Creating Freedom : Power, Control And The Fight For Our Future

Description

We are far less free than we like to think. In Creating Freedom, Raoul Martinez exposes the mechanisms of control that pervade our lives and the myths on which they depend. Exploring the lottery of our birth, the coercive influence of concentrated wealth, and the consent-manufacturing realities of undemocratic power, he shows that our faith in free media, free markets, free elections and free will is dangerously misplaced. Written with empathy and imagination, this scholarly, fierce and profoundly hopeful manifesto makes a dazzling case for creating freedom on our own terms.

Reviews

What makes it exceptional is its sophisticated philosophical argument... This year's essential text for thinking radicals -- STEWART JEFFRIES * Guardian * Strong arguments ... epic in scope ... [A] manifesto ... to enlighten citizens stuck in an illusion of democracy -- HELEN WARRELL * Financial Times * A unique contribution to a subject -- discussed for more than two millennia -- where unique contributions are rare indeed ... Beautifully written, vigorously argued and remarkably researched ... No one has examined the issues of freedom and moral responsibility in such an extensive and fascinating context, or done more to show that these issues are not ivory tower debates but absolutely life and death issues for individuals and quite possibly for our species. If the movement that Martinez celebrates and champions is ever to occur, this book will be a valuable stimulus and an essential guide -- BRUCE WALLER Martinez speaks for a generation living through a profound mismatch between their aspirations for freedom and creativity and the thudding conformity a society, driven by the market, demands -- PAUL MASON Comes the moment; comes the book. A 'manifesto for real and radical change'. This is a brilliant and timely analysis of our political landscape and the ideals which should inform how we reshape the world -- HELENA KENNEDY QC Thought-provoking ... sound and persuasive ... Eminently readable with a an elegance of style not often found in theoretical works. It is no less than a rallying cry to take back the substance rather than the illusions of our freedoms * New Internationalist * Provocative, powerful and important, Creating Freedom is a rigorous exploration of what's gone wrong with our society and how to make it right -- SUSAN SARANDON Lucid and bright, Creating Freedom is a light to guide us onward. Please read it -- RUSSELL BRAND I've been working my way through, highlighter in hand, at times thinking "why bother! Just highight the whole thing". Super impressive -- DAVID BYRNE Everyone trying to puzzle through how to deal with the madness of the world - and the forces destroying it - should read this book -- JOHANN HARI In this stunning and lucid book, Raoul Martinez re-assesses our past, re-examines our present, and re-imagines our future. It's such an exciting and compelling read that you almost don't notice at first how radical it is. Creating Freedom makes me think that we humans are on the cusp of our next big step - and it's this kind of thinking that will carry us over -- BRIAN ENO This discussion of the impossibility of ultimate moral responsibility is extremely well written, aphoristic in places, and philosophically right on target -- GALEN STRAWSON A profound and interesting project -- NICK DAVIES An impassioned social and political critique with glimmers of hope for change ... An intelligent, rigorous manifesto * Kirkus * Creating Freedom presents a stunning treatise; the freedoms within our society are illusory or entirely antithetical to actual liberty... The author, and the arguments within his book, have a tendency to leave a reader feeling enlivened, stirred and provoked... Martinez has arguments to make your head spin... The difficulty of imagining this new moral landscape seems daunting, but in the company of Raoul Martinez it seems a tiny bit more likely * Irish Times *

Author description

Raoul Martinez is a philosopher, artist, and award-winning filmmaker. Creating Freedom is his first book. It is informed by over a decade of research and is accompanied by a documentary series of the same name. Episode One, The Lottery of Birth - produced, written and co-directed by Raoul - premiered in 2012. It was nominated for Best Documentary at London's Raindance Film Festival and went on to win the Artivist Spirit 2012 Award at Hollywood's Artivist Festival. It has been translated into several languages and the second film is currently in production. Raoul lives and works in London, where his paintings have been selected for exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery. www.creatingfreedom.info