Reclaim the State: Experiments in Popular Democracy

by Hilary Wainwright

From Seattle to Cancun, protest movements have taken centre stage in global politics. But if the momentum of these international movements is to grow, they must be rooted in local action to create greater democratic and economic justice in everyday life. Reclaim the State sets out on a quest to discover how people are creating new, stronger forms of democracy. The journey starts in the deep south of Brazil, in Porto Allegre and the Workers Party´s radical model for public investment decisions. In East Manchester - the origins of Britain´s industrial revolution - the government´s promise of ‘community-led’ regeneration is tested as public money is used to rebuild shattered neighbourhoods. On the outskirts of the commuter town of Luton, ex-squatters and ravers join with established residents´ groups to take control of public resources and forge a new social economy. Finally, in Newcastle, council workers see off an attempt by British Telecom to take over local services and win the battle for a democratic public alternative. Reclaim the State shows that the foundations for new political directions already exist, and provides imaginative and practical tools for building on them.

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2003

Reviews

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

With so much of the debate about neo-liberalism in recent years focussing on mass global resistance (think Seattle, Prague, Genoa and the like) and global features (think, banking crisis leading to recessions, concentration of power in the hands of a few uber-wealthy individuals and corporation) this reminder that there is local struggle and success, that popular democracy is still feasible, is timely (although I suspect some tighter editing would have made it better – there are places where the bigger picture got lost in the detail, minutiae even). That said, the book fits a bigger political picture – both in terms of the work Wainwright does as editor of Red Pepper (I think Britain's finest activist magazine of the left) and over the years as an activist (see her work on industrial democracy – The Lucas Plan – and on work in the Greater London Council in the 1980s – A Taste of Power) in building a vision and practice of a democratic, activist, transformational left-wing politics. The issues that she is exploring here are vital in struggles for a more just society where the state and the economy serve the people. Essential reading (as is Red Pepper).

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

often way too dry despite very interesting ideas (and hopeful ones)

[Clement]

Reclaim the State: Experiments in Popular Democracy