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shona_reads_in_devon 's review for:
informative
medium-paced
'𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.'
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If I had read this book in 2016, it would have blown my mind.
A collection of interviews, lectures and speeches, Freedom is a Constant Struggle explores, in large part, the sanctioning of state sponsored, state funded violence that continues to oppress ethnic minorities across the world.
It is hard to pinpoint a particular area of focus because Davis is keen to highlight the interconnectedness of struggles for freedom in relation to all global oppression but these essays discuss violence in the prison system, the violence of police forces, the relationship this has with Palestine, and other instances of genocide across the world.
Her lectures are keen to highlight the insidious nature of neo liberal individualism that works to dismantle group efforts and social movements by both idolising individuals as heroes in the fight for freedom (and pointing out that this is often framed as a fait accompli) and burdening individuals with sole responsibility for acts of oppressive violence which serve to distract people from the very real issues of systemic oppression and violence.
Lots of these ideas are not new to me in this 2025 world but I think this book is still essential reading to further contextualise the theories and ideas that Davis puts forth. I can't argue with much of anything she says.
Reading this in 2025 is kind of a miserable experience when we realise how little progress has been made, and in this post October 7, 2nd Trump term world that we now live in, this book does not make me feel optimistic.
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If I had read this book in 2016, it would have blown my mind.
A collection of interviews, lectures and speeches, Freedom is a Constant Struggle explores, in large part, the sanctioning of state sponsored, state funded violence that continues to oppress ethnic minorities across the world.
It is hard to pinpoint a particular area of focus because Davis is keen to highlight the interconnectedness of struggles for freedom in relation to all global oppression but these essays discuss violence in the prison system, the violence of police forces, the relationship this has with Palestine, and other instances of genocide across the world.
Her lectures are keen to highlight the insidious nature of neo liberal individualism that works to dismantle group efforts and social movements by both idolising individuals as heroes in the fight for freedom (and pointing out that this is often framed as a fait accompli) and burdening individuals with sole responsibility for acts of oppressive violence which serve to distract people from the very real issues of systemic oppression and violence.
Lots of these ideas are not new to me in this 2025 world but I think this book is still essential reading to further contextualise the theories and ideas that Davis puts forth. I can't argue with much of anything she says.
Reading this in 2025 is kind of a miserable experience when we realise how little progress has been made, and in this post October 7, 2nd Trump term world that we now live in, this book does not make me feel optimistic.