Thought Dreams: Radical Theory for the 21st Century

by Michael Albert

With his combination of hard-edged logic and visionary hope, Michael Albert is one of the treasures of the Left. [Barbara Ehrenreich] How does a Marxist talk about gender? How does a feminist talk about class? Progressives use a variety of theories -- feminism, Marxism, environmentalism, multiculturalism -- as conceptual frameworks with which to understand the world and develop a vision for the future. How do social and political theories work, and how do they relate to each other? In Thought Dreams, Michael Albert discusses these questions using many examples and question-and-answer sections that make the book accessible and useful. It will help readers better understand progressive theories and begin to create their own theoretical perspective, one that is consistent with their principles, experiences, and priorities.  

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.

American activist, speaker, and writer. He is co-editor of ZNet, and co-editor and co-founder of Z Magazine. He also co-founded South End Press and has written numerous books and articles. He developed along with Robin Hahnel the economic vision called participatory economics.

Albert identifies himself as a market abolitionist and favors democratic participatory planning as an alternative.

During the 1960s, Albert was a member of Students for a Democratic Society, and was active in the anti-Vietnam War movement.

Albert's memoir, Remembering Tomorrow: From SDS to Life After Capitalism (ISBN 1583227423), was published in 2007 by Seven Stories Press.

Reviews

[Türkay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Albert'in interaktif derslerinden oluşan bu kitap toplumu anlamak için kullandığımız temel araçları, bakış açılarını ele alarak bu kuramların yeterliliklerini sorgularken, yeni bir bakış açısı, yöntem (ya da teori) oluşturmaya çalışıyor.
Feminizm, Marksizm, Çevrecilik, Çok kültürcülük, ırklar arası çatışma gibi farklı alanlarla toplumu açıklamaya çalışırken eksik kalınan yönleri güçlü bir tartışma platformuna çeken Albert okuru da bu kavramları tartışmaya davet ediyor.
Zmagazine kurucu yazarlarından olan Michael Albert https://zcomm.org/zmag/ kitabı oluşturan dersler sırasında zmag'dan bulunabilecek çeşitli okumaları da öneriyor.
Okunası, tartışılası, dönüp tekrar okunası bir kitap...

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another compelling set of meditations (along with Parecon:Life After Capitalism) from Michael Albert, this book is really a series of lectures delivered by Albert at his Znet school for radical thought interspersed with unattributed answers and perspectives from his students. In here Albert attempts to formulate a theoretical 'tool box' for understanding what society is, how it functions, what change means, and how to change it.

Albert's toolbox draws from the strengths of the anarchist, feminist, nationalist, and marxist traditions, but rejects the essentialism so common in each of those projects to find a more holistic model of cross-pollinating and perpetuating spheres. Very interesting, very useful stuff.

[Mistypane611 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big fan of Michael Albert and love this book. Like all of the things of his I've read so far it is straight forward and easy to read - if you have to spend a lot of time understanding a theory it's going to end up only useful to those who have that time. No being obtuse for the sake of it here.
The problems with theories and conceptual tools are made so clear - don't use tools unthinkingly, you need to stay aware and not become attached to your ideas so that you're cling to them even when they are not supported in reality.
Basically, really useful insightful book.