From Urbanization to Cities: The Politics of Democratic Municipalism

Author/Contributor(s):	Bookchin, Murray ; Van Outryve d'Ydewalle, Sixtine
Publisher:	AK Press
Date:	01/04/2022
Binding:	Paperback
Condition:	NEW

From Urbanization to Cities is a sweeping history of the city, not as a destination for capitalist exchange and individual gratification but as a locus for directly democratic politics. Just as ecosystems rely on participation and mutualism, so must cities--and their citizens--rediscover these qualities, establishing harmonious and ethical social relations. Democratic municipalism is an emancipatory philosophy of self-determination, where politics becomes an everyday act in which ordinary people and local communities take the power of decision making into their own hands. From the Paris Commune to the Kurdish-led revolution in northeast Syria, democratic municipalism is a tool for wresting power from the nation-state, allowing capitalist urbanization to give way to humanly scaled, ecological, and egalitarian societies.