By ILYA BUDRAITSKIS Speaking at a meeting of his All-Russia People’s Front a couple days ago [in November 2014], Vladimir Putin said, “Trotsky had this [saying]: the movement is everything, the ultimate aim is nothing. We need an ultimate aim.” Eduard Bernstein’s proposition,* misquoted and attributed for some reason to Leon Trotsky, is probably the … Continue reading Who is behind the ‘Trotskyist conspiracy?’
Category: Marxist Theory & History
‘Unfinished Leninism’
By JOE AUCIELLO Review: Paul LeBlanc, “Unfinished Leninism,” (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2014), 237 pp., $18. Icons, even revolutionary ones, have a sensible purpose, though the intent is not always realized. The iconic image summons the observer in the present to heed the achievements of the past and thus shape the future. An icon, then, is … Continue reading ‘Unfinished Leninism’
Malcolm X’s message to young people today
By JOE AUCIELLO Malcolm X, born May 19, 1925, would have been 90 years old this year had he not been assassinated 50 years ago (on Feb. 21, 1965). Now, decades later, safely buried, Malcolm X has become respectable. This transformation has been some years in the making, but there can be little doubt of … Continue reading Malcolm X’s message to young people today
Revolutionary activism in the ’50s & ’60s
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A challenge to myth of male dominance
By CHRISTINE MARIE Book Review: Adrienne Mayor, “The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World.” Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. Marx and Engels, when developing their understanding of the relationship between class society and the oppression of women, relied heavily on the ethnology and archaeological science of their day. They wrote … Continue reading A challenge to myth of male dominance
Socialist program to avoid climate disaster
The following article is based on several portions of the Socialist Action (U.S.) Draft Political Resolution, which was approved at the Oct. 17-19 Socialist Action National Convention. By definition, global warming is a global issue. All will suffer the consequences of advancing climate change. International coordination of remedial efforts is vital. But, not surprisingly, UN-sponsored … Continue reading Socialist program to avoid climate disaster
We need a plan to forestall climate disaster
By BILL ONASCH To stop climate change short of climate disaster, the United States—which has been the world’s largest polluter for many years—has to lead the way to restructure our global economy to rapidly reduce, and ultimately eliminate, use of fossil and nuclear fuels. That’s a giant task—but even more will be required to create … Continue reading We need a plan to forestall climate disaster
The Marxist analysis of women’s oppression
By CHRISTINE MARIE Review of Lise Vogel, “Marxism and the Oppression of Women: Toward a Unitary Theory” (Leiden: Brill Academic Books, 2013; Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2013). In the late 1960s, more feminist theorists than not assumed that Marxism offered the main analytical tools necessary to understand women’s oppression and, in turn, to chart the strategic … Continue reading The Marxist analysis of women’s oppression
Minneapolis marks 1934 Teamsters strike
By DAVID JONES and BILL ONASCH — MINNEAPOLIS — The shots fired by Minneapolis police on Bloody Friday, July 20, 1934, still echo 80 years later for the descendants of Henry Ness. Nine members of the Ness family, including grandchildren, great grandchildren and at least one g-g grandchild, attended events organized this July to honor … Continue reading Minneapolis marks 1934 Teamsters strike
1934: Teamsters victory in Minneapolis
By LISA LUINENBURG This is the third installment of a series of articles marking the 80th anniversary of the historic Minneapolis Teamster strikes of 1934. The first part appeared in our March 2014 issue, and the second in our May 2014 issue. We rejoin our brother and sister workers in the Minneapolis trucking industry in … Continue reading 1934: Teamsters victory in Minneapolis
Teamster rebellion: Battle of Deputies Run
By LISA LUINENBURG This is the second installment of a series of articles marking the 80th anniversary of the historic Minneapolis Teamster strikes of 1934. The first part appeared in our March 2014 issue. We return to the story of the 1934 Minneapolis Teamster strikes as the workers are celebrating their recent victory, following the … Continue reading Teamster rebellion: Battle of Deputies Run
South Africa: What went wrong?
By MARTY GOODMAN When we saw Obama with Mandela’s family on TV, we were supposed to forget the CIA’s role in Mandela’s imprisonment on Robben Island. We were supposed to forget that heroic Mandela spent 27 years in an apartheid jail but remained on the U.S. terrorist list until 2008. The TV images implied a … Continue reading South Africa: What went wrong?
Dreamers of the world, unite!
By MARK T. HARRIS Book review: “Imagine: Living in a Socialist USA,” by Frances Golden, Debby Smith, Michael Smith. (HarperCollins, 2014.) To imagine a socialist United States is what many people might consider a utopian vision. In that particularly pragmatic strain of American thought, utopian has an almost pejorative association to it, too. As in, … Continue reading Dreamers of the world, unite!
