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El socialismo no llegará en bicicleta
En este libro se recopila una serie de críticas sobre el llamado “nuevo paradigma de la movilidad sustentable”. Para el autor hacer estas críticas es absolutamente necesario ante la crisis climática que ya ha dado sus primeras muestras, así como ante la creciente desigualdad y precarización de las poblaciones en el mundo.
Es claro que las visiones liberales procapitalistas no lo lograrán dado que sus promotores han generado camarillas en torno a las cuales se benefician a costa del grueso de la población urbana.
La sustentabilidad es el camino que nos invita a cuestionar cómo las dinámicas capitalistas nos han llevado a esta situación de crisis para replantearnos cómo deben de transformarse la economía, las ciudades y la movilidad. Es el camino que nos permitirá realmente reflexionar y actuar decididamente ante las crisis que continuamente provoca el capitalismo para mantener su funcionamiento a costa de la humanidad, lo que nos permitirá avanzar hacia una revolución socialista de la vida urbana.
Es claro que las visiones liberales procapitalistas no lo lograrán dado que sus promotores han generado camarillas en torno a las cuales se benefician a costa del grueso de la población urbana.
La sustentabilidad es el camino que nos invita a cuestionar cómo las dinámicas capitalistas nos han llevado a esta situación de crisis para replantearnos cómo deben de transformarse la economía, las ciudades y la movilidad. Es el camino que nos permitirá realmente reflexionar y actuar decididamente ante las crisis que continuamente provoca el capitalismo para mantener su funcionamiento a costa de la humanidad, lo que nos permitirá avanzar hacia una revolución socialista de la vida urbana.
128 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 14, 2023
If I were to try to summarize this book in a single sentence: “Bicycles aren’t the answer when capitalism is the problem.”
Salvador Medina's El socialismo no llegará en bicicleta is a critique of a certain kind of upper-middle-class, individualistic, cycling advocate who may feel morally superior for her chosen form of urban transportation but fails to consider the messy political project to make a city that is fair and accessible for all of its residents. For cycling advocates like me who are quick to point out the many benefits of cycling (health, environmental, economic, community), Salvador points out:
* Just like drivers, cyclists assume that they own the road — often to the detriment of pedestrians. (For instance, in Paris.)
* Cyclists often exhibit a moral superiority, in part from their self-reliance and physical condition, that is intimidating to most and exclusionary for the disabled community.
* Cycling is an individualistic way to become an activist without truly addressing collective problems like inequality, housing, and climate change.
With this book, Salvador wants to shift the focus of urban planners away from "how many bike lanes?" and toward "how can we make cities accessible and livable for everyone?" For instance, he criticizes upper-class cycling advocates who complain about working-class street vendors who block cycling lanes without considering the larger economic and regulatory policies of a city.
He's particularly enamored with Henri Lefebvre's The Right to the City and David Harvey's concept of Rebel Cities with the hope to "reclaim the city for anti-capitalist struggle."
I appreciate Salvador's argument that buying a bike and advocating for cycling lanes will not bring about a socialist utopia where everyone has access to quality housing, education, and healthcare. And while I don't think anyone is making that argument, I agree that many cyclists (myself included) emphasize the virtues of our chosen mode of individual transportation without engaging in the difficult, collective politics necessary to make cities enjoyable for all residents.
This book is a quick read and a useful complement to celebrations of cycling like Jody Rosen's Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle . And while it's worthwhile to question the overall value of cycling advocacy, I'm more focused on the harms of car-centric urban planning. I worry that if you take Salvador's argument too far, you could support tax policies that subsidize car purchases when there are no equivalent subsidies for e-bikes despite the immense harm of cars to the environment, our health, and racial justice.
Salvador Medina's El socialismo no llegará en bicicleta is a critique of a certain kind of upper-middle-class, individualistic, cycling advocate who may feel morally superior for her chosen form of urban transportation but fails to consider the messy political project to make a city that is fair and accessible for all of its residents. For cycling advocates like me who are quick to point out the many benefits of cycling (health, environmental, economic, community), Salvador points out:
* Just like drivers, cyclists assume that they own the road — often to the detriment of pedestrians. (For instance, in Paris.)
* Cyclists often exhibit a moral superiority, in part from their self-reliance and physical condition, that is intimidating to most and exclusionary for the disabled community.
* Cycling is an individualistic way to become an activist without truly addressing collective problems like inequality, housing, and climate change.
With this book, Salvador wants to shift the focus of urban planners away from "how many bike lanes?" and toward "how can we make cities accessible and livable for everyone?" For instance, he criticizes upper-class cycling advocates who complain about working-class street vendors who block cycling lanes without considering the larger economic and regulatory policies of a city.
He's particularly enamored with Henri Lefebvre's The Right to the City and David Harvey's concept of Rebel Cities with the hope to "reclaim the city for anti-capitalist struggle."
I appreciate Salvador's argument that buying a bike and advocating for cycling lanes will not bring about a socialist utopia where everyone has access to quality housing, education, and healthcare. And while I don't think anyone is making that argument, I agree that many cyclists (myself included) emphasize the virtues of our chosen mode of individual transportation without engaging in the difficult, collective politics necessary to make cities enjoyable for all residents.
This book is a quick read and a useful complement to celebrations of cycling like Jody Rosen's Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle . And while it's worthwhile to question the overall value of cycling advocacy, I'm more focused on the harms of car-centric urban planning. I worry that if you take Salvador's argument too far, you could support tax policies that subsidize car purchases when there are no equivalent subsidies for e-bikes despite the immense harm of cars to the environment, our health, and racial justice.
January 3, 2023
Uno de los argumentos que desarrolla y conduce al lector es que el paradigma de la movilidad sostenible, lejos de abonar al bien común, constituye un ejercicio en el que trabajamos para ser parte de un indicador global cuyo fin es atraer capital internacional a la ciudad. Esto, propone el autor, nos obliga a preguntarnos para quién es esa movilidad sustentable que, al parecer, sobre cualquier cosa, busca el reconocimiento. A partir de ahí, las preguntas no cesan: ¿nos hemos cuestionado acaso la ética de pedirle al comerciante que vive en la periferia que se baje del auto? ¿Nos hemos preguntado por la real competencia del estado frente a la discusión entre cochistas y ciclistas que asumen que el cambio empieza en uno como lo plantea el motivo “en bici ya hubieras llegado”? ¿Estamos considerando, plantea Medina, que gran parte del paradigma de movilidad sustentable olvida el impacto que tiene en sociedades tan desiguales como la nuestra?
Una lectura sencilla, llena de preguntas, con argumentos sólidos para aproximarnos a las múltiples caras que tiene la movilidad en una megaciudad como la capital mexicana. Ensayos de crítica urbana, muy necesarios hoy en día.
Una lectura sencilla, llena de preguntas, con argumentos sólidos para aproximarnos a las múltiples caras que tiene la movilidad en una megaciudad como la capital mexicana. Ensayos de crítica urbana, muy necesarios hoy en día.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews