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I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism, Gittlitz, A.M., Very
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- Buy It NowI Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism, Gittlitz, A.M., Very
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Item specifics
- Condition
- ISBN
- 9780745340777
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Pluto Press
ISBN-10
0745340776
ISBN-13
9780745340777
eBay Product ID (ePID)
5038688018
Product Key Features
Book Title
I Want to Believe : Posadism, Ufos and Apocalypse Communism
Number of Pages
272 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2020
Topic
Conspiracy Theories, Political Ideologies / Communism, Post-Communism & Socialism, Utopias
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Political Science, Social Science
Format
Uk-Trade Paper
Dimensions
Item Height
0.6 in
Item Weight
9 Oz
Item Length
8.5 in
Item Width
5.5 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2021-276928
Dewey Edition
23
Reviews
'A provocative and clear-eyed account of communist lunacy, its costs, and why we might need it anyway' Malcolm Harris, author of 'Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials' 'I Want to Believe is most compelling in its consideration of how Posadist ideals live on today, beyond the meme-centric irony and vaporwave aesthetics of the extremely online left' Baffler, 'Under the grim pressures of 20th century history, and now climate change, Gittlitz shows how explosions of black political humour also contain utopian hopes very necessary to keep alive. As an advocate of Partially Automated Adequate Socialism I can only agree, and applaud this fine addition to leftist history' Kim Stanley Robinson, award-winning author of the Mars Trilogy 'While Posadism is often treated as a political curiosity, quickly set aside, Gittlitz skillfully paints J. Posadas and his followers in all their depth and complexity: paranoid, idealistic, cultish, fractious, bizarre, proud, far-reaching dreamers. In their bizarre, sometimes revolutionary own ways, they fought for a more just world, one that could finally join the ranks of a far more advanced fraternity awaiting them in the galaxy' Anna Merlan, author of 'Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power', "While Posadism is often treated as a political curiosity, quickly set aside, Gittlitz skillfully paints J. Posadas and his followers in all their depth and complexity: paranoid, idealistic, cultish, fractious, bizarre, proud, far-reaching dreamers. In their bizarre, sometimes revolutionary own ways, they fought for a more just world, one that could finally join the ranks of a far more advanced fraternity awaiting them in the galaxy" - Anna Merlan, author of 'Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power', A provocative and clear-eyed account of communist lunacy, its costs, and why we might need it anyway' - Malcolm Harris, author of 'Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials'|9780745340777|, 'An absolute treat. As well as a brilliantly researched biography of Posadas, and a very witty one, it does far more than lampoon him. Rather, it uses his story (and its legendarisation in meme culture) to provide really valuable reflection on revolutionary hope, cults, and the role of irony and despair in the millennial-left milieu', 'An absolute treat. As well as a brilliantly researched biography of Posadas, and a very witty one, it does far more than lampoon him. Rather, it uses his story (and its legendarisation in meme culture) to provide really valuable reflection on revolutionary hope, cults, and the role of irony and despair in the millennial-left milieu' David Broder, author of 'First They Took Rome: How the Populist Right Conquered Italy' 'This book has it all: Trotskyist drama, South American revolutions and aliens from inner and outer space. What's not to like?' McKenzie Wark, author of 'Capital Is Dead: Is This Something Worse?', 'A cautionary political tale of a radical post-war tendency marked by zealous fanaticism, an enigmatic insurgent horizon caught between utopia and annihilation and the cruellest of gaps separating sincere revolutionary desire and delusional irrelevance' 'ROAR', "Under the grim pressures of 20th century history, and now climate change, Gittlitz shows how explosions of black political humor also contain utopian hopes very necessary to keep alive. As an advocate of Partially Automated Adequate Socialism I can only agree, and applaud this fine addition to leftist history" - Kim Stanley Robinson, award-winning author of the Mars Trilogy, 'This book has it all: Trotskyist drama, South American revolutions and aliens from inner and outer space. What's not to like?', 'Under the grim pressures of 20th century history, and now climate change, Gittlitz shows how explosions of black political humour also contain utopian hopes very necessary to keep alive. As an advocate of Partially Automated Adequate Socialism