The Politics of Social Ecology
Libertarian Municipalism

Publisher:  Black Rose Books, Montreal
Year Published:  1997
Pages:  204pp   ISBN:  9781551641003
  Dewey:  320.8/5/01
Resource Type:  Book
Cx Number:  CX15948

This book presents an introductory overview and sketches the historical and philosophical context in which the ideas of libertarian municipalism are grounded.

Abstract: 
Since his youth in the 1930s, Murray Bookchin devoted his life to looking for ways to replace today's authoritarian society, and the system that immiserates most of humanity and poisons the natural world, with a more enlightened and rational alternative. A close student of the European enlightenment, he is best known for introducing the idea of ecology to the political left, and for first positing that a liberatory society would also have to be an ecological society. Over the course of several decades, "libertarian municipalism", the political dimension of the broader body of ideas known as social ecology, was developed by this world famous social theorist.

This book presents an introductory overview of the ideas as Bookchin developed them. In addition to laying out the basic components of libertarian municipalism's political ideas (ideas of how to create free cities), it sketches the historical and philosophical context in which Bookchin grounds them and provides substantial material on the practical questions of creating and organizing a new municipal movement toward such democratic cities. Bookchin has generously provided the lengthy interview that makes up the last third of this book.