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Socialism

Socialism Under Attack From Scared White House

The Trump White House did one thing right in its shoddy report: Interest in socialism and Marxism around the world is increasing. Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has been fighting a nonstop battle against enemies both real and imagined—and his latest offensive is a real doozy. “The Opportunity Costs of Socialism,” published on Tuesday by the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors, attempts to smear socialism—worker ownership of production—as a bankrupt ideology. The 72-page paper uses the 200th anniversary of socialist thinker Karl Marx’s birth as a jumping-off point for condemning everyone who doesn’t pray at the altar of the free market. Not even capitalist social democracies like Norway and Sweden are spared from blistering attacks.

The United States Is More Socialist Than You Know

Compared to other wealthy countries, large sectors of the US economy are more socialized than is realized. From energy to water to transportation, land and more, and from cities and states to the nation, there is public ownership and control. The neo-liberal era of privatization is winding down. This has particularly accelerated following the 2008 financial crash. We speak with Thomas Hanna, author of "Our Common Wealth: The Return of Public Ownership in the United States," about reclaiming public goods and how to prepare for the next financial crash. Plus, we put the current news in the context of the bigger picture.

Brazil: Again The Alternative Is Between “Socialism Or Barbarism”

The most feared, but foreseeable at the same time, has already happened. Jair Bolsonaro almost won the presidency of Brazil in the first round and thanks to the consequent vote of the poor people of the Northeast, he has to go to a second round. I emphasize the word “consequent” since there were an abundance of peripheral neighborhoods in the great cities and towns of different States, that in this so called “democracy”, supported the Latin American Hitler. These neighborhoods not only experience the most stranded and plundered of the people of Brazil but also an ample amount are from afro-descendant sectors.

Project Veritas’ WaPo Stinger Strikes Socialist Group

The Project Veritas operative who falsely alleged that Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore impregnated her as a teenager, in an attempted sting of the Washington Post last year, is at it again. Using the alias Kimmie Gibson, Jaime Tennille Phillips has been infiltrating Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America since at least early August, according to four DSA members who interacted with her at meetings, actions, and happy hours. She often came early and stayed late for these gatherings, and was eager to make friends, and in at least one case, a lover. Phillips first met activist Arjun Comar at a DSA convention planning session on Sept. 5. Their interaction then was brief, but at a Sept. 12 Libertarian Socialist Caucus meeting at the Red Derby, they got to know each other better.

The Aftershocks Of The Economic Collapse Are Still Being Felt

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.

Vision For A Socialized United States Presented On Politico

Politico is a mainstream corporate news outlet that covers politics inside the box of the two Wall Street-funded political parties. So, while it does a good job of covering politics within that context it is not an outlet we go to for creative thinking. That is why it was surprising when Politico published a lengthy article "What Would A Socialist American Look Like?"  The article was a fair representation of the views of Democratic Socialists and laid out an image of what the United States would look like if the economy were democratized, workers were empowered, racism was confronted and equity in an economy that put the people's necessities first would look like.

An Open Letter To ‘Socialists’ Who Might Be Fronting For The Democratic Party

First, a confession. When I learned of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s primary victory against incumbent dinosaur Joe Crowley, I was, as embarrassing as it is to admit, moved to tears. I’m the emotional type, take after my mom. I’m also a Xicanx, a life-long socialist, and was overwhelmed to see a young brown woman step up and raise the socialist banner. Now, however, as weeks have passed since her primary victory, as she has made the rounds of the talk show circuit, been feted by progressive circles, interviewed by corporate and “Left” media, and shilled for Democratic Party candidates, she has said enough (and sometimes more disturbingly not said enough) to make one wonder if she’s making up this whole socialism thing as she goes along.

Socialists Need To Fight For Economic Change — Not Just Another Version Of Capitalism

“Socialism” has become the new political buzzword. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) surprised many during his 2016 presidential run by winning the votes of millions as an explicitly “socialist” candidate. In 2018 we’re seeing a rash of candidates running on socialist tickets. Most high-profile of these is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was propelled into the public eye ― along with her progressive policies like job guarantees and universal, single-payer health care ― following her unexpected victory against veteran incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in a New York Democratic primary. In contrast, capitalism, once defended as a seemingly unassailable ideology, is showing deep fractures. While the U.S. economy booms, “workers have been getting ripped off,” a New York Times editorial said in August.