I can only agree, and applaud this fine addition to leftist history', 'A provocative and clear-eyed account of communist lunacy, its costs, and why we might need it anyway', 'An absolute treat. As well as a brilliantly researched biography of Posadas, and a very witty one, it does far more than lampoon him. Rather, it uses his story (and its legendarisation in meme culture) to provide really valuable reflection on revolutionary hope, cults, and the role of irony and despair in the millennial-left milieu.', "An absolute treat. As well as a brilliantly researched biography of Posadas, and a very witty one, it does far more than lampoon him. Rather, it uses his story (and its legendarization in meme culture) to provide really valuable reflection on revolutionary hope, cults, and the role of irony and despair in the millennial-left milieu." - David Broder, author of 'First They Took Rome: How the Populist Right Conquered Italy', 'While Posadism is often treated as a political curiosity, quickly set aside, Gittlitz skillfully paints J. Posadas and his followers in all their depth and complexity: paranoid, idealistic, cultish, fractious, bizarre, proud, far-reaching dreamers. In their bizarre, sometimes revolutionary own ways, they fought for a more just world, one that could finally join the ranks of a far more advanced fraternity awaiting them in the galaxy', "This book has it all: Trotskyist drama, South American revolutions and aliens from inner and outer space. What's not to like?" - McKenzie Wark, 'If you find yourself afflicted by capitalist realism, a dip into I Want to Believe and the world of Posadism might be just the thing for you' Social Review 'There is no reason the left shouldn't engage in the occasional indulgence of UFOwatching alongside the hard work of organising' Dawn Foster, 'Gittlitz has recovered an unlikely left-wing hero for these febrile times... and is an able navigator through the ensuing alphabet soup of Trotskyist organisations he travels through' Morning Star 'Gittlitz does so well in weaving the life of Posadas with the enclosed parallel universe of Trotskyism he created' Socialist Resistance
Number of Volumes
1 vol.
Dewey Decimal
335.433
Table Of Content
List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: THE TRAGIC CENTURY 1. Commentaries on the Infancy of Comrade Posadas 2. Revolutionary Youth or Patriotic Youth? 3. The Death Throes of Capitalism 4. The Origins of Posadism 5. Where are we Going? PART II: THE POSADIST FOURTH INTERNATIONAL 6. The Flying International 7. The Role of Anti-Imperialist and Revolutionary Militants, the Role of Trotskyists, the Program, and Tasks During and After the Atomic War 8. The Macabre Farce of the Supposed Death of Guevara 9. Flying Saucers, the Process of Matter and Energy, Science, the Revolutionary and Working-Class Struggle, and the Socialist Future of Mankind 10. The Accident 11. Hombrecitos 12. Volver 13. What Exists Cannot Be True 14. Arrival of Comrade Homerita to the House PART III: NEO-POSADISM 15. Historical Sincerity 16. Why Don't Extraterrestrials Make Public Contact? 17. UFOs to the People 18. On the Function of the Joke and Irony in History Timeline Notes Index
Synopsis
Calling not just for socialism in one country, but throughout the galaxy, this is the incredible story of the Posadists. Named after the Argentine Trotskyist J. Posadas, the movement's sectarian journey through the twentieth century revolutionary socialist experiences of guerrilla war, nuclear missile crisis, the '68 rebellions, and anti- communist dictator-ships, is both mind-bendingly paranormal, and strangely familiar. I Want to Believe reveals why Posadism continues to capture the imaginations of leftists today, and uncovers both a cynicism towards the past and a nostalgia for the earnest belief that a better world is possible. Book jacket., Advocating nuclear war, attempting communication with dolphins and taking an interest in the paranormal and UFOs, there is perhaps no greater (or stranger) cautionary tale for the Left than that of Posadism. Named after the Argentine Trotskyist J. Posadas, the movement's journey through the fractious and sectarian world of mid-20th century revolutionary socialism was unique. Although at times significant, Posadas' movement was ultimately a failure. As it disintegrated, it increasingly grew to resemble a bizarre cult, detached from the working class it sought to liberate. The renewed interest in Posadism today - especially for its more outlandish fixations - speaks to both a cynicism towards the past and nostalgia for the earnest belief that a better world is possible. Drawing on considerable archival research, and numerous interviews with ex- and current Posadists, I Want to Believe tells the fascinating story of this most unusual socialist movement and considers why it continues to capture the imaginations of leftists today., "Looks back at the history of Posadism to explore why this largely discredited movement has elicited so much recent interest." --Art in