>who barely had the means to put enough food on the table, >let alone start a new society somewhere. The conditions in >the new industrial centers of England, Germany and other >European countries were horrendous. What these workers >needed was a way to fight their bosses. Marxism became the >doctrine of the class struggle. > >THINKERS AND FIGHTERS > >Marx and Engels were great thinkers, but they were also >revolutionary fighters. In 1848, revolutions against feudal >absolutism had swept Europe. In much of the fighting, it was >detachments of workers who tipped the balance in favor of >democracy versus absolutism. Marx and Engels, still in their >twenties, were deeply involved in these revolutions. > >Yet even as they participated in them, they analyzed their >shortcomings and explained that the class taking power from >the feudal nobility and landlords was not the workers or >peasants, but the bourgeoisie. While the slogans of these >revolutions promised equality and democracy for everyone, it >was the people with money and businesses who were on top >after the dust settled. The masses fought and died in these >democratic revolutions, but they lacked the organization and >clarity of purpose to be able to take the reins of society >once the feudal lords had been unseated. > >Marx and Engels put their ideas for revolution into the >famous pamphlet "The Communist Manifesto." It was a >brilliant and impassioned call for revolution against not >just the moth-eaten aristocrats but the new moneymen. These >merchants and manufacturers needed the support of the >workers and the peasants to defeat the armies of the kings >and feudal lords. But they took advantage of the democratic >aspirations of the masses to promote their own class >interests. > >Marx and Engels believed that this new ruling class could >only be removed by the revolutionary action of the workers. >They advocated building working class political parties >whose aim would be to take the power and reorganize society. >They didn't rule out participating in elections, which were >still a very new thing, but they had no illusions that the >bourgeoisie would just surrender power if the workers voted >them out. > >After Marx and Engels died, the movement they had started >gradually began to accommodate to the capitalist governments >in Europe. Even as millions of workers were joining unions >organized by Marxists, and were voting for social-democratic >parties that had originated in the Marxist movement, these >parties were losing their revolutionary orientation. > >Years of militant struggle by the workers had won some >improvements in wages and working conditions. That sapped >some of their earlier revolutionary vigor. But there was an >even more important reason behind the softening of the >socialist movement. > >The capitalists who had grown rich exploiting the workers at >home were now investing more and more of their capital >overseas, where labor and resources were even cheaper. The >U.S. and most of the European countries were becoming openly >imperialist, sending their armies to subdue uprisings in >places like the Philippines, the Sudan, India and Cuba. > >Theodore Roosevelt in the United States was an example of >the new breed of imperialist politician. He came off as a >friend of the "common man" at home, posing as a trustbuster >against the super-rich and calling his party the Progressive >Party. But at the same time he rallied the population behind >wars of aggression in the Philippines and the Caribbean that >brought these same robber barons new markets and >opportunities for super-profits. So the rich tolerated his >rhetoric, even while they exchanged insults with this >popular president. > >In Europe a section of the workers had become more >privileged and conservative. In effect they were bribed with >a small portion of the riches now pouring in from the >colonies. They bought into the chauvinism of the rulers, who >blamed all their problems on other countries. > >WAR AND REVOLUTION > >The biggest crisis for the socialist movement came at the >outbreak of World War I. The Socialist International had >held several conferences in the years before the war at >which it adopted fervent resolutions denouncing the military >preparations of the capitalist governments. It had warned >the workers of all countries that any war would be for >capitalist plunder; it would hold nothing but death and >destruction for the workers. It had called on the workers to >refuse to fight in such a war and to do everything in their >power to stop it. > >But when the war actually started in 1914, the leaders of >most of these parties, who still called themselves Marxists, >succumbed to chauvinism and supported the capitalist >governments in their respective countries. It was a >monumental blow to the cause of international workers' >solidarity. It paved the way