Böcker utgivna av Verso Books

Following on from Alain Badiou's acclaimed works Ethics and Metapolitics, Polemics is a series of brilliant metapolitical reflections, demolishing established opinion and dominant propaganda, and reorienting our understanding of events from the Kosovo and Iraq wars to the Paris Commune and the Cultural Revolution.With the critical insight and polemical bravura for which he is renowned, Badiou considers the relationships between language, judgment and propagandaand shows how propaganda has become the dominant force. Both wittily and profoundly, Badiou presents a series of radical philosophical engagements with politics, and questions what constitutes political truth.

Comprehensive account of the role of gold and money in Western society

Marx and Engels had sketched out the principles of scientific communism by 1846. Yet it was from his intense involvement in the abortive German Revolution of 1848 that Marx developed a depth of practical understanding he would draw on in Capital and throughout his later career. This work includes his great call to arms - "The Communist Manifesto".

In this book Boris Kagarlitsky offers a trenchant analysis of the break-up of the Soviet Union and the transformation of a section of the old nomenklatura into a new possessing and ruling elite.Kagarlitsky shows that Western commentators have been misled by the street theatre of events like the bungled coup of August 1991 into supposing that a fundamental break has been made with the confused politics and economics of the late Soviet period. He analyses the ill-considered and self-interested attempts made by the nomenklatura to privatize assets and inaugurate a free-market economy, finding an essential continuity between the plans of Gorbachev’s and Yeltsin’s advisers. He reveals, too, how the new Russian President has displayed a greater capacity to assert dictatorial powers than did the last General Secretary, a tendency which has brought him into repeated conflict with elected bodies.Boris Kagarlitsky is himself a Socialist member of the Moscow Soviet and one of the founders of Russia’s new Party of Labour. The Disintegration of the Monolith furnishes both a memorable indictment of the greed and irresponsibility of Russia’s new/old rulers and a fascinating account of the slow but unmistakeable awakening of forces of resistance as the peoples of Russia and the other states of the former Soviet Union confront the hyper-inflation, shortages, unemployment and general havoc wreaked by the free-market experiment. Kagarlitsky describes the gradual emergence of a new Russian trade unionism, but warns that popular discontent is also being exploited by nationalist demagogues, such as the leader of Russia’s new Liberal Party. For those seeking to understand what has changed in Russia—and what has remained the same—The Disintegration of the Monolith is required reading.

SEVENTY YEARS AFTER THE CHINESE REVOLUTION OF 1949, WHAT REMAINS OF MAO'S COMMUNIST LEGACY?

The anatomy of Britain on the edge of Brexit by Orwell Prize winning journalist

How America's failed wars abroad - Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria - has resulted in increased threat at home, and the rise of Trump.

What sort of institution is education? In this iconoclastic study, James Donald restores the school to its proper place at the heart of post-Enlightenment culture and politics. He traces the emergence of education as an apparatus designed—forlornly—to shape the souls of citizens. He also draws illuminating analogies between education and broadcasting, showing how both conjure up publics and structure the everyday lives of individuals.To balance this focus on the institution of cultural norms, Donald emphasizes the dynamics of fantasy and desire in their negotiation. He therefore juxtaposes the normative practices of education and broadcasting against more transgressive forms of popular culture: pornography, racist thrillers like Fu Manchu, vampire films, and what he calls the vulgar sublime. Finally, drawing on postmodern debates about community and democracy, he sketches a context for reforms in broadcasting and presents a provocative alternative to orthodox progressive ideas about education from the primary school to the university.

Using original research from archives, interviews with MPs and party officials, and first hand testimonies from grass roots activists, the authors go behind the scenes to name names, record the votes, and lay bare the machinations of those who led the Labour Party to electoral defeat in 1992.

The Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela has brought Hugo Chavez to world attention as the foremost challenger of the neoliberal consensus and American foreign policy. This work shows how Chavez's views have polarized Latin America and examines the hostility directed against his administration.

"First published in English by Progress Publishers, 1960."

What is fascism in the twenty first century?

