The Sociology of Freedom: a book review

“The primary goal of politics in the environment and in the institutions of bourgeois democracy is, above all, to hold power. Power, on the other hand, is about getting a share from the monopolies. Obviously, this cannot be the objective of democratic politics. Even if democratic politics are to operate within the institutions of power (e.g., the government), their fundamental task remains the same. This task is not to seize a share of the monopolies but to arrive at and implement decisions that serve the vital interests of society as a whole.” Abdullah Ocalan, “The Sociology of Freedom,” p. 190

As we enter the final month of the absolutely central, historic task of removing Trump and many of his accomplices in government from power, there is value to stepping back and taking a much longer view of our overall tasks for those of us who consider ourselves to be revolutionaries, in the best sense of the word.

Abdullah Ocalan’s book, The Sociology of Freedom, published this year by PM Press, is very helpful in that regard.

I knew little about Ocalan before reading this book. I do know about the Rovaja revolution which he helped to inspire, the remarkable, women-led, autonomous region created in northeastern Syria just below Turkey’s southern border. For almost a decade they have built this new society in the most difficult of circumstances, dealing with Turkey’s and ISIS’s efforts to wipe them out, so far unsuccessfully. Their fighting abilities are a primary reason ISIS has been seriously set back in that part of the…