By GERRY FOLEY Although the government of Gen. Suharto's protege, J. Habibie, and its right-wing Muslim allies appealed for peace during the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan, social conflicts multiplied and sharpened. In this context, the political separation of the radical and the bourgeois wings of the opposition seems also to have widened. January (which … Continue reading Indonesian Gov’t Continues to Retreat in Face of Social Unrest
Category: East Asia
Capitalist Politicians in Indonesia Outflanked by Student Radicals
By GERRY FOLEY Political polarization is increasing rapidly as the social and political crisis in Indonesia deepens. In the confrontation in mid-November between government forces and protesters who had rejected the legitimacy of the government of "constitutional continuity" that took the reins after the resignation of veteran dictator Suharto, the procapitalist opposition leaders were clearly … Continue reading Capitalist Politicians in Indonesia Outflanked by Student Radicals
Revolt Spreads in Indonesia
By GERRY FOLEY Since the Indonesian dictatorship retreated on May 21, by changing the formal head of state, the wave of rebellion throughout the archipelago has continued to rise. But the military is still trying to keep the lid on. A huge military force was sent to the campus of the University of Indonesia in … Continue reading Revolt Spreads in Indonesia
BOOK REVIEW: Which Way for China?
By PAUL SIEGEL Maurice Meisner, ''The Deng Xiaoping Era: An Inquiry Into the Fate of Chinese Socialism, 1978-1994." New York: Hill and Wang, 1996. 544 pp. $30. The year 1996 witnessed the publication of two books that sought to give a Marxist analysis of Chinese society today, Robert Weil's "Red Cat, White Cat," which was … Continue reading BOOK REVIEW: Which Way for China?
China and the Global Economy
By NAT WEINSTEIN Ever since the collapse of Stalinism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the capitalist world has been in a euphoric state. But like everything in this world, appearances are often deceiving. It is beginning to dawn on American and world imperialism that rather than expanding its world markets, the Stalinist bureaucracies' … Continue reading China and the Global Economy
Asian Crisis Upending Global Applecarts
By NAT WEINSTEIN Unusually candid commentaries on the falling value of the yen, and what it tells about the depth of the economic crisis in Japan and Southeast Asia, appeared almost daily in the mass media last month. It reflects a growing uncertainty among the world's capitalists about the future of their economic system. It … Continue reading Asian Crisis Upending Global Applecarts