Learning with Lenin brings together, for the first time, Lenin's classic texts and his speeches and writings on education. To facilitate educators and activists' engagement with these works, a study and discussion guide accompanies each text. Learning with Lenin contributes to the rematerialization of a revolutionary movement in the U.S. by focusing on the pedagogy of Lenin. After a series of setbacks and attacks that seriously degraded its status in both working-class struggles and educational theory, socialism is once again on the rise. Like the generations before them, organizers, activists, and educators are once again turning to classic works of socialism to understand and respond to the systematic depravities of imperialism, white supremacy, and settler-colonialism. Learning with Lenin will assist anyone interested in reading and applying Lenin's theories to our current era, with all of its complexities and contradictions.

August Bebel (1840-1913) was one of the towering figures of late nineteenth century European socialism and the leading figure of the German labour movement from the 1860s until his death in 1913. Born into a modest family, and a half-orphan from the age of four, his advancement to a pivotal role in the politics of Imperial Germany mirrored the success of German social democracy in this period. Bebel was not only the founder and first leader of the Social Democratic Workers Party of Germany (SDAP), a political movement that became the largest socialist party in nineteenth-century Europe, but he was also a powerful orator and leading member of the German parliament. He was described by contemporaries as the 'king of the German workers' and the 'shadow emperor' of Germany. In this biography, Jurgen Schmidt situates Bebel's life and career in the political, social and cultural history of modern Europe. He also provides an overview of the growth of the labour movement and working class political activism in late-nineteenth century Germany. This is an essential biography of one of Germany's most influential and unique politicians, living at a time of great political, social and industrial change in Europe.

The complex and hard-fought movement for political freedom in India coincided with the rise of a wealthy capitalist class of Indian industrialists who had profited under British rule. By 1947, these prominent businessmen had forged a partnership with the socialist-led Indian National Congress, and supported Jawaharlal Nehru's implementation of a centrally-planned economy. In this political history of modern India, David Lockwood traces the roots of this capitalist class, concentrated in Bombay, Calcutta and the west Bengal coal mining region, and examines British economic policy in the nineteenth century. Indian capitalists, such as J.R.D Tata of Tata Steel, established powerful relationships with domestic governments throughout the period, holding indigenous industrial conferences and supporting the swadeshi movement which aimed to promote Indian-manufactured goods. The Indian Bourgeoisie is a unique and important contribution to the lively debate on the role of India's capitalists during the Raj and throughout the early years of independence.

Today, anti-humanism is a dominant, even definitive, feature of contemporary theory. Setting out to challenge this tendency, editors David Alderson and Kevin Anderson argue that the political moment demands a reappraisal of the humanist tradition. Humanism, in all its diversity and complexity, may facilitate the renewal of progressive theory through the championing of human subjectivity, agency and freedom. Across four extended essays, David Alderson, Kevin Anderson, Barbara Epstein and Robert Spencer engage critically with the Marxist tradition, recent developments in poststructuralism, postcolonialism and queer theory. Incorporating an overview of the historical context that resulted in socialist humanism’s eclipse in the 1950s and '60s, and a strident critique of anti-humanism, For Humanism offers a coherent and compelling argument for the rehabilitation of a much maligned tradition.

Eric Weitz presents a social and political history of German communism from its beginnings at the end of the nineteenth century to the collapse of the German Democratic Republic in 1990. In the first book in English or in German to explore this entire period, Weitz describes the emergence of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) against the background of Imperial and Weimar Germany, and clearly explains how the legacy of these periods shaped the character of the GDR to the very end of its existence.

In Weimar Germany, social democrats and Germany's old elites tried frantically to discipline a disordered society. Their strategies drove communists out of the workplace and into the streets, where the party gathered supporters in confrontations with the police, fascist organizations, and even socialists and employed workers. In the streets the party forged a politics of display and spectacle, which encouraged ideological pronouncements and harsh physical engagements rather than the mediation of practical political issues. Male physical prowess came to be venerated as the ultimate revolutionary quality. The KPD's gendered political culture then contributed to the intransigence that characterized the German Democratic Republic throughout its history. The communist leaders of the GDR remained imprisoned in policies forged in the Weimar Republic and became tragically removed from the desires and interests of their own populace.

A momentous debate has been unfolding in China over the last fifteen years, only intermittently in public view, concerning the merits of socialism as a philosophy of social justice and as a program for national development. Just as Deng Xiaoping's better advertised experiment with market- based reforms has challenged Marxist-Leninist dogma on economic policy, the years since the death of Mao Zedong have seen a profound reexamination of a more basic question: to what extent are the root problems of the system due to Chinese socialism and Marxism generally? Here Yan Sun gathers a remarkable group of primary materials, drawn from an unusual range of sources, to present the most systematic and comprehensive study of post-Mao reappraisal of China's socialist theory and practice.

Rejecting an assumption often made in the West, that Chinese socialist thought has little bearing on politics and policymaking, Sun takes the arguments of the post-Mao era seriously on their own terms. She identifies the major factions in the debate, reveals the interplay among official and unofficial forces, and charts the development of the debate from an initially parochial concern with problems raised by Chinese practice to a grand critique of the theory of socialism itself. She concludes with an enlightening comparison of the reassessments undertaken by Deng Xiaoping with those of Gorbachev, linking them to the divergent outcomes of reform and revolution in their respective countries.

In the first political analysis of unemployment in a socialist country, Susan Woodward argues that the bloody conflicts that are destroying Yugoslavia stem not so much from ancient ethnic hatreds as from the political and social divisions created by a failed socialist program to prevent capitalist joblessness. Under Communism the concept of socialist unemployment was considered an oxymoron; when it appeared in postwar Yugoslavia, it was dismissed as illusory or as a transitory consequence of Yugoslavia's unorthodox experiments with worker-managed firms. In Woodward's view, however, it was only a matter of time before countries in the former Soviet bloc caught up with Yugoslavia, confronting the same unintended consequences of economic reforms required to bring socialist states into the world economy.

By 1985, Yugoslavia's unemployment rate had risen to 15 percent. How was it that a labor-oriented government managed to tolerate so clear a violation of the socialist commitment to full employment? Proposing a politically based model to explain this paradox, Woodward analyzes the ideology of economic growth, and shows that international constraints, rather than organized political pressures, defined government policy. She argues that unemployment became politically "invisible," owing to its redefinition in terms of guaranteed subsistence and political exclusion, with the result that it corrupted and ultimately dissolved the authority of all political institutions. Forced to balance domestic policies aimed at sustaining minimum standards of living and achieving productivity growth against the conflicting demands of the world economy and national security, the leadership inadvertently recreated the social relations of agrarian communities within a postindustrial society.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY BOOK AWARDS 'Jess Phillips writes like she talks: brilliantly. Her humour and passion shine through every page. Loved it.' ROBERT WEBB _____________________ If you're thinking, 'Jess who?' then I'm glad that there was something about 'Everywoman' and 'truth' that caught your eye. Or you might already know me as that gobby MP who has a tendency to shout about the stuff I care about. Because I'm a woman with a cause, I have been called a feminazi witch, a murderer and threatened with rape. The internet attracts a classy crowd. So, speaking the truth isn't always easy but I believe it's worth it. And I want you to believe it too. The truth can be empowering, the truth can lead to greater equality, and the world would be incredibly boring if we let all of those people who allegedly know everything, say everything. By demanding to be heard, by dealing with our imposter syndrome, by being cheerleaders, doers not sayers, creating our own networks and by daring to believe that we can make a difference, we can. We're women and we're kick-ass. And that's the truth. _____________________ 'Joyfully candid and very funny.' Guardian 'Jess Phillips knows the truth . . . and here she shows how scary and sad as well as joyful and liberating the answers can be.' Damian Barr 'Everywoman has all the laughs [of Lena Dunham and Caitlin Moran] with a backbone of real glinting anger . . .there were so many funny and wise things on each page that whittling them down into a review seemed impossible.' Julie Birchill, Spectator 'As fresh as mountain air amid the Westminster tumbleweed.' Metro 'Arresting.' Observer _____________________ This title now has a new cover and there is a chance that you may receive the edition with the old cover instead of the cover displayed here.

Updated since the May 1997 election, Faces of Labour gives a unique insight into a range of Labour politicians in a series of entertaining and revealing portraits. With a substantial lead in the opinion polls, the Labour Party looks set to take over the reins of Britain s government within a year. Ironically, just at the point when Labour appears to be a government in waiting, it has never been more difficult to judge exactly what we can expect from Labour in government. New slogans and buzz words appear on almost a daily basis, as the Labour Party continues to redefine itself after two decades in opposition. In Faces of Labour Andy McSmith brings an expert eye to bear on the enormous changes Labour has undergone on the long road back to Number 10. A former party press officer and now a political correspondent for the Observer, few people are better qualified than Andy McSmith to give an account-both as an insider and as a critical observer-of what is really going on in the Labour Party. McSmith describes the transition from a party dominated by the radical left into a social democratic party. He reassesses the tensions between Old and New Labour, focusing on individuals whose careers throw different aspects of a complex story into sharp relief. McSmith gives a sharp insider's account of the key figures in the Labour hierarchy, including Peter Mandelson-the man described as Tony Blair's Rasputin-John Prescott, Robin Cook, Clare Short and, of course, Tony Blair himself. He also looks at those on the underside of the party-figures such as Ted Grant, guru of the Militant Tendency, and the late Jim Murray, a Tyneside shop steward who, by combination of pure chance and the power of the block vote, once held the future of Labour in his hands. Faces of Labour is crammed with the kind of telling detail available only to a writer who has observed his subject from close up. If you want to know what to expect from the New Labour government, this lively and accessible book is an indispensable guide.

Communism, capitalism, work, crisis, and the market, described in simple storybook terms and illustrated by drawings of adorable little revolutionaries. Once upon a time, people yearned to be free of the misery of capitalism. How could their dreams come true? This little book proposes a different kind of communism, one that is true to its ideals and free from authoritarianism. Offering relief for many who have been numbed by Marxist exegesis and given headaches by the earnest pompousness of socialist politics, it presents political theory in the simple terms of a children's story, accompanied by illustrations of lovable little revolutionaries experiencing their political awakening. It all unfolds like a story, with jealous princesses, fancy swords, displaced peasants, mean bosses, and tired workers-not to mention a Ouija board, a talking chair, and a big pot called "the state." Before they know it, readers are learning about the economic history of feudalism, class struggles in capitalism, different ideas of communism, and more. Finally, competition between two factories leads to a crisis that the workers attempt to solve in six different ways (most of them borrowed from historic models of communist or socialist change). Each attempt fails, since true communism is not so easy after all. But it's also not that hard. At last, the people take everything into their own hands and decide for themselves how to continue. Happy ending? Only the future will tell. With an epilogue that goes deeper into the theoretical issues behind the story, this book is perfect for all ages and all who desire a better world.

Learning with Lenin brings together, for the first time, Lenin's classic texts and his speeches and writings on education. To facilitate educators and activists' engagement with these works, a study and discussion guide accompanies each text. Learning with Lenin contributes to the rematerialization of a revolutionary movement in the U.S. by focusing on the pedagogy of Lenin. After a series of setbacks and attacks that seriously degraded its status in both working-class struggles and educational theory, socialism is once again on the rise. Like the generations before them, organizers, activists, and educators are once again turning to classic works of socialism to understand and respond to the systematic depravities of imperialism, white supremacy, and settler-colonialism. Learning with Lenin will assist anyone interested in reading and applying Lenin's theories to our current era, with all of its complexities and contradictions.

The Labour Church was an organisation fundamental to the British socialist movement during the formative years of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and Labour Party between 1891 and 1914. It was founded by the Unitarian Minister John Trevor in Manchester in 1891 and grew rapidly thereafter. Its political credentials were on display at the inaugural conference of the ILP in 1893, and the Labour Church proved a formative influence on many pioneers of British socialism. This book provides an analysis of the Labour Church, its religious doctrine, its socio-political function and its role in the cultural development of the early socialist arm of the labour movement. It includes a detailed examination of the Victorian morality and spirituality upon which the life of the Labour Church was built. Jacqui Turner challenges previously held assumptions that the Labour Church was irreligious and merely a political tool. She provides a new cultural picture of a diverse and inclusive organisation, committed to individualism and an individual relationship with God. As such, this book brings together two major controversies of late-Victorian Britain: the emergence of independent working-class politics and the decline of traditional religion in a work which will be essential reading for all those interested in the history of the labour movement.

Sabiha Sertel was born into revolution in 1895, as an independent Turkey rose out of the dying Ottoman Empire. The nation's first professional female journalist, her unrelenting push for democracy and social reforms ultimately cost Sertel her country and freedom. Shortly before her death in 1968, Sertel completed her autobiography Roman Gibi (Like a Novel), which was written during her forced exile in the Soviet Union. Translated here into English for the first time, and complete with a new introduction and comprehensive annotations, it offers a rare perspective on Turkey's history as it moved to embrace democracy, then violently recoiled. The book reveals the voice of a passionate feminist and committed socialist who clashes with the young republic's leadership. A unique first-hand account, the text foreshadows Turkey's increasingly authoritarian state. Sertel offers her perspective on the fierce divisions over the republic's constitution and covers issues including freedom of the press, women's civil rights and the pre-WWII discussions with European leaders about Hitler's rising power. More information about the book, photographs, reviews and events can be found at a special website dedicated to the book: www.struggleformodernturkey.com

Revolution in the Air is the definitive study of how radicals from the sixties movements embraced twentieth-century Marxism, and what movements of dissent today can learn from the legacies of Lenin, Mao and Che.

This pioneering work traces the history of the socialist novel, covering 150 years of creative writing.It spans the hopes and aspirations of the Chartist writers in Britain and the modern variety of ideological and literary positions of socialist intellectuals.The major conceptual and individual developments are carefully analysed, and the work brings together essays by such distinguished writers as Raymond Williams, John Goode, Raymon Ortega and Marsha Vicinus.It proves a framework for wider discussion, situating the socialist novel in the overall framework of English literature.