Antidote

Peter Beresford OBE is Visiting Professor at the University of East Anglia and Co-Chair of Shaping Our Lives, the national disabled people’s organisation. He has long term lived experience of welfare benefits and mental health services, and is also Emeritus Professor at Brunel University London and the University of Essex, and Honorary Professor at Edge Hill University.He is a long-standing advocate of participation and empowerment as an activist, educator, researcher and writer. He has published over 30 books, and many chapters and journal articles, writing regularly for The Guardian and other mainstream and online media.

“Just at a time when many are so near to despair at the sight of a rising far right, racist populism and the corporate capture of governments, Peter Beresford wonderfully gives us a comprehensive vision of how a new politics can be created to secure humanitarian solidarity and environmentally sustainable change.” Rt Hon John McDonnell MP“Wholly original and timely, and steeped in the current moment, this is a book to savour slowly and to remain in frequent dialogue with.” Peter Barham, psychologist, historian and author“Beresford provides a comprehensive and thought-provoking analysis of the consequences of neoliberalism and offers a guide to how we can challenge its damaging social consequences.” Lee Gregory, University of Nottingham

• IntroductionPart One: Neoliberalism’s Destructive Agenda1. Policing and a Very Neoliberal Murder2. Ideological Damage: From the Personal to the Global3. Fake News Politics4. The Politics of Disconnection5. Divide and Rule6. Alienated Even from Ourselves7. Betraying IntimacyPart Two: New Routes for a Different Politics8. Changing Our Approach to Making Change9. Starting with Our Own Lives10. What the New Social Movements Can Tell Us11. A New Watchword: ‘Only Connect’ on Equal TermsPart Three: Building a Politics of Inclusive Connection12. What’s Wrong with the New Communication?13. Towards Truly Inclusive Communication 14. Learning from What We Know15. Education for Empowerment and Change16. Working Together: Building Alliances, Including Everyone17. Rethinking Solidarity: Extending Connection 18. Conclusion and Next Steps