Welcome to the Revolution

A life-long activist and public speaker, Charles Derber is the author of 20 books and is Professor of Sociology at Boston College. He writes for and has been reviewed in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Time, Newsweek, Newsday, Truthout, and The Christian Science Monitor. He has made hundreds of radio and television appearances. His books are translated into Chinese, Korean, Tamil, German and Polish- and he is a bestselling author in South Korea; he has done extended book tours in German bookstores and blues coffee houses, and has lectured often in Italy. Derber is a public intellectual - shortlisted in 2006 for best book in current affairs - who believes that serious ideas should be written in an accessible and entertaining style. His most recent books include Bully Nation; Sociopathic Society: A People's Sociology of the United States; and The Disinherited Majority: Capital Questions - Piketty and Beyond.

"This book is joyfully jammed with the wisdom, experience, tools and motivation to overcome the ravages of the corporate state. On page after page, the theme is about building democratic initiatives and institutions for the common good and the good life of justice, peace and freedom. So gripping and personal is "Welcome to the Revolution", you can scarcely put this book down without putting yourself down. Read, digest, reflect and join with others for a functioning democracy." -Ralph Nader, Consumer Advocate and author of Breaking Through Power: It’s Easier Than We Think"Welcome to the Revolution could not have come at a better moment. With the election of Donald Trump, millions of Americans suddenly found themselves attending women’s rallies, supporting sanctuary cities, protesting Islamophobia, confronting their elected officials—even doing civil disobedience or running for local office. But activists, and the movements they are part of, need strategy, they need direction, they need to know not just what they are resisting but what transformations they aim for. Charles Derber’s brilliant and inspiring new book provides the glue that will help us craft a revolutionary movement that can resist, transform and prevail. Read it!" - Medea Benjamin, Co-Founder of Code Pink and Global Exchange"Charlie Derber’s new book calls us all both to work harder on our particular issues and to get out of our silos to make common cause with others to change the system as a whole. This is the right message for theTrump era, and it is presented in powerful, moral, and practical terms. A must read for anyone serious about building a meaningful and positive future!" - Gar Alperovitz, author of What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk about the Next American Revolution, and Co-Chair of The Next System Project"Derber has written the theoretical and practical manifesto for this historical moment, reminding us of the tremendous possibilities at hand. Welcome to the Revolution explains how extractive capitalism has led to expanding systemic social, economic and ecological system disruptions. Yet these same forces have seeded 'universalizing resistance' movements that, if they succeed, will push us back from the brink and toward a next system that is more democratic, equal, peaceful and lives in harmony with the earth’s ecological limits. To find out how you can 'universalize' and make a difference, read this book." - Chuck Collins, Institute for Policy Studies, co-editor of Inequality.org and author of Born on Third Base

• Table of ContentsA PERSONAL PRELUDE: INTRODUCTION: A CALL TO ACTIONPART I UP AGAINST THE WALL: THE UNIVERSALIZING CORPORATE SYSTEM AND THE APOCALPYSEChapter 1 THE SYSTEM AND ITS DISCONTENTS: THE MILITARIZED MATRIX VS USChapter 2 THE PAC-MAN SYSTEM: HOW IT IS UNIVERALIZING AND THREATENING EXTINCTIONPart II UNIVERSALIZING RESISTANCEChapter 3 IRRESISTIBLE RESISTANCE: THE GRASS ROOTS AND THE WAVES OF CHANGEChapter 4 MOVEMENT GPS: TEN RULES OF THE ROAD TO DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICEChapter 5 FIGHT THE POWER, A.K.A THE SYSTEM: CHOOSE DEMOCRACY OVER AUTHORITARIANISMChapter 6 WIN THE MAJORITY: IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINKChapter 7 Converge! GET OUT OF YOUR SILO Chapter 8 DEMOCRATIZE THE WORLD: GLOBALIZE AND LOCALIZEChapter 9 PACHAMAMA: PROTECT MOTHER EARTH Chapter 10 DON’T JUST SAY NO: SAY YES TO ALTERNATIVESChapter 11 CREATE MEDIA OF, BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE: MOVEMENTS BEYOND PROPOGANDA Chapter 12 LET’S GET POLITICAL: MOVEMENTS AND ELECTIONSChapter 13 THINK, Learn and teach: EDUCATION AS ACTIVISMChapter 14 CHOOSE LIFE AND LOVE: THE CULTURE OF ACTIVISMPART III FROM VISION TO PRACTICE Chapter 15 GRAND STRATEGY: ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTIONSChapter 16 WALKING THE TALK: NUTS AND BOLTS