America Advocating nuclear war, attempting communication with dolphins, and taking an interest in the paranormal and UFOs, there is perhaps no greater (or stranger) cautionary tale for the Left than that of Posadism. Named after the Argentine Trotskyist J. Posadas, the movement's journey through the fractious and sectarian world of mid-20th century revolutionary socialism was unique. This book is a "dumpster dive" into the weird and wonderful world of the Posadists. Although at times significant, Posadas' movement was ultimately a failure. As it disintegrated, it increasingly grew to resemble a bizarre cult, detached from the working class it sought to liberate. The renewed interest in Posadism today, especially for its more outlandish fixations, speaks to both a cynicism towards the past and nostalgia for the earnest belief that a better world is possible. Chapters include: *Revolutionary Youth or Patriotic Youth *The Death Throes of Capitalism *The Origins of Posadism *Flying Saucers, the Process of Matter and Energy, Science, the Revolutionary and Working-Class Stuggle, and the Socialist Future of Mankind *What Exists Cannot be True *Why Don't Extraterrestrials Make Public Contact *UFOs to the People In the Introduction, A.M. Gittlitz writes, "Insurrection or first contact could come any day, Marxists and ufologists both tell us, but both are far more likely if we desire them, embracing a sentiment enigmatically expressed in a meme come before its time, a poster on the wall of rouge FBI agent Fox Mulder in the '90s sci-fi noir The X-Files : hovering alongside a granny image of a comically unconvincingly flying saucer and the words I WANT TO BELIEVE". Drawing on considerable archival research, and numerous interviews with ex- and current Posadists , I Want to Believe tells the fascinating story of this most unusual socialist movement and considers why it continues to capture the imaginations of leftists today., Advocating nuclear war, attempting communication with dolphins, and taking an interest in the paranormal and UFOs, there is perhaps no greater (or stranger) cautionary tale for the Left than that of Posadism. This book is a "dumpster dive" into the weird and wonderful world of the Posadists.
LC Classification Number
HX183.8.P67G58 2020
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- -***l (4017)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchasebook exactly as described 👌 and with a really great price 😀; luv the large print; packaged well; wrapped in plastic packing bag but extra tight 👏; no bent corners on cover or pages; book arrived in perfect condition 💯; fast shipping; books always look good from this top-notch seller 🙂; makes me a happy repeat customer 😉; transaction was smooth from beginning to end; excellent customer service and an A+ seller 😎; thanks ☺️The Ferryman: A Novel (Random House Large Print), Cronin, Justin, Very Good Book (#167354511220)
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- 3***4 (73)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseThe book I purchased exceeded my expectations! The quality was outstanding, and the appearance was exactly as described—pristine and well-maintained. The packaging was secure and protective, ensuring the book arrived in perfect condition. This transaction truly offered great value for the price, and I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. Highly recommend this seller for their attention to detail and excellent service!
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Seller feedback (46,872)
- -***l (4017)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchasebook exactly as described 👌 and with a really great price 😀; luv the large print; packaged well; wrapped in plastic packing bag but extra tight 👏; no bent corners on cover or pages; book arrived in perfect condition 💯; fast shipping; books always look good from this top-notch seller 🙂; makes me a happy repeat customer 😉; transaction was smooth from beginning to end; excellent customer service and an A+ seller 😎; thanks ☺️The Ferryman: A Novel (Random House Large Print), Cronin, Justin, Very Good Book (#167354511220)
- e***a (2164)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseHIGHLY RECOMMENDED EBAY SELLER !! MY EBAY PURCHASED ORDER ARRIVED SAFELY PACKAGED AND AS SPECIFIED AND DESCRIBED IN THE LISTING BY THE EBAY SELLER. I RECEIVED OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATIONS AND OVERALL CUSTOMER SERVICE. A TRUE VALUED AND TRUSTED EBAY SELLER IN MY OPINION !! THANK YOU.
- 3***4 (73)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseThe book I purchased exceeded my expectations! The quality was outstanding, and the appearance was exactly as described—pristine and well-maintained. The packaging was secure and protective, ensuring the book arrived in perfect condition. This transaction truly offered great value for the price, and I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. Highly recommend this seller for their attention to detail and excellent service!