for millions of workers to be >slaughtered in the worst catastrophe the world had yet seen. > >The leaders of the German Social Democratic Party led the >betrayal by voting in the parliament for war credits--taxes >to support the war. Other parties then followed suit, >supporting their own rulers. > >But there were notable exceptions. A small group of German >socialists led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg broke >with their leaders and denounced the war. In the United >States, socialist leader and labor hero Eugene Victor Debs >proudly went to jail for opposing the war. > >The firmest internationalists were Vladimir Lenin of Russia >and his Bolshevik Party. They had split from the >compromisers many years before, and were best prepared to >organize the population against a war that was to prove >utterly disastrous for the workers of all the countries >involved. > >By the end of the capitalist war, 40 million people had >died. But in Russia, the enraged masses had toppled two >governments and set up a new state unlike any in existence-- >based on councils, or soviets, of workers and peasants. >Marxism, which had become so watered down in Western Europe, >had been rescued by Lenin and the Bolsheviks as the doctrine >of revolutionary struggle. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information >contactWorkers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e- >mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > > > >Message-ID: <002b01c00189$b3e43a40$0a00a8c0@home> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] On the picket line: 8/10/2000 >Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2000 18:40:49 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- > Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 10, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >ON THE PICKET LINE > >HIGH PROFILE SUPPORT >FOR ACTORS' STRIKE > >Contract talks aimed at resolving the 13-week-old actors' >strike collapsed July 21 after the advertising industry >refused to bargain seriously with the unions. In response, >the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of >Television and Radio Artists vowed to "ramp up strike >activities" among their 135,000 members. > >By July 25 the unions reported that a growing list of >celebrities is supporting the actors' fight for adequate >residual pay for network TV ads. > >Teen pop star Britney Spears cancelled a non-union Clairol >shoot and said she would not participate in commercials >until the strike is settled. The band 'N Sync also pledged >support. Spears and the band promised to donate $1 per >ticket from their upcoming concerts to the SAG Foundation. > >Meanwhile, Regis Philbin, Spike Lee, former Super Bowl Most >Valuable Player John Elway and his one-time teammate Shannon >Sharpe all shot ads under union-approved interim agreements. >More than 1,600 companies, including 33 major corporations, >have signed interim agreements to shoot commercials using >union talent on the union's terms. > >Union representatives blasted the ad industry after talks >collapsed. They charged management with refusing to address >any issues related to the contract. > >"It's now obvious that the ad industry's main concern here >is not the particular issues in this contract," said AFTRA >chief negotiator Mathis Dunn. "It has been well-documented >that the industry is making record-breaking profits and can >easily afford to negotiate with us for fair wages and >working conditions. It seems their ultimate goal is to gut >our contract and bust our unions." > >Meanwhile, the strike has hit the ad industry where it lives- >-in the bank book. Commercial production in Los Angeles has >plummeted. During July, off-lot location shooting of TV >commercials was down 75 percent compared to the same time >last year. The unions have promised to find and picket non- >union commercials wherever they are shot in the United >States. > >BELL ATLANTIC STRIKE VOTE > >Workers at Bell Atlantic have voted overwhelmingly to >authorize a strike if negotiations fail to yield a contract. >Some 95 percent of voting members approved the strike >authorization. The 72,000 Bell Atlantic workers are >represented by the Communication Workers union. The contract >expires on Aug. 5. Bargaining is under way in New York and >Philadelphia for contracts covering workers in Bell Atlantic >"North" (formerly NYNEX) and Bell Atlantic "South" >operations in 13 states. > >Bell Atlantic just completed a merger with GTE to form >Verizon--a communications giant that leads the industry in >profits and ranks second in revenue. All these profits are >generated by the labor of the workers, and the company is >using forced overtime and understaffing to further exploit >them. > >Communications Workers members are fighting for wage and >benefit increases, job security and access to the company's >growth areas--wireless, data network integration, Internet >and more--along with limits on contracting out. The workers >also want to resolve other work-place problems, such as >excessive stress and forced overtime. Workers at call >centers, for example, face continuing speed ups and >excessive monitoring. They are denied time for the training >they need to market Verizon's newest products. Workers also >face restrictions on their choice of vacation days and days >off, and are even denied time off the job for family >emergencies. > >HOLLYWOOD WRITERS, ACTORS COULD STRIKE NEXT YEAR > >Contracts with movie and TV writers and actors are due to >expire next year, and industry giants are preparing for >class war much as the megabucks steel and auto makers do. >They're stockpiling scripts, filming movies and TV shows >ahead of schedule, and planning more scriptless "reality" >shows like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." > >At stake for actors and writers is fair compensation when >their work appears on cable TV, overseas or on the Internet. >And they'll be facing off against a new array of global >media giants created by mergers such as Viacom's acquisition >of CBS and America Online's purchase of Time Warner. So the >unions have begun to prepare members for the struggle-- >urging them to save money and put off major purchases. > >The issues mirror those in the current actors' strike >against the advertising industry. So movie and TV workers >are closely watching the progress of the current strike. >"This is kind of a bellwether strike," said SAG President >William Daniels, an Emmy-winning television, stage and >screen actor. > >Actors and writers say that for years they have cut >companies slack on residuals when their work appeared on >cable TV or in foreign countries, in part to nurture those >outlets. Now, those markets are raking in profits for >entertainment companies. Writers and actors say it's time to >pay up. Of special concern is how actors and writers will be >compensated when their work is distributed on the Internet. > >"The creative talent has not shared in the bounty," contends >John Wells, president of the Writers Guild and a top TV >producer of such shows as "ER" and "The West Wing." How this >struggle unfolds could affect an estimated 253,000 people in >Los Angeles County who work in the entertainment industry. >The Writers Guild contract expires on May 1, 2001. The SAG >contract is up on July 1, 2001. Bargaining should begin well >before then. Stay tuned. > >AIRLINE TURBULENCE > >EMERY WORLDWIDE AIRLINES > >Pilots and engineers at Emery Worldwide Airlines have >authorized a strike if negotiators from their union, the Air >Line Pilots Association, cannot move forward on pay and >protections. Contract talks with the cargo carrier have >stalled after 27 months and Emery workers are getting fed >up. With 94 percent of eligible members casting ballots, 96 >percent voted to authorize a walkout. > >Emery workers want the company to agree that they will fly a >certain percent of flights with only a minimum of work >contracted out to other carriers. Union officials expressed >hope the company would come around. "However, if we are >forced into the option of last resort, the ballot shows that >our crew members are rock solid in their determination," >said Capt. Tom Rachford, who chairs ALPA's Emery unit. > >ALLEGHENY AIRLINES/ >US AIRWAYS EXPRESS > >Pilots at Allegheny Airlines pulled down informational >picket lines on July 25 after forcing the carrier to drop a >disciplinary measure against their grievance chair. The >picketing began after the pilot was suspended for five days >for criticizing company practices. Allegheny, a subsidiary >of US Airways, flies under the name US Airways Express. > >"Our grievance chairman has had a unblemished, 12-year >service record with this company. His trouble began in >ground school for recurrent training when some of his >homework assignment notes--notes he thought would be kept >private--came to management's attention," explained Capt. >Matthew Kernan, who chairs ALPA's Allegheny unit. "Yes, some >of the language was colorful, and some of the observations >were critical of company practices, but the most this >incident could possibly have merited would be a meeting to >talk over management's concerns. > >"The company chose instead to use a bulldozer to level off >this molehill," Kernan added. > >However, management changed its tune after Allegheny pilots >held a 12-hour information picket to support their union >representative. Allegheny quickly agreed to reverse the >unjust penalty and clear the pilot's record. