Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

Empiricism, because it takes its evidence from the existing order of things, is inherently prone to accepting as realities things that are merely evidence of underlying biases and ideological pressures. Empiricism, for Marx, will always confirm the status quo. He would have particularly disliked the modern tendency to argue from ‘facts’, as if those facts were neutral chunks of reality, free of the watermarks of history and interpretation and ideological bias and of the circumstances of their own production . The financial system in its current condition poses an existential threat to Western democracy far exceeding any terrorist threat. No democracy has ever been destabilised by terrorism Marx and 'capitalism' by John Lanchester

After Obregón founded the modern Mexican state, back in 1920, his successor Plutarco Elías Calles, established the ruling elite’s political party, which eventually became the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) that ruled Mexico from 1929 to 2000. For decades the PRI won all the elections for every office, from president to mayor of the smallest town. This was done through fear and favors, clientelism and patronage, fraud and, when necessary, murder. Will the Mexican elite and its foreigner allies tolerate a social democrat, a "populist"? Last time they used fraud. Even if Obrador wins, cooptation and betrayal might do the work. The recent examples in Latin America, Venezuela being the most obvious case, has showed that if the economic power of the elite is not attacked, local and international capital would not let a social democratic movement succeed in instilling small changes. The plot against López Obrador

"I want to argue, however, that we cannot understand science or speak of its limits or boundlessness in the abstract. To speak of “science for science’s sake” — as if, to paraphrase Samuel Butler on art, science had a “sake,” is to mystify what science is and what scientists do. This mystification, still often on the lips of the ideologues of science, serves to justify specific interests and privileges. Instead, we have to consider this science in this society. I shall argue that it is indeed limited, and that its limits are provided by a combination of two major factors. The first is material, the second ideological. I will consider each in turn." Limits to Science

Happy birthday, Karl Marx In Opinion section on the New York Times By a professor at a South Korean university

"But this week was also the week that Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of China’s Alibaba and a high-tech icon on par with Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg, visited Israel. On Friday, the first leg of the Giro d’Italia bicycle race begins in Jerusalem (carefully skirting east Jerusalem). There were at least three major cross-border mergers and acquisition deals this week involving Israeli companies totaling a billion-plus dollars." On the recently-discovered Israel's "bad behaviour", "Western human rights", "Western democracies", business interests and other beautiful things

Ghani's statistics on armed groups show that most of them also involve cases of violence against women – and the Syrian government heads that list. Women are deliberately targeted, he says, because they always played an important role in the opposition against Assad. The regime sees torture and sexual abuse of women as a war strategy, Ghani argues. "Break the women and you break the family – and with it opposition in society. That's the goal." Syrian women in Assad's prisons

Against Charity

Liberal Totalitarianism

I listen and listen again. I hear this or that voice. I read sentences and behind the lines. I read arguments and counter-arguments. My impression is that Trump and his clique, and so far backed mostly by the Israeli regime, are building dossier and a creating a context for a war with Iran. It will be very interesting to watch, especially the position Putin's regime will take. Of course nothing is certain yet, but similar patterns lead to similar results. In the interim a few things could happen and  change the descent towards another madness: Trump might go before that, for example.

The Communist Manifesto as a graphic novel

This should be a novel in my reading list The Art of Critique in Victor Serge's Midnight in the Century

"If you don't attack the economic power of the elite, soon or later it will attack you." That's what the Arab uprisings, for instance, were unable/failed to do. K for Karl – Revolution (episode 3)

The Communist Manifesto at the British Library Note that the full price to attend the talk is £15. Obviously, and ironically, the event is not for the working class!

Very good! I recommend it to "Westerners" and non-Westerners.

The memory of the defeated

France The BBC has 'analysed' the ongoing events in a neoliberal triumphant tone . French students are right to revolt An open letter

The end of May?

Britain How austerity is hollowing out heart Tory Somerset

Mission accomplished

Britain The racists won. So are they happy now?