Left Politics

Turkey’s Only Communist Mayor Scores Another Election Victory

April 15, 2019 Mehmet Cetingulec, Al-monitor.com Create! Left Politics, Revisionism, Türkiye

As the results of Turkey’s local elections emerged late on March 31, a meme featuring Vladimir Lenin went viral on social media. It showed the Russian revolutionary leader gazing at a computer, a cup of tea in his hand, saying, “We’ve taken Tunceli.” It was a playful tribute to Turkey’s communists, a tiny but persevering community that won the mayoral race in the city of Tunceli, a left-wing bastion in eastern Turkey with a predominantly Alevi Kurdish population. Building on its debut in the nearby town of Ovacik five years ago, the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) clinched the victory...

Spanish Elections Offer Another Lesson For The Left

December 24, 2018 By Conn Hallinan, Fpif.org Educate! Electoral Politics, Left Politics, Spain

In what seems a replay of recent German and Italian elections, an openly authoritarian and racist party made major electoral gains in Spain’s most populous province, Andalusia, helping to dethrone the Socialist Party that had dominated the southern region for 36 years. Vox, or “Voice” — a party that stands for “Spain First,” restrictions on women’s rights, ending abortion, stopping immigration, and dismantling the country’s regional governments — won almost 11 percent of the vote. The party is in negotiations to be part of a ruling right-wing coalition, while left parties are calling for an “anti-fascist front.”

The Left Victories That Defined 2018—And Give Us Hope For The New Year

December 22, 2018 Marc Daalder, Inthesetimes.com Educate! Class Struggle, Electoral Politics, Left Politics, Social Movements, Strikes

In many ways, 2018 was a political garbage fire of a year. From the confirmation of conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to the imposition of fascist border policies to President Trump’s continued attacks on everything from workers’ rights to the very planet itself, the year saw plenty of reasons for dismay. But it wasn’t all bad. There were a number of important victories over the course of 2018 that are worth celebrating and remembering. Left-wing activism today shouldn’t just be about opposition to the Trump administration but must also focus on moving the country in a progressive direction and building a long-term movement capable of achieving lasting change.

Communist NY Councilman Ben Davis And The Meaning Of Nonviolence

December 15, 2018 By Andrew Stewart, Washingtonbabylon.com Educate! Electoral Politics, History, Left Politics, Revisionism

As we continue to see protests emerge nationwide in opposition to oppression promoted by the state and its co-conspirators in big business, we need to better understand the lessons of the Smith Act trials and the life of Benjamin Davis. In certain activism circles these days, one is destined to become engaged in a lively discussion about the validity and meaning of violent opposition to reactionaries that congregate under various banners of the alt-right. These formations, proffering a refurbished brand of scientific racism that was supposed dormant (or at least marginalized by responsible Republican political thinkers), are determined to not only advance their repulsive ideology, they aim to recruit converts to the cause with a sustained evangelism that is both frightening and effective.

Where Does The Future Of The American Left Lie?

December 6, 2018 Rachel Gilmer, Aljazeera.com Strategize! Class Struggle, Left Politics, United States

Two weeks before the November 6 midterm elections, the White House released a special report by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) on the opportunity costs of socialism in response to what they call its "comeback" in American political discourse. The timing of the report was no coincidence. Left-wing ideas such as universal healthcare, fully funded public education and the abolishment of ICE were at the forefront of midterm debates. And indeed, on November 6, American voters elected two socialist women of colour, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to Congress. Their historic wins are a true sign of shifting political terrains in the United States.

The Latin American Leftists Must Think Why The Poorest No Longer Support Us So Much

December 5, 2018 Dominio Cuba, Medium.com Strategize! Latin America, Left Politics

The life of the Brazilian friar and theologian Frei Betto is marked by milestones of all colors and forms from the day he was born, 74 years ago, in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte. He militated in the Catholic Student Youth, worked as a journalist, joined the Dominican order, was imprisoned and tortured for opposing the military dictatorship, studied theology, philosophy and anthropology, and served as advisor to several progressive governments in Latin America, including the first term of former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

What Recent London Demos Say About The State Of The British Left

November 16, 2018 Phil Hearse, Greenleft.org.au Resist! Fascism, Left Politics, London, Protest Demonstrations, Protests, United Kingdom (UK)

Demonstrations on successive weekends in London last month shone a spotlight on major political rifts — in the major parties and in the political left. On October 13, an extreme right-wing Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA) march was out-mobilised and disrupted by anti-fascist demonstrators. One week later, about 670,000 people turned out for a “People’s Vote” demonstration. The People’s Vote march was ostensibly to call for a referendum on the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. In reality, it was an attempt to re-run the 2016 referendum that narrowly voted in favour of leaving the EU. Both demonstrations highlighted fault lines on the left. The huge People's Vote demonstration was dominated politically by the right-wing, pro-EU trend in the Labour Party, as well as the Liberal Democrats.

European Integration And The Strategic Perspectives Of The Radical Left

November 10, 2018 Staff, Transform-network.net Educate! Europe, Left Politics

We all are committed to the values of internationalism and solidarity. Irrespectively of the concrete positions which our member/observer organisations take regarding the historically defined process of European integration we reject the simple-minded ideas, which use migrants and refugees as scape goats for precariousness, housing shortage or the decline of the welfare state. We oppose the ‘securitisation’ of domestic policies and the militarization of the EU boarders. Some of us may employ the notion ‘cosmopolitism’ to label their convictions, and others not. However, it is not fathomable how the crucial global problems, climate change and migration could be addressed without a cosmopolitan outlook.

