A thorough history of and guide to resistance movements for those who want REAL change and are tired of simply marching and calling their representatives.
Aric McBayis an organizer, a farmer, and author of four books. He writes and speaks about effective social movements, and has organized campaigns around prison justice, Indigenous solidarity, pipelines, unionization, and other causes. You can find his work atwww.aricmcbay.org.
"Aric McBay begins his newest work Full Spectrum Resistance with
the words: 'I wrote this book because we are losing,' and, indeed,
he presents a long list of global losses and failures in the realm
of the environment, Indigenous sovereignty, women's rights, class
struggle, racism and more. However, as McBay melds together
meticulous research into resistance movements past and present and
a lifetime of activism of many kinds, he paints what is, more than
anything, a picture of hope. He notes, near the beginning of volume
one that 'we fight because it is right' and, towards the end of
volume two that 'we can fight and we can win.' McBay's message of
activism and community building is one that should inspire all
people concerned about the future of this planet to, in his words:
'fight together for a future worth living in.'" -Pamela Cross,
feminist lawyer and activist
"Full Spectrum Resistance is more than a comprehensive guide
and a helpful handbook—it’s a red-hot torch capable of
scorching the banal platitudes and old orthodoxies of the Left as
it lights a path forward for those whose object is to win. Aric
McBay draws hard-earned lessons from decades of activism and
organizing, inquiry and study, building and sustaining social
movements, winning and (importantly) losing campaigns and battles,
and crafts a smart and passionate argument for the gathering
resistance. For anyone who understands the urgency of the
catastrophe we’re facing and is in search of an antidote to despair
or resignation, McBay provides a lantern that will cut through the
blunt blear and gritty exhaust all around, and offers this sizzling
invitation to unleash your most radical imagination, to dive into
the wreckage, and to risk winning a humane future." -Bill Ayers,
founding member of the Weather Underground, author of Fugitive
Days, Public Enemy, and Demand the Impossible: A radical
manifesto.
"Aric McBay's Full Spectrum Resistance, Volumes One &
Two are must reads for those wanting to know more about
social movement theory, strategies and tactics for social change,
and the history and politics of activism and community organizing.
There is nothing within the realm of social justice literature that
is close to the breath about modern social movements than these
books. These are engaging, critical, exciting and outstanding
intersectional books that respectfully speak about the pitfalls and
successes for social change. They're perfect for an
introduction to peace studies or intersectional social justice
class and touch on everything from Black and queer liberation, to
prison abolition and animal rights." -Dr. Anthony J. Nocella II,
Assistant Professor of Criminology and Co-editor of Igniting a
Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth
"Full Spectrum Resistance is the most thorough, intelligent,
and contemporary handbook on how to change everything that exists,
to my knowledge. If you're just now figuring out that all that
letter-writing and voting was completely pointless and you want one
source that will answer all those nagging questions coherently and
in lots of useful detail, read these books. If you, like me,
thought you already knew everything and wouldn't have read this
book except that you were asked to review it, I found a lot of
analysis in here that challenged my perspective in useful ways. But
what makes this book such an unexpected treasure is the wide
variety of examples, from ancient history to modern times, that
Aric McBay explores, that provide such insight for us into what has
worked and what hasn't. A firm believer in the idea that you
can't forge the future unless you understand how we got to the
present, Aric gives us the backstory on so many exciting and
inspiring social movements and struggles around the world that I
had never heard of, and provides really important insight into some
of the more familiar ones." -David Rovics, singer/songwriter and
host of This Week with David Rovics
"Every political generation thinks massive social change is around
the corner, but activist movements more often collapse instead of
becoming living revolutions of those changes. Activists need better
understanding and comprehensive methods to dealing with complex
civil society and Full Spectrum Resistance provides
those. McBay has filled these volumes with illustrious
examples from across the globe of resistance. Full of meaningful,
personal reflections and thoughtful analysis to avoid many pitfalls
holding back modern social/political movements, Full Spectrum
Resistance offers strategies and tools to carry activists
forward toward deeper changes in the world." -scott crow, author
of Black Flags and Windmills: Hope, Anarchy and the Common
Ground Collective
"Aric McBay has written a remarkable book that will forever change
the way you understand political resistance. We are accustomed to
protests that offer a fun playbook of marches, banners, chants, and
so on. But McBay is seriously committed to revolutionary
transformation and he is not satisfied to examine only those
protests that conform comfortably to the usual catechism of
non-violence. Nor does he adopt the sociological preoccupations
with the social factors that shape the collective effort. Instead,
his unwavering focus is on strategies that win." -Frances Fox
Piven, Author of Challenging Authority and Poor
People's Movements
"Drawing from both years of personal experience in social movements
as well as important lessons from history, Full Spectrum
Resistance is chock-full of examples of resistance movements
using a diversity of tactics to fight and win. Presented from an
anti-capitalist and anti-colonial perspective, this book is a
manual on how to organize effective resistance movements." -Gord
Hill, Author and artist of The 500 Years of Resistance
Comic Book and The Antifa Comic Book
"Full Spectrum Resistance is a feat of story-telling and
instruction on how to build movements that win. It does not
restrict itself as an evaluation of activist campaigns, but
researches a broad range of resistance tactics and
strategies--ranging from non-violent mass mobilizations and land
defense blockades to revolutionary armed struggles and small groups
of militant saboteurs. I feel indebted to McBay for his work
combing through the lessons of many dozens of resistance movements,
ensuring that each analysis is accompanied by an illustration of
these lessons in action. FSR's lessons not only inform how we
might form organizations to enact social change, but also reveal
how other types of organization can work in concert with each other
to effectively push for substantial social change." -Sakura
Saunders, Activist and Organizer
"For more than two decades, Aric McBay has been a thoughtful,
principled and challenging voice for social movements in Canada and
around the world. In these two volumes, he has distilled hundreds
of hours of inspiring conversations with many different
revolutionaries and organizers. They have rich experiences to
share, both successes and failures along the way. The advice
in these pages is practical, reflective, and deeply detailed. At
the same time, it is visionary, hinting at the ways we can shape
the future together. Full Spectrum Resistance is a
resource that is an absolute must on the bookshelves of anyone who
wants to make a better world--both seasoned activists and those who
are new to the struggle. There is so much we can learn from each
other." -Sara Falconer, director of digital communications at
Canadian Red Cross
"In Full Spectrum Resistance, Aric McBay tackles the most
important topic on the planet today - how to develop successful
grassroots resistance groups--and in doing so, courageously uses
the full spectrum of analysis without fear of breaching the limits
of acceptable debate established by the status quo. He meticulously
analyses successful and failed grassroots campaigns throughout
history to help activists in determining the logistics, tactics and
strategies that will win. Too many books offer no solution.
This book is the antidote to the depression, despondency, and
dysfunction that often follow when we confront the catastrophic
problems of the twenty-first century." -Ann Hansen, activist and
author of Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban
Guerrilla and Taking the Rap
"Power made plain, theirs and ours. Heavy, impassioned, and
useful." -Amory Starr, activist and author of Underground
Restaurant: Local Food, Artisan Economics, Creative Political
Culture
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