Why do urban struggles matter in projects of social change? What is the importance of reclaiming public space in social movements? And at this gloomy global moment of extreme urban disparities and social inequalities, how do we re-think what is possible? For insights on these questions, we interviewed David Harvey on 24 October 2013. Harvey is the Distinguished Professor of Anthropology & Geography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY)…
In this interview, Harvey illustrates how struggles over urban space and the quality of daily life in neighborhoods are intrinsic to understanding the dynamics of class struggle. He highlights the importance of joining struggles in projects of social change and calls for re-conceptualizing of the working class to include all “those people who produce and reproduce urban life.” The original interview was recorded, and subsequently transcribed by Duncan Wane.
Contradictions of Capital
Edward J. Taaffe Colloquium
The Ohio State University Department of Geography
Hosted by Joel Wainwright and Nada Moumtaz
October 25, 2013
Available now from Verso. Description from Verso website:
The definitive guide to the second volume of Capital
The biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression shows no sign of ending, and Marx’s work remains key to any attempt to understand the ebb and flow of capitalist economies. For nearly forty years, David Harvey has written and lectured on Capital, becoming one of the world’s foremost Marx scholars.
Based on his recent lectures, and following the success of his companion to the first volume of Capital, Harvey turns his attention to Volume 2, aiming to bring his depth of learning to a broader audience, guiding first-time readers through a fascinating and often-neglected text. Whereas Volume 1 focuses on production, Volume 2 looks at how value comes into being through the buying and selling of goods. Harvey also introduces elements from Volume 3 on credit and finance to help illustrate aspects of the contemporary crisis.
This is a must-read for anyone wanting a fuller understanding of Marx’s political economy. David Harvey’s video lecture course on Marx’s Capital can be found here.
From the description: David Harvey visited Brazil for an international seminar on Marx. This is the lecture he gave in Salvador (March 26th) on the publication of the brazilian edition of his A Companion to Marx’s Capital, Volume 1, by Boitempo. With activities extending throughout three months and six brazilian cities, the seminar featured Slavoj Žižek, Michael Heinrich and some of the most renowned specialists from Brazil and abroad to discuss the relevance of Marxism in times of global crisis.
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From Verso Books: “Rousing manifesto on the city and the commons from the acclaimed theorist.
Long before Occupy, cities were the subject of much utopian thinking. They are the centers of capital accumulation as well as of revolutionary politics, where deeper currents of social and political change rise to the surface. Do the financiers and developers control access to urban resources or do the people? Who dictates the quality and organization of daily life?
Rebel Cities places the city at the heart of both capital and class struggles, looking at locations ranging from Johannesburg to Mumbai, from New York City to São Paulo. Drawing on the Paris Commune as well as Occupy Wall Street and the London Riots, Harvey asks how cities might be reorganized in more socially just and ecologically sane ways—and how they can become the focus for anti-capitalist resistance.
How We Can Win: Marian Kramer and David Harvey
March 19th, 2013 The Brecht Forum
New York City
David Harvey interviews Marian Kramer, legendary activist who has been on the front lines of the welfare rights and civil rights movement for over forty years. Founder and co-chair of the National Welfare Rights Union (NWRU) and founding member of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, she has been a leading organizer in struggles for workers, welfare recipients, low-income mothers, tenants, homeless people, and most recently, for Highland Park residents who have lost their water rights in Detroit.
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On Why Struggles over Urban Space Matter
