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Anti-capitalism

Why Anti-Racism Must Be Anti-Capitalist

January 25, 2021 Zarah Sultana, Tribune Magazine. , , ,
Last summer we saw one of the largest anti-racist mobilisations in decades. In over sixty countries, protesters took to the streets in their thousands to demand transformative, lasting change. The Black Lives Matter movement calls for a fundamental shift in how our societies are organised: defunding police forces, ending the prison-industrial complex, opposing imperialist projects abroad, and destroying neo-colonial power relations between the Global North and the Global South. Racism and its brutal history are being discussed in a way that is unparalleled in my lifetime. As happens with every radical movement, the political establishment responded with both condemnation and co-option.

Terms Frequently Used To Describe Capitalism Don’t Hold Up Under Scrutiny

July 29, 2020 Richard D. Wolff, Economy for All. , , ,
Capitalism is not, as its defenders like to claim, defined by “free” or “private” enterprises. Likewise, “free” or “unregulated” markets do not define capitalism. Politics and ideology drive its defenders to choose those definitions over clearly better, different definitions. The causes and consequences of conflicts over definition are part of today’s mounting battles over capitalism. The task of any definition is to separate its object from others, to expose its uniqueness so all can recognize it and distinguish it from other, similar objects. We define “dog” to differentiate it from other animals, “chair” from other furniture, and “Mary” from other people. We should then define capitalism to differentiate it from other economic systems (the organized production and distribution of goods and services in a community) around qualities unique to it.

Covid Recovery And Radical Social Change

July 11, 2020 By Christos Zografos, The Ecologist.   , ,
I share the hope that the pandemic serves as a wake-up call for mobilizing action for radical societal change, and I don’t think that those who see fragments of this happening in commoning or solidarity practices during this pandemic are either naïve or only see part of the picture. But I am troubled by the signs that the inequality wagon might have a long way before it derails, which I see side-by-side with those other hopeful signs. Still, the care and vulnerability vision I sketched could provide a basis for a more hopeful outlook. Keeping in mind that pain better not be romanticized, valuing care and embracing vulnerability as central to life could begin with seeing the existence of those most vulnerable and marginalized not only as a source for recording misery and pain but also as a deeply political challenge: a source of models of human existence that defy whiteness fantasies of impermeability and containment that are bound to correspond to and elevate the few.

Capitalist Catastrophism

June 22, 2020 Kai Heron, ROAR Magazine. , , ,
We are not really in capitalist realism anymore, that we have in fact been leaving it for quite some time and that the signs of what might replace it in our pandemic-ridden and rapidly warming world are increasingly apparent. Unless there is a radical break from capitalism — a revolution — what will supplant capitalist realism is not the ability to imagine and fight for a post-capitalist future as Mason, Uetricht and Milburn had hoped, but something more ambiguous and perhaps ultimately worse. I call this something worse “capitalist catastrophism.” Capitalist catastrophism is what happens when capitalist realism begins to fray at the edges. It describes a situation in which capitalism can no longer determine what it means to be “realistic,” not because of the force of movements assembled against it but because capital’s self-undermining and ecologically destructive dynamics have outstripped capitalism’s powers to control them.

It’s A Class War Now Too

June 3, 2020 Joshua Frank, Counterpunch , ,
The looting of stores is inherently a class issue, whether you look upon it favorably or not (there are always exceptions of course). The act of looting is a long-standing American tradition, dating back to the theft of Native lands and African enslavement. And today, while wealthy people don’t loot strip malls, they are adept at looting natural resources and labor, from the coalfields of West Virginia to Jeff Bezo’s Amazon warehouses. The poor, exerting their nominal power—even in a destructive and violent manner—display an entirely natural reaction to a continually powerless state of being. For them, looting is a cry for help, an expression of hopelessness. Economic and racial oppression in America has finally reached a boiling point. Systemic change will take a systemic realignment of the economic and political structure in the United States.

