"It is around the contradictions and problems of daily life that radical intervention can unfold"

I hate to admit that I haven't read Manning Marable's How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America, even though it's been on my list of things to read for more than one decade. I got to thinking about this book while writing the earlier entry on Anacostia--the enclave development analogy comes from my long ago reading of Andre Gunder Frank's Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America.

The quote in the title comes from an interview with Professor Marable. Reading the interview redoubles my resolve to work through his ouevre. The interview is an excellent discussion of left politics generally, Marxism as a method of social analysis, and black politics and organizing.

While I would call the work that I do more ameliorative than anything, I do focus on "the problems of daily life" in urban revitalization. There certainly are opportunities for intervention, even if they aren't radical steps.

Index Keywords: civic-engagement