Monthly Archives: July 2012

Changing the mode of production

Posted on 31/07/2012 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

The idea of a mode of production has its genesis amongst the political-economy theorists of the 19th century, a subject which was attracting so much interest was capitalism.  Capitalism – quite a new system – represented a sharp change from … Continue reading →

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Adam Kotsko’s Why we love sociopaths – I wish I could love it but I really can’t

Posted on 29/07/2012 by Dara McHugh

This was a book that meets my interests almost perfectly – I’m fascinated both by the study of empathy and cultural representations of sociopathy. And I love watching TV. But Adam Kotsko‘s approach to the subject fits evidence to argument … Continue reading →

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Race and Class

Posted on 28/07/2012 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

The staunchest and most consistent opponents of systemic racism are situated on the left, and a great many of them have been explicitly socialists. Socialists were some of the first to seriously champion the causes of anti-racism as it fits … Continue reading →

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European Minimum Programme

Posted on 27/07/2012 by James O'Brien

Ever since the German Social Democrats’ rather embarrassed shelving of the Erfurt Programme, the venerable socialist tradition of a basic set of policies that would facilitate social transformation has gone out of fashion. Trotsky was at pains to distinguish his … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Proletarian politics | 8 Comments

Left victimhood and the language of weakness

Posted on 26/07/2012 by modulus

The working class is exploited and oppressed. This is the central premise for any genuine socialist consciousness. It’s possible to argue whether young Marx‘s notions of alienation, and similar ideas before his complete break with German idealist philosophy and Feuerbach … Continue reading →

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The proletarian class party, part 4

Posted on 22/07/2012 by Maximilien Robespierre

After a short break from dealing with the subject (during which I wrote a post on identity politics) I have gotten around to writing part four on my series on the issue of the proletarian class party. Here are parts … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Proletarian politics | 4 Comments

The nature of the economic transition

Posted on 21/07/2012 by yeksmesh

This is the third article in my series on having an economic transition prior to a political seizure of power, which stands in contrast to the dominant view in the radical left that emphasises the seizure of political power from … Continue reading →

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You don’t matter and other adventures in socialism

Posted on 20/07/2012 by Dara McHugh

Sometimes when a lefty argument has been going for too long without any real progress or indeed any sort of relevance, I get a bit tetchy, leading to an outburst of ‘We don’t matter, this doesn’t matter!’. I think this … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Proletarian politics | 3 Comments

Interest rates and fraud

Posted on 19/07/2012 by modulus

The exploding LIBOR scandalis already bad enough, but there are more general problems with the inter-bank offered rates. When something like LIBOR comes up, the responses from the establishment are so predictable as to contain no information: “exceptional cases”, “bad … Continue reading →

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Rethinking Nuclear Power

Posted on 17/07/2012 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

As we face the twin perils of an energy crisis arising from the ever increasing cost of oil extraction and the serious threat of climate change, nuclear power has again come back onto the agenda. When the Nuclear Age first … Continue reading →

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The rise of money

Posted on 17/07/2012 by James O'Brien

Joseph Chamberlain is nowadays a half-remembered – by aficionados of British imperial history and resentful Irish nationalists – politician from the 19th century. Mostly he is remembered for siring two sons who followed him into politics and even then he … Continue reading →

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The limits of capitalist accumulation

Posted on 16/07/2012 by yeksmesh

One of the theories posited by Marx that is of chief importance for the radical left particularly today but also in general, is the theory that the material base of capitalism is geared towards socialism. Simply stated the theory posits … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Proletarian politics | 3 Comments

The proletarian class party, part 3

Posted on 15/07/2012 by Maximilien Robespierre

For those of you who don’t like to read titles, this post is part three of my series on the topic of the proletarian class party, with parts one and two being found here and here respectively. One thing I … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Proletarian politics | 3 Comments

Disciplining Iran

Posted on 14/07/2012 by James O'Brien

This piece looks at the situation in Iran from the point of view of an American security analyst using a terse style to simplify the presentation down to the core choices. It is hoped that what it loses in nuance … Continue reading →

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