What’s Left in Nicaragua After Ortega

Nicaragua has been tragically destabilized, threatening to reverse the major social gains achieved by the Ortega government. The North American left should unite around “US out of Nicaragua.” Let the Nicaraguan people choose their own government through elections as they have in 2006, 2011, and 2016 when they returned Ortega to the presidency with ever increasing voting margins. Beyond the US-backed interests and their NGO-activists are undoubtedly genuine social elements in opposition to Ortega. Likewise, any political party, especially one that has been in power as long as the Sandinistas, could benefit from rectification. But these are agenda items to be addressed by the Nicaraguan people without outside interference.

Why The Attempt To Assassinate Maduro?

The attempt to assassinate Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, has failed. This news is days-old but the facts are reiterated here starkly. The event raises serious questions for “progressive” critics now in close collaboration with imperialism. The assassination attempt was made on August 4, 2018, while Maduro was addressing the nation on live TV during a celebration of the 81st-anniversary parade of the National Guard parade in Caracas. The terrorists used drones loaded with explosives in the assassination attempt. However, snipers shot the killer-drones down before they reached Maduro.

Nicaragua: Dynamics of an Interrupted Revolution

The unfolding events in Nicaragua over the past three months pose two critical questions for socialists and antiwar activists. Where do we stand on the critical issue of U.S. imperialist intervention and where do we stand with regard to the dynamics of the still-unfolding confrontations? That U.S. imperialism is intervening in Nicaragua today against the capitalist FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) government of Daniel Ortega cannot be denied. President Trump has openly threatened to send U.S. troops. In this anti-imperialist context, however, each component of any successful U.S.-based united front, democratic, mass-action movement must be free to express its own views on the internal dynamics operating in each nation where any form of U.S. intervention is underway. While we considered Daniel Ortega and the FSLN’s central leaders “revolutionists of action,” that is, honest revolutionaries who desired important changes in Nicaraguan society, we recognized that they were fundamentally adverse to breaking with Nicaragua’s capitalist class...

Best Satire Of The Unjust Absurdity Of Wage Slavery?

One century, one decade, and a year ago — that's going back 111 years, to 1907 — a lovely little gem of a playful yet brilliantly provocative rabble-rousing pamphlet was published about economic exploitation. It focused more specifically on what's come to be called wage slavery, the economic dynamic whereby in order to have a roof over our heads and not to starve, we're compelled to allow certain people and artificial legal creations (employers and corporation) to not so much outright own us (that's illegal) as to "rent" us, so we're essentially temporarily owned via wage slavery.

What Makes Millennial Socialism Different

The Occupy movement, British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders all changed what the millennial generation thinks of as socialism—and made the come-from-behind win of New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez possible. At least, that’s what Ben Judah argues in a recent piece for The American Interest, in which he outlines the many differences between the “old left” and the “new left” in the U.S. and the U.K. One major shift on the left, Judah says, has been the coining of the terms “1 percent” and “99 percent,” which he considers one of the most powerful accomplishments of the Occupy movement, because they allowed a new kind of revolution to seep into the imagination of young Americans.

Socialist International Of 140 Global Political Parties Adopts BDS, Calls For Military Embargo On Israel

The Council of the Socialist International (SI) has called for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) for Palestinian rights at their meeting in the United Nations in Geneva on June 26-27. SI also called for a “total embargo on all forms of military trade and cooperation with Israel.” Socialist International brings together 140 global political parties, including 35 parties in government in South Africa, Argentina, Spain, Colombia, Portugal, Tanzania, Luxemburg, Romania, Iraq and elsewhere. The SI has reaffirmed the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and called on governments and civil organizations to “activate Boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli occupation.” It called for the “total embargo on all forms of military trade and cooperation with Israel as long as it continues its policies of occupation and Apartheid against the people of Palestine.”

The Death Of Neoliberalism Is An Opportunity To Birth A New System

Today in the US, as well as globally, we find ourselves in multiple reinforcing crises. There is a crisis of legitimacy in established institutions ranging from Congress, the presidency and the Supreme Court, to the media, the criminal legal system, organized religion, Wall Street banks and corporations. Along with this, there is a loss of belief in social mobility and fairness. The neoliberal ideology that has dominated public discourse for four decades has failed, and we are set adrift with no vision to replace it. We are in a mounting crisis of neoliberal capitalism and a political system unable to steer a way out of it. These intersecting crises place us in a period of extreme indeterminacy. Old norms and expectations no longer hold, leaving us disoriented and having to improvise. One thing that has become clear to us now is that such circumstances offer fertile soil for the rise of a demagogue who can take advantage of popular anxieties. What new order will replace the old one.

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Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

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