Arundhati Roy:
Public power in the age of empire


ARUNDHATI ROY is one of the leading voices in the international struggle against war, poverty and injustice. Roy first came to worldwide prominence as the author of the novel The God of Small Things, which won the prestigious Booker Prize for literature in 1997.

But since then, she has become an outspoken activist in the international antiwar and global justice movements, and an author of numerous essays and books on political issues and struggles. Her latest book is An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire, a collection of essays and speeches that follows previous collections War Talk, Power Politics and The Cost of Living.

In August, Roy spoke out in San Francisco on the subject "Power Politics in the Age of Empire"--in one of her only speaking engagements in the U.S. this year. Here, with permission, Socialist Worker reprints her speech.