Wages of Rebellion (9781568589664): Chris Hedges
Wages of Rebellion – May 12, 2015
by Chris Hedges (Author)
Revolutions come in waves and cycles. We are again riding the crest of a revolutionary epic, much like 1848 or 1917, from the Arab Spring to movements against austerity in Greece to the Occupy movement. In Wages of Rebellion, Chris Hedges—who has chronicled the malaise and sickness of a society in terminal moral decline in his books Empire of Illusion and Death of the Liberal Class—investigates what social and psychological factors cause revolution, rebellion, and resistance. Drawing on an ambitious overview of prominent philosophers, historians, and literary figures he shows not only the harbingers of a coming crisis but also the nascent seeds of rebellion. Hedges’ message is clear: popular uprisings in the United States and around the world are inevitable in the face of environmental destruction and wealth polarization.
Focusing on the stories of rebels from around the world and throughout history, Hedges investigates what it takes to be a rebel in modern times. Utilizing the work of Reinhold Niebuhr, Hedges describes the motivation that guides the actions of rebels as “sublime madness” — the state of passion that causes the rebel to engage in an unavailing fight against overwhelmingly powerful and oppressive forces. For Hedges, resistance is carried out not for its success, but as a moral imperative that affirms life. Those who rise up against the odds will be those endowed with this “sublime madness.”
From South African activists who dedicated their lives to ending apartheid, to contemporary anti-fracking protests in Alberta, Canada, to whistleblowers in pursuit of transparency, Wages of Rebellion shows the cost of a life committed to speaking the truth and demanding justice. Hedges has penned an indispensable guide to rebellion.
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Top Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 starsFabulous Tapestry of Perspectives on Revolution, Rebels, & Whistle-Blowers!
By Mary Bull on June 1, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
With his usual brilliance and wonderful ability to draw parallels in literature and philosophy, Hedges educates his readers on the historical prerequisites for revolution and signs of degenerating power structures--shot through with inspiring stories, historical details, and quotes that stir blood and imagination. As usual, he understands the power structure that civil society, especially activists, are up against now, and describes it in compelling, expressive detail. His conclusions seem a bit muddled in the last 50 pages, which mayhave been written in haste, with the result that "divine madness" loses its exact meaning and edge.... Hence 4 out of the usual 5 stars.
This review, Might be regarded as cooperation with the power elite, as Amazon wants it to sell more books. But like Hedges, whose act of publishing could also be regarded as capitulation, I give it to encourage people to read the book and to challenge radical evil, the Corporate State.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA total must read for all citizens of the planet!
By Lady of the Foothills on June 2, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is a book everyone should read. I would have loved to have had this book as required reading in college. Lots of history, well documented. I always look for a good Index and bibliography. This book has all that and more. This is a book to be read not only by citizens of the US but the rest of the world as well. Chris Hedges is a highly respected author who researches his books thoroughly. Wages of Rebellion is no exception to that rule. The introduction alone will take your breath away. I'm buying more copies to send to friends and family. Congratulations to Hedges for an excellent book!
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4.0 out of 5 starsOne of America's most creative thinkers.
By Future Watch Writer on May 13, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Chris Hedges is one of the most creative minds in America today. I don't always agree with him. I think he is too negative about the Democratic Party. However, he is right on target in seeing America and the world on a road to disaster if things don't change. I've read most of his books and his columns in Truthdig. The full force of Hedges scorn is directed at the U.S. liberal establishment. He even wrote a book about the "liberal class". Today, we are told that "everybody" in the Democratic Party "must support" Hillary Clinton, the favorite candidate of Wall Street and a leading cheer leader for going to war in Iraq. As Secretary of State Hillary was the leading advocate for America's disastrous military inventions in Libya and Syria. If the Democrats really do nominate Hillary, then Hedges may be right.
Chris Hedges is an experienced journalist who was worked in key trouble spots overseas. Unlike Washington D.C.'s war mongering foreign policy "experts", he actually speaks foreign languages and understands foreign nations.
