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kafiro_ka_kafka's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
My queen.
eva_e's review against another edition
5.0
this lil book is very dense. I read it twice and still feel I'm retaining a small % of what's there. Yet, what I am retaining has been provocative, expanding and sharpening my understanding of capitalism and neoliberalism. my heart was also impacted learning about ways the Empire has implicated India, and observing the many parallels with Indigenous Peoples and much of the Global South under imperialism &/or [neo]colonization.
the 3 main things i'm left thinking about are:
(1) ways foundations & philanthropy shape concepts, dialogue, and activity in regards to justice, equity, etc., on mass, international scales
(2) the high profitability of weapons industry, and the need to create war to sustain capitalism, the 1% (wealthy elite)
(3) war strategically used to redirect mass growing consciousness of the increasing severity and spread of inequality
the 3 main things i'm left thinking about are:
(1) ways foundations & philanthropy shape concepts, dialogue, and activity in regards to justice, equity, etc., on mass, international scales
(2) the high profitability of weapons industry, and the need to create war to sustain capitalism, the 1% (wealthy elite)
(3) war strategically used to redirect mass growing consciousness of the increasing severity and spread of inequality
mikiher's review against another edition
2.0
God, what a manifest of unsubstantiated data and conspiracy theories. I concede, the situation in India is probably far from being any good, and inequality is definitely a huge problem, but to dump everything on capitalism? I'm sorry but this sounds very similar to the revolutionary propaganda that brought Russia 70+ years of utter misery.
greyemk's review against another edition
4.0
Quick reading for leftist folks who want to learn more about contemporary India (though this is ~10 years dated) and the real impacts of global capital in the imperial system. I’d also recommend this as an intro if you’re interested in Roy’s second novel “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”, which I thought was great but which does benefit from some background knowledge.
tombomp's review against another edition
4.0
a (sadly) very short collection of some of roy's essays on India. I'm ashamed to admit that apart from some vague knowledge of a few bits and pieces i basically knew shit about the situation in India before reading this so I'm just becoming aware of how much i don't know and can't make comments on accuracy or comprehensiveness. but it's a great introduction to some of the issues at stake. roy is a powerful and clear writer who never lets up in her criticism of the government. she's not exactly anti capitalist as far as i can tell, but i still feel she very much "gets it" and she's clearly sympathetic - she suggests some reformist stuff but it's pretty strong for reformism, especially in this day and age. she makes a few criticisms of the left but it's clearly a constructive kind - she mentions the silence on a few topics and the problems experienced when contradictions developed and holding together groups with different priorities and the failure to properly respond to feminism or understand caste which led to splits which impoverished both sides. there's nothing about the naxalites here but she talks about their use as a bogeyman to smear even reformists with - people working for justice in kashmir being arrested as "Maoists" arbitrarily. she talks about the mass death the past half century of capitalist development has forced on the people of India (hence a ghost story) - the suicides of farmers, the mass forced migration, the destruction of villages. she talks about the way ngos and corporate foundations and funding are used to defang and buy off radicals. it's very good all round and powerful reading
she mentions occupy a few times and it's kind of weird in retrospect but i admire the optimism
she mentions occupy a few times and it's kind of weird in retrospect but i admire the optimism