The story of the remarkable resurgence of right-wing extremists in the United States

A cutting exploration of how cities drive climate change while being on the frontlines of the coming climate crisis

The war between Maoists and the state in the heart of India

Tracking the development of Foucault's key concepts

How the West's obsession with Vladimir Putin prevents it from understanding RussiaIt is impossible to think of Russia today without thinking of Vladimir Putin. More than any other major national leader, he personifies his country in the eyes of the world, and dominates Western media coverage. In Russia itself, he is likewise the centre of attention both for his supporters and his detractors. But, as Tony Wood argues, this focus on Russia's president gets in the way of any real understanding of the country. The West needs to shake off its obsession with Putin and look beyond the Kremlin walls.In this timely and provocative analysis, Wood explores the profound changes Russia has undergone since 1991. In the process, he challenges several common assumptions made about contemporary Russia. Against the idea that Putin represents a return to Soviet authoritarianism, Wood argues that his rule should be seen as a continuation of Yeltsin's in the 1990s. The core features of Putinisma predatory elite presiding over a vastly unequal societyare in fact integral to the system set in place after the fall of Communism.Wood also overturns the standard view of Russia's foreign policy, identifying the fundamental loss of power and influence that has underpinned recent clashes with the West. Russia without Putin concludes by assessing the current regime's prospects, and looks ahead to what the future may hold for the country.

Works of Wilde's annus mirabilis of 1891 in one volume, with an introduction by renowned British playwright.

We are living in an age with unprecedented levels of poverty. Who are the new poor? And what can we do about it?

A passionate call to rediscover the political and emotional joy that emerges when we share our livesIn an era of increasing individualism, we have never been more isolated and dispirited. A paradox confronts us. While research and technology find new ways to measure contentment and popular culture encourages us to think of happiness as a human right, misery is abundant.Segal believes we have lost the art of ';radical happiness'the liberation that comes with transformative, collective joy. She argues that instead of obsessing about our own well-being we should seek fulfilment in the lives of others. Examining her own experience in the women's movement, Segal looks at the relationship between love and sex, and the scope for utopian thinking as a means to a better future. She also shows how the gaps in care that come from the diminishing role of the welfare state must be replaced by alternative ways of living together and looking after one another.In this brilliant and provocative book, Segal proposes that the power of true happiness can only be discovered collectively.

The true history of the imperial deal that transformed the Middle East and sealed the fate of PalestineOn 2 November 1917, the British government, represented by Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour, declared it was in favour of ';the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.' This short note would become one of the most controversial documents of modern history.Offering new insights into the imperial rivalries between Britain, Germany and the Ottomans, Regan exposes British policy in the region as part of a larger geopolitical game. He charts the debates within the British government, the Zionist movement, and the Palestinian groups struggling for selfdetermination. The after-effects of these events are still felt today.

The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, was met by the greatest public mourning witnessed in the 20th century. For those perplexed by the events surrounding Diana's death, this book seeks to provide some answers. It brings together writings which analyze her death rather than lament it.

"The Movement of Movements" charts the strategic thinking behind the mosaic of movements currently challenging neoliberal globalization. In this collection leading theorists and activists discuss their personal formation as radicals, and the history of their movement.

An original and decisive contribution to the contemporary debate on the central Marxist concept of ideology.

This study examines the place of politics in opera, uncovering the political dimension of an art form all too often considered as purely aesthetic. It takes readers on a tour of 200 years of great opera, from "The Marriage of Figaro" to "Nixon in China".

What would a viable free and democratic society look like? Poverty, exploitation, instability, hierarchy, subordination, environmental exhaustion, radical inequalities of wealth and powerit is not difficult to list capitalism's myriad injustices. But is there a preferable and workable alternative? Alternatives to Capitalism: Proposals for a Democratic Economy presents a debate between two such possibilities: Robin Hahnel's ';participatory economics' and Erik Olin Wright's ';real utopian' socialism. It is a detailed and rewarding discussion that illuminates a range of issues and dilemmas of crucial importance to any serious effort to build a better world.