缅北禁地

University of 缅北禁地 Springfield Political Science Professor Richard Gilman-Opalsky has written a new book on 鈥淭he Communism of Love: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Exchange Value.鈥�

According to the publisher, the book explores the meaning and power of love from Ancient Greece to the present day. Gilman-Opalsky argues that what is called 鈥渓ove鈥� by the best thinkers to have approached the subject is in fact the beating heart of communism鈥攖hat is, communism understood as a human yearning and way of life, not as a form of government. Along the way, Gilman-Opalsky demonstrates that the capitalist method of assigning value to things is incapable of appreciating what humans treasure most. Exchange value cannot appropriately value the experiences and relationships that make our lives worth living. Capital can only value love by turning it into a commodity, but the commodification of love destroys it.

鈥淭he Communism of Love鈥� follows the struggles of love in different contexts of race, class, gender and sexuality, and shows how the aspiration for love is as close as we may get to a universal communist aspiration.

鈥淚n this beautifully crafted book, Richard Gilman-Opalsky persuasively uncovers and explores an 鈥榠rreducibly antagonistic relationship of love to capitalist exchange value.鈥� Refusing to submit to the all-too-common reduction of love to sex, he points to the emergence of communist love during moments of uprising and resistance,鈥� writes George Katsiaficas, author of 鈥淭he Subversion of Politics,鈥� in reviewing the book.

Gilman-Opalsky, the 2018 University Scholar award winner, is the author of five previous books, including 鈥淪pecters of Revolt鈥� and 鈥淧recarious Communism.鈥� He earned his Ph.D. in political science from The New School for Social Research in 2006. He also earned master鈥檚 and bachelor's degrees in philosophy from The New School for Social Research and Hofstra University, respectively.

鈥淭he Communism of Love鈥� is published by AK Press and will be released on Dec. 1, 2020. The book can be purchased on the publisher鈥檚 website at , on Amazon and from other online retailers.

For more information, contact Gilman-Opalsky at 217-206-8328 or rgilm3@uis.edu.