Archive | Commentary

It is sad to see how completely misrepresented Adam Smith (1723-1790) is when pundits call upon him to vindicate neoliberalism and the status quo. It seems many have not really bothered to read his works.

In this article we discuss the (non-) implementation of the Colombian peace accords, based on a conference given by Victoria Sandino, a leading FARC figure. We also examine an initiative, Ecomun, to build peace through the construction of alternative economies in the Colombian countryside.

Germany’s feverish political scene cooled off just a little. Two big sighs of relief permitted some people, at least temporarily, to stop chewing their fingernails.

Even if we cut emissions by 3.5 percent a year after 2020, we’ll hit 4 degrees Celsius warming by the end of this century. Just let that sink in for a minute. When babies born now are in their 80s, there could be no human civilization left to speak of.

A five-year-old revolutionary movement in Nepal brings together program and commitment in a way that powerfully prefigures communist society.

The origins of Zionism are profoundly misunderstood by many. This is not coincidental and can be seen largely as the result of propaganda, which opportunistically and erroneously asserts that Zionism is the natural expression of Judaism.

The violent theft of land and capital is at the core of the U.S. experiment: the U.S. military got its start in the wars against Native Americans.

One of the central and most concrete themes that the break should cover concerns the way public indebtedness is used to justify austerity policies.

For six months, Argentina has been confronted with a new economic and social crisis on a massive scale. In the context the devaluation of local currency, rising inflation, and a deep recession, Mauricio Macri’s administration struck an agreement with the IMF, marking a major shift in the country’s future. The agreements slash public spending and prioritize the repayment of debt, among other measures. This dossier examines the different dimensions of the crisis, the open disputes, and the possibilities for the immediate future.

How can politics be a way of pursuing the same goals once pursued in war? And through what form of politics? The career of Pasang, from revolutionary military commander to Vice President of Nepal, raises a host of questions about the transition from war to politics and the conditions of victory in each sphere.

Within a timeframe of hardly four years, Stokely Carmichael’s organizational efforts evolved from the mobilization of black voters in Alabama and Mississippi to building a large movement resisting the military draft at the height of the Vietnam war, culminating in the SNCC’s “Hell No! We Won’t Go!” campaign.

It would be a mistake to see Germany’s Greens as radical, well to the left. While the Greens stress environment above all, they have decided that this does not require conflict with big business, which must simply be convinced that ecology and profits can be combined.

Sitting in his office, Donald Trump meets with the head of his economic advisors Gary Cohn. Cohn jokes with Trump. He says, make a speech and say that the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is ready to be built: the materials are on hand, labour is eager. The only thing that engineers are worrying about is how to spell–over the 2000-kilometre border–the word TRUMP.

The Electronic Intifada has obtained a complete copy of The Lobby–USA, a four-part undercover investigation by Al Jazeera into Israel’s covert influence campaign in the United States.

Brazil’s election result is appalling. Jair Bolsonaro, who will take office early next year, will be the most extremist head of government on the planet. If he cuts down the Amazon Rain Forest–as he promises–it will be catastrophic for life.

It may be hard, but I want you to try to think back a decade, actually slightly less than a decade. In 2000, we were celebrating the millennium, and if you remember what was happening at that time, it was an enormous celebration of a new global capitalism, of globalization, of the end of conflict in the world, of a new world order.

Two of the immigrant rights movement’s historic demands provide a basis for actually closing the agency, and beyond that for building a movement to demand more fundamental changes.

An important work of Marxist history and theory restores class struggle to central place in explaining how capitalism arose and grew, and can eventually be overcome.

Last weekend was surely the most complex in ages! Were the results favorable for “the good side”?

In the aftermath of Nepal’s near revolution, diverse Maoist leaders are attempting to regroup and move forward again.