Buy this book. You may not like a lot of what you read. But this is a creative mind. Hillary is now talking up restarting a new Cold War with Russia. Her key foreign policy advisor, Mr. Kagan, is a close ally of right wing neo conservatives. Iraq cost us $3 trillion and one million dead Iraqi citizens. Hillary's policies have already killed 300,000 in Syria.
America needs more honest people like Hedges. Hopefully, his ideas can save the Democratic Party and the world from Hillary and other war mongers and plutocrats. I would also strongly recommend that people follow his column on Truthdig to keep up on current events.
I would suggest for further reading a book Hedges frequently quotes from, Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism. This shows how our civil liberties are being reduced by a ruling elite. Also check out Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by one of America's best investigative journalists about what American foreign policy is up to overseas. These books have a similar theme to Hedges work, the increasingly ruthless policies of the people at the top in a failing system.
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5.0 out of 5 starsUtterly Brilliant with One Proposed Flaw and Some Minor Oversights
By Robert David STEELE Vivas HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER on May 10, 2015
Format: Hardcover
EDIT of 11 Aug 2015: Oath Keepers matters and this book by Chris Hedges is a testimonial to the importance of what Oath Keepers represents. Oath Keepers' basic mission: to remind every serving and prior member of every US law enforcement and military and civil service element that they have sworn an Oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I personally believe that Oath Keepers has made a difference and elevated our consciousness on this point.
I am a huge fan of Chris Hedges and consider Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle one of his most interesting works, a real complement to David Korten's The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community.
This book can be seen as a logical follow on to The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan and Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, among other works.
This is a five star book with one major point: revolutions don't succeed from mass power, they succeed when mass power is no longer confronted by the armed power of the state because the individual soldiers and police stop defending the status quo. Since I myself have studied revolution extensively, and < Graphic: Preconditions of Revolution in the USA Today > is easily found online, I am both impressed by the author's blend of journo-scholarship, and a tad disappointed that he missed some key bits.
There is in my view one proposed flaw in the author's thinking, his call for mobilizing us to force the elites into panic. That is in my humble opinion as a life-long student of revolution, the worst possible thing we could strive for. While the author is an extraordinary gifted intellect, and he may be calling for this precisely to put Oath Keepers and others "on the spot" so they will "turn" against the elite and for We the People, I believe his leadership on this point needs to be adjusted. I briefed Occupy NYC on Electoral Reform (the 6 minute YouTube is still popular) and went on the develop -- after running briefly for President precisely to attract inputs from across the country -- the BigBatUSA.org concept for retiring the two-party tyranny (see Theresa Amato's superb Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny and have since published an eight point plan for achieving OpenPower -- Electoral Reform in 2015 -- in time to elect an Independent ticket and a coaltion cabinet in 2016. That, in my view, is where the author and MoveOn and Facebook and Tom Steyer and others need to end up.
The elite need an exit strategy - Truth & Reconciliation is the way to go. If dynamic personalities such as Chris Hedges and Tom Steyer could combine forces, there is no question in my mind but that we could get Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Angus King to introduce the Electoral Reform Act of 2015 to Congress; we could Occupy the front lawns and home officers of every Senator and Representative over the summer recess, and we could achieve a non-violent revolution by November 2015 in time for November 2016.
As Sun Tzu puts it so well, the acme of skill is to defeat the enemy without fighting. In my view, the author has offered us a brilliant analysis of the past and a flawed prescription for the future, one that will cost us blood, treasure, and spirit and fail to produce the restoration of integrity to our electoral process, government, economy, and society that we are capable of achieving without violence.
