******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. *****************************************************************
The role of the US sanctions is explained here, in an article by Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs (!): Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela https://www.alainet.org/es/node/199684 The article does not critique the disastrous failure of the chavistas to counter Venezuela's dependence on hydrocarbons, and it ignores the role of the Obama administration in initiating the sanctions (Obama was the first US president to declare Venezuela "an usual and extraordinary threat to the national security" of the United States). But it is an authoritative analysis of the devastating impact of the US sanctions. I concur with Chris Slee's concern over the failure of the US left to challenge the blockade of Venezuela (and I add the overwhelming complicity of the Canadian social-democratic and labour left in that blockade as implemented in turn by the Trudeau government). Richard -----Original Message----- From: Marxism [mailto:marxism-boun...@lists.csbs.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Chris Slee via Marxism Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2019 6:09 PM To: rfid...@ncf.ca Subject: Re: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something fundamentally new ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. ***************************************************************** Trump has backed off from threats to invade Venezuela, but as far as I am aware there has been no change to the economic sanctions - which are an attempt to impose an economic blockade against Venezuela. The threat of invasion was, I think, psychological warfare rather than an imminent threat. An invasion may happen later, after Venezuela has been weakened further by the blockade. It disturbs me that the US left does not seem to be campaigning vigorously against the blockade (as far as I can tell observing from afar). Chris Slee ________________________________ From: Marxism <marxism-boun...@lists.csbs.utah.edu> on behalf of John Reimann via Marxism <marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> Sent: Wednesday, 8 May 2019 2:41:06 AM To: Chris Slee Subject: [Marxism] Trump and the reluctance to reckon with something fundamentally new ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. ***************************************************************** A week ago, we had a short debate here on the significance of Trump's defending the Russian presence in Venezuela. That defense came after Pompeo and Bolton had rattled their sabres on that score and it also came an hour or so after Trump had spoken with Putin. My view was that it was yet another example of the degree to which Putin is pulling Trump's strings. Another way of seeing it is that it's an example of how the mainstream of the US capitalist class has largely lost control over its presidency. This, of course, is a description of bonapartism, and while we're not all the way there yet, I believe that's the essence of the issue. This, of course, means a sharp transformation in how capitalism rules in the United States - possibly the biggest political transformation since the US Civil War. I also believe that the great majority of the left - including Marxists - are having a hard time wrapping their heads around this transformation. It's not easy to change our orientation, after all. In this article, I lay out the argument and also the evidence for my view. https://oaklandsocialist.com/2019/05/06/trump-and-the-reluctance-to-reckon-with- something-fundamentally-new/ One detail: I quote an email from Michael Karadjis in the article. I do so with his permission. John Reimann -- *"In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery." *from "The Black Jacobins" by C. L. R. James Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/chris_w_slee%40hotmail.com _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/rfidler%40ncf.ca _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
