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Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism
Two brilliant and influential minds look beyond capitalism, and chart a roadmap for a planet ravaged by pandemics, a climate crisis, and wars.
Frank Barat, who has co-authored books with such luminaries as Angela Davis and Noam Chomsky, sits down with renowned author and academic Vijay Prashad, to explore topics such as debt cancellation, a wealth tax, austerity, the pandemic, the arms industry, the climate crisis, socialism, working-class social movements and much more.
Barat and Prashad take an honest look at the challenges involved in overcoming the grip the neoliberal world order has on the planet; and the ability of the wealthy elite to continue to carry out policies that are destroying the lives of millions. Yet, they don't leave the reader in despair, Barat and Prashad, masterfully show us a path towards hope and liberation by highlighting the often ignored worker's struggles and victories that are taking place around the world in countries such as: India, Kenya, Peru, Tunisia, and Argentina.
Frank Barat, who has co-authored books with such luminaries as Angela Davis and Noam Chomsky, sits down with renowned author and academic Vijay Prashad, to explore topics such as debt cancellation, a wealth tax, austerity, the pandemic, the arms industry, the climate crisis, socialism, working-class social movements and much more.
Barat and Prashad take an honest look at the challenges involved in overcoming the grip the neoliberal world order has on the planet; and the ability of the wealthy elite to continue to carry out policies that are destroying the lives of millions. Yet, they don't leave the reader in despair, Barat and Prashad, masterfully show us a path towards hope and liberation by highlighting the often ignored worker's struggles and victories that are taking place around the world in countries such as: India, Kenya, Peru, Tunisia, and Argentina.
162 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2020
27 people are currently reading
1275 people want to read
About the author
Vijay Prashad
82 books824 followersVijay Prashad is the executive director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Darker Nations: A Biography of the Short-Lived Third World and The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. His most recent book is Red Star Over the Third World. He writes regularly for Frontline, The Hindu, Alternet and BirGun.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 21, 2023
Much-needed uplifting perspectives on building for social needs...
Preamble:
--This introductory book (interview format) is in some ways an inverse of Vijay’s other recent intro, Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations. Instead of unpacking imperialism's depravities, this book is a celebration of the censored struggles for decolonization and socialism that best captures Vijay’s constructive encouragement lost in many deconstructive critiques. Vijay has been a favorite speaker as well: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS...
Highlights:
1) Pure critique greets disillusionment:
--How much has the Western academic Left silently adopted capitalism’s TINA (There Is No Alternative, ex. Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?), leaving space for the Alt-Right to parody populist discontent (The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump) during recent crises?
...Vijay refers to Left “post-Marxists” as “pre-Marxists”, where Western Marxism abandoned real-world conditions of political economy/mass movements (steming from rejection of USSR and disinterest in the Global South) in favor of abstract philosophical/cultural critiques.
--With the USSR’s dismantlement, Western anticommunist social democrats soon learned their welfare state compromise with capitalists was revoked to implement TINA globally (“globalization”). Vijay counters the Left’s echo-chamber subcultures (narcissism of small differences, see The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity) with the messy commitments to real-world solidarity and empathy.
2) Real-world peoples and “new intellectuals”:
--Vijay frames socialist history as “a series of experiments”, “zigs and zags” as we must recognize human limitations and contradictions. “Part of being political is not to run away from the people but to draw the people into confrontation with the present toward the future.”
--Most interpret Antonio Gramsci as identifying “traditional intellectuals” (serving status quo power structure) and “organic intellectuals” (organic to their specific class/group). Vijay's interpretation adds the communist as “new intellectuals” who:
i) learn from within the dispossessed/moments (which have their own “organic intellectuals”), rather than merely from a distance in academia (“traditional intellectuals”)
ii) isolate the “contradictory consciousness” (where the exploited are also targeted by status quo education/culture industries/divide-and-rule); the “new intellectuals” makes use of their privileged time/resources which “organic intellectuals” of the dispossessed may lack
iii) present the contradictions back to the dispossessed, acting as “permanent persuaders” seeking synthesis, rather than merely report back to academia (a power structure funded and exploited by corporate think tanks/military intelligence; i.e. “traditional intellectuals”).
...Consciousness is not enough, as the dispossessed require opportunities to build confidence to change their conditions. Vijay has switched from teaching in formal academia to directing the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, etc.
3) Real-world histories and the censored Global South:
--Vijay’s magnum opus The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World challenges the notion that theory comes from the Global North/West, whereas the Global South only produces survivalist guerilla manuals.
--The Global South shares a similar context with the USSR just liberated from the Tsarist monarchy with mostly rural peasantry exhausted from the imperialist WWI and facing further imperialist/fascist threats. Thus, the Global South's Left did not so readily succumb to the West's bi-polar Red Scare Cold War; the USSR was critiqued within the context of communist experimentation (including recognizing the successes, from social programs that pushed the West to compromise on domestic welfare to aiding decolonization/buffer against direct US imperialism, etc.). For more on the mechanisms of imperialism, see:
-intro: The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions
-dive (by Vijay’s favourite political economists): Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present
--This legacy is connected to today’s examples of socialist community participation in social experiments (ex. producers' cooperatives) and struggles (ex. COVID19 responses prioritizing social needs) in Kerala (India), Cuba, Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement, Vietnam, Laos, etc. Socialism is hardly “big government”; these are examples of vibrant communities with various social organizations, which includes/interacts with a Leftist government (if in power). For Vijay on China: https://youtu.be/8-m-DZHLNGs
--Juxtapose this with Western “democracy”, with sham elections (periodic/low turnout/financed by money-power/divisive, narrow topics avoiding economic power that can unite the public; see The Democracy Project: A History, a Crisis, a Movement) andeconomy-first profit-first responses to social crises such as COVID-19 (the abysmal responses of the US/UK despite their vast imperialist resources, as well as Brazil/India besides Kerala) that ironically rely on “big (capitalist) government” given the absence of robust community organizations! Of course, the capitalist state is always there to bail out the capitalists. This is sophisticated capitalist authoritarianism and alienation.
