[Marxism] 'We need our version of the Rojava Revolution right here' -- speech to Melbourne meeting marking PKK founding

[Stuart Munckton via Marxism]

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Below is the speech given by Socialist Alliance
 member Dave Holmes to a Melbourne
meeting and concert to mark the founding of the Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK). About 400-500 people attended the November 28 event organised by the
Kurdish Association of Victoria at the Kurdish House centre in Melbourne's
Pascoe Vale.

Below is the speech given by Socialist Alliance
 member Dave Holmes to a Melbourne
meeting and concert to mark the founding of the Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK). About 400-500 people attended the November 28 event organised by the
Kurdish Association of Victoria at the Kurdish House centre in Melbourne's
Pascoe Vale.

Holmes is co-author of the Resistance Books pamphlet*The Kurdish Freedom
Struggle Today*
.
In the speech, Holmes discusses the important of the Rojava Revolution —
the democratic, feminist and multi-ethnic experiment in direct,
participatory democracy in the largely Kurdish area region of Rojava in
northern Syria led by allies of the Turkish-based PKK.
https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/60832


-- 
“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is humanity’s
original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made,
through disobedience and through rebellion.” — Oscar Wilde, Soul of Man
Under Socialism

“The free market is perfectly natural... do you think I am some kind of
dummy?” — Jarvis Cocker
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[Marxism] Fwd: Bridge of Spies | Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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Among the Hollywood films that I had a chance to screen prior to NYFCO’s 
awards meeting in December was Stephen Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies”, a 
dramatization of the prisoner exchange of Rudolf Abel and Francis Gary 
Powers in 1962. It is brilliantly acted and directed and was my pick for 
one of the three best films of 2015. Since I have had big problems with 
Spielberg’s “serious” films in the past, my expectations were low. 
Usually they are flag-waving affairs soaked in Frank Capra type 
sentimentality. Did the inclusion of the Coen brothers on the 
screenwriting team contribute to a more detached and even ironic tone? 
If so, this is their best work in years as well.


Tom Hanks plays James Donovan, the lawyer hired for Abel’s defense. 
While no relation to “Wild Bill” Donovan, the head of the OSS, he served 
as the general counsel for the OSS during WWII. This was one of the 
primary motivations for having him involved with the Abel case since he 
was knowledgeable about the spook world. This background was not 
mentioned in the film, which tried to draw a dramatic contrast between 
the gravity of the case and Donovan’s seemingly prosaic job as a partner 
in a law firm specializing in insurance settlements. It does point out 
that he was an assistant to the lead attorney in the Nuremberg trials 
but for the most part Hanks is cast as a home-spun idealist and 
principled liberal who believes in the right of all people to have 
adequate representation in a trial, including a Russian spy. In the past 
this was the kind of role associated with James Stewart or Gregory Peck 
and Hanks has obviously stepped into their shoes with aplomb.


full: http://louisproyect.org/2016/01/04/bridge-of-spies/
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[Marxism] Some tales from the 1960s

[Philip Ferguson via Marxism]

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The 1968 strike by women car workers that helped launch the women's
liberation movement in Britain:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/class-gender-the-1960s-and-made-in-dagenham/

The Profumo Affair - a moral panic:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/the-profumo-affair-a-moral-panic-between-austerity-britain-and-the-swinging-sixties/

The 1968 student rebellion in Mexico:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/the-1968-student-rebellion-in-mexico/

The October 1968 Olympics and the spirit of freedom:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/the-1968-olympics-and-the-spirit-of-resistance/

France in May-June 1968 - the glimmer of revolution:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/france-may-june-1968-the-glimmer-of-revolution/
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[Marxism] Connolly, the Dublin Steampacket Co. dispute and the 1916 Rebellion

[Philip Ferguson via Marxism]

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All too often, James Connolly’s last months tend to be seen as a period in
which he compartmentalised his tasks, dividing his time between preparing a
military uprising and, to a lesser extent, performing basic trade union
work. An extreme variation of this is that he followed the majority of his
socialist contemporaries in abandoning the class struggle at least until
the end of the World War, if not altogether, and that, in any case, he
never organised an actual, or, anyway a major strike.

None of these assumptions is true. The full facts of his wartime career
show him to have been acting as a socialist, even if, as he admitted, other
socialists would not understand.

His guiding strategy was summarised in the last paragraph of the Resolution
on War, passed in 1907 by the Socialist International’s Congress at
Stuttgart:
"In case war should break out... it is the duty of the working classes and
their parliamentary representatives to intervene in favour of its speedy
termination and with all their powers to utilise the economic and political
crisis created by the war to rouse the masses and thereby to hasten the
downfall of capitalist class rule."

