Re: [Marxism] Britain exits the European Union and takes a sharp right turn (John Smith, author of Imperialism in the 21st Century)
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. * > On Jan 19, 2020, at 6:14 PM, Louis Proyect via Marxism > wrote: >> >> https://rdln.wordpress.com/2020/01/20/britain-exits-the-european-union-and-takes-a-sharp-right-turn/ > > This is the best analysis I've read. Much of this is useful; a few things one could take issue with. But the following is complete hogwash (which doesn’t mean that Corbyn’s people didn’t also believe it; tragically it seems likely they did): “[T]o the Labour left, ultra-low interest rates are not a flashing red light, but a green light inviting them to borrow vast amounts of money from those who have it, i.e. the super-rich. Yet history, e.g. Greece under Syriza, teaches that, when asked to lend money to a government they do not trust, capitalists are certain to demand a hefty risk premium, wrecking public finances and destroying reformist dreams.” Governments that control the issuance of their own currency and that don’t carry significant foreign-currency-denominated debt don’t need capitalists’ money to spend. (Hint: that’s a conspicuous difference between the UK and Greece. The weather is another. And don’t get me started about the food. But I digress….). Even the WSJ belatedly and begrudgingly acknowledged this about the UK a few years ago: “Among facts that take a stubbornly long time to sink in, here’s one: Countries that borrow in their own currencies never have to default on their debt. “The last few months have tested this notion again. When the U.K. was about to vote on its membership of the European Union, some investors and analysts warned that scared foreigners could dump British sovereign bonds, driving the government's borrowing costs to skyrocket. “They were wrong. The day after Brexit, gilt prices rose 3.5%.” For a (much) more detailed explanation, see this blog post by Bill Mitchell: http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=34714 _ 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
Re: [Marxism] Britain exits the European Union and takes a sharp right turn (John Smith, author of Imperialism in the 21st Century)
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. * Hmmm... "Jew-hatred is indeed a deadly threat, and history teaches that it flourishes in a time of systemic capitalist crisis, as now, when demagogues of both left and right try to deflect the anger of workers and the dispossessed against Jewish capitalists rather than against the capitalist class as a whole. *Anti-Semitism is also fostered by **bourgeois nationalists in the Middle East*, who resent the imperialists’ indulgence of Israel and *wish to be** treated equally*. It is far from the case, therefore, that the fascist right wing has a monopoly over anti-Semitism." This part is questionable, it sounds like validating the witch-hunt. Of course the author then goes further to argue that Corbyn should have gone on the offensive, which is true, but suggesting that there really *was *a "left anti-Semitism" or an "anti-imperialist anti-Semitism" sounds like non-materialist analysis to say the least. The demands of national struggles in the Middle East and their opposition to Israel is not "anti-Semitism". The author seems to distinguish between "bourgeois nationalists" and others struggling against Israel, but this distinction really has nothing to do with "anti-Semitism". Nor is there any evidence of any connection between this and European anti-Semitism. It's honestly a very lazy thing to say. He's conflating Zionism and its discontents (bourgeois or otherwise) with traditional European anti-Semitism. Amith R. Gupta On Sun, Jan 19, 2020 at 6:15 PM Louis Proyect via Marxism < marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote: > 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. > * > > On 1/19/20 6:00 PM, Philip Ferguson via Marxism wrote: > > > > by*John Smith* > > > > Britain’s exit from the imperialist bloc known as the European Union (EU) > > is now irreversible. The crushing electoral defeat of the Labour Party > has > > dismayed many workers and youth who had placed their hopes in Jeremy > > Corbyn, its left-wing leader. This article assesses these historic > events, > > neither of which can be understood in isolation from the other. . . > > > > full at: > > > https://rdln.wordpress.com/2020/01/20/britain-exits-the-european-union-and-takes-a-sharp-right-turn/ > > This is the best analysis I've read. > _ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > Set your options at: > https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/amithrgupta%40gmail.com _ 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
Re: [Marxism] Britain exits the European Union and takes a sharp right turn (John Smith, author of Imperialism in the 21st Century)
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. * On 1/19/20 6:00 PM, Philip Ferguson via Marxism wrote: by*John Smith* Britain’s exit from the imperialist bloc known as the European Union (EU) is now irreversible. The crushing electoral defeat of the Labour Party has dismayed many workers and youth who had placed their hopes in Jeremy Corbyn, its left-wing leader. This article assesses these historic events, neither of which can be understood in isolation from the other. . . full at: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2020/01/20/britain-exits-the-european-union-and-takes-a-sharp-right-turn/ This is the best analysis I've read. _ 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
[Marxism] Britain exits the European Union and takes a sharp right turn (John Smith, author of Imperialism in the 21st Century)
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. * by *John Smith* Britain’s exit from the imperialist bloc known as the European Union (EU) is now irreversible. The crushing electoral defeat of the Labour Party has dismayed many workers and youth who had placed their hopes in Jeremy Corbyn, its left-wing leader. This article assesses these historic events, neither of which can be understood in isolation from the other. . . full at: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2020/01/20/britain-exits-the-european-union-and-takes-a-sharp-right-turn/ _ 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
