Chaia Heller – Beyond Electoral Politics: Moving the Left Toward Communalism
“In November 2016, U.S. leftists will be offered up a blue and red pill provided by the matrix of our own failing democracy. Candidate #1 (let’s call this the blue pill) will be deemed the lesser of two evils, the greater of which is candidate #2 (the red pill). But what if, after responsibly choosing the pill determined to be less evil (an act of damage control), leftists then set their sights on going off their meds—that is, what if they aimed to leave the state matrix altogether? Local communalist politics, such as those outlined by Murray Bookchin’s theory of social ecology, beckon to leftists and offer a way to transcend the state by creating a confederation of directly democratic communities.”
16 Year Anniversary of A16 IMF/World Bank Protest – Bringing Democracy Home
ISE faculty and students were key organizers and active participants in the alterglobalization movement. To commemorate the 16th anniversary of the “A16” action in Washington D.C. and the important role played by Social Ecologists in this movement, we’re posting the widely-read Bringing Democracy Home pamphlet that helped give the movement its political flavor. Although written 16 years ago, its insights remain as relevant as ever.
Online debate on “degrowth”
The websites Commons Transition and Resilience.org have both highlighted a very interesting online debate on the future of the term “degrowth.” Pioneered by French economist Serge Latouche, degrowth has become a rallying point for an impressive array of critics and visionaries, especially in Europe. Some have critiqued the degrowth paradigm for being too eclectic, and […]
New book: Organic Revolutionary by Grace Gershuny
ISE faculty member Grace Gershuny’s long-awaited memoir has just been released, under the imprint of Joe’s Brook Press in Barnet, Vermont. The book, Organic Revolutionary: A Memoir of the Movement for Real Food, Planetary Healing, and Human Liberation, illuminates Grace’s roots in the early 1970s back-to-the-land movement, her early engagement with soil science and the […]
Statement on the assassination of Berta Cáceres in Honduras
The ISE was among more than 30 organizations that signed on to a press statement expressing outrage at the early March assassination of Berta Cáceres, a leading indigenous activist in Honduras. The full text is available at the US Food Sovereignty Alliance website. Further background on Cáceres’ work to defend indigenous land rights from logging, mining […]
2016 ISE Summer Gathering: August 19-21 – Marshfield, Vermont
Join the ISE for our annual summer gathering in Vermont. This year’s theme: Social Ecology, Socialism, and the State. How can we move from protest to social transformation?
New Online Course – Ecology, Democracy, Utopia
Our first online course on the foundations of social ecology. Offered again soon!
Save the Date! 2016 Summer Intensive Program
Join us in the Hudson Valley in August for a week-long program on Democracy, Ecology & Social Movements, also featuring an advanced track on the politics and philosophy of social ecology.
New articles about politics, power and movements
ROAR Magazine, a website frequently featured here for its up-to-the-minute, incisive accounts of the global uprisings that have emerged since 2011, has posted the first edition of a print magazine, available for free download (at least for now). The magazine features exceptional interviews and articles addressing core questions about politics, power, future left strategies, and […]
Kurdish revolution hits the mainstream press
2 relatively mainstream press accounts in recent weeks highlight the contributions of Murray Bookchin‘s social ecology to the continuing revolution in the Kurdish regions of Syria and beyond. Most widely noted was a first-hand account of visits to the Kurdish militias by New York Times reporter Wes Enzinna, published in the paper’s Sunday magazine on […]
