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Readers' ViewsCAPITALISM IN CRISIS AND CLASS STRUGGLES TODAY Albert Einstein once said "Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them." From that perspective, there is no solution for workers to the current crisis in our political economy. But it is not a problem to some. The bankers have received a cool $700 billion with no questions asked which they are now using to buy banks and other assets at fire-sale prices. Problem? What problem? But this greatest robbery in history is a problem for millions who are now receiving a lesson in the class struggle. They will not soon forget their bitter experience. During the course of the Russian Revolution the revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Lenin stated that the laboring classes of Russia had gained more in class consciousness in the space of a few months than in the entire previous generation. This process is at work now. Today, with the internet, satellite and all manner of electronic communications, Lenin's space of a few months can be reduced to a matter of weeks or even days. The government's purpose in the bailout was to preserve the system at all costs (paid by taxpayers-workers). Its view of the working class, especially since 9-11 under President Dubya, is full of contempt and threatens the freedoms that have been bitterly fought for. The workers have not yet realized their historic task but News & Letters will help them in this. It is now time for capitalism to be dumped on the ash heap of history. In "One-sided class war in auto meltdown" (Dec.-Jan. N&L), Andy Phillips says workers who have lost their jobs are asking "where's my bailout?" It explains what's on the mind of the Republic Windows and Doors workers. It's what all workers are asking today about the system. The patient is dying because liquidity, its circulatory system, ground to a standstill. Workers know they are bailing the system out with their skins. Marx was always listening to the working class. And he was a great theoretician. The movement for the eight-hour day was important to him. The Workshop Talks column in the Dec.-Jan. issue on "Marx on the shop floor" recreates that aspect of what Marxism is. Obama being Black will not change much in the world. Capitalism will continue with him at the helm. During the Great Depression, the administration created jobs building roads and bridges and dams, but it was war-time production that ended unemployment. It was going to war that ended the Depression. The unprecedented Defense budget today isn't aimed only at existing wars but future ones. Gates, with Obama's blessing, is planning on mixing NASA--up to now strictly a civilian program--with Defense budgets, in order to deal with the threat China poses to the U.S. war machine in space. The colossal deficit spending becomes a "good investment" in the capitalist sense only after the war's massive destruction of capital--topped off in World War II with the first use of atomic weapons. That's what "saved" U.S. capitalism from full statification, as it was then able to restart the process of accumulation in a world where it alone had intact capital. The Lead in the Dec.-Jan. N&L on the "Outpouring for Obama" points to something beyond Obama himself. The jubilation that followed wasn't because the Messiah came. It was that the masses felt they made a change. What Obama said about the economy and having to act swiftly and boldly is why white workers voted for a Black man. They rejected the last eight years. The "boldly and swiftly" I want to see more of is the workers taking over, like at Republic Windows and Doors. I find it alarming that the media are referring to Mr. Obama as the "Commander-in-Chief" more often than as President, and that the same was done frequently under George W. Bush. I remember that the first president to publicly refer to himself as "Commander-in-Chief" was Jimmy Carter and that it caused quite a stir. It was always considered a civilian office, even under Dwight Eisenhower. This is a very ominous shift in attitude and reflects a further regression in our American political life. We need to pay attention to this. It is said that President Obama wants to set a new tone. He wants to see a new language of reconciliation and engagement towards the Mid-East. He keeps referring to "mutual respect" and "partnership." It's very admirable, even if it sounds a bit too much like corporate-speak to someone like me. But as a Black man, he knows full well (as he expressed it so eloquently in a speech during the height of his pastor Rev. Wright's controversy over race) that before any reconciliation and fundamental change in human relations can occur, the truth about the past, in all its atrocities and exploitations, must first be told and acknowledged. Progress requires consciousness of history and philosophy, not simply good intentions. While he speaks of "mutual respect" and "partnership," history in the present is staring at him in the face, in the form of the bombing raids over Gaza, and recent troop increases towards the war in Afghanistan. If that's change, then keep the change. The over 1.5 million people of Gaza live in abject poverty. More than 80% earn under $2 a day. Officially, over half the working population is unemployed. Hunger and malnutrition, lack of sanitation, medical care, sewer systems and clean water has made Gaza a disaster zone even before Israel's 22-day invasion. The tiny strip is not economically viable even without the air, sea and land blockade imposed by Israel--a clear violation of the cease-fire accord reached between Israel and Hamas. Israel drastically restricted the number of trucks carrying food, fuel and water into Gaza early in November from 123 to just 16 trucks a day, down from a peak of 475 back in 2007. An underground economy was created, carried out through the tunnels. It is true that Hamas also uses these tunnels to smuggle arms. But the greater fact is that the Palestinians of Gaza could not subsist without them. As always, truth is the first casualty of war. Here is an excerpt of a leaflet dropped by Israel into Gaza before a recent bombing: "As a result of the acts undertaken by terrorists in your area against Israel, the IDF is forced to respond immediately and take action in this area. For your own safety, you are asked to leave the area immediately." Needless to say, there