As those familiar
with this page may know, there was a separation between my place of work and I roughly
seven weeks ago. Since then I have set some fairly ambitious writing goals (at
least for me, anyway). So I started writing, and yesterday I finished (the
first draft of) the first of a pseudo-series of books.
The title is: Universal Revolution: A Manifesto for
Egalitarians.
For some background
information, it is enough to say that I have studied a fair amount of radical
theology. And I love it. But something essential is missing from it. It is too intellectual,
too ‘conversational’, etc.—hence its general lack of appeal outside ‘academia’
(of which I am not a part).
Billions live
amongst the destruction of global capitalism.
‘Wage slavery’ has
as much meaning today as it did a century ago.
And it is because of
this that I absolutely agree with James Cone that the ‘death of God’ notion is
irrelevant when dealing with the liberation of oppressed people; for radical
theology is not conceptual—it is a revolutionary expression of life.
True radical
theology is ethical action deprived of any support from the Big Other.
In short: the
liberation of oppressed people is
radical theology in praxis.
All the great
revolutions have ultimately failed, not because they were too ‘atheist’, but
because they were not ‘atheist’ enough.
Thus my central argument in Universal
Revolution is why revolutionary mass movement must pass through Christianity.
Apart from the
Christian project revolution is not.
As for the book
itself, it is a pocket edition (roughly 30,000 words) and is thus a very approachable
read. But that does not mean it is ‘light’. The above photo is the source
material for the book (as well as web content, scriptures, etc.).
As of today, I am
not certain on a release date, as there are rounds of edits, artwork, etc. to
be done. When fully completed it will be available in paperback and eBook.
In the meantime,
here is a sample from section one . . .
“Regardless of Botox-injected commentators’ thoughts on the
matter, to simply give those at the bottom the same ‘opportunity’ as those at
the top is precisely what sustains the status quo, ensuring the system’s
continued smooth functioning. What a contemporary system of oppression needs is equal rights to cloak the reality
that social domination is already inscribed into the system itself. Of course
this truth is never properly excavated, for Western people typically do not
even want actual equality, as its
supposed official project (Communism) was such a catastrophic failure. Is it
any wonder why the American pastor is so eager to sing the praises, not of
equality, but of our precious inalienable equal rights duly protecting us from
the Marxist utopia of equality?—when any political program is associated with
fascism churchgoers tend to frown upon it, regardless if it ever actually has
been . . . Equality is vilified thus, the desired effect of which is: the most
pandemic utopian idea today is not equality, but the notion that the current
order of things is indefinitely sustainable. Assuredly this utopian idea is
never acknowledged as such, so if I may, I shall now turn the hegemonic
ideology on its head, and put forth the following: those scrupulous naysayers
who oft assure us that radical social change is impossible—they are the utopians; for you need not necessarily look forward to
qualify as a utopian—revivalists are utopian: their utopia lies in the past
rather than the future. So it is not which direction one looks that
determines whether or not a view is utopian (utopians do of course look both
ways)—‘utopian’ simply names the
ideological mystification of thinking the impossible is possible while
remaining within the confines of current possibilities. From the very
beginning of civilization through today and into tomorrow this has been and
forever will be: the hegemonic ideology is the ultimate utopianism. As for
egalitarianism, it is only a utopian idea when equality is thought possible
tomorrow without creating the possibility
for tomorrow’s equality today.”