Books published by Pluto Press

What happens when our society is faced with an existential crisis?

How can we use Social Reproduction Theory to inform political strategy?

What happens when our society is faced with an existential crisis?

Jean Jaures was the celebrated French Socialist Party leader, assassinated in 1914 for trying to use diplomacy and industrial action to prevent the outbreak of war. Published just a few years before his death, his magisterial A Socialist History of the French Revolution has endured for over a century as one of the most influential accounts of the French Revolution ever to be published.*BR**BR*This translation and abridgement of Jaures' original 6-volumes brings his exceptional work to an Anglophone audience for the first time. *BR**BR*Written in the midst of his activities as leader of the Socialist Party and editor of its newspaper, L'Humanite, Jaures intended the book to serve as both a guide and an inspiration to political activity; even now it can serve to do just that. Abidor's accomplished translation and Jaures's verve, originality and willingness to criticise all players in this great drama make this a truly moving addition to the shelf of great books on the French Revolution.

An introduction to the degrowth movement worldwide

An introduction to the sociology of money, foregrounding how money embodies social relations

Forty years after its first publication, In and Against the State returns with a new introduction and featuring an interview with John McDonnell

How is Britain enacting colonialism at home?

The Bolsheviks Come to Power is one of the most important histories of the Russian Revolution to challenge the mainstream narratives. Originally published to great acclaim in 2004, this new edition marks the 100th anniversary of one of the explosive and game-changing moments in modern times.*BR**BR*In this absorbing narrative, Alexander Rabinowitch counters the claims by mainstream historians that the revolution was a military coup led by Lenin and a small band of fanatics. He refutes the Soviet myth that the party's triumph in the October Revolution was inevitable, and explains the ebbs and flows of the revolutionary period, tracing the moods of the working class and the political positions of the Bolsheviks at different historical moments, including the immediate aftermath of the February Revolution, the July Days, the Kornilov affair, and up to and including the October Revolution itself.*BR**BR*Drawn from a wealth of primary sources and archival material, this new edition of Rabinowitch's classic account is a must-have for anyone interested in clearing away the tired platitudes of mainstream historians, and reclaiming the revolution on this important anniversary.

Capitalism has become a system of economic revenge, meted out against oppressed populations around the globe.

A powerful petition against the privatisation of the criminal justice system.

Up-to-date collection on the Situationist International, rethinking their relevance for today

Aliens, nuclear war and talking dolphins; this book is a study of the weird and wonderful world of the Posadists

A cutting analysis of the racist structures of mainstream feminism.

Historians and theorists debate the return of fascism, focusing on case studies from around the world.

A collection of original essays by novelists, journalists and academics exploring belonging and identity in Europe

'The emergence of a new wave of anti-capitalist activism on the streets of Seattle, Prague and Genoa has been accompanied by a growing interest in "e;autonomist Marxism."e; Steve Wright's study brilliantly illuminates the history, complexity and internal debates of this tradition ... A vital, lucid contribution to understanding how the red threads of Marxism are being rewoven into the fabric of twenty-first century radicalism.'Nick Dyer-Witheford, author of Cyber-MarxStorming Heaven is the first comprehensive survey of Italian autonomist theory, from its origins in the anti-stalinist and workerist left of the 1950s to its heyday twenty years later. Autonomist marxism was a political tendency which privileged themes--self-organisation, construction of identity, grassroots politics, subjects in struggle--which in many ways can be seen as the precursor of today's debates around direct action protest. Emphasising the dynamic nature of class struggle as the distinguishing feature of autonomist thought, Wright explores how its understanding of class politics developed alongside emerging social movements. Offering a critical and historical exploration of the tendency's emergence in postwar Italy, Storming Heaven moves beyond the crisis of traditional analytical frameworks on the left, and assesses the strengths and limitations of autonomist marxism as first developed by Antonio Negri, Mario Tronti, Sergio Bologna and others.

How do childcare, healthcare, education, family life and the roles of gender, race and sexuality affect our lives under capitalism?

150 years after the publication of Marx's Capital, this edited collection explores the book's relevance today.

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

A shocking but inspirational collection of stories by refugees in the former Calais camp in France

An international collection of ethnographic essays exploring the anthropology of the Anthropocene

*Selected as one of openDemocracy's Best Political Books of 2017**BR**BR*Although widely criticised and hugely wasteful, The Common Agricultural Policy did at least afford British farmers a degree of support. Post-Brexit, that support will vanish - to be replaced with a woefully misconceived agricultural export drive that cannot possibly deliver. *BR**BR*Bittersweet Brexit suggests a solution: paying workers decent wages in the agricultural sector could radically transform the nature of farming in Britain. It would improve yields, increase sustainability and ensure greater self-sufficiency at a time when food security is becoming a vital issue. *BR**BR*This scenario provides a progressive, forward-thinking and optimistic future for food and farming in Britain, which, unlike many other industries, is currently being ignored.

A classic, radical study of development via US foreign policy from the post-war period

The restoration of humanism to the radical left

This original ethnographic study looks at how children are 'civilised' within child institutions, such as schools, day care centres and families, under the auspices of the welfare state.*BR* *BR*As part of a general discussion on civilising projects and the role of state institutions, the authors focus on Denmark, a country characterised by the extent of time children use in public institutions from an early age. They look at the extraordinary amount of attention and effort put into the process of upbringing by the state, as well as the widespread co-operation in this by parents across the social spectrum.*BR* *BR*Taking as its point of departure the sociologist Norbert Elias' concept of civilising, Children of the Welfare State explores the ideals of civilised conduct expressed through institutional upbringing and examine how children of different age, gender, ethnicity and social backgrounds experience and react to these norms and efforts. The analysis demonstrates that welfare state institutions, though characterised by a strong egalitarian ideal, create distinctions between social groups, teach children about moral hierarchies in society and prompts them to identify as more or less civilised citizens of the state.

A compelling account of the years of political struggle in Egypt unfolding from January 2011 to the summer of 2015

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

The Iraq war defined the first decade of the twenty-first century - leading to mass protests and raising profound questions about domestic politics and the use of military force. Yet most explanations of the war have a narrow focus either on political personalities or oil.*BR**BR*Christopher Doran provides a unique perspective, arguing that the drive to war came from the threat Iraq might pose to American economic hegemony if the UN sanctions regime was ended. Doran argues that this hegemony is rooted in third world debt and corporate market access. It was protection of these arrangements that motivated US action, not Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction or a simplistic desire to seize its oil. *BR**BR*This book will provide new insights on the war which still casts a shadow over global politics, and will have wide appeal to all those concerned about the Middle East, world peace and global development.

The election of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) to power in Bolivia in 2006 marked a historic break from centuries of foreign domination and indigenous marginalisation. Evo Morales, leader of the MAS, became the first indigenous president of Bolivia.*BR**BR*Kepa Artaraz looks at the Morales' government's attempt to 'refound the nation'. He shows how the mix of Marxism, indigenous liberation politics, anti-imperialism and environmentalism has made Bolivia one of the most interesting and unique political experiments of Latin America's 'red decade'.*BR**BR*As the historic left-turn in Latin America reaches a crossroads, this book guides us through the politics and ideas which have animated this popular movement, drawing out important lessons for progressive politics everywhere.