Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

What is 'post-capitalism'? [a critique]

The Anti-Fascist Revolution

"A coup is a curious thing. Those who make the coup never admit that they have made the coup. They claim that they are restoring democracy or that they are taking extraordinary means to establish the conditions – eventually – for democracy. This is precisely why the definition of the events are so fraught. But all coups are not the same. There are at least two types of military coups – the  General’s Coup  and the  Colonel’s Coup ." "Bolivia does not exist"

An excellent account! Rebellion, Reformism, and Reaction in Latin America

Greece: Financial terrorism and Tsipras' capitulation "Syriza became yet another party of the state. This was reflected, not just in the predictable results of their management of austerity (poverty continues to rise , the health system is still undergoing perpetual crisis and shortages , etc), but in the wider conservatism of the government. Though it promised to reform foreign policy, democratise the security forces, and support migrants, Syriza wet in the opposite direction on almost every front. Never before, at least since the dictatorship, has the Greek state's foreign policy been so closely aligned to the US and Israel . Tsipras referred to Jerusalem as Israel's capital before Trump did. On immigration, too, Syriza has been servile, bailing Merkel out with a  deal favouring what used to be called  'illegal pushback'. It has deployed security forces against refugee rights movements. The old security state, with its record of corruption and far-right co...

Bhaskar Sunkara explores socialism’s history and presents a realistic vision for its future

An event in London Videogames industry, profit, class struggle, etc. Consoles, Controllers and Class Struggle A book by Jamie Woodcock

"If we don't understand class struggle, we don't understand anything"

"The central point is this: identities are fluid, constantly defined and redefined through economic and political struggles. The predominance of ethnic and sectarian conflict is a phenomenon that itself needs to be explained — not assumed to be an unavoidable driver of discord." The Tribalist Trap Syria as an example Note that the author while generalizing when talking about "Western-backed regimes", failed to say that in the case of Syria the regime is a Russian- and Iranian-backed regime.

Immanuel Wallerstein , currently a senior research scholar at Yale University, is among the greatest living sociologists and one of the most appropriate scholars to discuss the current relevance of Marx. He has been a reader of Marx for a long time, and his work has been influenced by the theories of the revolutionary born in Trier on May 5, 1818. Wallerstein has authored more than 30 books, which have been translated into several languages, including his very well known  The Modern World-System , published in four volumes between 1974 and 2011 Read Marx, says Wallerstein An interview

Michael Roberts replies to the Financial Times' "Activist Manifesto" Recent empirical work on the US class division of incomes has been done by Professor Simon Mohun .  Mohun analysed US income tax returns and divided taxpayers into those who could live totally off income from capital (rent, interest and dividends) – the true capitalists, and those who had to work to make a living (wages).  He compared the picture in 1918 with now and found that only 3.8% of taxpayers could be considered capitalists, while 88% were workers in the Marxist definition.  In 2011, only 2% were capitalists and near 84% were workers.  The ‘managerial’ class, ie workers who also had some income from capital (a middle class ?) had grown a little from 8% to 14%, but still not decisive.  Capitalist incomes were 11 times higher on average than workers in 1918, but now they were 22 times larger.  The old slogan of the 1% and the 99% is almost accurate." From communism to activism? ...

Capital.150 part two: the economic reason for madness

A book review Southern Insurgency: The Coming of the Global Working Class

Not just being right, but getting free

"Hats and Men: Marx's Faulty Symmetry"

Labour's share

Walter Benjamin states that "the tradition of the oppressed teaches us that the 'state of emergency' in which we live is not the exception but the rule. We must attain to a conception of history that is in keeping with this insight. Then we shall clearly realise that it is our task to bring about a real state of emergency, and this will improve our position in the struggle against fascism." In other words, all class society is a permanent state of emergency in which the rulers are always under threat. Fascism is thus not some sort of breakdown of tradition but a continuation of traditional class rule by other means. Overcoming it thus requires not just anti-fascist attitudes but also a destruction of its roots in class oppression. Or, as Horkheimer put it in 1939: "If you don't want to talk about capitalism then you had better keep quiet about fascism."