New Politics Vol. XVII No. 4, Whole Number 68
In this issue:
From The Editors
From the Editors
We are in interesting times. Across the globe a new wave of social protests has erupted. They stretch from Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon to Hong Kong; from Algeria and Sudan to France and Catalunya. . . .
Global Crises and Uprisings
The Puerto Rican Summer
The summer of 2019 will go down as a major moment in Puerto Rico’s history. Between July 10 and 25, street protests—unprecedented in their intensity, persistence, diversity, and size—led to an unprecedented result: The . . .
Sudan’s Revolution of 2019
Sudan’s revolution is not only Arab but also African in a way not seen in the 2011 Arab uprisings. The old regime combined Islamism and a racist form of Arabism with military rule, touching . . .
Civic Resistance to Japanese Militarism
Japan’s 5.26 trillion-yen fiscal 2019 defense budget set a new record for the fifth straight year, as the country continued to beef up its armed forces while keeping a wary eye fixed on North . . .
Socialist History and Theory
The Historical Retrieval and Controversy of Walter Rodney’s Russian Revolution
The posthumous publication of Walter Rodney’s book on the historiography of the Russian Revolution is a remarkable accomplishment of historical retrieval, and it provides us with an opportunity to look more deeply into Rodney’s . . .
Are You a Settler?
The politics of solidarity on display during the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline have raised the issue of Indigenous liberation more and more sharply to people on the left.
Anti-colonialism and Humanism
Anti-colonialism is understood to be both a group of historical events and a critical analysis of past and ongoing imperialisms.
Sortition: Two Views
Sortition: Two Views
We present two articles on the idea of sortition, democracy by lottery: one by Nicholas Coccoma and one by Stephen R. Shalom.
The Return of Democracy by Lottery
Imagine if instead of having politicians and political parties make our most important decisions, we empowered everyday people from all walks of life to dive into the issues, work through their differences, and seek . . .
Some Reflections on Sortition
That capitalism needs to be replaced is obvious. We need a system that values human needs, rather than profits, that lets people control their own lives, rather than being dominated by tyrants or by . . .
U.S. Politics and Labor
Problems with an Electoral Road to Socialism in the United States
In a welcome sign, the recent revitalization of the socialist left, particularly the spectacular growth of Democratic Socialists of America, has revived debate about the road to socialism. Also, fortunately, the discussion, which has . . .
Take My Benefits—Please!
At the June 2019 House Ways and Means Committee Hearing on Medicare for All, Texas Republican Kevin Murphy lamented, “That great health care plan that your union negotiated for you? It’s gone. Banned under . . .
Syndicalism’s Legacy and Left Labor Strategy Today
In the first two decades of the twentieth century, dissident revolutionaries built a rival tradition—the syndicalist movement.
On SNCC’s 60th Anniversary
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee began as an organization of students from black colleges in the South to integrate lunch counters that refused service to blacks. The tactic they used was the nonviolent direct . . .
Continuing the Discussion on Black Politics
Replying to Cedric Johnson: I think Johnson over-diagnoses the problem. Where he sees danger, I see opportunity and where I see opportunity, he sees danger.
Reviews
review
A Radical New Politics of Surrogacy?
Sophie Lewis’ new book Full Surrogacy Now, published by Verso, has gotten a lot of attention in left media circles. Lewis was interviewed on Jacobin Radio’s
review
The AFL-CIO’s Cold War
The Cold War was the period in the twentieth century, approximately between 1946 and 1991, where world politics were dominated by the confrontation between two blocs of states, led respectively by the United States . . .
review
Questions for the International Left
In anxious anticipation of the Brexit referendum, then U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron summed up the philosophy of politics that drives him and so many who occupy the command posts of power: “I divide . . .
review
The Case for Socialism
Various books have been published in the last few years that make a case for a transition to socialism. This one has a special “edge”: it’s written by the Harold Quinton chair of business . . .
review
The Democratic Quest: Marxism Versus Liberalism
In a recent interview for the Minneapolis Interview Project, August Nimtz asserted that “to exercise political power, we must impose our will through collective action.”* In his new work, Nimtz says much the same . . .
Songs and Poems
El violador en tu camino
“El violador en tu camino” (“The rapist in your path”), a song written by Lastesis, a feminist theatre group based in the city of Valparaíso, has been sung and danced by women . . .
Silence
In a land infected with virtuous disbelief,
where the words of presidents, senators,
jurists and generals
spark only questions
of what scam they are pulling this time,
Enough!
Somewhere,
somewhere perhaps
in the desert of Iraq,
or perhaps in Palestine
or the Afghan hills,
amidst the cacophony of shells,
the reek of boiled-off flesh,
somewhere,
Read more ›
The Sandy Next Time
As the water rose
to occupy Wall Street,
ten thousand helicopters
flew massed dollars out
lest all that cabbage salt to slaw
and the balance of payments
blow . . .
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