Union
A Global History of an Idea
Will be published approx. on 29. April 2027
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-0-241-69082-6 (ISBN)
Description
Wherever there are workers, there are unions: and we need them now, more than ever.
Whether in formal organisations or grass-roots collectives, people have always found ways to work together for a better world. Today, a historic wave of strikes and union organizing is sweeping the globe - from teachers to Amazon workers, barristers to actors, train-drivers and doctors alike. Dealing with an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, rising inequality, and rule by some of the richest leaders in history, ordinary people have had enough. And yet many of us have lost the central source of our political power: the union.
Union is the first global philosophy and history of trade unions, which shows how the health of our democracies is the health of our unions. Tracing the idea of unions from the ancient world up through the present - from ancient Rome and the historic struggles for workers' rights in Europe, to the fights for decolonization and against authoritarian regimes in the Global South - and drawing on political theory, social science and current affairs, it challenges our narrow idea of unions to show how they are crucial, not just to achieve better conditions for their members, but a healthier state of democracy for all of us.
Union shows us that, if we are to save democracy today, we need a new vision: one that puts the organized power of ordinary citizens at the heart of its rebirth.
Whether in formal organisations or grass-roots collectives, people have always found ways to work together for a better world. Today, a historic wave of strikes and union organizing is sweeping the globe - from teachers to Amazon workers, barristers to actors, train-drivers and doctors alike. Dealing with an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, rising inequality, and rule by some of the richest leaders in history, ordinary people have had enough. And yet many of us have lost the central source of our political power: the union.
Union is the first global philosophy and history of trade unions, which shows how the health of our democracies is the health of our unions. Tracing the idea of unions from the ancient world up through the present - from ancient Rome and the historic struggles for workers' rights in Europe, to the fights for decolonization and against authoritarian regimes in the Global South - and drawing on political theory, social science and current affairs, it challenges our narrow idea of unions to show how they are crucial, not just to achieve better conditions for their members, but a healthier state of democracy for all of us.
Union shows us that, if we are to save democracy today, we need a new vision: one that puts the organized power of ordinary citizens at the heart of its rebirth.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
671 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-69082-6 (9780241690826)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
approx. 04/2027
Penguin
€14.99
Not yet available
Person
Steven Klein is a senior lecturer in political theory in the Department of Political Economy at King's College London. He did his undergraduate at the University of British Columbia and his PhD at the University of Chicago. Prior to coming to King's, he held positions at the University of Florida and the European University Institute. He is a recipient of the Berlin Prize from the American Academy in Berlin, where he was the Daimler Fellow. His writing has appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and Aeon.