Books published by Pluto Press

An accessible and comprehensive overview of the ideas of Karl Marx that elucidates his theories and suggests crucial alternatives to capitalism

A critical introduction to the sociology and politics of Emile Durkheim

A provocative economic analysis which reconceptualises the nation state as a vehicle for progressive change.

A journalistic look at the terrifying growth of Islamophobia across the Western world today

On 16th August 2012, thirty-four black mineworkers were gunned down by the police under the auspices of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) in what has become known as the Marikana massacre. This attempt to drown independent working-class power in blood backfired and is now recognised as a turning point in the country's history. *BR**BR*The Spirit of Marikana tells the story of the uncelebrated leaders at the world's three largest platinum mining companies who survived the barrage of state violence, intimidation, torture and murder which was being perpetrated during this tumultuous period. What began as a discussion about wage increases between two workers in the changing rooms at one mine became a rallying cry for economic freedom and basic dignity. *BR**BR*This gripping ethnographic account is the first comprehensive study of this movement, revealing how seemingly ordinary people became heroic figures who transformed their workplace and their country.

The world is overheated. Too full and too fast; uneven and unequal. It is the age of the Anthropocene, of humanity's indelible mark upon the planet. In short, it is globalisation - but not as we know it.*BR**BR*In this groundbreaking book, Thomas Hylland Eriksen breathes new life into the discussion around global modernity, bringing an anthropologist's approach to bear on the three interrelated crises of environment, economy and identity. He argues that although these crises are global in scope, they are perceived and responded to locally, and that contradictions abound between the standardising forces of information-age global capitalism and the socially embedded nature of people and local practices.*BR**BR*Carefully synthesising the ethnographic and comparative methods of anthropology with macrosocial and historical material, Overheating offers an innovative new perspective on issues including energy use, urbanisation, deprivation, human (im)mobility, and the spread of interconnected, wireless information technology.

An academic insider's account of the Islamist social movement Kurdish Hizbullah

The story of one musician's journey to discover how music can be used as a political tool.

An intimate look at the lives of asylum seekers and migrant workers in Israel

This book lays bare the global propaganda war waged by the South African government in the attempt to bolster support for their apartheid regime. The world-wide campaign consisted of the government burnishing its image overseas, selling apartheid to the US and the UK in particular. *BR**BR*Costing around $100 million annually, and run with vigourous efficiency for fifty years, the campaign drew in an elaborate network of supporters, including global corporations with business operations in South Africa, conservative religious organisations, and an unlikely coalition of liberal black clergy and anti-communist black conservatives aligned with right-wing Cold War politicians. *BR**BR*Journalist Ron Nixon brings together interviews with key players, and thousands of previously unreleased records from US, British and South African archives, to provide a fast-paced and historically rich account of a little-known history.

An edited collection which contains unusual and global case studies providing a Marxist analysis of the commodification of life

Can the ivory tower rise above capitalism? Or are the humanities and social sciences merely handmaids to the American imperial order? The Capitalist University surveys the history of higher education in the United States over the last century, revealing how campuses and classrooms have become battlegrounds in the struggle between liberatory knowledge and commodified learning. *BR**BR*Henry Heller takes readers from the ideological apparatus of the early Cold War, through the revolts of the 1960s and on to the contemporary malaise of postmodernism, neoliberalism and the so-called 'knowledge economy' of academic capitalism. He reveals how American educational institutions have been forced to decide between teaching students to question the dominant order and helping to perpetuate it. The Capitalist University presents a comprehensive overview of a topic which affects millions of students in America and increasingly, across the globe.

The first global study of social democracy - authored by a wide range of leading thinkers from around the world

This brilliantly concise book is a classic introduction to Marx's key work, Capital. In print now for over a quarter of a century, and previously translated into many languages, the new edition has been fully revised and updated, making it an ideal modern introduction to one of the most important texts in political economy. The authors cover all central aspects of Marx's economics. They explain the structure of Marx's analysis and the meaning of the key categories in Capital, showing the internal coherence of Marx's approach. Marx's method and terminology are explored in detail, with supporting examples. Short chapters enable the meaning and significance of Marx's main concepts to be grasped rapidly, making it a practical text for all students of social science. Discussing Capital's relevance today, the authors consider Marx's impact on economics, philosophy, history, politics and other social sciences. Keeping abstract theorising to a minimum, this readable introduction highlights the continuing relevance of Marx's ideas in the light of the problems of contemporary capitalism.

