[Marxism] Ecuador's Referendum reveals a Fragmented Country
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://upsidedownworld.org/main/ecuador-archives-49/3035-ecuadors-referendum-reveals-a-fragmented-country Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Malaysian Australian socialists denounce refugee deal
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == http://www.socialist-alliance.org/page.php?page=1113 Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Socialist Alliamce: Colombia must release Perez Bocerra! (a good example for needed defense effort)Colombia must free Joaquin Perez Becerra
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == I wonder how a socialist organisation, known for organising solidarity with the struggle in Colombia and with the Venezuelan revolution, can write 1200 words about Pérez Becerra and not take a position about the fact that he was handed over to Colombia by the Venezuelan authorities. Every single word in the statement is correct as far as I know. About the background of Pérez Becerra and the UP, about the criminalisation of political opponents in Colombia, about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the case and Interpol's red note, about the constant Colombian provocations re alleged Venezuelan support for the FARC, etc. Nothing wrong with any of this. But why not say what is your position about Chavez's decision (for he has taken personal responsibility for it) to hand over Pérez Becerra to the Colombian authorities, where, according to Asutralian DSP member in Venezuela, Fred Fuentes, now awaits an uncertain future, placed into the hands of a government that is internationally renowned for locking up and torturing political prisoners. Currently, there are more than 7500 political prisoners being held in Colombia, many of them denied the right to a fair trial and due process. If you think that the decision was correct and can be justified (as the arguments made in the statement seem to suggest) then, why not say so openly? If you think the decision was not correct, then why not spell it out? Dishonest is a word that comes to mind. Jorge PS should be Becerra, not BOcerra Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Baba Aye's : Osama’s murder; an anti-climax
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Baba Aye has sent you a link to a blog: null Blog: Baba Aye's Post: Osama’s murder; an anti-climax Link: http://solidarityandstruggle.blogspot.com/2011/05/osamas-murder-anti-climax.html -- Powered by Blogger http://www.blogger.com/ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Burma Soldier reminder
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == This documentary airs tonight at 8pm EST on HBO. It is a first-rate portrait of a soldier who became a pro-democracy activist. It is also quite relevant to what is happening in the Arab world today. Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Unionism, Austerity, and the Left:, An interview with Sam Gindin
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Louis wrote: Andony Melathopoulos writes for the Platypus website, where this article first appeared The funny thing is that the Platypussies think that they're upholding the tradition of Adorno and Benjamin with that kind of stageist bullshit, when in fact they're continuing the legacy of the Kautskyist centre of the 2nd International, precisely the sort of linear, teleological conception of history that Benjamin's theses were directed against. Then Frankfurt jargon of the Platypussies is just some poseur attempt at intellectual distinction to dress up their boring Spartacist politics. Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Unionism, Austerity, and the Left:, An interview with Sam Gindin
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Why concern yourself with Platypus? There will be endless comments on this sort of stupidity, as there is with anything dealing with the SWP, as everyone takes turns reliving for the ten thousandth time his or her part of the past. Why not focus on Sam Gindin, someone who has devoted his life to the class struggle, is a smart guy, and from whom we might learn something? Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Socialist Alliamce: Colombia must release Perez Bocerra! (a good example for needed defense effort)Colombia must free Joaquin Perez Becerra
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Jorge wrote: If you think that the decision was correct and can be justified (as the arguments made in the statement seem to suggest) then, why not say so openly? If you think the decision was not correct, then why not spell it out? Dishonest is a word that comes to mind. Jorge PS should be Becerra, not BOcerra I absolutely agree with Jorge. Anyone who knows about his deep involvement with the struggle of the Venezuelan people should be able to tell how his critical position is what makes the difference between a revolutionary, and someone who wants to sound like one. Perhaps, those quick anti-ultra-leftist's ought to consider his comments regarding the internal perils for the revolution with seriousness, before putting them in the anti-reformism bag. Developmentalism has been tried before, we all know; it never worked, and concrete circumstances, specifically the rentist form of capital accumulation, has proven to be a historical dead-end under the current form of property relations. It's one thing to complain about bureaucratism, quite another to say that capitalists have to be expropriated. But, just to clarify, I'm not out to denounce Chavez as a Bonapartist just like that, that may be somewhat accurate now, but nothing is set in stone. The problem is when the only response to that is an equally abstract denunciation of you're reformist, you're ultraleft blablabla, instead of actually looking at the material circumstances which determine what's actually going on. When I first talked about Joaquin Perez Becerra, I asked a question to the anti-imperialists, particularly those who thought that their accusations against the ones who criticized Chavez for his support of Gaddafi is justifiedbecause Chavez said so! What is the unity of Latin America you all talk about? As if somehow magically a regional bloc will come out of thin air through the graces of Chavez, Lula, et al.. Then we get all these cherry-picked facts... As if Brasil didn't compete against Argentina, Argentina against