New Politics Vol. XX No. 1, Whole Number 77

 

In this issue:

From The Editors

From the Editors

By:

For months now we, like many people around the world, have been horrified and infuriated by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and the U.S. government’s support for it. Many in American society have condemned the Biden . . .

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Protesting the War on Gaza

Reflections of a Student Organizer

By:

Aristotle Wu discusses the strength and the challenges of the US student movement for Palestine, which organized solidarity encampments for Gaza on many campuses.

On the Student Barricades

By:

Mathew Foresta reports from Gaza solidarity encampments on various university campuses in Los Angeles, which faced threats and attacks from Zionist counter-protestors.

The University Struggle to Unlearn Zionism

By:

Linda Xheza interviews Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, on the universities’ systemic complicity in imperialism and the significance of anti-imperialist student encampments.

The Abuse of the “Antisemitism” Accusation in Germany

By:

Udi Raz, a Jewish anti-Zionist activist in Berlin, discusses the German state repression of the Palestinian solidarity movement under the pretense of fighting antisemitism.

Symposium on the U.S. Election

Symposium on the U.S. Election

How should the left relate to the U.S. election?

The Lesser Evil Is Still Less Evil

By:

Rebecca Gordon calls on the US left to vote for the Democrat for President, to prevent Trump’s attacks on workers, women and democracy.

No Election Can Save Us

By:

Natalia Tylim calls for building the independent Left forces in order to stop genocide and fascism, rather than supporting the Democrats in the upcoming election.

Vote to Save Our Basic Civil Rights

By:

Frieda Afary calls for voting for the Democrats for President, in order to protect the basic freedoms and human rights in the United States.

Don’t Just Vote or Not Vote

By:

Dan Fischer calls for focusing on independent grassroots organizing and direct action of the left, rather than ceding ground to the Democratic Party.

The Election and Left Responsibility

By:

Stephen R. Shalom argues that it is moral responsibility for leftists in swing states to vote for the Democratic candidate in the upcoming election.

U.S. Politics

The Fightback on Reproductive Rights

By:

Marian Jones analyzes many forms of resistance for abortion rights, including grassroots abortion funding, underground networks for medication and shield laws for doctors.

Capitalism, Imperialism, and Global Displacement

By:

Justin Akers Chacón discusses how the crises of global capitalism and imperialism are causing mass displacement of immigrants, who are targeted by fascist and bourgeois political forces.

The Political Argument—Never Merely Theater

By:

John Washington calls for abolition of borders, which he argues are dangerous, artificial and illegitimate.

Culture Wars, Nationalism, and the Politics of History

By:

Daniel Johnson analyzes struggles over historical narratives in the US, and calls for renewal of history from below, against the right-wing censorship.

Special Section on Labor in China

Special Section on Labor in China

These contributions look at the general conditions of Chinese workers; the situation of women workers; a case study of Foxconn; the Chinese and Israeli surveillance states; and a discussion of solidarity between the U.S. and Chinese labor movements.

Socialist Internationalism and the Chinese Working Class

By: ,

Ruo Yan and Andrew Sebald introduce a symposium on the independent working-class struggles in China, calling for international solidarity.

The State of Labor Resistance and Repression in China

By: ,

Julie Liu and Roy Li discuss the trajectory of labour struggles in China in recent years, fighting against severe state repression and censorship.

Gender and the Chinese Working Class

By: ,

Zoe Zhao and Olia Shu analyze many forms of exploitation of women workers in China, such as in family workshops and digital platforms, and their resistance.

Foxconn and the U.S. Labor Movement

By:

Zhang Mazi highlights the power held by Foxconn workers and calls on US workers to build solidarity, including by targeting Foxconn’s global supply chains.

Between Chinese Surveillance and Israeli Settler Colonialism

By:

On the extensive collaborations between the Chinese and Israeli regimes on surveillance technologies, which are also increasingly used in North America.

Activists on U.S.-China Labor Solidarity

By: , , ,

Ellen David Friedman, Alex T. Tom and Kevin Lin discuss the experiences and importance of worker-to-worker solidarity for democratic unionism between the US and China.

International Politics

In Defense of Ukraine’s Right to Self-Defense

By:

John Feffer speaks for the Ukrainian war of self-defense against the Russian invasion, as a struggle of an oppressed people against imperialism.

What the Election of AMLO’s Protégé Means for Mexico

By:

Dan La Botz critically examines the authoritarian and militarist legacy of López Obrador, and prospects for Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidency.

Socialist Theory

Why Class-Struggle Socialists Fight Elections

By:

Dan Davison argues that socialists should engage in elections as a means for agitation and propaganda, following Lenin and Luxemburg.

From Karl Marx to Eco-Marxism

By:

Michael Löwy argues that Marx’s thought has deep ecological significance, such as his theory of the “realm of freedom”.

Review Essays

review

The Politics of Armed Resistance

By:

Bill Keach reviews Mark Steven’s book “Class War: A Literary History”, a wide-ranging account of uprisings of oppressed classes.

review

Intersectional Marxism 
and the Dialectic

By: ,

Lilia D. Monzó and Cristal B. Flores review the latest edition of Marx’s Critique of the Gotha Programme and discuss its significance for today.

review

A Planned Economy with No Central Planning Authority

By:

Tom Wetzel reviews Robin Hahnel’s proposal for democratic economic planning, based on workers’ councils, consumers’ councils and a non-market price system.

Reviews

review

Refusing to Be a Model Minority

By:

David Renton reviews Shane Burley and Ben Lorber’s recent book, “Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism.”

review

It Might Have Happened Here

By:

Wayne Price reviews Rachel Maddow’s book on US fascism, which lacks a critical perspective on capitalist anti-communism as the cause of fascism.

Poem

Moral Rot

By:

Samuel Friedman’s poem on a capitalist society that produces much moral rot.

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