Has Jewish modernity exhausted itself? Flourishing between the age of Enlightenment and the Second World War, the intellectual, literary, scientific and artistic legacy of Jewish modernity continues to dazzle us, however, in this provocative new book, esteemed historian Enzo Traverso argues powerfully that this cultural epoch has come to an end. *BR**BR*Previously a beacon for critical thinking in the Western world, the mainstream of Jewish thought has, since the end of the war, undergone a conservative turn. With great sensitivity and nuance, Traverso traces this development to the virtual destruction of European Jewry by the Nazis, and the establishment of the United States and Israel as the new poles of Jewish communal life. This is a compelling narrative, hinged upon a highly original discussion of Hannah Arendt's writings on Jewishness and politics. *BR**BR*With provocative chapters on the relationship between antisemitism and Islamophobia, the ascendance of Zionism, and the new 'civil religion of the Holocaust', The End of Jewish Modernity is both an elegy to a lost tradition and an intellectual history of the present.*BR*

The essential introduction to the writings of Abdullah OEcalan, founder of Democratic Confederalism

Reveals the endemic nature of Islamophobia in the West across various sections of society, both left and right

Can a political project exist outside of the power relations from which it is trying to emerge? In the twilight of Brazil's twenty-one year military regime, a new union movement emerged in Sao Paulo's industrial region, giving life to a new political party: the Workers' Party. The electoral success enjoyed by the party enabled it to champion a whole raft of democratic reforms and Brazil is now celebrated as a laboratory for popular and participatory forms of government. However, through analysis of the trajectory of the Worker Party's democratic experiment, the true challenge of embedding democracy inside existing state structures emerges. *BR**BR*Drawing on long-term ethnographic research, Victor Albert provides a critical analysis of citizen participation in Santo Andre, in the region of Greater Sao Paulo where the Workers' Party was founded, holding a microscope to the power relations between political appointees, public officials and local community activists. Albert also reveals how different social actors think and feel about citizen participation away from formal assemblies, and how some participants engage in what is a tenuous, and at times mutually distrustful, tactical and strategic relationship with political patrons.

How do objects that have lost their value become valuable once again?

The story of the rhetorical and practical assistance that Britain has given to the Zionist movement and the state of Israel since 1917

Reveals how governments and the wider establishment copy the practices of organised crime groups in order to control them

Thought of as one of the world's greatest political theorists, Antonio Gramsci's writings push readers to interpret and change the world. In Using Gramsci, Michele Filippini enlarges upon his seminal works, disentangling it from the prevailing orthodoxy in Gramscian analysis.*BR**BR*The book explores his work on ideology, the individual, collective organisms, crisis and temporality, in addition to the more traditional areas of his thought, such as hegemony and civil society. Through this close examination, the use value of Gramscian theoretical instruments to a broad range of disciplines, including, political science, education, language, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, anthropology and geography, becomes apparent. Filippini's approach explicates and emphasises the importance of one of the most popular and enduring Marxist figures. *BR*

Katy Gardner's account of her fifteen-month stay in the small Bangladeshi village of Talukpur has become a classic study of rural life in South Asia. *BR**BR*Through a series of beautifully crafted narratives, the villagers and their stories are brought vividly to life and the author's role as an outsider sensitively conveyed in her descriptions of the warm friendships she makes. *BR**BR*Above all Songs at the River's Edge is written from a deep respect of Bangladesh and its people.

A fascinating look at the contemporary American crime novel in all its variety and complexity

An exploration into how the elite exploit the impact of climate change and how communities can resist this process.

An exploration into how the elite exploit the impact of climate change and how communities can resist this process.