This has been ignored all too often by those trying to explain Connolly’s
first World War strategy. This ignorance is helped by the fact that. . . .

full at:
https://theirishrevolution.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/connolly-the-dublin-steampacket-company-dispute-and-the-1916-rising/
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[Marxism] Saudi Arabia state policy

[Philip Ferguson via Marxism]

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https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/05/13/saudi-arabia-changing-the-succession-to-intensify-the-war/
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[Marxism] Saudi dictatorship's dirty tricks

[Philip Ferguson via Marxism]

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Wikileaks exposure of Saudi regime's dirty tricks:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/wikileaks-exposes-saudi-dictatorships-dirty-tricks/

Phil
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Re: [Marxism] FW: A new political situation in Latin America: What lies ahead?

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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On 12/27/15 9:25 AM, Richard Fidler via Marxism wrote:

http://tinyurl.com/qgxsbg4

'Venezuela defines the future of the progressive cycle'
- An interview with Claudio Katz

Introduction


The interview with Katz is both on Links and on MRZine. I urge comrades 
to read it because it is a subtle critique of the Bolivarian Revolution 
from a fairly orthodox Trotskyist viewpoint. Katz was a long-time member 
of Partido Obrero in Argentina who resigned because of political 
differences some years ago. To his credit, he faults the PO for its 
"catastrophism". As comrades, especially those who spent time in the 
American SWP, this is an illness endemic to the Trotskyist movement.


Although Katz states that "Chavismo rescued the socialist project", the 
interview implicitly draws attention to its shortcomings:


"It is very important, I think, in any discussion about whether or not 
the progressive cycle has ended to look not only at the governments but 
also at what is going on below.  Many writers tend to assess a cycle in 
terms of who is exercising the executive power.  But that is only one 
element.  The cycle originated with popular rebellion and what defines 
the relations of force is popular rebellions.  The process over the last 
decade was novel because, through a partial redistribution of resource 
rents, many governments developed welfarist networks and consumption 
patterns that moderated social struggles.  That is one of the 
explanations for why we have not had rebellions since 2004."


A partial redistribution of resource rents, many governments developed 
welfarist networks and consumption patterns that moderated social 
struggles? Well, I suppose so. People who benefit from "welfarist 
networks" tend to rebel less against the government.


Katz pins his hopes on the left Chavistas returning to a more orthodox 
revolutionary perspective:


"To sustain the radicalization, communal power is needed.  Venezuela now 
has legislation, a structure, adopted laws, that provide for 
administering the country with a new form of communal organization -- 
from below and from above, with distinct authorities, in which democracy 
is a reality and popular power is not confined to being a set of 
defensive institutions.  It is a decisive architecture for contending 
with the parliament of the Right.  If Maduro and the Venezuelan 
leadership want to rescue the Bolivarian process, this is the time for 
communal power."


By communal power, Katz is obviously conjuring up images of Paris in 
1871 or Russia in 1917. I am rather doubtful that the communes in 
Venezuela have the same dynamics. From what I have seen, they were 
funded by the government to the tune of billions of dollars. But 
revolutionary communes come into existence as a last resort when the 
masses feel like the government no longer serves their interests. Time 
will tell whether the Venezuelan communes will take on that aspect but I 
am doubtful given the overall electoral dynamics of Venezuelan socialism.







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[Marxism] Manisha Sinha's The Slave's Cause A History of Abolition

[Mark Lause via Marxism]

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"Received historical wisdom casts abolitionists as bourgeois, mostly white
reformers burdened by racial paternalism and economic conservatism. Manisha
Sinha overturns this image, broadening her scope beyond the antebellum
period usually associated with abolitionism and recasting it as a radical
social movement in which men and women, black and white, free and enslaved
found common ground in causes ranging from feminism and utopian socialism
to anti-imperialism and efforts to defend the rights of labor."

http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300181371
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[Marxism] Fwd: Rosewood massacre a harrowing tale of racism and the road toward reparations | US news | The Guardian

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/03/rosewood-florida-massacre-racial-violence-reparations
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[Marxism] Marxism] Fwd: How one Russian became an object lesson for all would-be protesters - CSMonitor.com

[Michael Yates via Marxism]

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Fred Weir's article is interesting. How anyone can believe that Putin is an 
anti-imperialist is astonishing. He is just another vicious criminal, helping 
loot the Russian economy and repress the people. In Weir's piece a former Putin 
spokesperson suggests that the arrests and long imprisonment of innocent people 
is justified because of reasonable government concern about past anti-state 
actions that caused the collapse of the government. The first one he refers to 
is obviously the Bolshevik revolution! Amazing. 
 
