Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy

by Arundhati Roy, Howard Zinn

Cultural Writing. "Empire is on the move, and Democracy is its sly new war cry. Democracy, home-delivered to your doorstep by daisy cutters. Death is a small price for people to pay for the privilege of sampling this new product: Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy (bring to a boil, add oil, then bomb)"--Arundhati Roy, from the DVD. Arundhati Roy breaks it all down in two remarkable lectures, and two lively discussions with Howard Zinn, combined in this 3-hour DVD. Included is her renowned speech delivered in New York City's Riverside Church, entitled "Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy." Addressing a sold-out crowd, Roy gives a fiery critique of the "New American Empire" and emphatically challenges Americans to reclaim democracy and resist the U.S. war machine.

Genres: Nonfiction

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Arundhati Roy is an Indian writer who is also an activist who focuses on issues related to social justice and economic inequality. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays.

For her work as an activist she received the Cultural Freedom Prize awarded by the Lannan Foundation in 2002.

Reviews

[Dhwani Advani]

“The battle to reclaim democracy is going to be a difficult one. Our freedoms were not granted to us by any governments. They were wrested from them by us. And once we surrender them, the battle to retrieve them is called a revolution. It is a battle that must range across continents and countries. It must not acknowledge national boundaries, but if it is to succeed it has to begin here.”

Link to the speech: https://youtu.be/QLnMWZ_VQ5M

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this audiobook expecting it to be the audio version of "the god of small things", Roy's 1997 Booker prize winning novel.

Instead I found it was the audio of two speeches that she made in America in 2003, during the Iraq war. She is a political writer - anti war, anti large corporations, anti nationalism no matter which country is showing it. She is a fantastic speaker - clearly and logically talking about issues of war, poverty, treatment of various peoples etc. She speaks in a way designed not to inflame situations, and is equally unimpressed with most of the large nation's governments.

This was amazing to listen to, and I will not forget the contents for a long time.

Now I will find the actual audio of "the god of small things" - her only novel. I suspect her novel will not impress me as much as her writings.