--I’ve referenced 2 David Graeber books. Graeber, a diverse “anarchist”, was the first author to inspire me with constructive social imagination (of a global scale that does not neglect the Global South) beyond deconstructive critiques. I’m re-reading his works, and while there are plenty of debates on history/theories/strategies with a diverse Marxist like Vijay, there are still much more to synthesize; a messy world demands a diverse toolbox.
--To finish according to the book’s uplifting spirit:
Preamble:
--This introductory book (interview format) is in some ways an inverse of Vijay’s other recent intro, Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations. Instead of unpacking imperialism's depravities, this book is a celebration of the censored struggles for decolonization and socialism that best captures Vijay’s constructive encouragement lost in many deconstructive critiques. Vijay has been a favorite speaker as well: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS...
Highlights:
1) Pure critique greets disillusionment:
--How much has the Western academic Left silently adopted capitalism’s TINA (There Is No Alternative, ex. Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?), leaving space for the Alt-Right to parody populist discontent (The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump) during recent crises?
...Vijay refers to Left “post-Marxists” as “pre-Marxists”, where Western Marxism abandoned real-world conditions of political economy/mass movements (steming from rejection of USSR and disinterest in the Global South) in favor of abstract philosophical/cultural critiques.
--With the USSR’s dismantlement, Western anticommunist social democrats soon learned their welfare state compromise with capitalists was revoked to implement TINA globally (“globalization”). Vijay counters the Left’s echo-chamber subcultures (narcissism of small differences, see The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity) with the messy commitments to real-world solidarity and empathy.
I would prefer any day to spend my time fighting to build popular unity among people than just being critical of the world.
You see, here’s the problem with abstract intellectualism. It is too easy to stand outside the practical activity of building the future and offer one’s criticisms. You might end up with the best criticisms of everything because you have taken a step outside the stream of reality, and take the position of objectivity. You’ve taken a god-like perch. […] All the things you are saying are probably true, but I learned something very early on from Marx. In the 11th Thesis on Feuerbach, Marx writes, “The philosophers have interpreted the world. The point, however, is to change it.” What he’s talking about is the intellectual that leaves the stream of reality, stands outside it and says, Ah, I interpret that world over there. You understand things best if you are in the midst of changing them. You have to root yourself in the stream of history; […] It’s difficult because it means you have to make commitments to people; you are to understand the limitations, but you have to find a way to exit our problems rather than judge the world one way or the other. [Bold emphases added]
2) Real-world peoples and “new intellectuals”:
--Vijay frames socialist history as “a series of experiments”, “zigs and zags” as we must recognize human limitations and contradictions. “Part of being political is not to run away from the people but to draw the people into confrontation with the present toward the future.”
--Most interpret Antonio Gramsci as identifying “traditional intellectuals” (serving status quo power structure) and “organic intellectuals” (organic to their specific class/group). Vijay's interpretation adds the communist as “new intellectuals” who:
i) learn from within the dispossessed/moments (which have their own “organic intellectuals”), rather than merely from a distance in academia (“traditional intellectuals”)
ii) isolate the “contradictory consciousness” (where the exploited are also targeted by status quo education/culture industries/divide-and-rule); the “new intellectuals” makes use of their privileged time/resources which “organic intellectuals” of the dispossessed may lack
iii) present the contradictions back to the dispossessed, acting as “permanent persuaders” seeking synthesis, rather than merely report back to academia (a power structure funded and exploited by corporate think tanks/military intelligence; i.e. “traditional intellectuals”).
...Consciousness is not enough, as the dispossessed require opportunities to build confidence to change their conditions. Vijay has switched from teaching in formal academia to directing the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, etc.
3) Real-world histories and the censored Global South:
--Vijay’s magnum opus The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World challenges the notion that theory comes from the Global North/West, whereas the Global South only produces survivalist guerilla manuals.
--The Global South shares a similar context with the USSR just liberated from the Tsarist monarchy with mostly rural peasantry exhausted from the imperialist WWI and facing further imperialist/fascist threats. Thus, the Global South's Left did not so readily succumb to the West's bi-polar Red Scare Cold War; the USSR was critiqued within the context of communist experimentation (including recognizing the successes, from social programs that pushed the West to compromise on domestic welfare to aiding decolonization/buffer against direct US imperialism, etc.). For more on the mechanisms of imperialism, see:
-intro: The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions
-dive (by Vijay’s favourite political economists): Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present
--This legacy is connected to today’s examples of socialist community participation in social experiments (ex. producers' cooperatives) and struggles (ex. COVID19 responses prioritizing social needs) in Kerala (India), Cuba, Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement, Vietnam, Laos, etc. Socialism is hardly “big government”; these are examples of vibrant communities with various social organizations, which includes/interacts with a Leftist government (if in power). For Vijay on China: https://youtu.be/8-m-DZHLNGs
--Juxtapose this with Western “democracy”, with sham elections (periodic/low turnout/financed by money-power/divisive, narrow topics avoiding economic power that can unite the public; see The Democracy Project: A History, a Crisis, a Movement) and
--I’ve referenced 2 David Graeber books. Graeber, a diverse “anarchist”, was the first author to inspire me with constructive social imagination (of a global scale that does not neglect the Global South) beyond deconstructive critiques. I’m re-reading his works, and while there are plenty of debates on history/theories/strategies with a diverse Marxist like Vijay, there are still much more to synthesize; a messy world demands a diverse toolbox.