Fascism Is Real, But The “Resistance” Is Mostly Fake

November 1, 2018 By Glen Ford, Blackagendareport.com Educate! Capitalism, Fascism, Left Politics

With last weekend’s election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, white men’s parties now lead governments that preside over the two largest concentrations of Black people outside Africa. Both Bolsonaro and Donald Trump are widely described as fascists -- which is correct. But it does not follow that everyone who calls such men “fascists” is a friend of Black and other oppressed people and, therefore, worthy allies in a “united front” of “resistance.” Who are the fascists, and where do they come from? More precisely, what are they defending? It is generally understood among the Left that fascists are the political products of capitalism in crisis, reactionaries that promise to restore order by purging the society of unwanted peoples and ideologies.

How The European Left Got Imperialism Wrong

October 4, 2018 Jay Tharappel, Theorientaldespot.com Educate! Europe, Imperialism, Left Politics

Two books came out in 1902 about imperialism, one by an Indian nationalist writer Dadhabhai Naoroji, another by John A. Hobson. The books are, 'Poverty and Un-British Rule' & 'Imperialism: A Study'. Who did the western Left choose to get their opposition to imperialism from? Whose theoretical language did they adopt? They chose Hobson, the British small-l liberal who endorsed colonialism "because it has made for the creation of free white democracies". And why did Hobson claim that imperialism was an outgrowth of capitalism? Because in his view, capitalism resulted in gross inequality which meant the rich looked to invest overseas rather than at home. In other words, for Hobson, "imperialism" was just capital flight, and had nothing to do with explaining the economic relationship between the two-thirds world and the European powers that had conquered and occupied them.

How The Left In Latin America Is Resisting The Right Wing-US Offensive

September 19, 2018 Yisell Rodríguez Milán, En.granma.cu Resist! Latin America, Left Politics, Right-Wing

Forces on the left are mobilizing in Latin America and the Caribbean to confront the right-wing offensive which, encouraged and financed by the United States, is underway in the region, with the use of strategies meant to foment political destabilization and discredit progressive governments in power and former elected leaders. Political leaders, intellectuals, and representatives of social movements are evaluating the unfavorable correlation of forces developing over the last few years, and charting action plans, taking the victory of progressive candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in Mexico, as a positive sign. “The storm arrived and shut the window opened at the end of the 90s…

Venezuelanalysis: Official Statement On Facebook’s Removal Of Our Page

August 11, 2018 Staff, Venezuelanalysis.com Educate! Censorship, Facebook, Left Politics, Media

On Thursday morning our Facebook page was arbitrarily "unpublished" by Facebook with no warning or explanation, apart from a standard message informing us that we had allegedly violated the company's terms and conditions. The timing of such a move is concerning for several reasons. Firstly, there is the international context, in which Facebook appears to be targetting independent or leftwing sites in the wake of Russiagate. However, in terms of our own coverage, in the days leading up to our removal, we had published important pieces which challenge the corporate mainstream media narrative on Venezuela. Specifically, we published an article giving details on the assassination attempt against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as well as a very popular analysis criticising the mainstream media's coverage of the attack.

Chomsky, Prashad, Hedges And Other Leading Intellectuals: Denuclearize The Middle East

July 27, 2018 By Noam Chomsky, Commondreams.org Create! Chris Hedges, Left Politics, Middle East, Noam Chomsky

American political decision makers, as well as Israeli political leaders, need to rethink their political, military, economic, and cultural policies in the region. The Middle East is in turmoil now, possibly again on the verge of a major war that could draw in the United States and Russia. President Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the six-nation nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA. Although a few of his advisers counseled against leaving the agreement, he has brought into his cabinet advisers who are known to be hawkish toward the Middle East and prefer regime change in that area to regime reform. The most notable of these advisers is John Bolton, appointed as director of the National Security Agency.

Stop The Systematic Effort To Destroy Colombia’s Left Through Murder

July 20, 2018 Staff, Afgj.org Resist! Colombia, Left Politics, Repression

Genocide is happening in Colombia. There is no other way to put it. In just one terrible day, July 16, 2018, six social movement leaders were killed. Since the June 17 election of Ivan Duque as Colombia’s president, social movement leaders have been killed at the rate of more than one a day. Duque is a disciple of former president and death squad patron Álvaro Uribe, whom he calls Colombia’s “eternal president”. Last weekend, two Fensuagro affiliates were murdered in the most brutal ways imaginable, beaten to death with rocks, one of them literally decapitated by repeated blunt force trauma. These men were from the sister towns of Miranda, Corinto, and Caloto, villages AfGJ has been visiting since our first trip to the area in 2009. We must not let their voices be lost, even though their lives have been taken!

Money Matters! Why Monetary Theory And Policy Is A Critical Terrain For The Left

July 19, 2018 Staff, Thenextsystem.org Create! Capitalism, Left Politics, Liberals, New Economy, Policy

As our demands grow bolder—true full employment, the rebuilding of the social safety net starting with Medicare for All, an overdue green and just transition—so will the naysayers’ inevitable refrain: “How will you pay for it?” This Left Forum panel on June 5, 2018 moderated by Gar Alperovitz brought together a combination of innovative thinkers and practitioners who together present a different understanding of monetary policy and the money system. They show a way out of the austerity trap and reveal that the obstacles to bold action at a national scale on jobs, healthcare, and climate are political, not economic. This is a partial, edited transcript.

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