In the minds of some, the name of Stanley Aronowitz — and Social Text and Situations, the two journals he is associated with — may immediately conjure up the specter of postmodernism. But in Left Turn: Forging a New Political Future, he champions a number of ideas that go against the grain of all that […]
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Monthly Review Magazine
The Forgotten Fighter: Nablus’s Will to Live
Many Palestinians that I met during my travels in the West Bank told me that to know what Palestine really was about and meant, I had to go to Nablus. Most of them also told me that Nablus was their favourite city. After spending 5 weeks there this summer, I understand why. Arriving from Ramallah […]
Financial Crisis Hits Mexico: Social Crisis on the Horizon?
The international financial crisis that originated in mortgages and derivatives in the United States has spread to Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and Mexico will be significantly affected by the crisis. Government, business leaders and analysts say that for Mexico the crisis means: Less foreign direct investment. A decreasing market for its exports. Lower prices […]
“Africa COMMAND” Spells Colonialism
For years, the U.S. never considered Africa as a priority foreign policy agenda. The only context in which Africa came up in Washington was for preferential trade as in AGOA (Africa Growth & Opportunity Act) or in AIDS funding from PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and of course humanitarian assistance. Despite its […]
Step Up to the Plate: Ending the Food Crisis
When: World Food Day, Thursday, October 16th, 2008 at 7 PM Where: Great Hall of Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th Street (at 3rd Ave.), New York City Cost: Free (suggested donation at the door) RSVP (encouraged): whyevents@whyhunger.org. Seating is first come, first served. As U.S. food pantries face long lines and empty shelves while food […]
Of Little Faith and Liberalism
Lewis Black, Me of Little Faith, New York: Riverhead, 2008 Now even the stand-up comics are embracing godlessness. First came the scientists, then the pundits, and now Lewis Black and his collection of autobiographical snapshots and pensées, Me of Little Faith. In a country supposedly under the iron heel of the Christian Right, how heartening […]
Wall Street — Cold, Flat, and Broke
“Dreamed about AIG and the stock market, woke up with the urge to stock up on canned goods and shotguns.” — Michele Catalano of Long Island, an angry blogger. The month of September was cruel for Wall Street. Stormy winds blew away the venerable institutions of Wall Street and they collapsed one by one […]
Where We Stand: Monthly Review and the Credit Crisis
Sunday afternoon, October 5th, 2008, a moment at the height of a global credit crisis, the like of which has not been seen by anyone under the age of eighty. The time will come when calm has returned, and when we at Monthly Review will point to a record over the last several years of […]
Why Japan Clings to the Declining Dollar
Saori Katada* poses a most compelling question: why does Japan continue to denominate so much of its accumulated export earnings in dollars? Katada frames the question slightly differently, asking why Japan has not moved from being a “supporter” of the dollar-denominated currency regime in East Asia to being a “challenger.” But it’s essentially the same […]
In House’s Final Bailout Vote, Money from Finance Sector Sided with Bill’s Supporters
House members voting for the bailout Friday have collected 41 percent more than opponents from the industries most eager for emergency aid. Senate vote was similarly divided. WASHINGTON (Oct. 3, 2008) — Members of the House of Representatives who voted Friday afternoon in favor of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 had received […]
Tax the Rich to Pay for the Bailout
The Senate approved a $700 billion Wall Street bailout on 1 October 2008. The House voted for it on 3 October. Senator Bernie Sanders voted against the bill. Sanders proposed a five-year, 10 percent surtax on families with incomes of more than $1 million year and individuals earning over $500,00 to raise $300 billion to […]
Argentina: The Crisis That Isn’t
In recent weeks there have been numerous press reports and articles indicating that Argentina is facing serious economic problems that could lead to a default on its sovereign debt. Some of these analyses compare Argentina’s current situation to that of 2001, when the government of Argentina did actually default.1 It is not only journalists and […]
Bolivia: Defeat of the Right
In the amazing series of elections in South America in the last five years, the most radical results were in Bolivia, with the election of Evo Morales as President. It is not because Morales stood on the most radical platform. It was rather that, in this country in which the majority of the population are […]
A Primer on Wall Street Meltdown
Flying into New York Tuesday, I had the same feeling I had when I arrived in Beirut two years ago, at the height of the Israeli bombing of that city — that of entering a war zone. The immigration agent, upon learning I taught political economy, commented, “Well, I guess you folks will now be […]
The Investor’s Prayer
My father, CAPITAL, who are on earth, Almighty God, who changest the course of rivers, tunnelest mountains, separatest contiguous shores, and meltest into one distant nations. Creator of Merchandise, and Source of Life, oh, Thou, who rulest Kings and subjects, laborers and employers, may Thy Kingdom be for evermore on earth. Give us plentiful purchasers […]
Thomas Ferguson and Robert Johnson, Authors of “Bridge Loan to Nowhere”
Play now: Download: mp3 file Cf: “Bridge Loan to Nowhere,” The Nation (22 September 2008) This interview was broadcast on the “Media Matters with Bob McChesney” program (AM580) on 28 September 2008. | | Print
Austria, Bavaria, and Brandenburg Go to the Polls
Bavaria, Germany’s largest state, borders on Austria: both have countless Alpine peaks, lots of men in lederhosen, and many right-wing Roman Catholic traditions. Both had elections on Sunday. Before nightfall many an otherwise happy yodeler showed tightly compressed lips and a grim look. In Austria the main parties, the conservative Austrian People’s Party and the […]
The United States and the World: Where Are We Headed?
This paper was presented at the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation and the International Relations Research Institute’s (IPRI) “Seminar on the United States” hosted by the Itamaraty Palace (Brazilian Foreign Ministry) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 29, 2008. Introduction The United States appears to be embarking on a transition on two major fronts: its […]
Congratulations, Corporate Crime Fighters! Coup Averted for Three Days!
Friends, Everyone said the bill would pass. The masters of the universe were already making celebratory dinner reservations at Manhattan’s finest restaurants. Personal shoppers in Dallas and Atlanta were dispatched to do the early Christmas gifting. Mad Men of Chicago and Miami were popping corks and toasting each other long before the morning latte run. […]
Simple Solution to a Financial Crisis
Seeing how the Democrats seem incapable of figuring out the boondoggle Bernake and Paulson are in the process of engineering, I thought I might outline a modest proposal for a fair resolution to the present financial crisis. Buy two trillion dollar toxic sub-prime at 40 cents on the dollar; disaggregate, repackage and sell back […]