--To finish according to the book’s uplifting spirit:
There’s a line from the eighteenth-century poet Akbar Allahabadi, aadmi tha, bari mushkil se insaan hua. We were people; with great difficulty we became human. The process of struggle is a humanizing process. It’s in the process of struggle that you and I learn to be better people.
July 22, 2022
Economist Utsa Patnaik calculates “the British drained $45 trillion from the Indian people to enrich the United Kingdom.” A straight drain of wealth. “Just India provided 30 percent of the down payment for the Industrial Revolution.” Imagine being taught that on the History Channel instead of intentional dreck like Ice Road Truckers.
The British invest nothing in India but tax Indian peasants to get opium and then push opium on the Chinese to get the tea without sending China silver. Britain and rich US citizens (Astor and Forbes) were big names in the world drug trade in the 18th century. Straightforward plunder. When Britain is forced to leave India in 1947, India’s literacy rate was 13%. Under British colonialism, there were no social benefits. When Britain had Hong Kong from 1842 to 1997, note that it offered its citizens no democracy. British-Asian banks like HSBC (founded after the Second Opium War) were huge in the drug trade.
Vijay says, “language makes things natural” and thus there is no Israel/Palestine conflict; “it’s an Israeli occupation of Palestine.” the Vietnam War and the Iraq War shouldn’t have those names. The US wasn’t drawn into either conflict. The US actually imposed conflicts there - a big difference. History is a battle of ideas, a “contest” about how to see the past. “Imperialism is the underlying structure of plunder and domination.” To achieve it you must “remove the political sovereignty of the people.”
Eduardo Galeano said that “advertising enjoins everyone to consume, while the economy prohibits the vast majority of humanity from doing so.” Vijay says that “people on the left have always believe(d) in the capacity of human beings.” Why would a pessimistic person, remain on the left instead of just giving up and enjoying yourself? “Monopolies hire less and less people. That’s the way it goes.”
Wonder why Haiti’s so poor? The Haitian Revolution of 1804 was the first proletarian revolution; it was more proletarian than the French revolution of 1789 which had different class elements. After the Haitian revolution, the French demanded reparations. Haitians had to pay its enslavers (France) until 1947 to the cost of $21 billion. The price of blacks disobeying a “civilized” white country. Haiti was an example of what happens if a country raises its head in empowerment. Disturbed by progress in Haiti, the US invaded and occupied (1915-1934), don’t forget the US backing Duvalier’s dictatorship (1957-1990), and two US backed coups in 1991 and 2004.
Fukuyama says he was wrong about his end of history thesis; liberal capitalism won’t last forever, he thinks now it will be replaced by neofascism. The mission of neofascists is they must canalize middle-class frustration (unemployed, underemployed, jealous of another group) against the vulnerable. “A social democratic state would pay out unemployment benefits; a neoliberal state will champion the far right to go and just channel the anger.” “When the neoliberal agenda appeared on the horizon a generation ago, states entered into permanent austerity mode. Welfare, unemployment benefits, and so on began to be cut. This is exacerbated in the pandemic.” “It is into this breach that the neofascist arrives to canalize the anger.
Bolsonaro and Modi do not arrive to smash the worker’s movements because the worker’s movements are already weakened.” How did neofascist Modi get elected? “More than 80 percent of the money spent on the Indian election (re-electing Modi) went to the right-wing BJP.”
“If you reduce the entire (Russian) October revolution to the gulag, then it does not inspire confidence. Why bother.” “Right after the (US Civil War), Confederate leader Robert E. lee said he did not want statues erected” since this would “open the sores of war.” By allowing such statues to be later put up, “the Confederacy was not defeated; there was no historical defeat.” The US Civil War “was two forces of racism battling each other.” Vijay says we should use the word enslaved, rather than slave.
Fast food kills eating together. Debt is “an instrument of subordination.” Technology facilitates atomization, fewer people having an experience together. In history you could run away; how do you run away from capitalism? It’s not hard to make the case that, worldwide, the arms industry is a terrorist industry that causes more deaths than Al Qaeda.
If you made iPhones in the US and paid fair wages, its price would be $30,000. Imagine being told that by Mainstream Media. The world gets much of its copper from Zambia where 60% of children are illiterate. Export of copper does nothing to help these children. Disposable lives - not precious. Our phones are cheap because most children in Zambia are illiterate. We all use copper and should stand in solidarity with the people of Zambia.
For Vijay, his greatest immediate dream would be the cancellation of $11 trillion in debt presently owed by developing countries. Debt cancellation is not charity; real capitalism takes risks. Only welfare state capitalism offers a guaranteed rate of return. They can’t have computers without electricity. Niger’s uranium powers one in three lightbulbs in France. 11% of Burundi (and 11.8% of Chad) has electricity. Predatory lending: lending to Tanzania because they are desperate enough to allow a higher interest rate. Mexico defaulted in 1981. Jamaican nurses come here to work because wages are artificially kept down at home. Don’t call it a free market; it’s a market controlled by banks, the US Treasury and the IMF. Credit card interest is 3-5x the interest of a bank loan.
