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"Whether she's in Beswick or Brazil, Hilary Wainwright has gone in search of the questions to the key issues of our time - how can we gain access to the levers of power, democratise them and then use them to effect progressive change? She returns with answers free of dogma and full of insight, rooted in the experiences of those who know best - people shaping the future of their communities on the ground. Intelligent, well-written and painstakingly researched, it is a crucial contribution to the Left agenda." -- Gary Younge, Guardian "Hilary Wainwright draws on successful innovations in popular participation from throughout the world to make a convincing case for the viability of a genuine third way between the dead ends of liberal democracy and social democracy. This book is likely to become the intellectual flagship of the new politics movement." -- Walden Bello "examining recent events from England to Brazil, and Norway to China, Hilary Wainwright not only charts struggles for social gain but highlights the relations of knowledge and power that they unearth and produce ... to make an 'alternative world not only possible but real' requires examining our experiences, learning from them, and then charting new paths forward. Wainwright is courageously and energetically at work on the task." - Michael Albert, ZNET/ Z Magazine
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The protest movement hounding capitalist elites from Seattle to Cancun and the global outrage at the military aggression of George Bush and Tony Blair are saying more than just 'no'. They are insisting that another world is possible. But if the momentum of these international movements is to grow, they must be rooted in local action to create greater democratic and economic justice in everyday life. Hilary Wainwright sets out on a quest to discover how people are creating new, stronger forms of democracy. Her journey starts in the deep south of Brazil, in Porto Alegre, where she explores the wider potential of the 'participatory budget', the Workers Party's radical model for public investment decisions. With the confidence this gives that participatory democracy can work, she goes home and joins residents in East Manchester - the origins of Britain's industrial revolution - as they test out the British government's promise of 'community-led' regeneration and use public money to try to rebuild shattered neighbourhoods. She hangs out on a young, 'dream' estate on the outskirts of the commuter town of Luton where ex-squatters and ravers join with established residents' groups and local vicars to take control of public resources and forge a new social economy. Finally, in the northern city of Newcastle, she is a fly on the wall as council workers see off an attempt by British Telecom to take over local services and win the battle for a democratic public alternative. Wainwright concludes with a set of proposals for turning resistance into lasting institutions of participatory democracy - an embedded bargaining power against corporate and military elites. This, she argues, will require very different kinds of political parties from the ones currently alienating voters. Reclaim the State shows that the foundations for new political directions already exist, and provides imaginative and practical tools for building on them.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Got this the other day and didn't put it down for ages... lots of interesting research which would be useful to any politics student, but it's all presented quite readably as well, lots of examples etc. Definitely recommended, very original and thought-provoking.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Fantastic read, fully engrossing. This book makes the subject matter come alive. If you thought politics were boring read this and see how changes can be affected. Extremely lucid and inspiring, with a handy directory at the back to find additional resources in pratical politics.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Every so often, most of us participate in local elections in our respective countries where we're offered an opportunity to influence the look and the shape of our local governments. Or are we? Is ticking a box on a ballot paper every few years really a democracy? What if we as citizens could play an active part in how the municipal budgets are spent, for example?
In this book, Hilary Wainwright shows us real-life examples from cities in Brazil, Britain and Norway where this is possible - places where citizens actively participate in decisions over public resources and services.
Local politics has never tickled my imagination - not until I read this book, anyway, so a praise for making such an unpalatable topic really interesting for me. It helps enormously that Hilary's easy style of writing makes for a highly compelling read!
In this book, Hilary Wainwright shows us real-life examples from cities in Brazil, Britain and Norway where this is possible - places where citizens actively participate in decisions over public resources and services.
Local politics has never tickled my imagination - not until I read this book, anyway, so a praise for making such an unpalatable topic really interesting for me. It helps enormously that Hilary's easy style of writing makes for a highly compelling read!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
I Love This Book
There seems little point in describing at length the storyline of these books: despite never having previously read or to my knowledge seen the film adaptation as a 30-something... Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2006 by Mark Twain
A muddled work
It should have been all downhill for Hilary Wainwright with me on this book because I am all ready partially converted.
But what did I read? A muddle! Read more
Published on 5 Aug 2003 by David Ashton
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