Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions

By Paul Mason

Incisive grassroots account of the new global revolutions by acclaimed BBC journalist.

The world is facing a wave of uprisings, protests and revolutions: Arab dictators swept away, public spaces occupied, slum-dwellers in revolt, cyberspace buzzing with utopian dreams. Events we were told were consigned to history—democratic revolt and social revolution—are being lived by millions of people.

In this compelling new book, Paul Mason explores the causes and consequences of this great unrest. From Cairo to Athens, Wall Street and Westminster to Manila, Mason goes in search of the changes in society, technology and human behavior that have propelled a generation onto the streets in search of social justice. In a narrative that blends historical insight with first-person reportage, Mason shines a light on these new forms of activism, from the vast, agile networks of cyberprotest to the culture wars and tent camps of the #occupy movement. The events, says Mason, reflect the expanding power of the individual and call for new political alternatives to elite rule and global poverty.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Verso
• Release date: Jan 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9781781683859

Paul Mason

Paul Mason is a writer and broadcaster on economics and social justice. He is the author of PostCapitalism (Penguin, 2015) and a contributor to Syriza (Pluto, 2015) and Student Revolt (Pluto, 2017).

Reviews for Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere

[modernmuslimah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Although this book took a long time for me to read, I still give it five stars because Paul Mason takes such in depth look at the possible reasons for the all current unrest and social movements that are taking place simultaneously around the world. He doesn't just look at economics (which is obviously a primary factor in the events of 2011) but at a variety of issues that forced people to the streets. Social networking, the freedom of the individual, the unsustainable system of neo-liberal capitalism: these are all just some of the themes that Mason discusses. However, I did find some of the connection that Mason tried to make a tedious at times. Mason also argues that there are similarities between what is happening now and the socio-economic battles that took place in Europe during the mid 19th century. Where Mason shines the most, however, is when he tells the stories of people affected by gross inequalities. Whether it's the protesters in Greece, Tahrir Square or Spain or the poor of the Southwest United States or the Philippines, Mason manages to covey their stories in such a way that it hard not to empathize and sympathize with their plights. He makes their stories seem intimate in way that other journalists would have surely failed. This book is what journalism should be.