Bolivia, etc. in the world market. Just look at auto production in Argentina (and that's only one example) and you'll see how Brasil is stomping Argentina, not without the “help” of Chinese and Indian capital. Yeah Chinese anti-imperialist capital, the same that funds the raping or Irak... All to obfuscate the real question, what conscious political action is necessitated now of the working class by the circumstances of accumulation? I'm not talking reformist, anti-reformist, whatever, I'm talking concrete. Did Chavez conjure up all the people that support him, or was it capital that created this massive relative surplus population? Anyway, it's so much we can do from an e-mail list; indeed, it'd be nice if we used it to discuss the real world instead of compartmentalizing it by boxing up other positions. p.s. It's been a while but I also wanted to say that it was my least intention to see Fred Fuentes unsubscribe, if I disagree with him it was out of comradely respect. I hope he re-subscribes, my armchair Marxism notwithstanding. Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Along The Ohio: Freedom Bound
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == New Post: Along The Ohio: Freedom Bound http://rustbeltradical.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/1along-the-ohio-freedom-bound/ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Interesting comments on the Hedges interview with Cornel West
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == This just showed up as a comment on my blog: Whether or not we agree with Cornel West on specific issues, we must acknowledge that his voice is highly respected in the Black community and in other sections of the population as well. This makes his break with Obama and his willingness to criticize the President he campaigned for in relatively radical terms significant. I presume that is why Louis decided to share Chris Hedges' interview of him. On the other hand, there are clearly elements of West's new critique that reveal not only a bruised ego, but more importantly the limits of -- what else to call it -- his social democratic thinking. Those on the self-described left who supported Obama fell, I believe into two camps: -- those who believed that Obama's background in academia and community organizing and his contact, however opportunistic, with various left-wing activists (e.g., the African American CPer Frank Marshall Davis in Hawaii, former SDSer/Weather Undergrounder cum education radical Bill Ayers, Palestinian activist Rashid Khalidi, Black liberation pastor Jeremiah Wright, etc.) might make him more receptive to the demands of the progressive mass movements that they hoped would emerge in the wake of the '08 elections than any of the other leading candidates would be. -- those who'd convinced themselves that Obama campaign constituted a progressive movement that would, via his Presidency, make a serious, if not quite radical, effort to curb or at least regulate corporate power, adopt a more Keynesian approach to the economic crisis, reverse the more egregious aspects of the Bush foreign policy agenda while struggling to maintain American global hegemony, and re-establish the credibility of government intervention in addressing problems such as unemployment, poverty, housing, health care, etc. This is a distinction that leftists who opposed Obama probably regard as insignificant, but West's embrace of the second view underscores a flaw in his self-described socialism. His expectations of Obama clearly reveal a conventional social democratic belief in the ability of the capitalist state to act on behalf of, rather than in response to, popular interests. West acknowledges that he was reading more into it more than there was, but the it so far as he is concerned seems to be Obama's political character and instincts rather than the progressive capacity of the U.S. federal government in the absence of strong challenges from labor, minorities, immigrants, the left and other forces. The other disturbing part of the Hedges' interview is West's focus on Obama's reluctance to acknowledge West's support and the President's public chastisement of West for daring to criticize him. West's response to these slights barely suggests that they represent a broader attack on the left. One therefore wonders whether he'd still be on board had Obama invited him to meetings at the White House as he has some white (and mainly Jewish) critics of his policies such as Stiglitz and Krugman. I'd like to give West the benefit of the doubt on this one, but note that decades of marginalization have inclined more than a few radicals to settle for the proverbial seat at the table. Despite these misgivings, I would not underestimate the potential significance of West's dissent. Opposition to racism and, correspondingly, African American activism have been central to the left's agenda in the United States. To the extent that Obama's Presidency has neutralized these, thoughtful challenges to him from within the Black community are important. Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] Translation (Cuba): Guidelines debate official summary 3
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == From Cuba's Socialist Renewal http://cubasocialistrenewal.blogspot.com To sign up as a follower or receive email updates click link above Cuba's Granma newspaper reported on March 17 the decision of the Council of Ministers to allow the self-employed to hire workers in all 178 permitted categories of self-employment. Since October, when self-employment was broadened and a new tax system was introduced, legal small private businesses had been restricted to 83 of the 178 self-employment categories. The Council of Ministers agreed to extend to all of the non-state sector activities the approval to hire employees and continue the process of easing the restrictions on self-employment, Granma reported. Below I continue my translation of the booklet Information on the results of the Debate on the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines for the Party and the Revolution, an explanatory document that has been published together with the final version of the Guidelines adopted by the Cuban Communist Party Congress in April. http://cubasocialistrenewal.blogspot.com/2011/05/translation-guidelines-debate-official_19.html Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] What would U.S. socialism look like?
