The Pursuit of Alternatives: Stories of Peoples’ Economic and Political Struggles Around the World, edited by Melisa R. Serrano and Edlira Xhafa. Germany: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Publishing, 2012. Pp. 223. ISBN 978-3-86618-390-2.

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The Pursuit of Alternatives: Stories of People’s Economic and Political Struggles Around the World is a telling compilation of people’s stories in their endeavors to provide alternatives to the existing social order. Amid the overwhelming global struggle against inequality, poverty and disempowerment, the book laid out a hopeful path in the reinforcement of social movements and their accompanying social mobilizations as exemplified by the following cases: Flaskô, Caldesa, Agência de Desenvolvimento Solidário, The Busan Workers’ Cooperative, Inuvik Community, NOVADECI, Frente de Luta por Moradia, Women’s Resistance in the Niger Delta, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, and The Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly.

Critical consciousness and transformative capacities as emancipatory elements driven by the horrors of neoliberal capitalism serve as the main thrust of the book. To underscore varieties in people’s motives and concomitant actions, the book used the abovementioned ten cases studied in six countries, namely Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Nigeria, South Korea and the Philippines.

On the one hand, Serrano and Xhafa regard critical consciousness as the ability to understand and analyze the systemic nature of the fundamental (as well as day-to-day) problems confronting people and society under capitalism (poverty, inequality, injustice, oppression, deprivation, exclusion and fragmentation), the interconnectedness of various struggles, and the individual willingness of people to act collectively to change their present circumstances and in the process affecting changes in society as a whole (p. 27). The mental conceptions gained from shared experiences and social realities construct a sense of collective identity which underpins the emancipatory endeavors of the collective. It is the first step to achieving the desired social order, an alternative to the status quo which is neoliberal capitalism.

On the other hand, transformative capacities are the material and concrete expressions of critical consciousness in terms of ‘new’ abilities and actions that seek to transform ‘realities’ and sustain the process of transformation (p. 27). In other words, transformative capacities are the actions that result from critical consciousness. According to Serrano and Xhafa, these capacities carry with them a bundle of critical skills which people acquire and develop in the course of their struggle. Some of these are organizing, mobilizing, educating, critical analysis, debating, mounting campaigns, lobbying, doing research, managing enterprises in a democratic way (including all skills involved in production, exchange and distribution), socially useful work skills, networking and negotiation, community-building, cooperating across political differences, and many more (p. 27). The six countries provide examples of successful and failed cases caused by multidimensional factors which apply differently against each movement’s collective interest and goals. Nonetheless, the profound re-awakening from their collective struggle provided the impetus for action in the pursuit of alternative beyond the capitalist canon.

Of all the cases mentioned, I would like to single out Caldesa as it is a special case of a failed movement. Although the workers succeeded in transforming the privately-owned factory into a worker-controlled one, democratic structures and processes that were placed earlier were later on supplanted by the self-perpetuating entrenched leadership (p. 20). Although it is categorically concerted effort to bring about social change, a member or members of the society — usually one of superior knowledge and audacity — cunningly vie/s for superiority at the disadvantage of the common good. Power play distorts the very thrust of the movement, thereby failing to replace the status quo with the desired social order. Fidel Castro beautifully outlined this in his book, “The most difficult, most important fight that anyone with power faces is the fight against himself, the struggle for self-control. That may be one of the toughest ones. Against corruption and even against the abuse of one’s own prerogatives, one has to have a very well-trained, strong conscience, a great deal of awareness” (Ramonet and Castro, 2008; p. 367).

The other nine cases were successful in their own ways.

Flasko, a worker-run factory in Sao Paulo, was marked by a strong cooperation between the organization and the local government amid their fight for the nationalization of the factory. Workers worked in harmony with each other without becoming alienated to their production, their co-workers, their output and themselves.

ADS in Brazil, formed against the backdrop of solidarity economy and sustainable development, held extensive awareness initiatives for their members. They provided educational assistance through training programs and advisory to their workers.

The Busan Workers’ Cooperative in South Korea promulgated democratic participation where members had equal privileges regardless of the amount contributed to the cooperative.

Inuvik Community, a greenhouse initiative in the Canadian North, was an example of a ‘diverse economy’ in which people who were not formally engaged in ‘paid work’ were still contributing to the development of their community and economy (Cameron and Gibson, 2005; p. 276). Due to globalization and its accompanying profit-centered food production, the Inuvik Community mobilized to create an alternative space that is free from the workings of capitalism; hence, the democratic community-based initiative towards food sovereignty that largely functions out of volunteer work.

In the Philippines, NOVADECI, a development cooperative, played a twin role: a health care provider and an insurance system. Cooperative decision making was based on democratic participation, and in pursuit of this goal the board members consulted the opinion of the members over the proposed health program (p. 130). Cooperatives were built to empower people in communities through the use of pooled resources to meet their common needs (p. 136).

Frente de Luta por Moradia, a housing struggle in Brazil, was characterized by a bottom-up leadership where members engaged in educational activities of their struggle, e.g. information dissemination to other members of the movement and even extend to those in the wider community. Housing problem in Brazil was and is still prevalent and those who are directly affected by it do not want it for free. “What we want is our right to have our own house and we do not want to have it without paying for it, but we need a chance and appropriate public policies so that we can afford to pay for it” said one of the coordinators of FLM (p. 157).

Women’s Resistance in the Niger Delta, a movement in Nigeria specifically by women fighting against economic exploitation, socio-political oppression and environmental degradation brought about by oil fracking in the region, was marked by the democratic participation among its members. The women, despite the overwhelming factors detrimental to their fight, faced considerable success in the long-run.

Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, an anti-poverty movement in Canada, were continuously organizing campaigns against regressive government policies and institutions that were not only hostile to poor and working-class people’s economic interests, but at times, their existence (p. 180). They followed a bottom-up approach in their organization where the general membership serves as the supreme decision-making body through voting and open debate.

The last case also sprang from Canada, The Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly. According to Euan Gibb (p. 217), the assembly was explicitly organized not to be simply another coalition or network; the aim of the assembly is to be an organization. “People join and participate as individuals, committed to a vision statement and building a democratic, activist organization. Engaging in common campaigns, building common approaches, planning together, debating and discussing activities, political discussion and debate and summarizing experiences will lead to a higher level of unity and can contribute to the growth of a more unified and sophisticated socialist left movement” (Rosenfeld, 2010).

Success of these movements is attributable to their individual characteristics and experiences. However, no matter the plethora of differences, it is likewise indispensable to tie up their success with their members’ cooperation, internal and external involvement, democratic participation, a bottom-up approach in the organizational structure, and follow-up educational activities to fan the flame of activism. All these constitute the emancipatory moments that led them to where they are now.

McNally (2011) reminded us that “one of the most difficult things that all of us have in understanding is making sense of the present as history. We tend to think of history as past events that are compiled in books and we tend to forget that what is happening in our lives right now is history in the making” (p. 49). The struggles of these people are gradually becoming part of human history and the initiatives they take in the present are what constitute their future of ‘becoming alternatives’ beyond the capitalist canon.

I would highly recommend this book, not only to those who have plans of mobilizing, but also to the general public. Serrano and Xhafa laid out an elaborate presentation of cases and analysis of what could be “alternatives” to capitalism in a reader-friendly manner. This book deserves a space in your shelf.

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Sources

Serrano, Melisa and Edlira Xhafa (eds) (2012). The Pursuit of Alternatives: Stories of Peoples’ Economic and Political Struggles Around the World. Germany: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Publishing.

Ramonet, Ignacio and Fidel Castro (2008). Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography. Scribner Publishers.

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