1st Edition
The Global Left in a Multipolar World Towards a Planetary Politics of Justice and Survival
Chapter 1. Introduction: Global Lefts and Global Rights in Global Politics Dena Freeman
Chapter 2. The Twenty First Century Global Left: Forces, Organisation, Challenges and Prospects Göran Therborn
Part 1 – Class
Chapter 3. ‘Workers of the World Unite’: Then and Now Ronaldo Munck
Chapter 4. Workers’ Struggles Across the Globe Sian Lazar
Chapter 5. Three Cycles of the Global Left and a Call for a New International Don Kalb
Part 2 – Imperialism
Chapter 6. States and Left Internationalism: Challenges and Opportunities for Collective Action from the Global South Guillaume Long
Chapter 7. China's Role in the Continuation of the Global Left's Ideals in Twenty First Century Zhiguang Yin
Chapter 8. BRICS and Global Left Debates: Uni-Polar, Multi-Polar or Non-Polar Politics? Patrick Bond
Part 3 – Ecology
Chapter 9. Faulty State Sovereignty in the Polycrisis: Arguments for Considering ‘Ecological Sovereignty’ in Left Internationalism Sabrina Fernandes
Chapter 10. Planetary Socialism: A Left for the Earth Stefan Pedersen
Part 4 – Democracy
Chapter 11. The Anarchist Turn in Contemporary Social Movements and What it Means for the Global Left Hillary Lazar
Chapter 12. On the Future of the Left: The Role of World Political Parties Heikki Patomäki
Biography
Dena Freeman is Distinguished Professor of Global Studies at Shanghai University, China. Prior to moving to China, she taught in the Anthropology departments of the London School of Economics, University College London and Cambridge University. She is the author or editor of several books, including most recently Global Democracy: The Key to Global Justice (2022) and Can Globalization Succeed? (2020).
"The rising global right needs to be confronted with a powerful and imaginative global left. This book is a key step in this direction. A must-read!"
Thomas Piketty, Professor of Economics, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and the Paris School of Economics, author of A Brief History of Equality.
"At a time when the ultra-right is surging everywhere, this edited volume by leading voices of the left is pertinent and timely."
Yanis Varoufakis, Professor of Economics, University of Athens; Leader MeRA25; Co-founder DiEM25
"With the world entering a period marked by the deadly synergy of the crises of climate change, geopolitical rivalry, ascendant counterrevolution, and deepening inequality, the Left must coordinate its work across borders or risk ceding the global space to the insurgent Right. But how should the Left organize globally? Which issues must be prioritized when all are urgent? How should progressives relate to China and the BRICS? These are among the urgent challenges addressed by the contributors to this timely volume. Coming from diverse progressive traditions, the authors engage in the dialogue and debate essential to forging a spirited and militant mass movement across borders.
Walden Bello, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Focus on the Global South and author of Counterrevolution: The Global Rise of the Far Right
"What is the global left and what can it become in the 21st century? Diverse in its analysis and imaginative in its proposals, this remarkable volume archives and advances contemporary left-thinking for the future of our planet. A must-read for internationalist scholars and activists all over the world."
Ayça Çubukçu, Associate Professor in Human Rights, London School of Economics and Political Science
"Dena Freeman has brought together important thinkers to ponder how more unified global left(s) can exert greater power and influence to reshape world order in ways that can better sustain decent human life and the well-being of all life-forms and ecologies in our endangered planetary biosphere. The volume addresses such questions with a focus on four ‘critical elements’ for contemporary left thought and practice: class, imperialism, ecology and democracy, including the need to democratise the power of capital and authoritarian patterns of rule. This thought-provoking work will be required reading for reflections on the necessities and potentials for progressive global transformations."
Stephen Gill, Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science, Communications and Culture, York University, Toronto.
