Capitalism

Socialism Is Not A Utopian Ideal, But An Achievable Necessity

January 6, 2023 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. Educate! Capitalism, Socialism, Sustainability, Transformation

In May 2021, the executive director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and the UN high representative for disarmament affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, wrote an article urging governments to cut excessive military spending in favour of increasing spending on social and economic development. Their wise words were not heard at all. To cut money for war and to increase money for social development, they wrote, is ‘not a utopian ideal, but an achievable necessity’. That phrase – not a utopian ideal, but an achievable necessity – is essential. It describes the project of socialism almost perfectly. Our institute has been at work for over five years, driven precisely by this idea that it is possible to transform the world to meet the needs of humanity while living within nature’s limits.

Going Beyond The New International Economic Order

January 5, 2023 Umut Özsu, Progressive International. Educate! Capitalism, Global Economy, New International Economic Order, Reform

Much has been made of the New International Economic Order (NIEO) since its formal announcement in the UN General Assembly on May Day nearly fifty years ago. As the most sustained attempt to reconfigure international relations since the establishment of the United Nations and Bretton Woods systems after the Second World War, the project served as a lodestone for a remarkably wide range of debates about the law, politics, and political economy of decolonization during the 1970s and into the 1980s. At its core lay a series of demands for greater aid, debt-relief and technology transfer, as well as a desire to facilitate rapid industrialization, secure strong rights to nationalize assets of foreign investors, normalize preferential treatment in international trade for developing countries, institute mechanisms to regulate the activities of multinational corporations, and provide restitution for resources depleted through colonialism and occupation.

John Thackara On Designing For Life

January 4, 2023 David Bollier. Create! Capitalism, Climate Change, climate crisis, Transformation

John Thackara is one of the brilliant irregulars exploring how humankind can make the transition to a climate-friendly, relocalized, post-capitalist world. You can't pigeonhole him in any occupational category or disciplinary tradition because he is so effortlessly transversal. He blends his broadly international and nonsectarian perspective with the many particular projects that are Building the New. This helps explain why Thackara's work is so appealing: It speaks to us as whole human beings where we live, in distinctive local circumstances. While rigorous and empirical, Thackara isn't constrained by the jargon and norms of a particular discipline or theory. Like so many designers, he lives on the messy creative edge where interesting new things are always emerging. (Check out his website at thackara.com.)

If Capitalism Is To Be Fought, It Has To Be Fought In The DRC

December 28, 2022 Tanupriya Singh, People's Dispatch. Resist! Capitalism, DR Congo, Mineral Wealth, Paramilitaries

On Friday, December 23, the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officially handed over its positions in Kibumba, in North Kivu province, to the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), citing the recommendations of the summit held in Luanda, Angola, in November. However, days after M23 announced its withdrawal from its seized positions in Kibumba, displaced communities have still not been able to return amid reports that rebel fighters are still present in the area. Meanwhile, fighting between M23, Congolese troops (FARDC), and an anti-M23 ‘self-defense’ militia continued on Monday, December 26, in the settlements of Bishusha and Tongo in North Kivu’s Rutshuru territory.

The Economic Realities We Face At The End Of 2022

December 20, 2022 Richard D. Wolff, Counter Punch. Educate! Capitalism, Global Economy, Socialism, US Imperialism

Economies around the world were shocked and damaged over the course of 2022. Global capitalism had been brewing conflicts among the major powers (the United States, China, and the EU) for some time as their relative strengths and vulnerabilities shifted. U.S. capitalism and its empire are widely perceived as waning. Europe’s role as a U.S. ally and indeed its economic future became correspondingly riskier as a result. China’s economic growth encountered problems but continued to be remarkably positive and often crucially supportive of world economic conditions in ways that were once more closely associated with the role of the United States. China’s deepening alliance with Russia as well as its burgeoning global economic reach frightened many in the United States.

