Re-Enchanting Humanity: A Defense of the Human Spirit Against Antihumanism, Misanthropy, Mysticism and Primitivism

by Murray Bookchin

This work represents Murray Bookchin's riposte to the antihumanism, mysticism and antirationalism which are influencing many people's attitudes to environmental problems. Bookchin offers a critique of, among others, social Darwinists, deep ecologists, new agers, technophobes, Foucault, Derrida and Baudrillard. This intellectual tour-de-force offers a positive alternative approach to politics based on a refreshing confidence and belief in human potential.

Genres: Philosophy, Politics

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 1995

About the author

Murray Bookchin was an American libertarian socialist author, orator, and philosopher. A pioneer in the ecology movement, Bookchin was the founder of the social ecology movement within anarchist, libertarian socialist and ecological thought. He was the author of two dozen books on politics, philosophy, history, and urban affairs as well as ecology. In the late 1990s he became disenchanted with the strategy of political Anarchism and founded his own libertarian socialist ideology called Communalism.

Bookchin was an anti-capitalist and vocal advocate of the decentralisation of society along ecological and democratic lines. His writings on libertarian municipalism, a theory of face-to-face, assembly democracy, had an influence on the Green movement and anti-capitalist direct action groups such as Reclaim the Streets.

Reviews

[Damian Dempsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally find political theory books pretty dry quickly removing the interest that prompted me to read said books in the first place. Not this book, written in a very engaging manner, sometimes making points that made me laugh - can't argue with that! I liked in particular his ripping to shreds of deep ecology. Made me feel a bit less misanthropic and more open to the possiblity of positive change.

[Tippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was like, good but he will talk about all these authors/philosophers/historians and im like ????? do i care/need to care abt whom these ppl are esp cuz some of the stuff seemed so topical at the time? although i guess ecomystics/primitvists are like..anprims or something. but idk if it was kind of like i had to read the works of the people he mentioned to be able to appreciate this book better i kind of wish he didn't include as many quotes as he did. probably seemed a bit too anecdotal. speaking of anecdotal, please cite your statements Bookchin !!! the stuff with like other primates......idk how accurate that was and would like to learn more abt it but no references :( but anyway the last two chapters were on point !! go off, i stan. also really liked the malthusian chapter. some hot, but delicious takes in this book. i would give three and a half stars

[Juliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly very hard to read. The entirety of the book’s ideas could have just been the last chapter as an essay. Most of the chapters were spent on explaining how wrong other philosophers and thinkers were and are, which I guess helps an argument but also isn’t really exploring anything new. Some chapters were mostly Bookchin’s own ideas but a lot of it was not. I think that honestly might have just been this ones; his other books seem more focused and coherent.

He did talk about something along the lines of “equalizing inequalities” (his own philosophy) versus “fighting inequality among equals” (our moral and social ideology). Basically not assuming that everyone is “equal” in the sense of age and/or physical and mental ability, among other things, and trying to make up for those “inequalities” with the correct social supplementations. Equality vs. equity type stuff. Kind of hard to wrap my head around but he literally only mentioned it once in the epilogue and didn’t explain further, and I wish he did. He probably has other writing that covers this specific idea but still frustrating that this one didn’t have it. Anyways 3.5 for being convoluted.

[Tristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the foundational texts that informed my politics in my early 20s.

[Christy]

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