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Suburban Socialism
n December 2019, Oly Durose lost by over 25,000 votes as the Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate for Brentwood & Ongar. Revealing what it's like to stand on a socialist platform in one of the safest Conservative seats in the UK, this book makes the case for socialism in the suburbs, unveils the challenges of its electoral realisation, and proposes a strategic revolution required to win.
Diagnosing the reality of suburban capitalism, Suburban Socialism asks what it would be like to bring white picket fences under collective control instead. To convince suburbanites of this radical alternative inside the electoral arena, this book argues that we must revolutionise our strategy outside of it. That means building a movement, led by the suburban working-class, which is capable of not only waging class warfare in the suburbs, but persuading unlikely voters they have a stake in our victory.
From the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution to the shockwaves of the metropolitan youthquake, socialism has predominantly been framed as an urban struggle. Identifying the possibilities for suburban resistance, this book offers a more geographically inclusive invitation to the socialist struggle, revealing why the suburban struggle is global in scale.
Turning a suburb that shares from a hopeless fantasy into an electoral reality, Suburban Socialism illustrates why the path to socialism around the world is through the heterogenous suburban terrain.
Diagnosing the reality of suburban capitalism, Suburban Socialism asks what it would be like to bring white picket fences under collective control instead. To convince suburbanites of this radical alternative inside the electoral arena, this book argues that we must revolutionise our strategy outside of it. That means building a movement, led by the suburban working-class, which is capable of not only waging class warfare in the suburbs, but persuading unlikely voters they have a stake in our victory.
From the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution to the shockwaves of the metropolitan youthquake, socialism has predominantly been framed as an urban struggle. Identifying the possibilities for suburban resistance, this book offers a more geographically inclusive invitation to the socialist struggle, revealing why the suburban struggle is global in scale.
Turning a suburb that shares from a hopeless fantasy into an electoral reality, Suburban Socialism illustrates why the path to socialism around the world is through the heterogenous suburban terrain.
320 pages, Paperback
Published January 11, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 14, 2022
This book is packed with ideas! The author does a great job of pulling them together, this is most effective when he links it with personal stories of his election campaign.
There have been a slew of books about the 2019 election these have mainly been from one political perspective so to read a book from an alternative view is vital.
There have been a slew of books about the 2019 election these have mainly been from one political perspective so to read a book from an alternative view is vital.
February 6, 2022
Most political stories are about the journey towards winning. This story is unique in being about fighting for a seat that is unwinnable (at least for now). The tales from the doorstep are insightful and interesting. In it's essence this is a book about hope. Hope that things can be different - and about those who fight for things to be different.
Whilst a lot of the book talks about how socialism can transform the suburbs, the book is at its strongest when the author reflects on his own journey - ranging from his youth at a school where he misogyny and homophobia were normalised to his knocking on doors and being welcomed in by an old couple who retained faith that a better world is coming.
The style draws you in, being unapologetic in his values and beliefs and will, doubtless encourage others to stand up for their beliefs too
Whilst a lot of the book talks about how socialism can transform the suburbs, the book is at its strongest when the author reflects on his own journey - ranging from his youth at a school where he misogyny and homophobia were normalised to his knocking on doors and being welcomed in by an old couple who retained faith that a better world is coming.
The style draws you in, being unapologetic in his values and beliefs and will, doubtless encourage others to stand up for their beliefs too
November 15, 2024
Premise implies a solution to an unsolvable problem -> book can’t solve the problem -> disappointment
This may sound too harsh now, because there are, in fact, many valuable ideas in this book concerning the difficult subjects it attempts to tackle. However, I couldn’t help but heavily skim through this endless ramble of highly specific, overly detailed case study.
Many other reviews appreciate the boots-on-the-ground approach of this book, following an actual labour candidate in a region where he is 100% bound to fail, as it stands today. For me though, this slow search in the dark for solutions made the book nigh insufferable for me.
It treads and retreads basic knowledge of political, economical and social circumstances in the suburbs to an extent that the actual gains from reading this fall pretty short. Maybe it’s on me for expecting a straight-forward examination instead of an autobiographic pamphlet.
This may sound too harsh now, because there are, in fact, many valuable ideas in this book concerning the difficult subjects it attempts to tackle. However, I couldn’t help but heavily skim through this endless ramble of highly specific, overly detailed case study.
Many other reviews appreciate the boots-on-the-ground approach of this book, following an actual labour candidate in a region where he is 100% bound to fail, as it stands today. For me though, this slow search in the dark for solutions made the book nigh insufferable for me.
It treads and retreads basic knowledge of political, economical and social circumstances in the suburbs to an extent that the actual gains from reading this fall pretty short. Maybe it’s on me for expecting a straight-forward examination instead of an autobiographic pamphlet.
January 6, 2025
real accomplishment but not without some aspects I found not as useful
March 14, 2022
A simpleton for whom if the label says Socialist, than it stands for Socialism, and if the label says Conservatism, it might stand for Capitalism. Or the aberration of not having an entry exam to ”represent” the serfs.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews