I'm a third of the way through this book, and it has the feel of the genuine article (as it were). Most memorable to date is this extract from the speech that Slavoj Zizek gave at the New York Occupy site:
We are all losers, but the true losers are down there on Wall Street. They were bailed out by billions of our money. We are called socialists, but here there is always socialism for the rich. They say we don't respect private property, but in the 2008 financial crash-down, more hard-earned private property was destroyed than if all of us here were to be destroying it night and day for weeks. They tell you we are dreamers. The true dreamers are those who think things can go on indefinitely the way they are. We are not dreamers. We are the awakening from a dream that is turning into a nightmare.
I'm not an Occupier but a supporter and lifelong activist. I think it's beyond wonderful that Verso is doing this, making copies of the Occupy/Scenes from book available to various Occupy groups. It's a really worthwhile compilation, which I passed along to Occupy Tacoma when I'd finished with it. Paul Mason's book (Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere) is also very worthwhile, and one I hope gets widely read.
The translated verses quoted in the preceding post were chanted in Tahrir Square by the heroes who filled that space with their bodies, their lives, and their determination to be free. It isn't often that we see such a moment that is "the real item"--people literally placing themselves at mortal risk in front of violent forces of entrenched power. This book is not only inspirational, but also offers a plausible analysis of an unprecedented historical opening, the contours of which the author sketches with reference to past events. His knowledge of revolutionary history is impressively nuanced, his understanding never ham-handed. The idea of "the graduate with no future" as an increasingly ubiquitous fixture of modern technological capitalist societies shows a significant grasp on the volatile reality of our times.
I am eager for as many socially conscious and involved people as possible to read and prosper from this book. It is worth reading and discussing.
We are all losers, but the true losers are down there on Wall Street. They were bailed out by billions of our money. We are called socialists, but here there is always socialism for the rich. They say we don't respect private property, but in the 2008 financial crash-down, more hard-earned private property was destroyed than if all of us here were to be destroying it night and day for weeks. They tell you we are dreamers. The true dreamers are those who think things can go on indefinitely the way they are. We are not dreamers. We are the awakening from a dream that is turning into a nightmare.
You can't get it better said than that.