is nowhere to go. Gaza is a tiny area--10% the size of Rhode Island, densely occupied, and all the borders are sealed shut. But Israelis are still repeating the mantra that turns my stomach: "The IDF is the most moral army in the world." Throughout these horrific weeks, the most carefully documented reports inside Israel of what is and isn't actually happening have been those of the human rights organizations. The peace organizations continue raising their brave and lonely voices to the ongoing vilification by "patriotic" passers-by. Here's what I wrote on my sign: "We have become our own worst nightmare." Most passers-by didn't get it. I always enjoy being informed of events in the USA as you report them. But I was particularly impressed by your article on then President-Elect Obama. I also found the article by Tom More on Lenin interesting, although I would have preferred it to sound a little less sectarian. While I sympathize with your desire to propagate the ideas of Raya Dunayevskaya, this must be done in a way that does not lead people to reject them. I recognize it is a difficult line to tread. Apart from her direct questioning of Lenin in her l953 Letters on Hegel's Absolutes, Dunayevskaya had only very light criticism of Lenin all the way until she wrote Rosa Luxemburg, Women's Liberation, and Marx's Philosophy of Revolution. Her criticism emerged through Lenin's engagement with Hegel, which gave a different view of his ideas in the context of the objectivity of ideas. The thread through which we engage Lenin's limitations was very specific and it goes through what he did see, and what could have taken him in a different direction. Every issue gets better. I especially like the articles on Raya and Karl Marx. In the Dec.-Jan. 2009 issue my favorite was about the "Outpouring for Obama points beyond election to full freedom." I found it important that your article on Obama mentioned Abraham Lincoln. It let me know I was not alone in thinking along those lines. I am speaking along the same lines at a meeting of the Gavel Club here. I was so happy to read and study Raya Dunayevskaya's Marxism and Freedom. I know the best way to demonstrate my appreciation is by taking what I glean from it and trying to make it concrete. I hope to do it because now, more than ever before, the economic crisis that capitalism has created needs to be adequately explained. Just because imperialist capital has a Black face won't alter its absolute general law of motion. I read the article by Terry Moon on "Military murders and cover-ups." I am wondering if it is possible to compile the names of all the women who died since the U.S. war started in Iraq. I'd like to include it in something I'm writing. Despite what has been reported and published, more cover-ups continue and it must be made known for the bloodshed to stop. I love News & Letters for offering information and insight that is generally suppressed by regular channels, and for being an outlet that represents grass-roots struggles throughout the world. I share it with fellow prisoners, who are beginning to also see the reality beyond their indoctrination. From Praxis Center: STOP POLITICAL TERROR IN RUSSIA! On Jan. 19 our comrade, human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, and young anti-fascist journalist Anastasia Baburova were assassinated in the center of Moscow. Markelov, 34, defended the interests of victims of the Russian government's policy in Chechnya, anti-fascists, activists of independent trade unions and social movements....The murder is definitely an act of political terror. Most probably, responsibility for this crime belongs to ultra-right gangsters, whose activity is growing in Russia every day. Attacks on "nonwhite" people on the streets of Moscow and other cities became usual, and several prominent anti-fascists were killed recently. Other victims of political terrorism are oppositional journalists, principled critics of the existing Russian political regime--Anna Politkovskaya, Magomed Evloev, Mikhail Beketov... The growth of pro-fascist forces in Russia is objectively encouraged by the whole political atmosphere. While acts of political terrorism mostly go unpunished, the authorities and their mass media are engaged in hysterical propaganda of "patriotism," authoritarianism, great-power sentiments, hostility toward external and internal "enemies." Under such conditions, criminals against humanity (both of past and present) are painted as "heroes" and those struggling against them as "traitors." The last article by Stanislov was devoted precisely to denouncing these awful ideas. One hour before his assassination, he spoke at the press conference protesting against pre-term release from prison of the war criminal Colonel Budanov, who raped and killed a Chechen woman. He received many threats from supporters of "heroic officer" Budanov--and was killed a few days after the latter's release... Though the world civil society cannot stop the political terrorism in Russia by its own forces, it can exert pressure on Russian authorities by showing that their attitude towards escalating fascist violence ruins the international "image" of the Russian state... We ask you to send letters to Russian embassies in your countries, expressing indignation about political terrorism in Russia and demanding thorough investigation of the murder of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova and punishment of its organizers. Letters can be mailed to russianembassy@mindspring.com (US) and office@rusemblon.org (UK). Praxis Research and Educational Center (praxiscenter@gmail.com) *** Editor's note: An accompanying note from Richard Greeman, Secretary of the Victor Serge Foundation (rgreeman@gmail.com), informs that the Victor Serge Public Library--established by Praxis in 1997 to make non-Stalinist left-wing books in different languages available for the first time to Russian scholars and activists--has been told by the authorities that it is being evicted from its premises in Moscow. CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY It is heartening to see that the first legislation President Obama signed into law, nine days after his inauguration, was a victory for the rights of women workers. