By Michael A. Lebowitz Editor’s Note: We mourn the loss of Michael Lebowitz who died at home on April 19. 2023. Mike was a superb Marxist economist, teacher, and author of many valuable works about Marx, the socialist project, and capitalism. Perhaps it is not an exaggeration to say that Mike more than any of his contemporaries contributed to reviving Marx’s ideas about … [Read more...] about The Rich Human Being: Marx and the Concept of Real Human Development
socialism
US/China War Is No Longer Unthinkable
By Gary Olson China offers a threatening alternative model of development that is non-capitalist, non-Western, and non-colonial. As such, it undermines the West’s neocolonial domination of the Third World and its debt-trap-based forced underdevelopment of subservience and exploitation. — K.T. Noh If the United States were to posit that it could eliminate the economic … [Read more...] about US/China War Is No Longer Unthinkable
Capitalism, the Absurd System: A View from the United States
By John Bellamy Foster & Robert W. McChesney Originally published in Monthly Review, 2010, Volume 62, Issue 02 (June) A few years ago, in a class one of us taught, a discussion arose about how capitalism works as a system in which the need for the few to maximize profit drives the entire political-economic structure. The students appeared to grasp how the … [Read more...] about Capitalism, the Absurd System: A View from the United States
The Spirit of the Laws: Constitutional Republics, Capitalism, and the Future of Socialism
STEPHEN ERIC BRONNER The liberal republic is today the fulcrum of progressive politics. Protecting liberal principles, the democratic character of the republic, and existing social rights from white nationalist reactionaries in the United States and anti-immigrant and racist parties in Europe has been the over-riding issue for Western radicals since the election of President … [Read more...] about The Spirit of the Laws: Constitutional Republics, Capitalism, and the Future of Socialism
May Day History: The Haymarket Riot
by Lenny Flank In the early United States, labor unions were outlawed—they were considered to be illegal conspiracies in restraint of “free trade.” That changed in 1842, when, in the Hunt case, the courts ruled that collective bargaining was legal and that workers could form unions and associations. At first, labor unions were small, weak, and rarely extended beyond the … [Read more...] about May Day History: The Haymarket Riot
Introduction to The Manifesto & a reprint of abridged version of Das Capital
by BoB WeicK In a café in Paris in 1844 two young, brilliant revolutionary thinkers met, spent ten days in spirited wine-soaked debate and formed a lifelong bond. A friendship that would last 40 years. Their body of brilliant economic and philosophical writings would inspire revolutions, shake the foundations of political economy, and thereby change the course of … [Read more...] about Introduction to The Manifesto & a reprint of abridged version of Das Capital
Notes from the Editor [LT3]
Notes from the Editors The essays in this issue are of two sorts. The one we present first focuses on grassroots actions of the you-are-the-leaders-you’ve-been-looking-for persuasion. Mostly. Their focus tends to be on doings in the US: the black community, bingo workers, teachers and unions, meritocracy (an analytic counterpoise dealing with the wealthy), a grassroots … [Read more...] about Notes from the Editor [LT3]
‘Working People Will Make a Better World’: An Interview with Labor Historian Priscilla Murolo
Interviewed by Andy Piascik Priscilla Murolo teaches history at Sarah Lawrence College, where she formerly directed the graduate program in Women’s History. She also teaches in the Union Leadership and Activism Master’s Program at the University of Massachusetts. Beginning in the1960s, she has been involved in the women’s movement, labor organizing and many community … [Read more...] about ‘Working People Will Make a Better World’: An Interview with Labor Historian Priscilla Murolo
Marx and Earth-First Socialism
Alex Fischer "A new report from the United Nations" climate panel warns humanity has only a dozen years to mitigate global warming and limit the scope of global catastrophe. Otherwise, millions will be imperiled by increasing droughts, floods, fires and poverty. The sweeping report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change urges immediate and unprecedented … [Read more...] about Marx and Earth-First Socialism