Social Ecology London

In short, From Urbanization to Cities “is a historical exploration of civic self-management and confederalism. This book also gives an overview of Bookchin’s program for a direct-democratic and confederal politics, which he calls libertarian municipalism. ” Bookchin reviews the history of “politics”, by which he means true civic engagement, from Athens to various cities in Italy. He also examines the role of leagues between cities in Europe, highlighting the history of libertarian and municiple political organisation. Bookchin challengs Marxist theories of development of the nation-state and the formerly assumed direct relationship to capitalism, giving us an understanding of the rich history of non-state political systems. The overall effect is one of optimistic, as the modern nation-state emerges as anything but inevitable and Bookchin outlines a plan for making cities livable public spaces again.

Note: This book is out of print, and we had to order used copies online. Please feel free to borrow a copy from one of us.