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act corrects John Roberts' disgusting Supreme Court decision in 2007 that gutted the ability of women workers to sue for wage discrimination if they did not file within 180 days of the initial decision, even if the victim is unaware of the discrimination until much later. Now 70, Ms. Ledbetter, who attended the bill signing, worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber for 19 years before she discovered she was being paid less than men doing the same job. Unfortunately, the new law will not allow her to claim lost wages or the $360,000 court settlement she was awarded, or to receive a pension based on the wages she should have received. But she said, "I have an even richer reward--that future generations of women will have a better chance at fair pay." I've met many Leftists who act as if it doesn't make any difference who is president of the U.S. They even said this about Bush--as if capitalism doesn't have a human face. In many cases it is a matter of life and death. That is clearly seen in how every Republican since Ronald Reagan has created or reinstated the global gag rule, that outlaws international family-planning groups from even talking about abortion if they receive any money from the U.S., no matter what it is used for. That rule has been directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of women. You don't have to be under the illusion that Obama is going to challenge capitalism rather than devote himself to keeping it going, to still think it is a good thing that Bush--who directly caused so many deaths either by war or policy--is finally gone. There's a new government report showing huge increases in reported domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault in the U.S. over a two-year period. It's important to emphasize the word "reported," as most assaults go unreported. While a more accurate survey may explain some of the increase, there is no doubt the militarization of U.S. society since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is involved. Rape and sexual abuse by men returning from those wars have skyrocketed. Looking at women in the military as in Terry Moon's column in the Dec.-Jan. N&L, is the humanist way of confronting militarism, not just decrying the military as an arm of U.S. imperialism. I had nightmares for several days after reading the story from Somalia in that same issue. We need to be able to tell a story like this not just as an example of cruelty but as an outrage against everyone's humanity. The Lesbian activist's critiques of a variety of tendencies within that movement show the importance of recognizing that the media spokespeople don't represent those who are in the movement. It is good to know that three major feminist groups--the Feminist Majority Foundation, The National Organization for Women, and the California National Organization for Women--have submitted an amicus brief to the California Supreme Court in support of legal challenges to Proposition 8, which overturned the right to same-sex marriage in the state. That Proposition would also jeopardize fundamental constitutional rights for women, including the right to decide whether or not to bear a child, the right of sexual privacy, and the right not to be discriminated against in employment. The Court is expected to hear oral arguments in the case in March, the month we celebrate International Women's Day. According to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, there were 51 miners killed last year, the lowest on record. A part of this is undoubtedly due to the recent coal mine tragedies in Utah, Kentucky and West Virginia that created a national outrage from the public and resulted in new legislation that called for mandatory mine inspections and led to the hiring last year of 360 more inspectors. The record low of 51 killed last year compares with 67 killed in 2007 and 73 in 2006. Canada's New Democratic Party has switched its official position from being against the war in Afghanistan to supporting it. The reversal comes as the NDP joins the pro-war Liberal Party in a coalition designed to unseat the ruling Conservative party government. Progressives and anti-war organizations are shocked at the switch. Please express your outrage and protest at this shocking support of the U.S. War of Terror in Afghanistan. It is hoped that enough protests both at home and abroad may see the NDP switch positions back to a principled opposition. No to Canadian War in Afghanistan! No to NDP Warmongering! One hundred thirty-five Stella D'Oro workers in New York have been on strike since Aug. 13, 2008. The members of Local 50, Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) are mostly Latina, Asian and African immigrants. They are being asked to contribute an additional $1.32 per hour to their insurance, accept wage cuts of up to 24%, lose holidays and overtime pay. The company had tried to divide the workers in different job classifications, but all of them agreed to strike. The Committee in Support of the Stella D'Oro Strikers has organized marches and a benefit concert planned for Apr. 4. They are asking individuals to boycott Stella D'Oro products. For more information go to www.stelladorostrike2008.com. I received a copy of News & Letters at the protest for Gaza in Westwood. I have looked at it enough to know that it is worthwhile, especially the letters from readers in the center of the paper--as central to the overall message. Raya Dunayevskaya is a new name in socialism for me. I like seeing the assertion of a feminist socialist affinity up front and center to the overall message of the paper. I will read and write you more. When I heard about Marxism and Freedom in 1970, my initial reaction was "Marxism and WHAT?!" I had been a Civil Rights Movement supporter and anti-Vietnam War activist who shunned theory and had an aversion to vanguard groups purporting to have the answers. But I have come to appreciate what Dunayevskaya accomplished with this book, as she succinctly states in her letter to Herbert Marcuse in the Dec.-Jan. N&L: to "re-establish the philosophic foundation of Marxism in Hegel in so concrete a way that the origins of our machine age as well as the latest period of automation come alive..." Fifty years after publication, that is still true. It is our job to help the freedom struggles of 2009 realize this as they seek full freedom for all. Have you sent in your contribution to help keep News & Letters going? |
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