The American Empire, like other empires in the past, relies on two myths. The first is that, internally, the American system is a meritocracy. “Hard work and enterprise can overcome a disadvantage at birth whereas rich good-for-nothings soon lose their wealth.” The second is that American foreign policy is principled and essentially just. “It is […]
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Monthly Review Magazine
The Unapologetic Case for Gay Marriage
In the face of mass protests to roll back the recent anti-gay marriage election ballot measures, especially California’s Proposition 8, some leftists are a bit queasy. Why, they ask, should radicals be so adamant about defending the right of gays and lesbians to enter into an institution that is decidedly mainstream and tied to the […]
Buccaneers in Somali Waters — But They’re Not Somalis
It is estimated that foreigners poach $300 million from Somali fisheries each year. Somalia’s armed sailors extort about one-third that amount — $100 million — from the owners of captured ships. So, who are the real pirates? Play now: Glen Ford is Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report. Ford’s commentary was broadcast by Black Agenda […]
The Meeting with Hu Jintao
I did not want to talk a lot, but he obliged me to expand on things; I asked some questions and, basically, listened to him. His words recounted the feats of the Chinese people in the last 10 months. Heavy and unseasonal snowfall, an earthquake that devastated surface areas equivalent to three times the size […]
Who Will Stop the Settlers? Noise But No Action from US over Family’s Eviction
The middle-of-the-night eviction last week of an elderly Palestinian couple from their home in East Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers is a demonstration of Israeli intent towards a future peace deal with the Palestinians. Abu Dhabi TV, 10 November 2008 Mohammed and Fawziya Kurd are now on the street, living in a tent, […]
Economists’ Letter to Congress in Support of a New Economic Stimulus Package
The Honorable Henry Reid Senate Majority Leader Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Mitch McConnell Senate Minority Leader Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable John Boehner House Minority Leader Washington, DC 20515 Dear Sen. Reid, Sen. McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Rep. Boehner: We, the undersigned economists, […]
“Today We Have Come Out”: Mass Uprising of Tribal People in West Bengal
The events that have been happening during the last one week in the adivasi (tribal) belt of West Midnapur district in West Bengal are so unprecedented that the authorities do not know how to respond to them, and the media doesn’t understand their significance. Even the political parties and civil society are at a […]
“Prices Are Falling across the Board at Earlier Phases of Production”
The overall consumer price index fell by 1.0 percent in October, driven by an 8.6 percent drop in energy prices. The core CPI also fell in October, declining 0.1 percent primarily as a result of a 1.0 percent drop in apparel prices. Over the last quarter, the CPI has fallen at a 4.4 percent annual […]
What’s to Be Done about the Auto Industry?
The U.S. Congress will vote this week on what to do about the America’s Big Three automakers — Chrysler, Ford, and GM. GM teeters on the brink of bankruptcy and is screaming for help. The Bush administration does not want to give more than the$25 billion it has already promised to develop more fuel-efficient cars. […]
Oil Prices and Venezuela’s Economy
Introduction The Venezuelan economy has grown more than 94 percent since the current expansion began in the second quarter of 2003.1 The overwhelming bulk of this growth has been in the non-oil sector.2 Throughout most of these five and a half years of unprecedented growth, the economy has often been characterized as an “oil boom […]
The Real Goal of Israel’s Blockade
The latest tightening of Israel’s chokehold on Gaza — ending all supplies into the Strip for more than a week — has produced immediate and shocking consequences for Gaza’s 1.5 million inhabitants. The refusal to allow in fuel has forced the shutting down of Gaza’s only power station, creating a blackout that pushed Palestinians bearing […]
South America: Recession Can Be Avoided
Can South America escape the wrath of the economic and financial storms that have their epicenter in the United States? Since the financial meltdown began in mid-September, the bond markets of most of the region (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela) have been hit, as well as most of their stock markets and a number of currencies. […]
“The Americans Have Failed”: An Interview with Nawaf al-Moussawi
With Barack Obama, the US could improve its position in the Middle East. Lebanon’s Hezbollah believes that an attack on Iran is unlikely. Nawaf al-Moussawi is Deputy Secretary and a member of the Politburo of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Al-Moussawi, a Doctor of Philosophy, is Hezbollah’s spokesman for international relations. Mr. al-Moussawi, does the election of […]
Venezuela’s Transition to Socialism
In October 2008, I was invited by the World Forum for the Alternatives to a conference in Caracas, Venezuela. This provided me with an opportunity to learn more about a country that has embarked on a path of redistribution under a programme that Venezuela’s President Hugo Cavez Frias now calls “Socialism of the 21st […]
India: Fighting Fascism
Last month, the New Delhi-based human rights group Anhad, along with some 90 other organizations, held a two-day national convention on the theme, ‘Countering Fascism: Defending the Idea of India’. It was attended by scores of social activists from various parts of the country. Predictably, it received hardly any mention in the so-called ‘mainstream’ […]
The Rise and Fall of the Arab Middle Class in the Middle East: Between Modernization, Nationalism, and Revolution
Keith David Watenpaugh. Being Modern in the Middle East: Revolution, Nationalism, Colonialism, and the Arab Middle Class. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. xi + 325 pp. $37.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-691-12169-7. One of the great modern landmarks of the city of Aleppo is the Baron Hotel. The Mazloumians, a wealthy Armenian family of […]
Same-Sex Marriage
Same-Sex Marriage: Part 1, “It’s Amazing” Slide presentation on all the things the LGBT community has achieved and will surely get. Same-Sex Marriage: Part 2, “Oh, My God!” Slide presentation on biblical arguments to support same-sex marriage. Same-Sex Marriage: Part 3, “What It Is All About” Slide presentation on the reasons why full marriage […]
Neoliberalism and Hindutva: Fascism, Free Markets and the Restructuring of Indian Capitalism
Over the 1980s and 1990s we witnessed the simultaneous rise of two reactionary political projects, Hindutva and neoliberalism, to a position of dominance in India. Such a combination is not unusual, in that neoliberalism is usually allied with and promoted by socially reactionary forces (such as the hyper-nationalism of the “bureaucratic-authoritarian” dictatorships in Latin America, […]
Cats, Dogs, and Creationism: On Intelligent Design and the Left
“The criticism of religion is the prerequisite of all criticism.” — Karl Marx, Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right With all due respect to cats and dogs, I don’t expect them to ever understand the laws that govern planetary motion. Does this prove the existence of God? Of course […]
Election of Barack Obama: The People’s Victory? Or the Elite’s?
Barack Obama has won. What happens when what appears to be the people’s victory is also the victory of the economic elite? Where is that convergence of interests located? And how long can such a coincidence of interest last? What are the tasks of the left and the social movements in the face of the […]
