Another World is Possible : Social Movements Confronting Capital and State

Anti-capitalism is now a worldwide movement. Campaigns and protests have acquired a popularity and prominence in recent years that has been the subject of intense speculation and media coverage.

Yet the diverse range of groups involved in 'anti-capitalist' protest means that it has little theoretical coherance as a whole. In this book, experienced activist and campaigner Graeme Chesters provides some of the theoretical ground that has been missing.

Focusing particularly on less formalised direct action movements such as the Peoples Global Alliance and Reclaim the Streets, he uses contemporary social movement theory to offer a concrete theoretical framework, examining the challenges they pose, and he asks how the responses they elicit are likely to influence the future of collective action and the possibilities of social change. As globalisation unleashes poweful economic and cultural forces, and social democracy is facing a crisis of legitimacy, nation states are clamping down ever more desperately in an attempt to maintain order. In this context, social movements have moved to centre stage -- it is now more important than ever to learn from episodes of collective action, and to assess what possibilities they present for solving the problems capitalism raises.