The Complex And Evolving US-China Relationship

December 20, 2022 Jenny Clegg, Friends of Socialist China. Educate! Biden administration, Capitalism, China, New Cold War

The US China relationship has become the dominant influence on the overall dynamics of international relations. China’s rise counters US hegemonism; it challenges the system of imperialist rule-making; at the same time China’s socialist orientation shows there is an alternative to capitalism. These three intertwined contradictions are fundamentally antagonistic but as Mao suggested antagonistic contradictions can also be handled in a non antagonistic way – of course depending on the circumstances. Today it is amidst the increasingly complex context of polycrises – of climate change, the pandemic, debt and economic recession, and now the Ukraine war – that we see the US and China engaged in a sharpening trial of strength.

Ghost Stories Of Capitalism: Racism Is Real, And It’s A Class Struggle

December 17, 2022 Danny Haiphong, Black Agenda Report. Strategize! Capitalism, Class Struggle, Identity Politics, Racism

In today’s political climate, the word racism has become taboo. Some on the “Left” take issue with the term because of how it has been co-opted by the neoliberal elite. This is understandable, since the neoliberal Democratic Party has indeed exploited race relations in the United States to forward a “lesser evil” but no less dangerous brand of U.S. imperialism. Racism is thus increasingly viewed as an ideological weapon of liberalism rather than a material force of oppression. So-called “conservatives” have pounced on the limitations of neoliberal racial politics to strengthen their own brand as crusaders against the “woke” politics of the Democrats. The problem with all of this is that racism is a very real manifestation of class struggle. Racism isn’t merely the hateful words and behaviors acted out by individuals. It isn’t simply a set of “institutional” problems that can be reformed away at the workplace or the criminal justice system, either. Some on the liberal “left” say that racism is “systemic,” but even this is misleading. Failing to name the system, U.S. imperialism, decontextualizes racism from its roots in class and power.

Glen Ford And Kevin Zeese: The Nature Of Fascism

November 28, 2022 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast - Clearing The FOG American Fascism, Capitalism, Glen Ford, Kevin Zeese

In this episode, Clearing the FOG brings back excerpts of a discussion from November 2018 with the now-deceased Glen Ford, the co-founder and Senior Editor of Black Agenda Report, and Kevin Zeese, the co-director of Popular Resistance, about fascism in the United States. This interview covers the origin of fascism in the United States and how it was emulated by European Nations and brought to Latin America through US intervention as well as how fascism is manifest today with support by some who would consider themselves on the Left. Ford and Zeese talk about the rise of fascism in Brazil and how consent for war with Russia and aggression toward China was manufactured. They end with suggestions for what we need to do now that is just as true today as it was four years ago.

Rebellion Against The Legalized Robbery

November 27, 2022 Yanis Varoufakis, The Bullet. Strategize! Capitalism, climate crisis, Green New Deal, Transformation

The following commentary was written by Marxist economist, politician and former Finance Minister of Greece Yanis Varoufakis. He follows the first part of the debate “Ecological Catastrophe, Collapse, Democracy and Socialism” between the renowned American intellectual Noam Chomsky, the Chilean exponent of the new ideology of Collapsist Marxism Miguel Fuentes and climate scientist Guy McPherson. One of the main characteristics of Varoufakis’ comment (who describes himself as a “Libertarian Marxist”) is offering a balanced review of some of the main ideas expressed earlier in this debate. The latter from the perspective of the implications of current geopolitical events such as the Russo-Ukrainian war and what Vafourakis has defined as the beginning of a new Cold War. Varoufakis’ commentary thus constitutes both a necessary update and an informed closure of the first part of this ongoing discussion.

The Case For Democratic Worker Control

November 22, 2022 Alec Stubbs, Consortium News. Create! Capitalism, Cooperatives, Economic Democracy, Worker Rights and Jobs

First it was the “Great Resignation.” Then it was “nobody wants to work anymore.” Now it’s “quiet quitting.” Yet it seems like no one wants to talk about what I see as the root cause of America’s economic malaise – work under contemporary capitalism is fundamentally flawed. As a political philosopher studying the effects of contemporary capitalism on the future of work, I believe that the inability to dictate and meaningfully control one’s own working life is the problem. Democratizing work is the solution. What can be said about the malaise surrounding work under capitalism today? There are at least four major problems: First, work can be alienating.

