John Feffer Libros

"Transformative change can come out of the COVID-19 crisis, which has exposed everything that's wrong with decades of the world's governments betting on militarism, competition and wealth creation. A return to sanity and humane governance is still possible. We need a pandemic pivot. Both a sobering analysis of the present moment and a hopeful cry on behalf of the power inherent in a global, people-oriented response to the pandemic and the societal breakdown that led to it, The Pandemic Pivot offers insight and an actionable framework for what Cindy Wiesner calls "a just transition to a regenerative, anti-racist, feminist economy." As The Pandemic Pivot demonstrates, equity and cooperation aren't just nice principles, they're survival strategies. In June and July of 2020, the Institute for Policy Studies invited 68 of the world's leading thinkers and activists to participate in eight in-depth discussions. Their task: to assess the implications of COVID-19 for key global issues as well as the potential for transformative change coming out of this crisis. They discussed a Green recovery, the global economy, coronavirus authoritarianism, migrants and refugees, budget priorities, the global ceasefire, international civil society, and multilateral cooperation. This report by John Feffer from the frontlines of global policy stands in stark contrast to the reality in the world today. Reading it amounts to a return to sanity and humane governance, and illuminates the way forward that is still possible if we begin soon. Participants included EcoEquity Executive Director and author Tom Athanasiou; Nigerian architect, environmental activist and author Nnimmo Bassey; Focus on the Global South co-founder and author Walden Bello; CODEPINK and Global Exchange co-founder and acclaimed peace activist Medea Benjamin; AFL-CIO International Department director Cathy Feingold; Indian columnist and International Development Economics Associates executive secretary Jayati Ghosh; author and arms trade expert Bill Hartung; Peace and World Security Studies director and noted author Michael Klare; Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft CEO and noted author Lora Lumpe; Yale professor and distinguished author on human rights and peace studies Samuel Moyn; Geneva-based human rights advocate Aziz Muhamat; acclaimed political philosopher Jan-Werner Muller; African storyteller and writer Coumba Toure--to name just a few, representing organizations and regions from across the globe"-- Provided by publisher

In Songlands, the stand alone finale to the Splinterlands trilogy, a poet and an AI launch a secret mission to rebuild the international community.

Feffer provides an incisive historical background to the current political and economic conflicts that are dramatically reshaping daily life in Eastern Europe and offers critical and guardedly hopeful speculation about the future of the region. Feffer draws upon hundreds of interviews he has conducted with the region's policymakers, trade unionists, grassroots activists, and scholars.

In a world dominated by right-wing populism and authoritarianism, the book explores the unifying hatred of autocrats towards the liberal, globalized order. It emphasizes the need for the fragmented liberal left to unite and adopt a global perspective to effectively combat this rising tide. Through interviews with leading activists, it advocates for initiatives like a global Green New Deal and trans-European movements. This work serves as both a cautionary tale and a source of motivation for activists facing the challenges posed by far-right power.

The far-right is creating a Nationalist International, and the left must rise to the challenge

In this unique, panoramic account of faded dreams, journalist John Feffer returns to Eastern Europe a quarter of a century after the fall of communism, to track down hundreds of people he spoke to in the initial atmosphere of optimism as the Iron Curtain fell – from politicians and scholars to trade unionists and grass roots activists. What he discovers makes for fascinating, if sometimes disturbing, reading. From the Polish scholar who left academia to become head of personnel at Ikea to the Hungarian politician who turned his back on liberal politics to join the far-right Jobbik party, Feffer meets a remarkable cast of characters. He finds that years of free-market reforms have failed to deliver prosperity, corruption and organized crime are rampant, while optimism has given way to bitterness and a newly invigorated nationalism. Even so, through talking to the region's many extraordinary activists, Feffer shows that against stiff odds hope remains for the region's future.