Nat Weinstein: A life-long revolutionary
By JEFF MACKLER Nat Weinstein, life-long revolutionary socialist and a founder of Socialist Action, died on May 9. He was 89 years old. Nat joined the Socialist Workers Party in 1945. He overstated his age to get into the Army as a youth, but then met members of the SWP, which had a strong fraction … Continue reading Nat Weinstein: A life-long revolutionary
80 years ago: Minneapolis Teamsters strike
By LISA LUINENBURG The year was 1934. It was a cold February in Minnesota, as many Februaries in Minnesota are cold. The temperature had dropped below zero, and people were scrambling for coal to heat their homes and businesses. But no coal was to be had. Teamsters Local 574, along with other workers in the … Continue reading 80 years ago: Minneapolis Teamsters strike
War to end all Wars turns 100
By JOHN SCHRAUFNAGEL The 100th anniversary of the great imperialist slaughter known as World War I takes place this year. With 37 million casualties, over 16 million dead, and 20 million wounded, it was one of the bloodiest chapters of history. In the coming months the bourgeois press and historians will write about the causes … Continue reading War to end all Wars turns 100
‘War to End All Wars’ turns 100
By JOHN SCHRAUFNAGEL The 100th anniversary of the great imperialist slaughter known as World War I takes place this year. With 37 million casualties, over 16 million dead, and 20 million wounded, it was one of the bloodiest chapters of history. In the coming months the bourgeois press and historians will write about the causes … Continue reading ‘War to End All Wars’ turns 100
Socialism, Then and Now
By MARK T. HARRIS — When William F. Buckley Jr. Debated the Marxists — Not long ago I watched an online video segment from conservative writer William F. Buckley, Jr.’s old TV public affairs program, Firing Line. The year was 1968 and Buckley’s guests were two socialists, Fred Halstead and Paul Boutelle, who were then running as … Continue reading Socialism, Then and Now
Report: Fourth International Youth Camp
By DANIEL ADAM and LISA LUINENBURG On Aug. 3-9, some 400 young revolutionaries from around the world gathered in Greece to attend the Fourth International’s 30th annual youth camp. The authors of this article, members of Socialist Action (U.S.), were able to participate in the camp this year and share their experiences in the United … Continue reading Report: Fourth International Youth Camp
Reflections on Independence Day
By BILL ONASCH — July 4 (from kclabor.org) — This holiday started off pretty good. I didn't have to rise at 4AM to get ready to drive a bus as I usually do most Thursdays. The boss is actually paying me to do whatever I want today. I plan to consume some good food and beverage, … Continue reading Reflections on Independence Day
The real roots of the U.S. economic crisis
By BRUCE PARDOLL I think that a comprehensive understanding of how the present U.S. economic crisis came about, and how things have considerably worsened not only since December 2007—when the Great Recession began—but also since 1974 (when wages for the working class began a steady downward slide) is greatly needed. Marxism is uniquely qualified to … Continue reading The real roots of the U.S. economic crisis
Autonomism: The revolution devalued
By ANDREW POLLACK — Part II: A critique of Marina Sitrin’s “Everyday Revolutions: Horizontalism and Autonomy in Argentina” (Zed Books, 2012). We printed the first installment of this article on May 16. One advantage of the horizontalist view is that one can gaze lovingly across fields of newly sprouted self-managed workplaces, admiring how they’ve spread … Continue reading Autonomism: The revolution devalued
Revolution? No thanks, we’re autonomists!
By ANDREW POLLACK This is the first in a series of critical notes on Marina Sitrin’s “Everyday Revolutions: Horizontalism and Autonomy in Argentina” (Zed Books, 2012). Marina Sitrin is one of the most prolific, visible, and eloquent theorists of “horizontalism” and “autonomy” (hereafter referred to jointly as horizontalist autonomy). Thanks to her years of activism … Continue reading Revolution? No thanks, we’re autonomists!
Jean Paul Marat — presente!
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER “Jean Paul Marat: Tribune of the French Revolution,” by Clifford D. Conner. Pluto Press, London 2012. Historians have not been kind to Jean Paul Marat. Published scholars of the French Revolution, at least in the English language, almost invariably disparage Marat and his work, portraying him as a wild man, a demagogue, … Continue reading Jean Paul Marat — presente!
The socialist answer to capitalist crisis
We present below the first of a series of resolutions on key issues in U.S. and world politics that were approved by the elected delegates to the 15th National Convention of Socialist Action, held in Minneapolis last Aug. 16-19. Socialist Action is the fraternal U.S. section of the Fourth International, founded by Leon Trotsky and … Continue reading The socialist answer to capitalist crisis