Crowds and party

276 pages

English language

Published Nov. 7, 2016

ISBN:
978-1-78168-694-2
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OCLC Number:
934099833

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4 stars (1 review)

"How do we move from the inert mass to organized activists? Crowds and Party extends the energies of the riotous crowds of the last five years into an argument for the political party. Rejecting emphases on individuals and multitudes, Jodi Dean argues that we rethink the collective subject of politics. When crowds appear in spaces unauthorized by capital and the state, such as in the Occupy movement in New York, London and across the world, they create a gap of possibility. But too many on the left remain stuck in this beautiful moment of possibility--they argue for more of the same fragmentation into issues and identities as if this had not been the form of the last thirty years of left defeat. In Crowds and Party, Dean argues that previous discussions of the party have missed its affective dimensions, the way it operates as a knot of unconscious processes, and …

1 edition

Crowds & Party, The Communist Horizon

4 stars

I’m reviewing Crowds & Party together with her The Communist Horizon because I read both books immediately after one another, they seem deeply linked, and I can’t figure out what comes from where anymore.

I think these are both books worth reading. They, like Comrade before, helped me articulate a dissatisfaction with current left organizing in my world. I think they also both go great as a chaser to If We Burn. Often, I feel like the greatest insights come from the quotes Dean selects from authors. I noticed in my own highlights that I’m more likely to highlight the original thoughts rather than Dean’s takes on them :)

On crowds and occupation:

Communist Horizon deals heavily with occupation as a tactic. I was left convinced by “If We Burn” that occupation is a dead end for political strategy, and this book helped me understand why. The core insight …

Subjects

  • Communist parties
  • Communism
  • Protest movements