I have posted an online essay and blurbs with links to over 100 core book reviews here at Amazon on the topic of Democracy Lost [and how to get it back.] It is easily found at Tiny URL forward slash Steele-Reform. Five more books here within my ten book limit:
Arsonist: The Most Dangerous Man in America
Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism
Extreme Democracy
Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)
The Big Disconnect: Why the Internet Hasn't Transformed Politics (Yet)
Best wishes to all,
Robert David STEELE Vivas
Open Power: Electoral Reform Act of 2015 - Open Source Activist Tool-Kit
25 Comments 87 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
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Wages of Rebellion – May 12, 2015
by Chris Hedges (Author)
Revolutions come in waves and cycles. We are again riding the crest of a revolutionary epic, much like 1848 or 1917, from the Arab Spring to movements against austerity in Greece to the Occupy movement. In Wages of Rebellion, Chris Hedges—who has chronicled the malaise and sickness of a society in terminal moral decline in his books Empire of Illusion and Death of the Liberal Class—investigates what social and psychological factors cause revolution, rebellion, and resistance. Drawing on an ambitious overview of prominent philosophers, historians, and literary figures he shows not only the harbingers of a coming crisis but also the nascent seeds of rebellion. Hedges’ message is clear: popular uprisings in the United States and around the world are inevitable in the face of environmental destruction and wealth polarization.
Focusing on the stories of rebels from around the world and throughout history, Hedges investigates what it takes to be a rebel in modern times. Utilizing the work of Reinhold Niebuhr, Hedges describes the motivation that guides the actions of rebels as “sublime madness” — the state of passion that causes the rebel to engage in an unavailing fight against overwhelmingly powerful and oppressive forces. For Hedges, resistance is carried out not for its success, but as a moral imperative that affirms life. Those who rise up against the odds will be those endowed with this “sublime madness.”
From South African activists who dedicated their lives to ending apartheid, to contemporary anti-fracking protests in Alberta, Canada, to whistleblowers in pursuit of transparency, Wages of Rebellion shows the cost of a life committed to speaking the truth and demanding justice. Hedges has penned an indispensable guide to rebellion.
---
Top Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 starsFabulous Tapestry of Perspectives on Revolution, Rebels, & Whistle-Blowers!
By Mary Bull on June 1, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
With his usual brilliance and wonderful ability to draw parallels in literature and philosophy, Hedges educates his readers on the historical prerequisites for revolution and signs of degenerating power structures--shot through with inspiring stories, historical details, and quotes that stir blood and imagination. As usual, he understands the power structure that civil society, especially activists, are up against now, and describes it in compelling, expressive detail. His conclusions seem a bit muddled in the last 50 pages, which mayhave been written in haste, with the result that "divine madness" loses its exact meaning and edge.... Hence 4 out of the usual 5 stars.
This review, Might be regarded as cooperation with the power elite, as Amazon wants it to sell more books. But like Hedges, whose act of publishing could also be regarded as capitulation, I give it to encourage people to read the book and to challenge radical evil, the Corporate State.
Comment 37 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
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5.0 out of 5 starsA total must read for all citizens of the planet!
By Lady of the Foothills on June 2, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is a book everyone should read. I would have loved to have had this book as required reading in college. Lots of history, well documented. I always look for a good Index and bibliography. This book has all that and more. This is a book to be read not only by citizens of the US but the rest of the world as well. Chris Hedges is a highly respected author who researches his books thoroughly. Wages of Rebellion is no exception to that rule. The introduction alone will take your breath away. I'm buying more copies to send to friends and family. Congratulations to Hedges for an excellent book!
Comment 27 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsOne of America's most creative thinkers.
By Future Watch Writer on May 13, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Chris Hedges is one of the most creative minds in America today. I don't always agree with him. I think he is too negative about the Democratic Party. However, he is right on target in seeing America and the world on a road to disaster if things don't change. I've read most of his books and his columns in Truthdig. The full force of Hedges scorn is directed at the U.S. liberal establishment. He even wrote a book about the "liberal class". Today, we are told that "everybody" in the Democratic Party "must support" Hillary Clinton, the favorite candidate of Wall Street and a leading cheer leader for going to war in Iraq. As Secretary of State Hillary was the leading advocate for America's disastrous military inventions in Libya and Syria. If the Democrats really do nominate Hillary, then Hedges may be right.
Chris Hedges is an experienced journalist who was worked in key trouble spots overseas. Unlike Washington D.C.'s war mongering foreign policy "experts", he actually speaks foreign languages and understands foreign nations.
