1 April 2020 — Michael Roberts Blog
In the light of the current pandemic, here is a rough excerpt from my upcoming short book on Engels’ contribution to Marxian political economy on the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Tag: nature
Catastrophe capitalism: climate change, COVID-19, and economic crisis
1 April 2020 — MROnline
An interview of John Bellamy Foster
Farooque Chowdhury and John Bellamy Foster
In the backdrop of the ravaging coronavirus pandemic, John Bellamy Foster, editor of Monthly Review, the famous socialist magazine, discusses the pandemic in relation to the present condition of capitalism and economic crisis in the following interview conducted by Farooque Chowdhury in late-March, 2020. Foster, professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, and author of numerous books on political, economic, and ecological issues, relates the pandemic to the capitalist economy, its crisis and climate change.
Please Sign Now! Zero tolerance for plastic
13 July 2018 — WeMove
A sperm whale was found dead on a Spanish beach. 29 kilograms of plastic in its stomach blocked its digestive system. [1] This is the fate many fish, turtles, whales, birds, dolphins, and other animals risk daily as our ocean becomes a plastic soup. [2]
In Defense of Ecological Marxism: John Bellamy Foster responds to a critic
6 June 2016 — Climate & Capitalism
“Jason Moore has joined the long line of scholars who have set out to update or deepen Marxism in various ways, but have ended up by abandoning Marxism’s revolutionary essence and adapting to capitalist ideologies.”
John Bellamy Foster
One of the most important books of Marxist theory published in recent years is Marx’s Ecology: Materialism and Nature, in which John Bellamy Foster rediscovered and expanded on Marx’s understanding of the alienation of human beings from the natural world, crystallized in the concept of metabolic rift.
Video: The Russian Revolution: triumph or tragedy – Alan Woods and Orlando Figes
8 November 2013 — Socialist Appeal
We here publish the video footage of the debate between Alan Woods – editor of www.marxist.com and author of “Bolshevism: the Road to Revolution” – and Orlando Figes – Professor of History at Birkbeck University and author of “A People’s Tragedy” – on the true nature of the Russian Revolution, and what it meant for the people of Russia and the class struggle internationally.
Alienation in Karl Marx’s early writing By Daniel Lopez
October 15, 2013 — Links international Journal of Socialist Renewal
Young Marx
As Karl Korsh noted in Marxism and Philosophy, the philosophical foundation of Marx’s works has often been neglected. The Second International had, in Korsch’s view, pushed aside philosophy as an ideology, preferring “science”. This, he charged, tended to reduce Marxism to a positivistic sociology, and in so doing, it internalised and replicated the theoretical logic of capitalism. [1] In place of this, Korsch called for a revitalisation of Marxism that would view philosophy not simply as false consciousness but as a necessary part of the social totality.[2]
Climate change: What would Frederick Engels say? By Martin O'Beirne
30 September 2013 — The Ecosocialist
We had not yet destabilised the climate and trounced other planetary ecological boundaries back in 1876 when Frederick Engels wrote these passages in his unfinished The part played by labour in the transition from ape to man. But it is clear that back then Engels had established a biophilous ethic, or in his words: Continue reading
Obama’s Politics of War and US Public Opinion: The Great Divergence By James Petras
6 September 2013 — James Petras
Introduction: As President Obama announces plans for another war, adding Syria to the ongoing and recent wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere, a profound gap has emerged between the highly militarized state and US public opinion.
Defeated NATO Dangerously Desperate in Syria By Tony Cartalucci
25 August 2013 — Land Destroyer
Did the West Gas Thousands to Rescue Failed Syrian War?
(Tony Cartalucci) – As far back as 2007, it was a documented fact that the West, including the United States and its allies Saudi Arabia and Israel, conspired to use terrorists drawn from the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda in an attempt to overthrow the governments of Iran and Syria.
Materials implicating Syrian govt in chemical attack prepared in advance – Russia
23 August 2013 — RT
Left Party Platform Statement
20 July, 2013 — Left Unity
[My pre-amble: There are three competing, as it were, ‘platforms’ for the paradoxically-named Left Unity Party. This is the first. I’ve also made the other two available here and here for your perusal and comparison, should you be so inclined. WB]
The European Union and Greece: the Murder of a Nation By Anna FILIMONOVA
10 August 2013 — Strategic Culture Foundation
At the end of July, eurozone deputy finance ministers approved another transfer of money to Greece to the tune of EUR 6.8 billion (it had previously been thought that Athens would be allocated EUR 8.1 billion). Several days earlier, meanwhile, the Greek parliament approved the latest in a series of legislative acts, the adoption of which had been a condition of receiving money from international creditors – the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank. Continue reading
The Challenge of Sustainable Development and the Culture of Substantive Equality By István Mészáros
December 2001 — Monthly Review
is author of Socialism or Barbarism: From the “American Century” to the Crossroads (Monthly Review Press, 2001), and Beyond Capital: Toward a Theory of Transition (Monthly Review Press, 1995).
Video: The Great Rift: Capitalism and the metabolism of nature and production John Bellamy Foster
7 August 2013 — MRZine
John Bellamy Foster: We need a society that is geared, as István Mészáros always tells us, to substantive equality. And no compromise on the issue of equality. Bolívar said equality is the law of laws. So we need substantive equality and we need ecological sustainability. And they have to go together. How do we know they have to go together? Because what is causing the ecological damage and what is causing the social damage is the same thing: it’s the rift in the production system; it’s the alienation of nature, which is one with the alienation of human society. Continue reading
Palestine: The Development of Fortified, Ethnically-exclusive Jewish Enclaves in The West Bank By Suzanne Harris-Brandts
4 August 2013 — arenaofspeculation.org
Amidst a series of dramatic events in recent weeks, the Palestinian strife of living under Israeli occupation for close to half a century has once again entered global media attention. Contributing to the headlines were two new Israeli announcements of Jewish-only settlement construction in the peripheries of East Jerusalem.
Book Review: One Eye on the Red Horizon – The Condition of Communism By Joseph G. Ramsey
22 July 2013 — Dissident Voice
The eye-grabbing cover of Jodi Dean’s The Communist Horizon (Verso, 2012) depicts what could be the dawn of a new day. A red sun, half in view, arcs across the volume’s bottom edge. From this solid red spot, dozens of thin but widening beams fan out; crossing the background, the sunlight splits the sky itself into stripes of red and white.
The United States Of Whatever: Ecocide And The Soul Of A Nation By Phil Rockstroh
21 June 2013 — Greanville Post
Who gives a damn???
The reality of and the outward toll inflicted by greenhouse gas engendered Climate Change is clearly evident (to all but the corrupt and devoutly ignorant) e.g. increasingly destructive and deadly tornadoes and hurricanes, destruction of marine life, severe droughts and rapacious wild fires — landscapes of death, scattered debris and shattered lives.
US data mining system technical details murky
7 June 2013 — Spacewar Daily
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) — The US government’s vast online data collection system revealed this week could tap into companies like Google and Facebook without the knowledge of top executives, experts said.
The Choice for the Working Class Will Certainly Be Created By the Communist Party of Turkey
5 June 2013
1. For days now Turkey has been witnessing a genuine popular movement. The actions and protests, which have started in Istanbul and spread all over Turkey, have a massive, legitimate, and historic character. The most important of all is the striking change in the mood of people. The fear and apathy has been overcome and people have gained self-confidence.
West's WMD Lies Fray as Syrian Army Overruns Terrorist Proxies
30 April 2013 — Land Destroyer
The New Dark Age 