The Death of Osama Bin Laden: The US violated international law sneaking into Pakistan to murder someone and even take his body away. Note that Osama wasn’t put on trial but subjected to a Charles Bronson form of quick street vigilante justice. Normally the US acts like the Mafia so maybe that Bronson thing was a one-off. Osama had to be murdered of course; you can’t have him calmly explaining to European judges the nasty secrets of the Saudi royal family or his being on the CIA payroll. For Vijay, Kerala in India, is a great example of a socialist society where the literacy rate is 97.2%% (the US is only 88%). Cuba kicks our ass as well, its literacy rate is 99.75%.
Frank Barat did a great job in this Haymarket book of his interviews with Vijay. I highly recommend it for all those unfamiliar with Vijay’s books. Frank also did a great job editing Noam’s “On Palestine” with Ilan Pappe.
The British invest nothing in India but tax Indian peasants to get opium and then push opium on the Chinese to get the tea without sending China silver. Britain and rich US citizens (Astor and Forbes) were big names in the world drug trade in the 18th century. Straightforward plunder. When Britain is forced to leave India in 1947, India’s literacy rate was 13%. Under British colonialism, there were no social benefits. When Britain had Hong Kong from 1842 to 1997, note that it offered its citizens no democracy. British-Asian banks like HSBC (founded after the Second Opium War) were huge in the drug trade.
Vijay says, “language makes things natural” and thus there is no Israel/Palestine conflict; “it’s an Israeli occupation of Palestine.” the Vietnam War and the Iraq War shouldn’t have those names. The US wasn’t drawn into either conflict. The US actually imposed conflicts there - a big difference. History is a battle of ideas, a “contest” about how to see the past. “Imperialism is the underlying structure of plunder and domination.” To achieve it you must “remove the political sovereignty of the people.”
Eduardo Galeano said that “advertising enjoins everyone to consume, while the economy prohibits the vast majority of humanity from doing so.” Vijay says that “people on the left have always believe(d) in the capacity of human beings.” Why would a pessimistic person, remain on the left instead of just giving up and enjoying yourself? “Monopolies hire less and less people. That’s the way it goes.”
Wonder why Haiti’s so poor? The Haitian Revolution of 1804 was the first proletarian revolution; it was more proletarian than the French revolution of 1789 which had different class elements. After the Haitian revolution, the French demanded reparations. Haitians had to pay its enslavers (France) until 1947 to the cost of $21 billion. The price of blacks disobeying a “civilized” white country. Haiti was an example of what happens if a country raises its head in empowerment. Disturbed by progress in Haiti, the US invaded and occupied (1915-1934), don’t forget the US backing Duvalier’s dictatorship (1957-1990), and two US backed coups in 1991 and 2004.
Fukuyama says he was wrong about his end of history thesis; liberal capitalism won’t last forever, he thinks now it will be replaced by neofascism. The mission of neofascists is they must canalize middle-class frustration (unemployed, underemployed, jealous of another group) against the vulnerable. “A social democratic state would pay out unemployment benefits; a neoliberal state will champion the far right to go and just channel the anger.” “When the neoliberal agenda appeared on the horizon a generation ago, states entered into permanent austerity mode. Welfare, unemployment benefits, and so on began to be cut. This is exacerbated in the pandemic.” “It is into this breach that the neofascist arrives to canalize the anger.
Bolsonaro and Modi do not arrive to smash the worker’s movements because the worker’s movements are already weakened.” How did neofascist Modi get elected? “More than 80 percent of the money spent on the Indian election (re-electing Modi) went to the right-wing BJP.”
“If you reduce the entire (Russian) October revolution to the gulag, then it does not inspire confidence. Why bother.” “Right after the (US Civil War), Confederate leader Robert E. lee said he did not want statues erected” since this would “open the sores of war.” By allowing such statues to be later put up, “the Confederacy was not defeated; there was no historical defeat.” The US Civil War “was two forces of racism battling each other.” Vijay says we should use the word enslaved, rather than slave.
Fast food kills eating together. Debt is “an instrument of subordination.” Technology facilitates atomization, fewer people having an experience together. In history you could run away; how do you run away from capitalism? It’s not hard to make the case that, worldwide, the arms industry is a terrorist industry that causes more deaths than Al Qaeda.
If you made iPhones in the US and paid fair wages, its price would be $30,000. Imagine being told that by Mainstream Media. The world gets much of its copper from Zambia where 60% of children are illiterate. Export of copper does nothing to help these children. Disposable lives - not precious. Our phones are cheap because most children in Zambia are illiterate. We all use copper and should stand in solidarity with the people of Zambia.
For Vijay, his greatest immediate dream would be the cancellation of $11 trillion in debt presently owed by developing countries. Debt cancellation is not charity; real capitalism takes risks. Only welfare state capitalism offers a guaranteed rate of return. They can’t have computers without electricity. Niger’s uranium powers one in three lightbulbs in France. 11% of Burundi (and 11.8% of Chad) has electricity. Predatory lending: lending to Tanzania because they are desperate enough to allow a higher interest rate. Mexico defaulted in 1981. Jamaican nurses come here to work because wages are artificially kept down at home. Don’t call it a free market; it’s a market controlled by banks, the US Treasury and the IMF. Credit card interest is 3-5x the interest of a bank loan.
The Death of Osama Bin Laden: The US violated international law sneaking into Pakistan to murder someone and even take his body away. Note that Osama wasn’t put on trial but subjected to a Charles Bronson form of quick street vigilante justice. Normally the US acts like the Mafia so maybe that Bronson thing was a one-off. Osama had to be murdered of course; you can’t have him calmly explaining to European judges the nasty secrets of the Saudi royal family or his being on the CIA payroll. For Vijay, Kerala in India, is a great example of a socialist society where the literacy rate is 97.2%% (the US is only 88%). Cuba kicks our ass as well, its literacy rate is 99.75%.
Frank Barat did a great job in this Haymarket book of his interviews with Vijay. I highly recommend it for all those unfamiliar with Vijay’s books. Frank also did a great job editing Noam’s “On Palestine” with Ilan Pappe.
January 28, 2023
Essential for budding Marxist organizers. It’s up to us! “We were people; with great difficulty we became human”
September 18, 2022
Excellent analysis and reminders that our fight to build socialism must be internationalist and humanizing! Cannot recommend this book enough for anyone dedicated to building a more just society for all.
September 23, 2022
Incredible synthesis of Vijay Prashad views of the world.
Having already read multiple books and watched several videos of him, this book is still full of insight and demonstrate the depth of Prashad’s thinking.
Having already read multiple books and watched several videos of him, this book is still full of insight and demonstrate the depth of Prashad’s thinking.
October 15, 2023
short, sharp and hopeful writing on a very broad range of subjects of urgent concern to communists right now. charts a clear vision for struggle based in our interconnected past while working from our very material present. check it out ❣️
July 22, 2025
It’s hard to put into words the impact Vijay Prashad has had on me since I first discovered his work in 2020. No one has shaped my worldview more. What I appreciate most is that he doesn’t write 500-page academic junk, but books that (to quote him) "people will actually read", engage with, and use.
Vijay focuses on what people (especially in the Global South) have actually done, and are still doing, to build socialism. In the West (including much of the Western left), there’s still a colonial assumption that innovation must come from Europe or European settler states. This overlooks the historical fact that the most radical and sustained leftist movements have consistently come from the periphery — from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Vijay pulls back the colonial curtain and reveals centuries of struggle that have been ignored, obscured, and dismissed.
Struggle Makes Us Human isn’t so much about that history though, it’s about praxis. Most Western left wing books you pick up are titled "Bad Thing, and What We Can Do About It." And they usually are very good at telling you why thing bad, but when it comes to the 'what we can do about it' the answer is usually... "we should change it!" This always felt like a transparent requirement from publishers to try and sell optimism and suspense from an academic/journalist author who has little interest or experience in the real dynamics of changing anything.
To Vijay, that's why Lenin, Fidel, and Mao are a revelation. They asked questions and they provided answers. They looked at the world and identified problems, but then actually detailed their lived experiences of trying to solve these problems. And not just individually either. But as part of mass movements of thousands and even millions of people.
In Struggle Makes Us Human, Vijay emphasises that knowledge isn't enough, you must go out into the world and try to change it in order to (1) figure out how to change it, (2) change yourself, and (3) change it. The book is written in a very conversational Q&A format and doesn't have the kind of historical depth you might see in his other works. This book is a primer on the core elements of left wing struggle for the end to capitalism and imperialism and how the purpose of struggle isn't to struggle but to win.
Vijay focuses on what people (especially in the Global South) have actually done, and are still doing, to build socialism. In the West (including much of the Western left), there’s still a colonial assumption that innovation must come from Europe or European settler states. This overlooks the historical fact that the most radical and sustained leftist movements have consistently come from the periphery — from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Vijay pulls back the colonial curtain and reveals centuries of struggle that have been ignored, obscured, and dismissed.
Struggle Makes Us Human isn’t so much about that history though, it’s about praxis. Most Western left wing books you pick up are titled "Bad Thing, and What We Can Do About It." And they usually are very good at telling you why thing bad, but when it comes to the 'what we can do about it' the answer is usually... "we should change it!" This always felt like a transparent requirement from publishers to try and sell optimism and suspense from an academic/journalist author who has little interest or experience in the real dynamics of changing anything.
To Vijay, that's why Lenin, Fidel, and Mao are a revelation. They asked questions and they provided answers. They looked at the world and identified problems, but then actually detailed their lived experiences of trying to solve these problems. And not just individually either. But as part of mass movements of thousands and even millions of people.
In Struggle Makes Us Human, Vijay emphasises that knowledge isn't enough, you must go out into the world and try to change it in order to (1) figure out how to change it, (2) change yourself, and (3) change it. The book is written in a very conversational Q&A format and doesn't have the kind of historical depth you might see in his other works. This book is a primer on the core elements of left wing struggle for the end to capitalism and imperialism and how the purpose of struggle isn't to struggle but to win.
December 13, 2023
Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism, Vijay Prashad, Frank Barat, ed., 2022, 162 pages, Dewey 335, ISBN 9781642596908
Lots about how the wealthy powerful few have plundered the rest of us. With attempts at optimism.
Victories:
Hugo Chávez won the presidency of Venezuela in 1998, established a new constitution, and fended off a coup in 2002. Lula won in Brazil in 2003. Bolivians voted Socialists in, in 2019. Hondurans voted out the U.S.-sponsored coup regime in 2021. pp. 2-3. Indian farmers won repeal of anti-farmer laws in 2021. p. 4. The USSR pioneered public medical care, guaranteed housing and education. Producer cooperatives in Kerala have millions of members. Brazil's Landless Workers' Movements are building socialism through education and cooperative farming. The future is here. pp. 116, 153. Cuba's literacy rate is 99%; the U.S. adult literacy rate is 79%. p. 154.
