I’m immensely grateful for this kind review of Beauty is in the Street by Stuart Jeffries. He writes:

“What is the legacy of these movements? On one hand, Häberlen rightly points out that, far from overthrowing capitalism, they helped it mutate and survive, since their anti-hierarchical ideas helped change work culture. Instead of offering keys to executive washrooms, companies now instil loyalty with putatively democratic beanbags and breakout zones.

And yet there is still something inspiring about the aspirations of much countercultural protest, argues Häberlen. Such as? “A world without sexist and racist discrimination, a world that protects and values nature rather than exploiting it for profit, a world in which residents have a right to their city, to affordable housing and public space.”

He has a point: imagine cities without locks on bikes, cars or front doors, with public spaces where you can take a seat without being required to buy stuff and where you might encounter people beyond your echo chambers. A dream, perhaps, but one that still sounds worth fighting for, even beautiful.”

Jeffries’s words speak to what I tried to accomplish with the book: I hope for it to inspire and encourage readers – to imagine alternatives, to struggle for them, to experiment, to risk failure, and to try again. No doubt, many of such experiments, as I’ve discussed in the book, did not quite yield what those engaged in them had longed for. All too often, activists reproduced the very power structures they had set out to overcome. There’s no reason to romanticize the history of protesting. And yet, there is, I believe, something deeply inspiring in these stories about struggling for a better world.