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[Marxism] Fwd: How one Russian became an object lesson for all would-be protesters - CSMonitor.com

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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By Fred Weir, a leftist.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2015/1231/How-one-Russian-became-an-object-lesson-for-all-would-be-protesters
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[Marxism] Fwd: Meet the Former Militiaman Behind the Fast and Furious Scandal | Mother Jones

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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(Likely an FBI agent-provocateur.)

Vanderboegh is unapologetic about his advocacy for armed resistance 
against what he views as a repressive government. He describes himself 
as a member of the Three Percent movement. It's a reference to those who 
fought in the American Revolution, a minority that Vanderboegh claims 
"never amounted to more than 3% of the colonists." On his website, 
Vanderboegh sums up the doctrine of the Three Percent: "We will not 
disarm. You cannot convince us. You cannot intimidate us. You can try to 
kill us, if you think you can. But remember, we'll shoot back."


Fiery rhetoric about resistance and revolution isn't new for 
Vanderboegh, though the origins of his activism may seem a bit 
incongruous. "I used to be a communist," he says. Vanderboegh, who is in 
his late 50s, claims he joined the anti-war movement in 1967, first with 
Students for a Democratic Society, then the Socialist Workers Party, and 
eventually the Maoist Progressive Labor Party.


http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/fast-and-furious-scandal-mike-vanderboegh
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Re: [Marxism] Fwd: Meet the Former Militiaman Behind the Fast and Furious Scandal | Mother Jones

[Glenn Kissack via Marxism]

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> 
> Fiery rhetoric about resistance and revolution isn't new for Vanderboegh, 
> though the origins of his activism may seem a bit incongruous. "I used to be 
> a communist," he says. Vanderboegh, who is in his late 50s, claims he joined 
> the anti-war movement in 1967, first with Students for a Democratic Society, 
> then the Socialist Workers Party, and eventually the Maoist Progressive Labor 
> Party.

1967 was 48 years ago. He’s in his late 50’s, so he would have been 10 or 11 
when he joined. Sounds like a big liar to me.
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Re: [Marxism] Fwd: Meet the Former Militiaman Behind the Fast and Furious Scandal | Mother Jones

[Mark Lause via Marxism]

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Anyone who thinks that a revolution was or is made by 3% is probably not
really thinking at all.

ML

On Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 11:02 AM, Glenn Kissack via Marxism <
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote:

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> *
>
> >
> > Fiery rhetoric about resistance and revolution isn't new for
> Vanderboegh, though the origins of his activism may seem a bit incongruous.
> "I used to be a communist," he says. Vanderboegh, who is in his late 50s,
> claims he joined the anti-war movement in 1967, first with Students for a
> Democratic Society, then the Socialist Workers Party, and eventually the
> Maoist Progressive Labor Party.
>
> 1967 was 48 years ago. He’s in his late 50’s, so he would have been 10 or
> 11 when he joined. Sounds like a big liar to me.
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[Marxism] FW: The Future of Latin American Post-Neoliberalism

[Richard Fidler via Marxism]

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http://tinyurl.com/ou2pfzj

The Future of Latin American Post-Neoliberalism
By: Francois Houtart

Published 3 January 2016 (13 hours 55 minutes ago) - Telesur

What are the margins of possibilities for a post-capitalist project?
[Good question, but he does not answer it, just ends with the question!]

2015 has been hard for the progressive countries in Latin America. The
decline in commodity prices affected them all. The reaction could be going
back to the hegemony of the market or steps forward towards post-capitalism.


The main feature of a post-neoliberal phase of capitalism has been the
return of the state as regulator of the economy and for the redistribution
of wealth. It was not a transformation of the model of accumulation. That
allowed alliances between capitalist accumulation and social concerns. It
has been the era of social capitalism and green economy, but it did not
change the fundamental logic of the economic system (profit maximization and
ignorance of externalities). It relieved to some extent, the most painful
consequences, depending from the countries. It has been achieved through
economic policies (renegotiation of the foreign debt in Ecuador, for
example) or through social measures (welfare state to combat poverty, but
creating clients and not new social actors) and better access to public
services (health, education). 

The project was also to modernize a country out of the economic, social and
cultural backwardness preventing it from competing in the global market and
building a welfare society that places the nation at an acceptable level
within the international scene. The conception of modernity implicitly and
uncritically adopted the idea of linear progress on an inexhaustible planet,
transmitted by the logic of capitalism, as the Ecuadorean philosopher
Bolivar Echevarria demonstrated. It is also what happened to the European
and Asian socialist countries.  

The new or modern capitalism (post-neoliberal) accepts the fight against
poverty, because it creates more consumption, which at medium and long time
favors the market. It is in favor of formal employment and social welfare,
because it stabilizes the labor force. It does not mind paying more taxes if
the state ensures a sufficient degree of political stability, which enables
a safe process of profits. These are reasonable expenses to ensure the
reproduction of the system of capital accumulation. In addition, modern
capitalism distances itself from the traditional oligarchic capitalism and
some of its protagonists are part of the new political systems. Others are
part of the opposition, when they think that the post-neoliberal project
does not ensure a sufficient rate of profit. Much also depends on the links
with foreign monopoly capital. However, in a crisis of accumulation, social
achievements are the first victims (Brazil). 

Full: http://tinyurl.com/ou2pfzj


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Re: [Marxism] FW: The Future of Latin American Post-Neoliberalism

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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On 1/4/16 12:41 PM, Richard Fidler via Marxism wrote:

The new or modern capitalism (post-neoliberal) accepts the fight against
poverty, because it creates more consumption, which at medium and long time
favors the market. It is in favor of formal employment and social welfare,
because it stabilizes the labor force. It does not mind paying more taxes if
the state ensures a sufficient degree of political stability, which enables
a safe process of profits. These are reasonable expenses to ensure the
reproduction of the system of capital accumulation. In addition, modern
capitalism distances itself from the traditional oligarchic capitalism and
some of its protagonists are part of the new political systems. Others are
part of the opposition, when they think that the post-neoliberal project
does not ensure a sufficient rate of profit. Much also depends on the links
with foreign monopoly capital. However, in a crisis of accumulation, social
achievements are the first victims (Brazil).


A 90 year old Marxist Catholic priest saying essentially the same thing 
as a 61 year old Trotskyist economist in Argentina. The Chavista 
revolution was actually--objectively speaking--a way to make capitalism 
more palatable.


As soon as Maduro is unseated, the floodgates open...
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Re: [Marxism] FW: The Future of Latin American Post-Neoliberalism

[Richard Fidler via Marxism]

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Actually, there was -- and is -- much more to the Chavista revolution. There
are still 5 million Venezuelans who voted for what they thought that
revolution represented. That includes the "people's power" promoted by
Chávez and his successors, as in the communal councils and communes which
are more widespread than is commonly thought outside of Venezuela. 

Crucial to the next stage in Venezuela will be the capacity of the
grassroots Chavistas to mount resistance to their opposition now ensconced
in the new parliamentary majority, and to find ways to constitute and
advance that dual power from below that was always promoted by Chávez, with
very uneven results as we know. If the new opposition parliament fails to
come up with some immediate economic relief in face of a failed
macro-economic strategy (hydrocarbons dependency), and simply sets its
sights on overturning President Maduro, their key institutional obstacle,
the Rightist advance may lose some of its momentum and Chavismo could regain
much of its previous, currrently disaffected, support. It's too soon to say
Good-bye to the Bolivarian Revolution. It has just received a sharp kick in
the behind from the Right. But the Chavistas have shown their capacity to
overcome setbacks in the past. In the longer run, of course, they have to
come up with some much more innovative and realizeable economic measures and
strategies to begin to go "beyond capitalism." 

Meanwhile, I would urge comrades to follow on-the-spot sources like Telesur
and Venezuelanalysis for updates and analysis. The next few months are
crucially important.

Richard

-Original Message-
From: Louis Proyect [mailto:l...@panix.com] 
Sent: Monday, January 04, 2016 1:08 PM
To: Richard Fidler; Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition
Subject: Re: [Marxism] FW: The Future of Latin American Post-Neoliberalism

On 1/4/16 12:41 PM, Richard Fidler via Marxism wrote:
> The new or modern capitalism (post-neoliberal) accepts the fight against
> poverty, because it creates more consumption, which at medium and long
time
> favors the market. It is in favor of formal employment and social welfare,
> because it stabilizes the labor force. It does not mind paying more taxes
if
> the state ensures a sufficient degree of political stability, which
enables
> a safe process of profits. These are reasonable expenses to ensure the
> reproduction of the system of capital accumulation. In addition, modern
> capitalism distances itself from the traditional oligarchic capitalism and
> some of its protagonists are part of the new political systems. Others are
> part of the opposition, when they think that the post-neoliberal project
> does not ensure a sufficient rate of profit. Much also depends on the
links
> with foreign monopoly capital. However, in a crisis of accumulation,
social
> achievements are the first victims (Brazil).

A 90 year old Marxist Catholic priest saying essentially the same thing 
as a 61 year old Trotskyist economist in Argentina. The Chavista 
revolution was actually--objectively speaking--a way to make capitalism 
more palatable.

As soon as Maduro is unseated, the floodgates open...


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