Connecting some of the more remarkable events of the last decade--including the rioting in Oaxaca and in the outskirts of Paris and the modern crises of neoliberalism--this critical analysis suggests new strategies for the progressive Left and that forward-moving change is possible. It examines the concept that movements generally develop at times of acceleration and expansion, but ultimately naturally slow down without consideration of their actual effects--stifling new developments, suppressing the emergence of new forms of politics, or failing to see other possible directions. Global in scope and including writings from Leftist struggles, victories, and defeats, this collection of essays ponders the possibility of a winning movement with lasting change and presents opportunities in all corners of the world.

Cultural Writing. Politics. Whether it's the G8 summit at Heiligendamm or experiments in Latin America, the politics of climate change or uprisings in the French banlieues, questions of visibility and illumination crop up again and again. But our experiences create their own luminosity, and their own areas of darkness. How can we overcome our night-blindness once we move beyond the familiar?