Book Presentation on “Democracy From Below”

A Dialogue with James Muldoon (Exeter) and Steven Klein (KCL) on their new books on radical democratic movements and their impact on politics.

How have democratic movements achieved lasting, radical change? What can the Left learn from the history of democratic social movements? James Muldoon (Exeter) and Steven Klein (KCL) discuss their new books and the lessons for building democracy from below. Muldoon’s Building Power to Change the World: The Political Thought of the German Council Movement (Oxford UP 2020) carefully reconstructs the ideas and significance of the wave of revolutionary council democracy that arose after World War I, while Klein’s The Work of Politics: Making a Democratic Welfare State (Cambridge UP 2020) examines how radical social movements have used welfare institutions to challenge structures of domination throughout society. Together, their books provide vital insights into the possibilities for democracy today.

You can see the Dialogue on YouTube.