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World Contradictions in the Trump Era and the Tasks of Marxist-Humanism
Summary: Slightly abbreviated version of our 2018 Convention Call, covering issues like the global neo-fascist threat and its roots in racism, xenophobia, and sexism; forces of opposition like the West Virginia teachers; skyrocketing economic inequality alongside a declining rate of profit; and the responsibilities of Marxist-Humanists this year, on the 60th anniversary of the publication of Raya Dunayevskaya’s Marxism and Freedom — Editors
Eleanor Marx: the Jewess of Jew’s Walk
Summary: Lucy Kaufman’s new play about Eleanor Marx (the daughter of Karl Marx who was an important artist as well as activist), which will soon open in London—along with a 2014 biography of her by Rachel Holmes—makes this a valuable moment to re-examine the life and thought of this important revolutionary socialist feminist. The article includes a long passage by Kaufman — Editors
Chicago Rally on 50th Anniversary of King’s Death: The Struggle Grows
Summary: A gathering remembers Martin Luther King Jr. and recommits to the fight against police domination in Chicago–Editors
On Internationalism and National Liberation in Syria: Should Afrin Be Defended?
Summary: Two separate articles, by Javier Sethness and Ali Kiani, respond to a critique of our support for the Syrian Kurds by Fredo Corvo, “Is the Defense of Afrin Proletarian Internationalism?” The response by Sethness and an earlier version of the one by Kiani first appeared in Coalition for Peace Revolution, and Social Justice — Editors
The Vision of the New Society in Marx’s Capital
Summary: Discusses commodity fetishism vs. communism, socially necessary labor time vs. free/creative labor. Includes responses to critiques of Marx by Silvia Federici (on gender) and Endnotes (on communism). Originally appeared in Logos: A Journal of Modern Society & Culture 17:1 (Winter 2018) — Editors
March for Our Lives LA Protest
Summary: Youth are leading a movement against gun violence and rallied hundreds of thousands in the largest protests for gun control in US history, with this article focusing on the Los Angeles march–Editors
Housing and Revolution
Summary: Housing prices are going up all over the world. As a result, many have experienced widespread displacement in process known as “gentrification.” How ought we to understand it? More importantly, how can it be fought? This article claims (perhaps counterintuitively) that great inspiration for answering these questions can be found in Friedrich Engels’s nearly 150-year-old text, “On the Housing Question.” Image: Norra Sorgenfri in Malmö, Sweden — Editors
Black Feminist Marielle Franco’s Assassination Reveals the Banality of Death in Brazil
Summary: The assassination of Black feminist leader Marielle Franco, who was involved in both anti-capitalist and anti-racist politics, and who spoke out with uncommon force against the military occupation of the favelas of Rio, has touched off mass protests against Brazil’s increasingly authoritarian direction–Editors
International Women’s Day 2018: “If We Stop, the World Stops”
Summary: This year’s International Women’s Day marches and strikes exemplified a powerful year of change around the world, especially in Spain — Editors
Keep Rosa Luxemburg’s Birthplace Plaque!
Summary: Petition against removal of plaque honoring Rosa Luxemburg in her birthplace, Zamosc, Poland — Editors
New Book on Teachers’ Unions Offers Lessons for Today
Summary: How resentment of teachers’ unions was used by capital to weaken labor as a whole. Especially important in light of today’s mass strike by West Virginia teachers — Editors
Theoretical Lessons of the Russian Revolution
Summary: Critical analysis of Lenin’s concepts of imperialism, war, national liberation, and the state and revolution, as well as on revolutionary organization and on dialectics. Originally presented at an International Marxist-Humanist Organization panel at the Westside Peace Center, Los Angeles, February 18, 2018; first published in New Politics Online — Editors
For the People of Eastern Ghouta, Syria
Summary: Call for solidarity with those targeted by the Assad regime and its allies Iran and Russia, especially on the part of those on the left who have supported the Afrin Kurds against Turkey’s attack. First published by the Coalition for Peace, Revolution, and Social Justice — Editors
India: A Dialog With a Worker on the Future of Marxism
Summary: Lalan Kishor Singh, a production worker in Nagpur, India, recently raised vital questions in an open letter on the relation of workers and intellectuals, the failures of established socialism and communism, and the future of Marxism. A response follows by Peter Hudis, who visited Nagpur in November, followed by Singh’s reply. Arvind Ghosh has translated Singh from Hindi — Editors.
Brazil’s Racial Capitalism: Further Disruption of Democracy and Fall of the Left Increases the Risk of Fascism
Summary: Cultural, political, and economic crisis deepens in Brazil, with rightwing forces focusing their attacks on Marx and on Black and LGBT people in wake of the decline of the left after nearly two decades of compromise with neoliberalism under Workers’ Party rule. Image: neofascist demonstrators – photo by Diógenes Junior — Editors