News & Letters, Vol. 57, No. 4
July-August 2012
Lead: Spain, Greece, Europe: capitalist crisis and revolt
When the bailout of banks in Spain was announced on June 9, the immediate reactions revealed the two worlds that exist in every country. The Spanish masses intensified their protests, marching directly on both banks and government, while Greek and Spanish workers exchanged messages of solidarity against the austerity strangling both nations….
In the other world, that of the rulers, the markets–that is, finance capital–celebrated for two hours before turning to attack Italy.
From the Writings of Raya Dunayevskaya: Why Hegel’s Phenomenology now?
The most difficult of all tasks that have confronted every generation of Marxists is to work out Marx’s Marxism for its age; the task has never been more difficult….We often like to quote that creatively great statement of Hegel about the “birth-time of History.” What is important to see is that the same paragraph that talks of the birth-time of history and a period of transition is likewise one that speaks about the period of darkness before the dawn.
Discussion article: Trade unionism and revolutionary syndicalism
What is the classic form of the self-organization of the working class? What form of organization appears whenever workers battle capitalism, whether in the U.S. in the nineteenth century or in China and Egypt today? … In the beginning of the industrial revolution the men, women and children who made factories run and made exorbitant profits for their employers while slaving under the most hellish life, began to realize that there is strength in numbers…. [Today] most young workers have never been in a union, have never gone out on strike or supported other strikers.
Editorial: One billionaire, one vote
Buying elections is nothing new in the U.S. The political history of the nation is replete with examples, but most were marked by secrecy and under-the-table conspiracies that were exposed after the fact. Not any more.
Fighting the war against women
The attack on birth control is now out in the open. Hundreds of printed signs called for an end to the Health and Human Services mandate requiring insurance companies to provide free birth control. To them, “religious freedom” means women have to adhere to Catholic dogma!
Workshop Talks: Capitalism trashes union democracy
In the past year, the Occupy Movement has given many of us hope that things can change. One idea in the movement is that if only the 99% can reclaim the wealth hijacked by the 1%, the restoration of real democracy will follow. This puts the cart before the horse, and turns upside down the actual history of political economy. It assumes, as liberal economist Joseph Stiglitz did, that increasing inequality in America is causing the erosion of democracy. In reality, inequality is the result of the lack of democracy.
Woman as Reason: Egypt, women and permanent revolution
Mona Eltahawy, an American-Egyptian journalist, wrote an eloquent essay published in the May/June edition of Foreign Policy titled “Why Do They Hate Us? The real war on women is in the Middle East.” The myriad negative responses to it reveal serious examples of counter-revolution from within the revolution in the wake of Arab Spring.
Chicago Spring vs. NATO summit
Almost 50 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans each announced why they were throwing their medals back to the generals at the end of the march of thousands down Michigan Avenue, the biggest in a week of protests occasioned by the May 20-21 NATO summit here.
Québec ‘Maple Spring’ repression
The Printemps Érable (Maple Spring), named after the Arab Spring, continues in Québec and reverberates throughout Canada in an ever-deepening crisis since the massive Québec student strike began in February.