About book Work: Capitalism. Economics. Resistance (2011)
Two things that irritated me about this book: 1) No bibliography. I get that the anonymous authors didn't want to concede authority to the academy, but it still rankled when I wanted to cross-reference something. 2) Illustrations from Shutterstock. There is something profoundly sad about realizing that you once considered using the same vector illustration for a book about twentysomething finances, and here it is exhorting overpaid and underworked employees to rise up and advocate for their rights. Regarding Crimthinc, my first exposure was in college. I had a friend who was very passionate about human rights. I complained to her that I was frustrated with repetitive ultraliberal rhetoric that discouraged discourse. While I may have agreed that small family farms are better than multinational agri-business conglomerates who encourage a monoculture that will ultimately rob our land of its nutrients, I want to know WHY. The girl in my class, who grew up on a family farm owned by ConAgra, wanted to know why. Why are heirloom peaches profoundly better than the peaches you'd get in the supermarket? Years later, after I'd done more research, I felt like I had a better idea of why I should buy local, but at the time I was angry at evangelicals, whether advocating for religion or heirloom peaches. So, my friend told me to read Crimethinc because it was an intelligent alternative. I didn't really think that it was.So, I get that this isn't meant to convince anyone who isn't already convinced. That said, I did find some good lines that made me happy I'd purchased this book. I like the last chapter about thinking of activism not as something you'd shoehorn into your "free time" but as a part of who you are all of the time. Plus, this is a really nice-looking book (Shutterstock illustrations aside). Great cover. I wish that they'd credited the other sources of illustrations in the interior! Wow, almost a decade after Crimethinc. swept me off my feet and skyrocketed me into the world of anarchism, they've managed to make something relevant, enjoyable and something I'm not embarrassed to share with friends and acquaintances.It's also bizarre to read a book that's timely (the resistance section in the back talks about north africa and has pictures from within the last few months) while it's still timely.
Do You like book Work: Capitalism. Economics. Resistance (2011)?
Good contemporary critique of capitalism; too many images.
—smason
