In Radicals: Outsiders Changing the World, Jamie Bartlett probes into the worldviews and lives of individuals, groups and movements who are seeking to change the way we live now and examines their ostensibly radical properties. Bartlett’s natural storytelling abilities, shaped by his sensitive yet probing approach, make for an engaging read that inspires both enthusiasm and caution about radical thinking today, writes David Beer, and raises questions regarding how radical ideas take hold and circulate

Beer, David

LSE Research Online

Book	Review:	Radicals:	Outsiders	Changing	theWorld	by	Jamie	BartlettIn	Radicals:	Outsiders	Changing	the	World,	Jamie	Bartlett	probes	into	the	worldviews	and	lives	of	individuals,groups	and	movements	who	are	seeking	to	change	the	way	we	live	now	and	examines	their	ostensibly	radicalproperties.	Bartlett’s	natural	storytelling	abilities,	shaped	by	his	sensitive	yet	probing	approach,	make	for	anengaging	read	that	inspires	both	enthusiasm	and	caution	about	radical	thinking	today,	writes	David	Beer,	andraises	questions	regarding	how	radical	ideas	take	hold	and	circulate.	This	review	was	originally	published	here	and	is	reposted	with	the	permission	of	David	Beer.	Radicals:	Outsiders	Changing	the	World.	Jamie	Bartlett.	Penguin.	2017.Find	this	book:	Among	the	characters	described	in	Jamie	Bartlett’s	Radicals,	I’m	finding	it	hard	toshake	the	image	of	the	grinders.	A	particularly	dedicated	and	self-focused	branchof	biohackers,	grinders	operate	on	their	own	bodies,	adding	microchips,	devicesand	prosthetics	as	they	seek	to	turn	themselves	into	living	DIY	cyborgs.	This	is	akind	of	meat	and	metal	transhumanism —	one	 that	the	grinders	see	as	standingapart	from	the	abstractions	and	pointless	waffle	of	the	transhumanist	movement.The	transhumanists	want	to	think	about	how	technology	can	extend	and	enhancehuman	life;	the	biohackers	want	to	get	stuck	into	the	practicalities	of	testing	andexperimenting.This	is	where	Bartlett’s	book	is	so	successful.	He	is	a	natural	storytellerand	Radicals	is	a	book	of	tales.	Showing	understanding	and	humility,	movinghimself	into	the	role	of	outsider	or	studied	observer	when	needed,	Bartlettexercises	the	art	of	storytelling.	The	chapters	follow	a	series	of	individuals	andgroups	to	explore	their	apparently	radical	properties.	Each	looks	closely	at	the	toils,successes	and	failures	of	those	figures	and	the	features	of	their	thinking	that	mightlead	them	to	be	labelled	radical.	Often	mixing	individual	human	stories	with	thoseof	the	movements	of	which	they	are	a	part,	the	book	ranges	across	a	transhumanist	presidential	hopeful,	eco-protestors,	mushroom-eating	gatherings,	a	commune	pursuing	self-sufficiency,	a	libertarian	nation-state	start-upand	a	comedian-led	anti-establishment	political	party,	through	to	an	interlude	on	the	‘Prevent’	strategy	and	anaccount	of	some	disturbing	multinational	Islamophobia.Bartlett’s	ability	to	be	probing	whilst	remaining	sensitive	and	non-dismissive	draws	out	intriguing	details	that	couldeasily	have	been	lost — the	state	of	the	mattress	in	a	commune	love-shack,	the	emotional	post-match	reactions	tohallucinogens,	the	character	traits	in	a	Five	Star	meeting,	the	revelation	that	a	coffin-shaped	bus	was	used	partlyto	try	to	highlight	a	problem	with	American	democracy	and	so	on.	For	want	of	a	more	accurate	comparison,	this	isdocumentary	storytelling	in	the	mode	of	Louis	Theroux.	As	a	result,	subtleties	emerge,	such	as	tension	betweenwhat	appears,	on	the	surface,	to	be	philosophically	aligned:	for	instance,	biohackers	and	transhumanists.Intriguing	and	sometimes	fraught	with	a	little	jeopardy,	you	can’t	help	but	get	hooked	on	the	narratives.LSE Review of Books: Book Review: Radicals: Outsiders Changing the World by Jamie Bartlett Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-07-31Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2017/07/31/book-review-radicals-outsiders-changing-the-world-by-jamie-bartlett/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Image	Credit:	(Jeremy	Segrott	CC	BY	2.0)In	places,	the	stories	seem	unreal	or	like	Bartlett	is	gate-crashing	a	film	set.	In	other	cases,	the	stories	are	grimand	all	too	gritty,	upsetting	in	how	easy	it	is	for	unpalatable	ideas	to	circulate	and	create	action.	There	is	amessage	here	about	what	happens	when	frustration	builds.	Bartlett’s	argument	is	that	we	need	different	radicalapproaches,	however	unsettling,	to	enable	genuine	debate	to	thrive.	Radicals	are	important,	Bartlett	suggests,because	they	bring	both	disobedience	and	the	possibility	of	getting	things	wrong.Genuine	radicals,	by	definition,	are	hard	to	find.	An	easy	point	to	make	about	a	book	like	this	would	be	to	takeissue	with	the	selection	of	stories	chosen.	In	places	I	found	myself	wondering	if	these	were,	indeed,	all	thatradical.	Psychedelics	and	free-love	communes	seem	a	bit	dog-eared.	People	have	been	implanting	themselveswith	RFID	chips	for	well	over	a	decade.	And	setting	up	a	new	nation	state	has	even	been	the	focus	of	a	fairly	well-known	comedy	series.	In	places	Bartlett	acknowledges	this,	and	adds	reflections	on	the	‘unoriginality’	of	what	heis	seeing.	I’m	not	sure	that	matters	though.	In	all	cases,	the	contemporary	context	lends	new	life	or	newcircumstances	to	even	old	ideas.	And	anyway,	this	seems	to	be	a	book	about	people	trying	to	be	radicals.	Istarted	to	wonder	if	these	characters	were	actually	trapped	in	the	idea	of	what	a	radical	is,	causing	patterns	to	berepeated.	Bartlett’s	stories	are	laced	with	more	than	enough	self-awareness	for	him	to	see	the	limits	of	thevarious	propositions	on	display.	As	I	read	the	accounts,	I	sometimes	imagined	the	author	flashing	a	knowingglance	to	camera — occasionally	that	glance	was	tinged	with	discomfort	and	even,	in	some	key	moments,	deepconcern.Bartlett’s	radicals	may	not	always	be	all	that	radical,	and	they	certainly	bring	out	a	strong	sense	of	disgust	insome	cases,	but	their	stories	tell	of	something	beyond	the	surface.	These	stories	often	feel	symptomatic.	As	wellas	being	a	book	about	radicals,	it	is	a	book	about	problems.	Sometimes	the	radicals	are	trying	to	solve	theproblem;	in	other	cases	they	embody	one.	As	Bartlett	begins	the	book,	he	claims	that:	‘although	we	have	moreinformation,	fast	computers	and	clever	analysts	to	understand	these	problems,	we	seem	less	and	less	capable	topredict	or	affect	any	of	them’.	We	can’t	data-analyse	our	way	out	of	a	number	of	these	issues,	especially	as	weare	data-analysing	our	way	into	quite	a	few	of	them.Undoubtedly	we	find	ourselves	in	a	moment	that	calls	for	some	radical	thinking — which	is	probably	somethingyou	could	have	said	for	most	moments	in	history.	Bartlett	acknowledges	that	there	were	some	political	shiftswhilst	he	was	working	on	his	book,	shifts	that	altered	what	might	be	seen	to	be	radical.	Genuinely	radical	thinkingcan’t	now	deal	only	in	grand	issues:	it	needs	to	ask	how	we	can	stem	the	rise	in	homelessness,	transcendgrowing	prejudice	and	divisions,	make	social	housing	safe,	reopen	libraries	or	rebuild	crumbling	health	andeducation	systems.LSE Review of Books: Book Review: Radicals: Outsiders Changing the World by Jamie Bartlett Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-07-31Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2017/07/31/book-review-radicals-outsiders-changing-the-world-by-jamie-bartlett/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Bartlett’s	prediction	is	that	there	is	more	to	come.	His	book	was	finished	in	2016	and	the	events	of	2017	seem	tolend	it	some	credibility.	He	identifies	the	shifts	in	2016	as	being	early	signs	of	a	‘more	significant	realignment’	andthat	political	norms	will	change.	Prediction	is	difficult	at	the	moment,	but	this	one	seems	to	have	some	weight.	Ifthis	realignment	does	continue	to	unfold,	then	some	radical	notions	might	well	be	guiding	it.Bartlett’s	book	inspires	both	caution	and	enthusiasm	for	radical	thinking.	The	current	moment	is	defined	by	abattle	for	ideas	in	a	mutating	public	sphere	of	social	media,	algorithms	and	unfettered	real-time	reaction.	In	thiscontext,	I’d	be	a	bit	worried	that	we	don’t	really	fully	understand	how	ideas	circulate	or	who	is	able	to	conjure	theauthority	to	make	those	ideas	visible	and	give	them	power.	As	Bartlett	points	out,	it	is	what	is	seen	to	be	possiblethat	is	at	stake.	As	this	book	begins	to	illustrate,	it	is	not	just	ideas	themselves	that	matter,	but	how	they	becomepart	of	the	world;	how	they	are	promoted,	controlled	and	silenced.	This	is	no	fault	of	Bartlett’s,	but	I’m	leftwondering	about	the	mechanisms	by	which	radical	ideas	take	hold.David	Beer	is	Reader	in	Sociology	at	the	University	of	York.	Popular	Culture	and	New	Media:	The	Politics	ofCirculation	is	now	available	in	paperback.	His	most	recent	book	is	Metric	Power.	You	can	find	him	on	Twitter@davidgbeerNote:	This	review	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Review	of	Books	blog,	or	of	theLondon	School	of	Economics.	LSE Review of Books: Book Review: Radicals: Outsiders Changing the World by Jamie Bartlett Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2017-07-31Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2017/07/31/book-review-radicals-outsiders-changing-the-world-by-jamie-bartlett/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/

Book review: radicals: outsiders changing the world by Jamie Bartlett

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