Signs of the Alternative: Late Modern Activism and Associationalism

Abstract

Chapters 3–5 have considered the relevance of libertarian socialism in late modernity for questions of everyday life, the state and economic activity. It has been my argument not only that libertarian socialist theory makes a worthwhile contribution to late modern political sociology but also that the institutional forms it advocates can offer theoretically coherent and valid alternatives. As we have seen, such forms do seem to have a relevance to an era of embedded individualization, with the factors of other-orientated choice and political privatization highlighted by the interactionist and discourse critiques. This chapter aims to expand upon the link of libertarian socialist forms to instances of late modern political action. As the title makes clear, here we are searching for signs, although not carbon copies, of the alternative.