Dear Igor, Dictatorship and democracy is another topic we need to discuss. Maybe there are 4 combinatorial systems:
planned/communist + democracy (Is this the most ideal one?) planned/communist + dictatorship (USSR?, North Korea) free market/capitalism + dictatorship (China now?) free market/capitalism + democracy (Most of the Western countries, now) Best regards, Shu-Kun On 21.07.2011 17:54, Matutinovic, Igor (GfK Croatia) wrote: > It is easy to forget some important facts about the presumed sustainability > of planned/communist, historical and current economies. The Soviet block had > an immensly polluting industry which paid almost no attention to the > environemntal nor human health. Citizen protests, unlike the NGO acitivity > inthe West, were banned. The most ecologically destructive economic project > recorded so far inthe world - the draining of the Aral Sea was done in the > USSR - an entirely planned disaster! > > Under Mao, Chinese population was subject to periodic starvation and their > economy, despite planning efforts was moving in no direction at all. It is > after gradually implementing capitalist institutions since Deng Xiaoping > reforms that China become second world economic power and lifted at least a > couple of hundred of millions from poverty. In the meantime China is > destroying its environment - the consequnce of joint impact of wild > capitalism and communist planning (Three Gorges Dam project was initiated > under Mao but had economic means for realization only under the capitalist > institutions). North Corea is starving periodically its population and depend > on foreign aid. > > These former and current communist economies can not be "role models" for > sustainability in any sense. About the quality of life and human rights in > former USSR there is a plenty of evidence from those who lived there, and > very few of them feel pity for its collapse. > > Capitalism and free market economy, if not regulated will for sure deplete > all the nonrenewable resources. > However, besides planning, which has been very present in the post WWII > capitalist economies I do not believe that we can learn much from the former > communist systems. > > The solution may lie in the change of the predominat Western wordview, which > is overconfident in technological fixes and dominated by materialist and > economic values. Our societies lack substantial environental values and we > miss the non-material aspects of the quality of life. This is a legacy of > modernity, and a communist ideology pertains to this legacy, and therefore > has been equally "unfriendly" to environemnt. > > Igor Matutuinovic > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Dr. Shu-Kun Lin > Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 4:40 PM > To: [email protected]; Christian Fuchs > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Fis] CfP: Marx is Back - The Importance of Marxist Theory and > Research for Critical Communication Studies Today > > Some very quick comments: This is extremely interesting topic. I have this > idea also since 2008 when I was reading and considering a lot about > sustainability. Capitalism and free market economy, if not regulated or > revised by adding some elements of socialism (Maxism or communism) and > planned economy, will for sure deplete all the nonrenewable resources. I > understand now why many people (including the father and the brothers of my > grandmother from a rich landlord in China) from rich families or capitalist > families sacrificed their lives for the revolutionary cause of communism. > North Korea people live in a much more sustainable way than other countries. > (Democracy and dictatorship are another issue of > discussion.) It is a pity that the great Soviet Union was destroyed and China > has been actually doing the capitalism not long after the death of Mao. > > Open Access on the Internet is also actually a socialism movement, in my > opinion. > > On 21.07.2011 11:46, Christian Fuchs wrote: >> Marx is Back: The Importance of Marxist Theory and Research for >> Critical Communication Studies Today > Call for Papers for a Special >> Issue of tripleC – Journal for a Global Sustainable Information >> Society. > Edited by Christian Fuchs and Vincent Mosco > > >> >> http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/uploads/CfP_Marx_tripleC.pdf For >> inquiries, please contact the two editors. >> >> In light of the global capitalist crisis, there is renewed interest in >> Karl Marx’s works and in concepts like class, exploitation and surplus >> value. Slavoj Žižek argues that the antagonisms of contemporary >> capitalism in the context of the ecological crisis, the massive >> expansion of intellectual property, biogenetics, new forms of >> apartheid and growing world poverty show that we still need the >> Marxian notion of class. He concludes that there is an urgent need to >> renew Marxism and to defend its lost causes in order to render >> problematic capitalism as the only alternative (Žižek 2008, 6) and the >> new forms of a soft capitalism that promise, and in its rhetoric >> makes use of, ideals like participation, self-organization, and >> co-operation, without realizing them. Žižek (2010, chapter 3) argues >> that the global capitalistcrisis clearly demonstrates the need to >> return to the critique of political economy. Göran Therborn suggests >> that the “new constellations of power and new possibilities of >> resistance” in the 21st century require retaining the “Marxian idea >> that human emancipation from exploitation, oppression, discrimination >> and the inevitable linkage between privilege and misery can only come >> from struggle by the exploited and disadvantaged themselves” >> (Therborn 2008, 61). Eric Hobsbawm (2011, 12f) insists that for >> understanding the global dimension of contemporary capitalism, its >> contradictions and crises, and the persistence of socio-economic >> inequality, we “must ask Marx’s questions” (13). > > >> >> This special issue will publish articles that address the importance >> of Karl Marx’s works for Critical Media and Communication Studies, >> what it means to ask Marx’s questions in 21st century informational >> capitalism, how Marxian theory can be used for critically analyzing >> and transforming media and communication today, and what the >> implications of the revival of the interest in Marx are for the field >> of Media and Communication Studies. > >> >> Questions that can be explored in contributions include, but are not >> limited to: > > >> >> * What is Marxist Media and Communication Studies? Why is it needed >> today? What are the main assumptions, legacies, tasks, methods and >> categories of Marxist Media and Communication Studies and how do they >> relate to Karl Marx’s theory? What are the different types of Marxist >> Media/Communication Studies, how do they differ, what are their >> commonalities? > * What is the role of Karl Marx’s theory in >> different fields, subfields and approaches of Media and Communication >> Studies? How have the role, status, and importance of Marx’s theory >> for Media and Communication Studies evolved historically, especially >> since the 1960s? * In addition to his work as a theorist and activist, >> Marx was a practicing journalist throughout his career. >> What can we learn from his journalism about the practice of journalism >> today, about journalism theory, journalism education and alternative >> media? > * What have been the structural conditions, limits >> and problems for conducting Marxian-inspired Media and Communication >> Research and for carrying out university teaching in the era of >> neoliberalism? What are actual or potential effects of the new >> capitalist crisis on these conditions? > > * What is the relevance of >> Marxian thinking in an age of capitalist crisis for analyzing the role >> of media and communication in society? > * How can the Marxian >> notions of class, class struggle, surplus value, exploitation, >> commodity/commodification, alienation, globalization, labour, >> capitalism, militarism and war, ideology/ideology critique, fetishism, >> and communism best be used for analyzing, transforming and criticizing >> the role of media, knowledge production and communication in >> contemporary capitalism? > * How are media, communication, and >> information addressed in Marx’s work? * What are commonalities and >> differences between contemporary approaches in the interpretation of >> Marx’s analyses of media, communication, knowledge, knowledge labour >> and technology? > * What is the role of dialectical philosophy and >> dialectical analysis as epistemological and methodological tools for >> Marxian-inspired Media and Communication Studies? > * What were >> central assumptions of Marx about media, communication, information, >> knowledge production, culture and how can these insights be used today >> for the critical analysis of capitalism? * What is the relevance of >> Marx’s work for an understanding of social media? > * >> Which of Marx’s works can best be used today to theorize media and >> communication? Why and how? > * Terry Eagleton (2011) demonstrates >> that the 10 most common held prejudices against Marx are wrong. What >> prejudices against Marx can be found in Media and Communication >> Studies today? What have been the consequences of such prejudices? >> How can they best be contested? Are there continuities and/or >> discontinuities of prejudices against Marx in light of the new >> capitalist crisis? >> >> > All contributions shall genuinely deal with Karl Marx’s original >> works and discuss their relevance for contemporary Critical >> Media/Communication Studies. > >> >> Eagleton Terry. 2011. Why Marx was right. London: Yale University >> Press. Hobsbawm, Eric. 2011. How to change the world. Marx and Marxism >> 1840-2011. London: Little, Brown. Therborn, Göran. 2008. From Marxism >> to post-Marxism? London: Verso. Žižek, Slavoj. 2008. In defense of >> lost causes. London: Verso. Žižek, Slavoj. 2010. Living in the end >> times. London: Verso. > Editors >> >> > > Christian Fuchs is chair professor for Media and Communication >> Studies at Uppsala University’s Department of Informatics and Media. >> He is editor of the journal tripleC – Journal for a Global >> Sustainable Information Society. His areas of interest are: Critical >> Theory, Social Theory, Media& Society, Critical Political Economy of >> Media/Communication, Critical Information Society Studies, Critical >> Internet Studies. He is author of the books “Foundations of Critical >> Media and Information Studies” (Routledge 2011) and “Internet and >> Society: Social Theory in the Information Age” >> (Routledge 2008, paperback 2011). He is co-editor of the collected >> volume “The Internet and Surveillance. The Challenges of Web 2.0 and >> Social Media” (Routledge 2011, together with Kees Boersma, Anders >> Albrechtslund, Marisol Sandoval). He is currently writing a book >> presenting a critical theory of social media. http://fuchs.uti.at > > >> >> Vincent Mosco is professor emeritus of sociology at Queen's University >> and formerly Canada Research Chair in Communication and Society. Dr. >> Mosco is the author of numerous books on communication, technology, >> and society. His most recent include Getting the >> Message: Communications Workers and Global Value Chains (co-edited >> with Catherine McKercher and Ursula Huws, Merlin, 2010), The Political >> Economy of Communication, second edition (Sage, 2009), The Laboring of >> Communication: Will Knowledge Workers of the World Unite (co-authored >> with Catherine McKercher, Lexington Books, 2008), Knowledge Workers in >> the Information Society (co-edited with Catherine McKercher, Lexington >> Books, 2007), and The Digital Sublime: >> Myth, Power, and Cyberspace (MIT Press, 2004). He is currently writing >> a book on the relevance of Karl Marx for communication research today. > > >> >> Publication Schedule and Submission > > >> >> Structured Abstracts for potential contributions shall be submitted to >> both editors ([email protected], [email protected]) per e-mail >> until September 30th, 2011 (submission deadline). The authors of >> accepted abstracts will be invited to write full papers that are due >> five months after the feedback from the editors. Full papers must then >> be submitted to tripleC. Please do not instantly submit full papers, >> but only structured abstracts to the editors. > The abstracts >> should have a maximum of 1 200 words and should be structured by >> dealing separately with each of the following five dimensions: > >> >> 1) Purpose and main questions of the paper > 2) Description of the way >> taken for answering the posed questions > 3) Relevance of the topic in >> relation to the CfP > 4) Main expected outcomes and new insights of >> the paper > 5) Contribution to the engagement with Marx’s works and to >> Marxian-inspired Media and Communication Studies > > >> >> Journal >> >> > > tripleC (cognition, communication, co-operation): Open Access >> Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, >> http://www.triple-c.se > > >> >> Focus and Scope: >> >> Critical Media-/Information-/ Communication-/Internet-/Information >> Society-Studies > tripleC provides a forum to discuss the challenges >> humanity is facing today. It publishes contributions that focus on >> critical studies of media, information, communication, culture, >> digital media, social media and the Internet in the information >> society. The journal’s focus is especially on critical studies and it >> asks contributors to reflect about normative, political, ethical and >> critical implications of their research. >> >> > > Indexing: Scopus, EBSCOHost Communication and Mass Media Complete, >> Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) > Open Access: tripleC is >> an open access journal that publishes articles online and does not >> charge authors or readers. It uses a Creative Commons license >> (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License) that allows reproduction >> of published articles for non-commercial purposes (without changes of >> the content and only with naming the author). Creative Commons >> publishing poses a viable alternative to commercial academic >> publishing that is dominated by big corporate publishing houses. >> > _______________________________________________ > fis mailing list > [email protected] > https://webmail.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis _______________________________________________ fis mailing list [email protected] https://webmail.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis
