The Green Book: With new introduction by Caleb Maupin

by Muammar Gaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi, Caleb Maupin (Introduction)

The official, non-copyrighted translation of the primary ideological work of Islamic Socialism in Libya, with a new introduction by journalist and political analyst Caleb Maupin.

Genres: Politics, History, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theory, Middle East

104 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2020

About the author

معمر القذافي

Muammar al-Gaddafi
معمر محمد أبو منيار القذافي

Muammar Al-Qaddafi

The de facto leader of Libya since 1969 although he hasn't got an official title he is often referred to as "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" and "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution"

His policy is reffered to as an mix of Pan-Arabism and Islamic socialism. Although nowaday he calls for Pan-Africanism as well.

His politicial philosophy is outlined in his booklet the "Green Book"

On august 2008 Qaddafi has been titled Africa's king of kings by an council of 200 kings of Africa in Libya.

Reviews

[Анна · Rating 5 out of 5]

We will never forget what you’ve done Hillary Rodham Clinton.

[Frobisher Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting little book. Muammar Gaddafi makes a lot of compelling points in places, and at other times seems like a naive and zealous utopian. He is very strong when he critiques representative democracy from the standpoint of direct democracy, and when he compares the differences between constitutional law and natural law and the deficiencies of constitutions. Gaddafi's system of councils and committees is a very interesting and inspiring model of a broadly participatory, horizontal structure to the governing of society. It is his claim that mankind will inevitably come to adopt this structure, and that the political states of the world will eventually wither away and with them all serious social problems, that he seems to veer off into the realm of religious dogma, and not cultural and political theory. Similarly, his discussion of families, tribes, and the sexes demonstrate a kind of unquestioned biological essentialism that could have used a healthy dose of cultural realism.

Caleb Maupin's introduction is a welcome addition to the text. He paints a sympathetic, but not inaccurate, portrait of the revolutionary Libyan leader, that includes a great deal of context one won't find from say, CNN or the New York Times. I don't think any of his crimes or abuses should be ignored, but Gaddafi should also be understood as a synthesizer of a unique kind of Islamic socialism, who fought against Imperialism in Africa and worked hard to improve his nation. Painted as little more than a raving monster in much of the Western press, reading this will definitely give one a fuller picture of the man and his vision.

[Ivory]

this is something id expect someone who's really into hearts of iron 4 might write

[Nathaniel Owen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I took too long to get through this little book, but it's immensely boring. Caleb Maupin's terrible introduction, bereft of editing and infuriatingly ungrammatical, had at least sold me on this short reading journey as an endeavor worth what little time it would take. He cherry-picked, I think, the statements closest to being "interesting" as citations, because shortly after beginning to read the actual contents I wanted to pull the skin off of my face.

There is nothing revolutionary or original in here. The Green Book is comprised of redundant, obvious statements propping themselves up as elements of a groundbreaking "Third Universal Theory" that likely eludes even the cleverest of readers. Representative democracy is a sham, the press isn't really free, workers are being cheated when they only receive a fraction of the value of their labor, etc - the normal talking points of people who flipped through the pages of a socialist newspaper and converted by page 3.

Is this book interesting as a historical document? Not really. While it is true, as the author of the introduction points out, that the Libyan dictator probably received (and still receives) some wild and undue criticism, the ramblings of Gaddafi are basically incoherent and what little sense he makes is unoriginally presented to such a degree that one risks feeling that Gaddafi got exactly what he deserved for the crime of writing it.

[Sam (Twinkrev) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro by Caleb Maupin discussing the achievements of Libya as well as the response from the left (or lack of) after the imperialist intervention.

[oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think we will look back differently upon gaddafi

[Patrick Gendron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Green Book by Muammar Gaddafi is a persuasive and passionate vision for direct democracy and a strong testament to the strength of Islamic socialism.

Gaddafi identifies the problem of democracy being the instrument of government and rejects parliamentary, party, and class rule. He argues that the only truly democratic instrument of government is popular conferences and people’s committees.

This people centered form of governance prevents the individual, the class, the sect, the tribe, the parliament, and the party from plundering the sovereignty of the masses and disables the monopolization of politics and authority.

Gaddafi’s Green Book guides the masses towards an unprecedented practical system grounded in thought which has absorbed all human experiments to achieve democracy. It honors the social bonds of family, tribe, nation, and humanity and provides a model that is tied into natural law and respect for tradition.

Although I do think that Gaddafi’s ideas can in some ways be a bit idealistic, I very much respect the vision he had for society and I now better understand why the Obama administration and its NATO allies saw him as a threat that had to be eliminated. He understood the basic needs of his people and was inspiring other leaders of nations to truly care for their people in a way that was in direct opposition to the global capitalist order.

As sad as I am that my own govt decided to support the overthrow and murder of Gaddafi, I am hopeful that his vision will live on through the people that read his Green Book. His understandings of the inherent contradictions and dialectics of society were as clear as those held by Marx, Lenin, Mao, Ho Chi Min, Kim, Castro, Che, Allende, Chavez, the founding fathers of America and other revolutionaries.

I especially appreciated his recognition of the unique and different roles that women and men have in society and how to support them. As well as the importance of the social bonds of family, tribe, and nation, and his honoring of the significance of long-held traditions and religion.

I have much more respect for what he was trying to do in Libya and hope that Islamic socialism will have a chance to flourish in other civilizations.

[Missplays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Qaddafi has a very interesting perspective with a lot of correct conclusions. My criticisms to THE GREEN BOOK would be that he doesn't show his work enough, most of it is assertions likely drawn from conclusive religious text and popular opinion. Because of that, the bourgeois (mechanistic) theory in THE GREEN BOOK does reflect the nature of the stage in which it was written. The value of this makes it a much more advanced contemporary work over American founding liberalism. With a solid grounding in dialectical materialism, a reader could benefit from this book. But an uncritical reading I believe would do more harm than good, especially reifying the positions of anarchists.

[Najmuddin Bin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku ini dibaca dalam terjemahan Bahasa Melayu terbitan Underground Press.

Buku ini adalah ideologi Almarhum Muammar Gaddafi yang mana beliau kuat menentang sistem pentadbiran demokrasi yang diamalkan oleh kebanyakan negara di dunia ini.

Pemikiran beliau banyak mengetengahkan pemikiran sosialis di mana banyak mengutamakan kebajikan rakyatnya.

[forky wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

really interesting work, so many progressive socialist ideals here, I have to wonder what he was like as a leader, especially if he did last for so long.

[Abhilash Ronur]

Basic popular conferences, people’s committees, General People’s congress

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who will burden the costs?

[Anna]

this is wild

[Ainhoa Konstantinou Kapretz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super interesting book - very easy to read and comprehensive. Totally recommend if you’re into that kind of stuff.

But like many authoritarian people’s books, the author starts adding a bit too much of his own personal preferences toward the end.

He also overlooks the positive sides of globalization, like the inclusion of immigrants (refugees, workers, students…) and the idea that people are simply different. Saying that women should be feminine (gentle and beautiful) and men masculine (strong and aggressive) feels shallow to me, and kind of dismisses the beauty of individuality.