Book : Old Gods, New Enigmas by Mike Davis
Synopsis :
In this collection of essays, Mike Davis explores Marx’s thoughts on two key questions of our time: Who can lead a revolutionary transformation of society? And what is the cause—and solution—of the environmental crisis? Davis searches Karl Marx’s works for a revolutionary paradigm capable of addressing these questions and argues that the history of worker-led uprisings in the late-modern period remains relevant to understanding how today’s “informal proletariat” might gain class consciousness and political agency.
Reading Schedule :
Sunday 11th September – Preface, Chapter 1Sunday 18th September – Chapter 2 & 3- Sunday 25th September – Chapter 4
How to Access :
The book is available on LibGen
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I'm still working my way through the first chapter so I haven't really got anything to discuss for chapters 2 and 3 but I'll hopefully read them tomorrow and post something then.
I will say that the section in chapter 1 on proletarian culture has stood out to me. The kinds of social groups and societies Davis goes over I think are one of the things the left needs to be looking into more, reviving and updating as sites through which new comrades can be radicalised and trained.