Confronting Injustice: Social Activism in the Age of Individualism

by Umair Muhammad

Overview

A new generation of activists working for economic and environmental justice, and against war and poverty, confronts critical questions. Why is the world so unjust and crisis-prone? What kind of world should we fight for? How can we win? In this panoramic yet accessible book, Umair Muhammad engages with these and other urgent debates. He argues that individual solutions like “buying green” are dead ends and that hope for the future lies in a radical expansion of democracy and the transformation of the economy from one based on profit to one that can meet human needs

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608465705
Publisher:	Haymarket Books
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Mohammad Umair's research focuses on the political economy of climate change. Umair has been involved in anti-poverty and environmental activism for six years. He is a member of the editorial team of Delusions of Development, and a member of Jane and Finch Action Against Poverty.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Age of Individualism 10

Whither Individuality? 14

Democracy and the Corporation 20

Selfishness Galore 28

2 + 2 = 5 31

The Age of Propaganda 36

Enter Activism 48

Chapter 2 Inequality and Activism 58

Inadequacies of Aid 62

The Origins of Inequality 70

Somalia: A Case Study 74

Bleeding Money 82

Market-Based Solutions? 88

Solidarity, Not Charity 92

Chapter 3 Climate Change and Activism 96

Before the Cataclysm 99

Negotiating the Earth Away 106

What Needs to Be Done 110

Climate Change Goes to War 114

Selling the Earth to Save it 126

Flip This Capital Eclipse 131

Chapter 4 The Way Forward 134

Possessive versus Creative Desires 137

Rethinking Democracy 141

The Meaning of Socialism 148

Transformation 153

Afterword 163

Filling a Gap 167

An Altered Position 173

Notes 179

Editorial Reviews

"A highly recommended read for those who are interested in working together to transform society."
—Chelsey Rhodes, Founder of DelusionsofDevelopment.com

"This book will force activists to check their intentions. I wasn't even halfway done before I wanted to share it with everyone I knew."
—Maryama Ahmed, Toronto-based Community Organizer

Confronting Injustice is a wide-ranging and unflinching look at the global nature of the challenges contemporary activists seek to address. Its blend of environmental and anti-imperialist analysis, grounded in direct organizing experience, makes this a powerful and important resource.
—Dru Oja Jay, coauthor of Paved with Good Intentions

“What [Umair] provides is an opening statement in an important discussion that activists must have....A must-read book for today’s activists”
—Ian Angus, author of Too Many People?

"Decades ago, I and my friends agonized over... our first steps in radical politics. But it was much easier then to find answers than it is now in the context of the relentlessly individualistic culture of neoliberalism. Muhammad has done well in his original and effective argument for commitment to collective and transformative social action."
—John Riddell, Toward the United Front: Proceedings of the Fourth Congress of the Communist International, 1922



"A highly recommended read for those who are interested in working together to transform society."
—Chelsey Rhodes, Founder of DelusionsofDevelopment.com

"This book will force activists to check their intentions. I wasn't even halfway done before I wanted to share it with everyone I knew."
—Maryama Ahmed, Toronto-based Community Organizer

Confronting Injustice is a wide-ranging and unflinching look at the global nature of the challenges contemporary activists seek to address. Its blend of environmental and anti-imperialist analysis, grounded in direct organizing experience, makes this a powerful and important resource.
—Dru Oja Jay, coauthor of Paved with Good Intentions

“What [Umair] provides is an opening statement in an important discussion that activists must have....A must-read book for today’s activists”
—Ian Angus, author of Too Many People?

"Decades ago, I and my friends agonized over... our first steps in radical politics. But it was much easier then to find answers than it is now in the context of the relentlessly individualistic culture of neoliberalism. Muhammad has done well in his original and effective argument for commitment to collective and transformative social action."
—John Riddell, Toward the United Front: Proceedings of the Fourth Congress of the Communist International, 1922

From the Publisher