Spartacus Review

Volume 15: 24th March, 2008

Modern Politics

Title: Build it Now

Author: Michael A. Lebowitz

Editor:

Publisher: Monthly Review Press

Price: £10.95

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Socialism

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"Build It Now" puts forward a clear and innovative vision of a socialist future, and at the same time shows how concrete steps can be taken to make that vision a reality. It shows how the understanding of capitalism can itself become a political act - a defense of the real needs of human beings against the ongoing advance of capitalist profit. Throughout the book, Lebowitz addresses the concerns of people engaged in struggle to create a better world, but aware that this struggle must be informed by the realities of the twenty-first century. Many chapters of the book began life as addresses to worker organizations in Venezuela, where worker self-management is on the agenda. Written by an eminent academic, this is far more than an academic treatise. The book brings an internationalist outlook and vast knowledge of global trends to bear on concrete efforts to transform contemporary society. "Build It Now" is a testament to the ongoing vitality of the Marxist tradition, drawing on its deep resources of analytical insight and moral passion and fusing them into an essential guide to the struggles of our time.

Title: The Politics of Immigration

Author: Jane Guskin & David L. Wilson

Editor:

Publisher: Monthly Review Press

Price: £7.95

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: USA Politics

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In the spring of 2006, hundreds of thousands of immigrants and supporters organized in cities across the United States to protest recent changes to immigration policy. Those protests, labeled "A Day Without an Immigrant," called on immigrants and their children to boycott their jobs and schools for a single day in an effort to both demonstrate their opposition to the harsher, more restrictive HR 4437 legislation, and to show the force of their economic power as workers and consumers. With each election, the debate surrounding immigration reform continues to grow. The fate of millions of hard-working families hangs in the balance as well-funded anti-immigration groups like the Minutemen and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) rally public and congressional support for their closed borders campaigns. "The Politics of Immigration" takes a fresh, honest look at immigration policy in the United States. Its up-to-date analysis, presented in question-and-answer format, aims to dispel the myths and clarify the issues. Those who support more restrictive enforcement in the belief that immigrants are a threat to U.S. society - taking jobs from Americans, driving down wages, straining public services, and avoiding paying taxes - will find reasoned and compelling evidence here against such assumptions.