How The Pandemic Changed The Landscape Of US Labor Organizing

November 18, 2022 Jamie K. McCallum, In These Times. Organize! Capitalism, COVID-19, Labor Movement, Worker Rights and Jobs

The story of essential workers during the pandemic is part of the long unraveling of the New Deal. The destruction of the welfare state, the attack on unions, and the rise of neoliberalism provide the historical backdrop for the pandemic labor unrest. As workers’ fortunes came under renewed attack in the early 1970s, the historic gains of the New Deal were rolled back decades. Inequality became the defining feature of our economy as we arrived at a second Gilded Age. This was more than unfair — during the pandemic it had deadly consequences. A 2020 study found that in over 3,000 U.S. counties, income inequality was associated with more cases and more deaths by the virus.

Real Challenge At COP27 Is Private Greed Versus Devastation Of All

November 13, 2022 Prabir Purkayastha, People's Dispatch. Educate! Capitalism, Climate Justice, COP27, Fossil Fuels

The COP27 meet is underway at Sharm el-Sheikh. Although the Ukraine War and mid-term elections in the United States shifted our immediate focus away from the battle against global warming, it remains a central concern of our epoch. Reports indicate we are not only failing to meet climate change goals but falling short of the targets by a large margin. Worse, methane greenhouse gas emissions have grown far faster than we knew, and pose as much of a climate change threat as carbon dioxide. Methane lasts for a shorter time in the atmosphere, but seen over a 100-year period, it is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The result is we are almost certain to fail in our target to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees centigrade.

The Attack On Nature Is Putting Humanity At Risk

November 11, 2022 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. Educate! Capitalism, climate crisis, Extreme weather, Public Health

In the last week of October, João Pedro Stedile, a leader of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) in Brazil and the global peasants’ organisation La Via Campesina, went to the Vatican to attend the International Meeting of Prayer for Peace, organised by the Community of Sant’Egídio. On 30 October, Brazil held a presidential election, which was won by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, affectionately known as Lula. A key part of his campaign addressed the reckless endangerment and destruction of the Amazon by his opponent, the incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro. Lula’s victory, helped along by vigorous campaigning by the MST, provides hope for our chance to save the planet. This week’s newsletter contains the speech that Stedile gave at the Vatican. We hope you find it as useful as we do.

The Teacher Exodus Continues Whether You Care Or Not

October 30, 2022 Steven Singer, Gadfly On The Wall. Educate! Capitalism, Education, Teachers, Worker Rights and Jobs

Remember when federal, state and local governments actually seemed poised to do something about the great teacher exodus plaguing our schools? With an influx of money earmarked to help schools recover from the pandemic, many expected pay raises and bonuses to keep experienced teachers in the classroom. Ha! That didn’t happen! Not in most places. In fact, the very idea seems ludicrous now – and this was being discussed like it was a foregone conclusion just a few months ago at the beginning of the summer. So what happened? We found a cheaper way. Just cut requirements to become a teacher.

They Crush Our Song For A Reason

October 17, 2022 Chris Hedges, Scheer Post. Educate! Capitalism, Class Struggle, mental health, Trauma

August Wilson wrote 10 plays chronicling Black life in the 20th century. His favorite, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, is set in 1911 in a boarding house in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The play’s title comes from “Joe Turner’s Blues,” written in 1915 by W. C. Handy. That song refers to a man named Joe Turney, the brother of Peter Turney, who was the governor of Tennessee from 1893 to 1897. Joe Turney transported Black prisoners, chained in a coffle, along the roads from Memphis to the Tennessee State Penitentiary in Nashville. While en route, he handed over some of the convicts, for a commission, to white farmers. The prisoners he leased to the farmers worked for years in a system of convict leasing — slavery by another name.

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