On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 2:11 AM, c...@yorku.ca wrote: U.S. socialism will have distinctive features and characteristics, springing from our own history. -clip- But in order to move beyond mere tautologies, and in order to grasp communism as truly immanent (to the extent that it may or may not be) to the contradictions of capital, then we need to do one thing: (i) proceed dialectically. To proceed in such a fashion--- and all such beginnings must be radical, must be rigorously-grounded in the following manner--- means to refrain from speculating dogmatically about ideal societies, about utopias which are found nowhere, about the ought to be. Rather, it must begin with what is (as Hegel informs us). It must understand that reason is the rose in the cross of the present, that the actual is the rational and that Political Science must comprehend and present the state as in itself rational--- viz., all those Hegelese statements which so confound the analytical mind. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/pr/preface.htm CB; Indeed. In this case, what is springs significantly from US history . The present in the US , like all countries and human cultures, is a product of that society's history. So , the above tautology is important in understanding the present in the US. Paradoxically, in the US historical intellectual tradition distains attention to its own history. There is a presentist consciousness in Americans. They wave the red, white and blue flag patriotically, but are largely ignorant of what the flag stands for in terms of the actual history of America, which history plays a big role in constituting their present situation, present values, present national character. The American national character, political character almost realizes an existential hero's state of mind, living for today, denying its own molding by history. It does not know at all that man makes his own history , but not just as he pleases ( lol). So, it is important from a universal national and national particular standpoint to emphasize American history in the American political present. ___ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] What would U.S. socialism look like?
It seems that Webb is raising more of a dogmatic banner for the CPUSA, that he has a ready-made system in mind, that he presupposes precisely what he must prove, that he holds the roast pigeons of absolute knowledge somewhere in his writing-desk. ^ CB: Actually, it seems that Chris is attacking a straw CPUSA; that it is Chris who is putting forth a dogmatic anti-CPUSA criticism ,not based on what Webb says in this article or in numerous previous articles where he regularly stresses all the principles of Marx that Chris quotes above with respect to the process of winning socialism in the US. I can't count the times that I have read Webb stress that socialism in the US will not derive from dogmatic principles, that the CPUSA does have cookbooks for the future, etc, etc. what all Marxist know about Marx and Engels warnings against utopian formulas. Webb and I quite familiar with Engels' _Socialism: Utopian and Scientific_. And Chris seem to have lost the thread of his own post here. He starts out quoting a tautology in Webb's article: U.S. socialism will have distinctive features and characteristics, springing from our own history. It isn't imported from another country, ^CB: This is exactly not an anti- dogmatic pronouncement by Webb ! Amazing ! Is Chris' memory slipping wherein he forget first part of his statement by the time he gets to the end of it ? Webb also says: Nor is it a gift, bestowed by an energized minority. To the contrary, it will be the result of the organized actions of a majority of the American people. CB: Another anti-dogmatic warning. Clearly this is not a claim, is the exact opposite of a claim by Webb to have roast pigeons of absolute knowledge ...somewhere in the his writing desk. Is Chris thinking that the organized actions of a majority of the American people. are in Webb's writing desk (laughing out loud !) . Webb continues:: It will complete the unfinished democratic tasks left over from capitalism, especially the eradication of racial and gender inequality. At the same time, it will preserve and deepen existing democratic freedoms, civil liberties and constitutional rights, breathe new life into representative democracy, uphold the rule of law, and support a multi-party system of governance. CB: Is Chris thinking that these will not be features of socialism in the US ? If so, it won't be socialism. I mean socialism isn't just any damn thing. Marx and Engels, in disda It seems he wants the world (or, at least, Americans) to kneel down before his principle rather than develop[ing] new principles for the world out of the world's own principles. Of course, on the basis of this one article my conclusion would just be anecdotal, but, having read more of his speeches, writings, etc., I can say that he tends to approach politics in the said (doctrinaire) manner. From his Reflections on Socialism: Marxism, of course, should guide this discussion, but we should employ its principles and methods creatively. But because socialism was not yet a material reality, and could not be studied in that manner, they resisted making anything more than the most general observations regarding its content, contours, and historical trajectory. http://www.cpusa.org/reflections-on-socialism Well, Webb certainly uses the dialectical method quite creatively--- which is to say, hardly at all. Despite the above concession to the dialectical method (viz., that socialism without a material reality can not be studied and that nothing more than general observations ought to be made about such a society), he nevertheless continually goes on and on about his vision [of socialism] in the 21st century. We don't need any more prophets, or 'visionaries'. The dialectical method is not about being 'creative' in the above sense so much as it is about being 'critical'. The so-called 'creativity'--- in the sense of gaining insight into the resolution to the contradictions of capital--- comes from, is derived from, and therefore follows from, the criticality. Marx demands that we criticize existing reality [in order to] develop the true reality as its obligation and its final goal. Again, Webb presumes, therefore, precisely, what he should prove. A genuine dialectician certainly has something to say about the future, but he/she never begins from this idea as a fanciful presupposition; rather, the dialectician begins from the historically-developed reality of the present. It is in this sense that we ought not to write receipts [or recipes] for the cook-shops of the future. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/p3.htm Again then, if we turn to the reality that we encounter in America, if we actually take a look at its current distinctive features...springing from its own history, then we can expect that such a transition to socialism in the near future is a very remote possibility. A general state of
