Description: What is social ecology really? The term refers to an extensive political philosophy developed by Murray Bookchin. But Bookchin was not only a pioneer ecologist but also a controversial figure. How did the polemics and controversies obscure his ideas? How can social ecology still provide solutions to the ecological and social crises of our time?
Brief description: Dr. Andy Price is Senior Lecturer in Politics at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. He has written articles on both Bookchin and social ecology and on contemporary radical movements for the academic and popular press.
Review Quotes:
This is a work of "recovery" in the best sense, a lucid, sympathetic yet critical account of Bookchin, demonstrating his continuing relevance in the face of ecological catastrophe. Andy Price's insightful treatment goes beyond the polemics surrounding Bookchin to illustrate the richness and depth of his ecological philosophy, which should do much to revive interest in this bold thinker.
-- Jules Townshend, Professor Emeritus, Manchester Metropolitan University
A trenchant and much-needed reassessment of this singular and all too often misrepresented anarcho-green theorist, and of his contribution to social theory. Price indeed "recovers" Bookchin; he does so with admirable verve and analytical rigour, cutting through the myriad distortions surrounding him and providing us with a new framework for understanding social ecology today.
-- Dr Chris Ealham, author of Anarchism and the City (AK Press, 2010)
Andy Price's much needed study provides us at last with a reasoned and balanced reassessment of Murray Bookchin, a man whose ideas were hugely influential on a whole generation of scholars and ecologist or anarchist activists, and yet whose valuable contribution had become obscured by sometimes bitter controversy. Through a detailed, thoroughly researched and properly contextualised analysis of debates between Bookchin and his antagonists, Price convincingly rebuffs much of the caricatural criticisms of Bookchin, without lapsing into hagiography. An important book.
-- Dr David Berry, Reviews Editor, Anarchist Studies; Senior Lecturer, Loughborough University