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > > > >Message-ID: <003101c00189$d63c5780$0a00a8c0@home> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Review: 'Saving Private Power' >Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2000 18:41:47 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- > Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 10, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >Review > >'SAVING PRIVATE POWER' > >"Saving Private Power," by Michael Zezima, >Soft Skull Press, New York, 220 pages, $20.00 > >By Deirdre Griswold > >The subject of "Saving Private Power" is World War II, which >reshaped the world's political map. Michael Zezima's title >is, of course, a takeoff on the Hollywood blockbuster >"Saving Private Ryan." > >Steven Spielberg's film was not anti-war, even though it >showed combat to be immeasurably more terrifying and bloody >than war movies usually admit to. But the film depicted U.S. >aims in World War II as basically noble, and the war as >necessary. > >The book is an answer to those like Spielberg who present >WWII as the "good war," in contrast to the war in Vietnam, >for example. According to this liberal view, the United >States has not been a predatory imperialist power but >instead a force for good in world affairs. It made some >mistakes in the Vietnam War, but that was the exception to >the rule. > >These liberals saw the U.S. assaults on Iraq and Yugoslavia >as a return to the kind of "good war" that Washington >conducted from 1941 to 1945. > >"Saving Private Power" puts together a wide array of >evidence to show that none of these wars had noble aims, but >were driven by corporate greed. Zezima is familiar with many >progressive sources. While most of what he covers has >already appeared in print, he has assembled much interesting >information and quotations in one place to make his case. By >gathering together detailed information on such questions as >anti-Semitism in U.S. ruling families, or how the Roosevelt >administration enticed Japan to attack first, he has done a >service to the movement. > >He writes in a popular style, avoiding terms that would not >be accurately understood by most people in the U.S. today. > >The purpose of the book, he explains in the introduction, is >to show that "World War II was not inevitable and its legacy >is far from 'good.' The U.S. did not join the global fray to >liberate the death camps, to end fascism, or to make the >world safe for democracy. Until one of its colonies was >attacked, America did nothing more than provide aid to >Britain while simultaneously trading with Germany, Italy, >and Japan. Until Hitler declared war on the U.S., America >would not fight Nazi Germany." > >This goes against the mythology of a "war against fascism" >still subscribed to by many U.S. progressives. > >There was plenty of anti-Semitism in U.S. ruling families, >and Zezima documents some flagrant examples--for example, >Hitler awarding Henry Ford with the Grand Cross of the >Supreme Order of the German Eagle on Ford's 75th birthday. >He shows that material interests, not ideology or >humanitarianism, were what drove big business into the war. > >There is much information in the book to show that at the >time the Holocaust was happening, the U.S. government showed >little concern. The genocidal policy of the Nazis toward the >Jews only became a big issue in the United States after the >war, when the U.S. and Britain, for their own reasons, were >anxious to mobilize public opinion behind setting up a >Jewish state in Palestine. > >The book also shows how U.S. indignation over Hitler's >racist theories didn't help African Americans much. Zezima >points out that blood from Black and white troops was kept >separate during the war. Ironically, "the blood bank system >was developed by a Black physician, Charles Drew, who was >initially put in charge of wartime donations but later fired >when he spoke out against blood segregation." > >Much of the book deals with the war in the Pacific against >Japan. Here again, myths are exploded. Zezima goes over what >has come out about Washington's pre-knowledge of the attack >on Pearl Harbor, which then became the justification for >entering the war. He also cites the extremely racist >character of the war propaganda against Japan and the >Japanese population inside the U.S., in contrast to how >Germany and the Germans were treated. > >One chapter deals with U.S. atrocities during the war, from >the fire bombing of Dresden to dropping the atomic bomb on >Hiroshima and Nagasaki. > >Once the world war was over, the Cold War began. Zezima >cites several sources to show that the nuclear nightmare >begun with the Manhattan Project during World War II was >really aimed at the Soviet Union and not Nazi Germany or >Japan, whose fate was already sealed. > >This book helps to set the record straight on World War II, >and points the reader to a wide variety of progressive >sources--including Workers World newspaper--for more >information and analysis. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