I thank the trade union movement for the weekend. p. 47.
A better future is possible. p. 71.
If the iPhone were made entirely in the U.S., it would sell for $30,000. Who pays for the discount to $699? The people of the copperbelt, in very low wages and barely any social wages for schools and hospitals. p. 104.
Debt cancellation is the #1 issue. Cancel the $11 trillion debt of the global victims of imperialism to the northern banks. p. 117.
Lots about how the wealthy powerful few have plundered the rest of us. With attempts at optimism.
Victories:
Hugo Chávez won the presidency of Venezuela in 1998, established a new constitution, and fended off a coup in 2002. Lula won in Brazil in 2003. Bolivians voted Socialists in, in 2019. Hondurans voted out the U.S.-sponsored coup regime in 2021. pp. 2-3. Indian farmers won repeal of anti-farmer laws in 2021. p. 4. The USSR pioneered public medical care, guaranteed housing and education. Producer cooperatives in Kerala have millions of members. Brazil's Landless Workers' Movements are building socialism through education and cooperative farming. The future is here. pp. 116, 153. Cuba's literacy rate is 99%; the U.S. adult literacy rate is 79%. p. 154.
I thank the trade union movement for the weekend. p. 47.
A better future is possible. p. 71.
If the iPhone were made entirely in the U.S., it would sell for $30,000. Who pays for the discount to $699? The people of the copperbelt, in very low wages and barely any social wages for schools and hospitals. p. 104.
Debt cancellation is the #1 issue. Cancel the $11 trillion debt of the global victims of imperialism to the northern banks. p. 117.
April 14, 2024
"Where does hope lie? I will say that hope is not a place but in the practical activity where you make errors, you have heartbreak, you fight. Hope is in the struggle amongst people." (pg 156)
This book covers a lot of ground in a mostly accessible way, from a strong analysis of global capitalism and imperalism, to describing socialist and other anti-capitalist experiments historically and in the present, to how and why we must build mass movements for justice. Prashad talks about several different issues in his conversation with Barat, but I was especially struck and moved by the focus on debt cancellation as an anti-imperial, anti-colonial goal for our global movements. The section of the book about the future, and the horizon left movements are building towards, was especially strong. Overall, my 4/5 rating is mostly because of a few minor issues I had with a limited description of authoratarian forces and a few places where the thread between chapters felt disconnected.
This book covers a lot of ground in a mostly accessible way, from a strong analysis of global capitalism and imperalism, to describing socialist and other anti-capitalist experiments historically and in the present, to how and why we must build mass movements for justice. Prashad talks about several different issues in his conversation with Barat, but I was especially struck and moved by the focus on debt cancellation as an anti-imperial, anti-colonial goal for our global movements. The section of the book about the future, and the horizon left movements are building towards, was especially strong. Overall, my 4/5 rating is mostly because of a few minor issues I had with a limited description of authoratarian forces and a few places where the thread between chapters felt disconnected.
March 26, 2024
I really enjoyed reading this!
May 15, 2024
Another Vijay banger
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November 30, 2022Yet another "booster" text from Vijay.
August 4, 2023
Absolutely recommend this book for any socialists out there.
The format of this book is a series of interviews between Frank Barat and Vijay Prashad, which reminded me a lot of the book 'We Make the Road by Walking' between Paulo Freire and Myles Horton (another book I highly recommend). This makes this short book very accessible for a lot of people. That might make you think that this will say a lot of things already said elsewhere if you're a more experienced socialist and Marxist, but honestly it's still important to remind ourselves of our own positions and things like *why* we keep going and the necessity of hope, love and confidence through it all.
This is my first time reading a Vijay Prashad book and it certainly makes me want to read more of his works, he has this kind of casualness in the interviews that helps summarise what can be complex ideas for people new to socialist and Marxist ideas, but then he has a vast, extensive knowledge of struggles in the global south which is vital for those in the imperial core to be reminded about. There's a lot of focus on Cuba and the state of Kerala in India as these kind of examples of socialism and socialist experiments, but it's not uncritical. He's coming from a more Marxist-Leninist perspective sure, but one which doesn't feel preachy or out of touch, even when he's trying to debunk the word 'tankie,' he's not saying 'you are wrong about this,' and more 'think of it like this, ask yourself why,' those kind of ways which help out so much in just talking about Marxism or socialism to others and learning more about it too.
If I have any criticisms is that it's not a book that will teach you too much, it's a series of interviews, so references are more like starting points (such as when he talks about Indian Marxism and the intellectual trajectories there, listing lots of names that I can hopefully check out). That and some passages are a bit, naive, at least for me. They're great parts on the need for confidence not in an individual, but a collective sense that builds up an entire community, but the whole 'join a party, engage in party work,' is a bit too naive when the options aren't as simple and can generally mean joining multiple organisations when there is nothing like 'the party' out there. One chapter also talks about the community spaces that communist parties would invest in which they can no longer do and the social consequences of that. I'm again a bit more critical as I can understand that, but also feel like the UK context is one of places such as working men's clubs which have a history of for example, banning women. I think these are still mild criticisms considering the format of the book and more points to consider when reading them.
Otherwise, a lot of this book and how Prashad talks about global struggle can be very hopeful and optimistic and it's always essential to hold onto that.
The format of this book is a series of interviews between Frank Barat and Vijay Prashad, which reminded me a lot of the book 'We Make the Road by Walking' between Paulo Freire and Myles Horton (another book I highly recommend). This makes this short book very accessible for a lot of people. That might make you think that this will say a lot of things already said elsewhere if you're a more experienced socialist and Marxist, but honestly it's still important to remind ourselves of our own positions and things like *why* we keep going and the necessity of hope, love and confidence through it all.
This is my first time reading a Vijay Prashad book and it certainly makes me want to read more of his works, he has this kind of casualness in the interviews that helps summarise what can be complex ideas for people new to socialist and Marxist ideas, but then he has a vast, extensive knowledge of struggles in the global south which is vital for those in the imperial core to be reminded about. There's a lot of focus on Cuba and the state of Kerala in India as these kind of examples of socialism and socialist experiments, but it's not uncritical. He's coming from a more Marxist-Leninist perspective sure, but one which doesn't feel preachy or out of touch, even when he's trying to debunk the word 'tankie,' he's not saying 'you are wrong about this,' and more 'think of it like this, ask yourself why,' those kind of ways which help out so much in just talking about Marxism or socialism to others and learning more about it too.
If I have any criticisms is that it's not a book that will teach you too much, it's a series of interviews, so references are more like starting points (such as when he talks about Indian Marxism and the intellectual trajectories there, listing lots of names that I can hopefully check out). That and some passages are a bit, naive, at least for me. They're great parts on the need for confidence not in an individual, but a collective sense that builds up an entire community, but the whole 'join a party, engage in party work,' is a bit too naive when the options aren't as simple and can generally mean joining multiple organisations when there is nothing like 'the party' out there. One chapter also talks about the community spaces that communist parties would invest in which they can no longer do and the social consequences of that. I'm again a bit more critical as I can understand that, but also feel like the UK context is one of places such as working men's clubs which have a history of for example, banning women. I think these are still mild criticisms considering the format of the book and more points to consider when reading them.
Otherwise, a lot of this book and how Prashad talks about global struggle can be very hopeful and optimistic and it's always essential to hold onto that.
September 13, 2025
Must read socialist handbook, manages to be both comprehensive and succinct !!
November 18, 2022
I listened to an interview with Vijay Prashad about this book and was immediately captivated. His blunt honest approach to the issues was refreshing. The book is set up like an interview and I think that works well with Vijay's style; it really comes across like a long interview. I was somewhat disappointed as I was looking for more of an expository treatment, but because the book compliments Vijay's speaking style, my disappointment could not persist.
Vijay makes compelling points and he is forthright and honest about not only the benefits but the shortfalls of socialism, both in theory and in practice. It is clear that he comes from a position of caring for people, but he does not only argue from the point of empathy. There are facts and logic behind his argument.
Most if not all of the movements he talks about have been grossly misunderstood because of the media spin and I think even just the historical analysis makes this book worth the read, whether or not you agree with the general opinion on socialism.
The challenge, I think throughout the book is to break with the status quo and question the easy answers. There are none. What matters is you come from a place of love and understanding and struggle for the right of it.
Vijay makes compelling points and he is forthright and honest about not only the benefits but the shortfalls of socialism, both in theory and in practice. It is clear that he comes from a position of caring for people, but he does not only argue from the point of empathy. There are facts and logic behind his argument.
Most if not all of the movements he talks about have been grossly misunderstood because of the media spin and I think even just the historical analysis makes this book worth the read, whether or not you agree with the general opinion on socialism.
The challenge, I think throughout the book is to break with the status quo and question the easy answers. There are none. What matters is you come from a place of love and understanding and struggle for the right of it.
June 15, 2025
I cranked this book out in an afternoon. Searching for writing that could speak to the time we are in with the Anti-Ice and "No Kings" protests. I also just wanted to read more of Prashad's works.
This book is similar to what I do with my friends in our Discord server. Where they ask me questions and I try to clarify and pontificate my ideas. Putting in the history, political theory, and other ideas I have learned to my argument and core beliefs. Prashad is questioned by Barat about what the moment, following the tumultuous period of COVID-19, means for the left. Prashad comes to the conclusion that capitalism is an atomizing force in society which has decimated traditional democracy but that the organizing of political movements is critical to combatting the various injustices in society. Then there is a flurry of other opinions and thoughts that each link to this core idea.
I skimmed over a few parts that I thought were more off topic or a rehash of his ideas that I read in The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World. But it felt comforting that some of the ideas that I passionate tell my friends about are also talked about by someone else in this book.
I give it a three stars because it is not necessarily groundbreaking. It is interesting if you want to understand how Prashad thinks. Or get an overview of leftist ideology with a global perspective. My one problem with this book is that Prashad talks about a couple countries with favor. The biggest being Venezuela. This is obviously colored by my time here in Guyana where we have both refugees and a lot of negative political interaction with the country. He wrote this before the most recent election which has internationally claimed as illegitimate. At the same time he wrote this as Venezuela created one of the biggest refugee crises in Latin America. There is history to learn and maybe there are things that we can learn from the people's movements which he references. But simply that these countries are socialist does not paint over the actual harm that has been done. Especially when you talk about the failure of elections that represent the people in Western democracies, it is hard to say that Maduro's project which relies on subverting elections and the voice of the people points to a better alternative.
All in all. An okay short book.
This book is similar to what I do with my friends in our Discord server. Where they ask me questions and I try to clarify and pontificate my ideas. Putting in the history, political theory, and other ideas I have learned to my argument and core beliefs. Prashad is questioned by Barat about what the moment, following the tumultuous period of COVID-19, means for the left. Prashad comes to the conclusion that capitalism is an atomizing force in society which has decimated traditional democracy but that the organizing of political movements is critical to combatting the various injustices in society. Then there is a flurry of other opinions and thoughts that each link to this core idea.
