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Organizing Insurgency

Workers' Movements in the Global South

Immanuel Ness author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Pluto Press

Published:20th Apr '21

Should be back in stock very soon

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Organizing Insurgency cover

This insightful book explores the struggles of workers in the Global South, highlighting their critical role in global capitalism and the potential for collective action.

In Organizing Insurgency, the author delves into the pressing struggles faced by workers in the Global South, highlighting how economic imperialism has burdened them with the weight of global capitalism. Despite seeming isolated from the Global North, these workers are intricately woven into global commodity chains, making their plight crucial to the functioning of the world economy. The book emphasizes that the challenges they face are not merely local issues but resonate on a global scale, showcasing the interconnectedness of labor struggles across borders.

Through compelling case studies from India, the Philippines, and South Africa, Organizing Insurgency underscores the importance of political and economic representation in the fight against poverty and inequality. The author, Immanuel Ness, illustrates how these workers, often marginalized, are eager to mobilize and advocate for their rights. He argues that with the right support from political organizations, they can achieve significant improvements in their working conditions and overall quality of life.

Ness takes readers through various contexts, from the harsh industrial landscapes of Delhi to the agrarian challenges in Mindanao, demonstrating a common thread: when workers unite and organize, they inch closer to achieving socialism, solidarity, and equality. This book serves as both a call to action and a testament to the resilience of the working class in the face of systemic oppression.

'In these depressing times, when the neoliberal consensus has acquired an aura of inevitability akin to the Laws of Physics, it is a breath of fresh air to read serious scholarship that challenges this consensus'

-- Norman Finkelstein

'The rising anti-imperialist struggles in both the underdeveloped and developed countries are signalling the resurgence of the world proletarian-socialist revolution. Immanuel Ness makes a just call for forging a global workers' movement by reinvigorating and further developing the trade union movement, the workers' parties and political movements to fight for the rights and interests of the working class and the rest of the suffering people'

-- Professor Jose Maria Sison, Chairperson Emeritus of the International League of Peoples' Struggle, Founding Chairman, Communist Party of the Philippines and Co-Founder of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines

'Important'

-- Richard Wolff, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

'Timely and relevant. The theoretical framing around political organisation of the working class for social transformation is much-needed. Its energetic, provocative scholarship with insightful case studies from across the South makes it essential reading for academics and activists alike'

-- Anita Hammer, Senior Lecturer of Organisational Studies and Human Resources, University of Essex

'A valuable book that addresses the necessity of revolutionary organization in times of socialist ideological resurgence. Essential reading to anyone wishing to understand the proletarianization of the Global South. Its in-depth examination of modern forms of imperialist exploitation and revolts contribute to comprehending areas rarely covered by mainstream social science'

-- Ali Kadri, National University of Singapore

'A rich combination of theoretical insights and valuable case-studies from the Global South - a much-needed reminder that the agenda of social transformation requires a strong and sustained political intervention to turn protests into a powerful movement'

-- Prabhat Patnaik, Jawaharlal Nehru University

'Challenges the prevailing racializing perception of the Southern worker held in the North as powerless and without agency. 'Organizing Insurgency' is a must read for an understanding of imperialism, which has normalized a lack of awareness of the sustaining role of the southern agricultural and industrial workers in global capitalism'

-- Himani Bannerji, York Univer

ISBN: 9780745343600

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 455g

240 pages