Dream: Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy

This book is very compelling--one of the best books on cultural studies and contemporary theory I've ever read. It articulates many points that needed to be said to the left about their stunted approach to political spectacle, something that the right has so exploited of late. Critical and relevant, the book reads like a revitalization of progressive thinking that is unafraid to make bold claims which make sense in millennial society but are reminiscent of the refreshing radicalism of the 1960s.

While everyone else bemoans that liberals have "no new ideas", Duncombe reminds us of how things used to be when progressives inspired us with the dream of a better world, how we lost that ability to dream, and how to get it back. If you are tired of reading books about the problems with the Democrats and want to read a book that is full of solutions, get this book.

Not only is this book a must-read for anyone who agrees that progressives need to get creative in order to be effective--but aren't sure HOW...it's also really well written, a delight to read. Duncombe draws on a lifetime of inventive activism to write this tough-minded text. He challenges his readers to fight the underhanded tactics of the far Right, not with immobilizing "purity of means," nor with hackneyed rhetoric, but with an ethical spectacle that inspires hopeful action and addresses people's actual desires and fears. As a progressive who thinks about politics as performance, and tries to put these kind of creative ideas into practice, I found Duncombe's book invaluable. .

While there is a lot of rumbling on the political left (or anyone who is not fanatically right) solutions are rarely put forward. The less than inspiring way that the Democrats triumphed this November (by default) makes this clear. Duncombe's book is one of the first books that takes as its model the possibility that joy and dreams can be fundamental in not only creating the models for solutions but more importantly making them a reality. Written in an easy flowing yet provocative manner, "Dream" is a refreshing take on the current political dilemna for those who still believe in the antiquated ideas of Social justice, the environment, equality, fraternity, etc. The best part of the book is that it does so without harping endlessly on the faliures of the Bush administration. Instead, it proposes that dreaming has been the source of real political action and transformation from Ghandi to Dr. King and should be the source of our current political action. It is inspiring and should be read by anyone who is both interested in politics and has a heart and a dream.