I skimmed over a few parts that I thought were more off topic or a rehash of his ideas that I read in The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World. But it felt comforting that some of the ideas that I passionate tell my friends about are also talked about by someone else in this book.
I give it a three stars because it is not necessarily groundbreaking. It is interesting if you want to understand how Prashad thinks. Or get an overview of leftist ideology with a global perspective. My one problem with this book is that Prashad talks about a couple countries with favor. The biggest being Venezuela. This is obviously colored by my time here in Guyana where we have both refugees and a lot of negative political interaction with the country. He wrote this before the most recent election which has internationally claimed as illegitimate. At the same time he wrote this as Venezuela created one of the biggest refugee crises in Latin America. There is history to learn and maybe there are things that we can learn from the people's movements which he references. But simply that these countries are socialist does not paint over the actual harm that has been done. Especially when you talk about the failure of elections that represent the people in Western democracies, it is hard to say that Maduro's project which relies on subverting elections and the voice of the people points to a better alternative.
All in all. An okay short book.
January 20, 2024
I noted a couple of annoyances with the book as I was reading, but overall it is a clear-eyed view of what could be. And so much of it is what I would consider common-sense. But Prashad also references unintended consequences of things I knew very little about, such as how the debt crisis, which continues today, started with the U.S. raising interest rates in 1979.
At the same time, one of the faults of the text is the blindness to autocracies that formed in some of the countries he is lauding. This is surprising because it's such an old story--American communists turning a blind eye to the atrocities committed by Stalin is the most immediate example. This weakens an otherwise solid book.
One of the 'a-ha' moments was a short exposition about the destruction of social space. He notes in France and Italy there used to be cultural centers and social halls for Communist Party members and trade unions. There were not only study groups and political meetings but also dances and social events. Over the years "non-commodified" spaces have disappeared. I would say this is not just France and Italy, but all over. It was a logic I intuitively understood as a teenager, when I started a coffee house to fill this gap.
In speaking about the defensive position the left has returned to, he states, "Our slogan returns to No Pasaran, you will not pass; we are not able to be loud enough when we say, This is what we want." (139)
At the same time, one of the faults of the text is the blindness to autocracies that formed in some of the countries he is lauding. This is surprising because it's such an old story--American communists turning a blind eye to the atrocities committed by Stalin is the most immediate example. This weakens an otherwise solid book.
One of the 'a-ha' moments was a short exposition about the destruction of social space. He notes in France and Italy there used to be cultural centers and social halls for Communist Party members and trade unions. There were not only study groups and political meetings but also dances and social events. Over the years "non-commodified" spaces have disappeared. I would say this is not just France and Italy, but all over. It was a logic I intuitively understood as a teenager, when I started a coffee house to fill this gap.
In speaking about the defensive position the left has returned to, he states, "Our slogan returns to No Pasaran, you will not pass; we are not able to be loud enough when we say, This is what we want." (139)
December 20, 2024
"I think winning is as important as the struggle. There’s too high a price paid by people for the continuation of this imperialist system. We must never think that struggling is more important than winning. Just to annotate that part of the point: I actually think we must dare to win. And that desire to win has to be part of the joy of the struggle."
Vijay Prashad has a penchant for distilling complex ideas, terminologies, and jargon into easily digestible and comprehensible terms and grounding them in practical realities and away from pure abstraction. This book relates to practical advice and perspectives on solidarity and movement building on the left and provides a cursory survey of lessons and successes from various movements around the world.
Vijay Prashad has a penchant for distilling complex ideas, terminologies, and jargon into easily digestible and comprehensible terms and grounding them in practical realities and away from pure abstraction. This book relates to practical advice and perspectives on solidarity and movement building on the left and provides a cursory survey of lessons and successes from various movements around the world.
January 15, 2025
Marxisme heel eenvoudig uitgelegd, maar geeft wel diepgang waar het nodig is. Simpele analyses over het verzet tegen corona worden eigenlijk goed vertaald naar hoe de strijd beter kan gevoerd worden zoals bijvoorbeeld de Bolsjevieken voerden. Ik vond het aangenaam om naar te luisteren. Deed me sommige momenten ook denken aan "hoe durven ze" van Peter Mertens. Ik denk dat ik dit boek wel kan aanraden aan buitenlandse kameraden.
January 29, 2024
Facilitated very well by Frank Barat, Vijay Prashad answers in depth and thoughtfully different questions about the current state of the world, how we got here and where we could go. A lot of information to digest and many perspectives given that are typically left out of the narrative. This book has me interested in seeking out more by these two contributors.
May 1, 2024
This book opened my eyes on so many things and grew me as a person. I couldn't ask for more! It also gives me hope for the future. None of us are powerless. Let's take our power back.
(That'll have to be my whole review, because I forgot to review it until now xD Loved it though!)
(That'll have to be my whole review, because I forgot to review it until now xD Loved it though!)
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December 1, 2022Reviewed in the November 2022 issue of the Socialist Standard:
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...
January 21, 2023
Oh yeah, read it
October 16, 2024
Standard leftist fare, erring on the side of naivity.
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August 6, 2022A must read for all Trump followers
Not that the people that follow Trump even care to read. Imagine if 10% of them read this book and changed their mind.
Great book!
Not that the people that follow Trump even care to read. Imagine if 10% of them read this book and changed their mind.
Great book!
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