Anti-systemic Movements

Antisystemic Movements provides a concise history of popular resistance and class struggle from the emergence of capitalism. Based on an analysis of resistance movements since then, it shows that while some early forms were successful in their own terms, they ultimately failed to impede the consolidation of the modern capitalist world-system. The authors argue that until about 1848, opposition was often dispersed, localized, and lacking in organization and continuity, making it easier for capitalism to crush or outflank it. However, from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, more adequately organized social and national movements have set some limits on capital accumulation. Despite their successes, these movements generally remained confined within the terrain of the nation-state. The book identifies a turning point in 1968, marking the emergence of new antisystemic movements that challenge the logic of the capitalist world-system more centrally than ever before. These new movements have different ethnic and gender compositions and ways of organizing, with key inspirations that increasingly cross national boundaries.