Nineteenth Century France? Word. There's a reason the right hates the French, and it's not just competing imperial interests. For about a hundred years, France was a hotbed of revolutionary workers' movements and the birthplace of modern socialism. In trying to understand the dynamics we face today, Leslie Wood has written a review for the New Formulation, an anti-authoritarian intellectual journal produced in New York.
Leslie Wood writes: "I don’t think I’m alone in finding it difficult to bring my organizing and my reading together. Sometimes thousands of newly energized people show up and campaigns explode into feverish activity, at other times activism deteriorates into a morass of accusations and paralysis. Why? As organizers and activists we have to be engaged with the day-to-day work—our strategies are often limited to thinking about budgets, allies, and targets. Unsurprisingly we are less sensitive to the large scale ebbs and flows of political protest, and how these limit or help us. Studies of past movements can be useful in helping us to see that big picture.
"Insurgent Identities and Schism and Solidarity are two books that cast a keen eye towards the rise and fall of popular movements in nineteenth century France. But these are not simply histories of long ago and far away, they systematically collect and analyze information on the patterns of protest and social life and build models of mobilization that are useful for thinking about organizing today. They attempt to offer answers to the key questions—what allows people to assume a revolutionary identity, and why do organizations split and schism at some moments, and engage in firm solidarity at others?" Read review
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