Brutalism

“In an argument both elegant and urgent, Achille Mbembe focuses our attention on the African continent, which is not only where the forms of domination and deprivation that increasingly affect the entire globe are most fully deployed but also where the forms of reparation necessary for a future world can be glimpsed.” - Michael Hardt, author of The Subversive Seventies

“This is a fantastic translation of a vital text. The poetry, intensity, complexity, and subtlety that we have come to expect from Achille Mbembe’s work are all here in Brutalism.” - Laurent Dubois, translator of, Critique of Black Reason

"Brutalism offers some experimental analyses but is, on the whole, something quite different: a poetico-political vision, or a 'panoramic fresco,' as he promises in the introduction: a suggestive image painted in broad strokes of dark, vital, earthy colours—and accents of hopeful green."
  - Anders Dunker, Modern Times Review

"This book will be of interest to those working in Africana thought, global development, political theory, and philosophy and, more particularly, to anyone with an interest in ecology, migration, or innovations in technology. Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty." - Choice

“Mbembe writes rhapsodic, delirious, poetic prose to make difficult, unassailable arguments in this book.”

“Achille Mbembe’s Brutalism is a thought-provoking and timely work that challenges readers to rethink the future of humanity in the face of rampant capitalism and technological advancement. Its relevance extends beyond academic circles, offering valuable insights for policymakers, activists, and anyone interested in the intersections of technology, ecology, and social justice. Mbembe’s vision for a new planetary consciousness, rooted in solidarity and repair, is not just an intellectual exercise but a practical call for transformative action.”
  - Adeniyi Awoyemi, African Affairs

"Mbembe reminds us, the African continent stands at the centre of world thought. Africa and African philosophies have much to teach the world about how to navigate climate change, social media, digital technologies, and the boundary between humans and objects." - Oliver Coates, Africa

"[Brutalism's] strengths lie in the ideas that it provokes and the insights that it presents. Mbembe is an animateur des idées, and this book might be read as a letter to humanity." - Gabriel O. Apata, Theory, Culture, and Society

"Mbembe reveals a deep concern with the humanitarian and ecological disasters capitalism has unleashed. . . . Like the raw and masculine aesthetic of the architectural style, political and metaphysical brutalism reduces everything to matter. Brutalism in the 21st century is a product of Western technical reason: it’s the way ‘the wretched of the earth’ experience Black reason in the neoliberal age." - Kevin Okoth, London Review of Books