dry, academic writing on the 'revolutions' of 2011.' Laurie Penny, New Statesman 'The most influential radical political thinker of the moment.' New Yorker

David Graeber is a radical anthropologist at Goldsmiths, University of London, who has been involved with the Occupy movement, most actively at Wall Street. He has written for many publications including Harper's, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, and The Guardian. He is also the author, most recently, of the widely praised Debt: The First 5,000 Years, as well as many books on social organization and revolution including Towards an Anthropological Theory of Value, Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology, Direct Action: An Ethnography.

Captures the joys and fears of a movement that believed it was on the cusp of achieving something special -- John Kampfner * Observer *