Order
Published in the UK, US and Worldwide by Zed Books
Published in Canada by Fernwood Publishing
Paperback: 9781780329529
Hardback: 9781780329536
eBook ePub: 9781780329550
eBook Kindle: 9781780329567
Crises of Imagination, Crises of Power
Capitalism, Creativity and the Commons
by Max Haiven
Published in 2014
Today, when it seems like everything has been privatized, when austerity is too often seen as an economic or political problem that can be solved through better policy, and when the idea of moral values has been commandeered by the right, how can we re-imagine the forces used as weapons against community, solidarity, ecology and life itself?
In this stirring call to arms, Max Haiven argues that capitalism has colonized how we all imagine and express what is valuable. Looking at the decline of the public sphere, the corporatization of education, the privatization of creativity, and the power of finance capital in opposition to the power of the imagination and the growth of contemporary social movements, Haiven provides a powerful argument for creating an anti-capitalist commons. Capitalism is not in crisis, it is the crisis, and moving beyond it is the only key to survival.
Crucial reading for all those questioning the imposition of austerity and hoping for a fairer future beyond it.
Endorsements
The right has taken possession of the field of values with a politics that is inadequate to deal with the crises therein, whereas the left has the concepts needed to deal with the crises but has all but abandoned the field. This is a conundrum that must be explored and solved. Haiven is to be thanked for formulating this problem so precisely
George Caffentzis
author of 'In Letters of Blood and Fire'
Haiven's provocative book does justice to a topic that has been too long neglected. He not only explains the constraints that are everywhere placed on our political imagination, but also makes a strong case for transcending them
Andrew Ross
author of 'Creditocracy and the Case for Debt Refusal'
With the help of this book, another world really is possible
Imre Szeman
University of Alberta
'Crises of Imagination, Crises of Power' helps bring us closer to the utopia that is within our grasp
Stevphen Shukaitis
author of 'Imaginal Machines: Autonomy and Self-Organization in the Revolutions of Everyday Life'
Inspired and engaged book
Randy Martin
New York University