Frontline Healthcare Workers Are Becoming Socialists

May 26, 2020 By Igor Krasno, Révolution Permanente. , , ,
As the current Covid-19 pandemic spread throughout the country, healthcare workers again witnessed how the for-profit healthcare system, along with the capitalist economic system, was unable to respond. Frontline workers, already putting their lives at risk, were being more exposed due to lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies that should never be in shortage, especially in a country that allows an individual with a net worth of over $100 billion to exist. Hospitals, already short-staffed due to years of “cost-saving” measures, were near collapse from the influx of patients. This helped to further expose the system and drive healthcare workers to action. As they say, “the boss is the best organizer.” Nurses and other healthcare workers began organizing actions calling attention to the lack of PPE and other supplies in their hospitals. These actions then led, in some cases, to larger critiques of the for-profit healthcare system and the economic system as a whole.

May Day Time For Workers To Unite For Power

May 1, 2020 Richard D. Wolff,  Maria Carnemolla, Liz Phillips, Michelle Scott,  Democracy at Work , , ,
This May 1, 2020, let us ask the question, why do we keep a system that requires workers to endlessly struggle against the opponents who own and operate each enterprise with exclusive control of the profits?  For workers to secure reforms requires a strategic next step. They must transition beyond the employer vs. employee system, the one which defines capitalism.  With a worker co-op based economy, workers, who are the majority in every workplace, collectively and democratically become their own employer, and by negotiating amongst themselves, workers will secure more rights than they could ever achieve under capitalism.

G20 Prepares For Protests Against Economy For The Rich

November 29, 2018 By Hernan Porras Molina, Entorno Inteligente ,
Deployment of some 24,000 security agents, areas closed even to pedestrian traffic, total interruption of the metro system and trains, Buenos Aires looks like an armored city and with the nerves of tip before the imminent arrival of the leaders of the G20. The US delegation brings some 800 troops to Buenos Aires eight Air Force aircraft, with civil and military crew. The Argentine press speculates even with the arrival of an aircraft carrier.

The Aftershocks Of The Economic Collapse Are Still Being Felt

September 16, 2018 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance , , ,
There has been a spate of articles recently on the ten year anniversary of the financial collapse. We wrote about this anniversary two weeks ago, describing the cause of the collapse and the reasons why we are still at risk for another one. Now, we look at how the aftermath of the collapse is shaping current politics, people's views on the economic system and the economy for the 21st Century. The stagnant economy, austerity measures and resulting increased debt have opened a space for people to search for and try out alternative economic structures that are more democratic. They have also created conditions for a rise of nationalism on the right.

Day 3 Of Countdown To Launch: Mani Martinez

December 8, 2017 Mani Martinez, www.PopularResistance , , ,
By Mani Martinez for Popular Resistance. Because I am involved in putting up a great deal of the articles that are on Popular Resistance, my scope of political issues has been incredibly broadened. I think corporate art, culture, and media outlets rely on segregating the information that people receive in their respective corners of the world. That maintains the necessary division amongst the working class, without which the capitalist class can’t rule. Our platform at Popular Resistance, therefore makes a great attempt at promoting working class unity by highlighting the importance of all political struggle against capitalism!

The Latin American Left Today Global Center For Resistance

April 23, 2017 Staff, www.telesurtv.net/english , , , , , , , , ,
By Staff for Telesur. From Brazil to Venezuela there have been radical shifts in the geopolitical landscape of the region. However, Latin America remains a global center for creativity and resistance. Torn between right and left – and dealing with the significant pressures of imperialism and a colonial legacy – popular forces have been fighting for their social rights and progress, making significant strides and remaining vital despite setbacks. Amid this complicated scenario, teleSUR takes a look at the Latin American left of today – from the Indigenous councils to the national assemblies, the urban centers to the rural villages – which continues to stand strong and fight for an integrated, united and socialist future.
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