Buy this book. You may not like a lot of what you read. But this is a creative mind. Hillary is now talking up restarting a new Cold War with Russia. Her key foreign policy advisor, Mr. Kagan, is a close ally of right wing neo conservatives. Iraq cost us $3 trillion and one million dead Iraqi citizens. Hillary's policies have already killed 300,000 in Syria.
America needs more honest people like Hedges. Hopefully, his ideas can save the Democratic Party and the world from Hillary and other war mongers and plutocrats. I would also strongly recommend that people follow his column on Truthdig to keep up on current events.
I would suggest for further reading a book Hedges frequently quotes from, Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism. This shows how our civil liberties are being reduced by a ruling elite. Also check out Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by one of America's best investigative journalists about what American foreign policy is up to overseas. These books have a similar theme to Hedges work, the increasingly ruthless policies of the people at the top in a failing system.
5 Comments 51 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsUtterly Brilliant with One Proposed Flaw and Some Minor Oversights
By Robert David STEELE Vivas HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER on May 10, 2015
Format: Hardcover
EDIT of 11 Aug 2015: Oath Keepers matters and this book by Chris Hedges is a testimonial to the importance of what Oath Keepers represents. Oath Keepers' basic mission: to remind every serving and prior member of every US law enforcement and military and civil service element that they have sworn an Oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I personally believe that Oath Keepers has made a difference and elevated our consciousness on this point.
I am a huge fan of Chris Hedges and consider Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle one of his most interesting works, a real complement to David Korten's The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community.
This book can be seen as a logical follow on to The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan and Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, among other works.
This is a five star book with one major point: revolutions don't succeed from mass power, they succeed when mass power is no longer confronted by the armed power of the state because the individual soldiers and police stop defending the status quo. Since I myself have studied revolution extensively, and < Graphic: Preconditions of Revolution in the USA Today > is easily found online, I am both impressed by the author's blend of journo-scholarship, and a tad disappointed that he missed some key bits.
There is in my view one proposed flaw in the author's thinking, his call for mobilizing us to force the elites into panic. That is in my humble opinion as a life-long student of revolution, the worst possible thing we could strive for. While the author is an extraordinary gifted intellect, and he may be calling for this precisely to put Oath Keepers and others "on the spot" so they will "turn" against the elite and for We the People, I believe his leadership on this point needs to be adjusted. I briefed Occupy NYC on Electoral Reform (the 6 minute YouTube is still popular) and went on the develop -- after running briefly for President precisely to attract inputs from across the country -- the BigBatUSA.org concept for retiring the two-party tyranny (see Theresa Amato's superb Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny and have since published an eight point plan for achieving OpenPower -- Electoral Reform in 2015 -- in time to elect an Independent ticket and a coaltion cabinet in 2016. That, in my view, is where the author and MoveOn and Facebook and Tom Steyer and others need to end up.
The elite need an exit strategy - Truth & Reconciliation is the way to go. If dynamic personalities such as Chris Hedges and Tom Steyer could combine forces, there is no question in my mind but that we could get Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Angus King to introduce the Electoral Reform Act of 2015 to Congress; we could Occupy the front lawns and home officers of every Senator and Representative over the summer recess, and we could achieve a non-violent revolution by November 2015 in time for November 2016.
As Sun Tzu puts it so well, the acme of skill is to defeat the enemy without fighting. In my view, the author has offered us a brilliant analysis of the past and a flawed prescription for the future, one that will cost us blood, treasure, and spirit and fail to produce the restoration of integrity to our electoral process, government, economy, and society that we are capable of achieving without violence.
I have posted an online essay and blurbs with links to over 100 core book reviews here at Amazon on the topic of Democracy Lost [and how to get it back.] It is easily found at Tiny URL forward slash Steele-Reform. Five more books here within my ten book limit:
Arsonist: The Most Dangerous Man in America
Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism
Extreme Democracy
Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)
The Big Disconnect: Why the Internet Hasn't Transformed Politics (Yet)
Best wishes to all,
Robert David STEELE Vivas
Open Power: Electoral Reform Act of 2015 - Open Source Activist Tool-Kit
25 Comments 87 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
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