Marv: Whether he is or is not a Trotsky derivative - is certainly not for me to say, as a MList. That is your and those of your fellow T. fans such as Ioannis to weigh on.
However - surely there are issues with this prestigious person's viewpoint - i.e. with Wolfgang Streeck's - no? While lots of seemingly profound statements, not a light coming out of it - at least in my view anyway: 1. On Trump administration foreign policy as a new form of US imperialism ... "T rump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ is a particular version of this mixture: interventionism, but limited to Central and South America; nothing new in itself." But almost immediately he corrects himself... : "What does not fit into this picture is the unconditional support for Israel in its war of annihilation in Gaza and the West Bank, nor the threats to bomb Iran. " The reader should not have to therefore ask "Is it new or is it not a new manifestation"?... I still do not know what he is saying. 2. On Trump administration domestic policy as a new kind of fascism "Not all violence is ‘fascist’. " ... Well that is not startling.... 3. On the danger of war with China "The US has been discussing China for a long time, since Obama, from the perspective of the so-called ‘Thucydides trap’. ... A few days ago, Trump announced that the US defence budget is set to increase by 50 per cent to 1.5 trillion dollars by 2027. For what, one wonders?" Again an implied, unresolved contradiction in his analysis. It ignores whether or not, there is any unity in the capitalist class behind these figures. Moreover, it is suprising in not seeming to accept that there can be long time-line from the ''recognition of a problem in the world functioning from a particular capitalist's country viewpoint - to trying for that country to firmly resolve that. But what does he think?... the Prophet is silent - he does not answer his own posed question. . 4. On Russian responsibility for the lack of progress in negotiating an end to the Ukraine war Could it be that the US, or the EU for that matter, doesn’t want peace either? ... European coalition... had sworn to the Ukrainians at the beginning of 2022 that the war would be over by Christmas, with a resounding defeat for Russia (von der Leyen even announced that ‘we’ would ‘dismantle layer by layer’ Russian industrial society through the miraculous sanctions she devised).... Unlike Ursula von der Leyen and our other strategists, the Americans do not assume that Russia can be defeated. But for them that doesn’t matter; it’s enough for the Europeans to keep Russia busy with a proxy war of attrition." Really - the EU does not want an end to the war in Ukraine... ? Astonishing. Does he in the article talk about the enormous burden of the refugees from the Ukraine - embraced at first; in sharp contrast to the Gazans - but whose burden on the Chancellory budget in Germany at least, has been high. What do you think Marv, is novel and meaningful for us in his critique? Perhaps I am missing the fuller picture, but what is it? Cheers H -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#40469): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/40469 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/117567501/21656 -=-=- 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. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
