The Eros effect helps us to understand social movements as a logical unfolding of the practice of thousands if not millions of people as they rise up to change their lives. Tying his intellectual concerns to social movements in South Korea, Germany and dozens of countries, social theorist George Katsiaficas traces the evolution of history from the global eruption of 1968 and the Black Panther Party to the 1980 Gwangju Uprising and Occupy Wall Street. His theory of the Eros effect helps us to understand social movements as a logical unfolding of the practice of thousands if not millions of people as they rise up to change their lives. In certain circumstances, the unexpected happens and is a source of hope to those that dream, aspire, work, and love for a better life. This book gives many examples, both historic and contemporary, of general strikes, insurrections, and revolutions from around the world, constituting the concrete realization of freedom in history. The material included in this work inspires hope—hope to life more freely and cooperatively—and it can motivate us to take risks and be daring, to believe that bold new ideas can lead to fundamental changes in our society.