At this session of our counter-narratives circle we will discuss "Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution" by David Harvey. The book (pdf) is downloadable for free online. We might supplement it with a more recent article on radical municipalism – TBC, watch this space for this and other updates. Everyone attending needs to do the reading beforehand, but it's OK if you don't manage to finish in time!

In his book David Harvey places the city at the centre of both capital and class struggle, considering cities ranging from NYC and Sao Paolo to Johannesburg and Mumbai, while drawing on historical as well as contemporary events: from the Paris Commune to Occupy Wall Street and the London riots. He addresses how the social and ecological reorganisation of cities could make them the focus of anti-capitalist resistance.

As national politics across the world sinks into a malevolent alliance between globalised capitalism and its reactionary nationalist-xenophobic backlash, it will be all the more important to build stronger non-state institutions and reassert our rights to the city. We might therefore return to this theme of radical municipalism in subsequent sessions.
Please contact spxx@kpnmail.nl for further info or if you plan to attend.

About the author
David Harvey is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology & Geography at the City University of New York (CUNY), Director of Research at the Center for Place, Culture and Politics, and the author of numerous books.

NOTE: There will be a donation jar and some refreshments available (cash or pin). Please think about donating something if you are able; a place like NieuwLand can only exist through the contributions of volunteers and friends, who know of the importance of places like this, which exist alternative to an individualistic society, capitalist economy and gentrifying neighbourhoods.