On “A day of international action against Wall Street”
I just really believe that a complete analysis of American economics and growing class inequality needs to include the disastrous Santa Clara decision, which granted corporations equal rights as a person. With all of the toxic arguments being bantered about regarding Roe v. Wade, which would impact most people’s lives very little, the Santa Clara decision, in my mind, must be stricken down. I think it is a very obscure topic, and one that has certainly contributed to the devastation, especially more recently, of daily life for working Americans.
Nelson V
South Dakota USA
18 October 2011
On “American liberalism attempts to corral Occupy Wall Street movement for Democrats”
I very much enjoyed David Walsh’s piece on liberals’ attempt to co-opt OWS.
I think more and more that the dogma of “diversity” hamstrings the “left.” All forms of prejudice are first and foremost tools of divide and conquer. Yes various groups should reach out to each other and be sensitive to various needs, but too much time and energy is spent trying to force diversity on various groups or movements.
That precious time and energy is needed to build a viable and serious movement. Privileged white and blacks condescend to more alienated people thinking they have to “decode” white language for them, whereas I am convinced that if they see something formidable happening they might jump on board.
Diversifying the left is not so much the problem as showing people there is a real opportunity for significant change.
In this day and age, the “ideology” of diversity is the people inflicting divide and conquer on themselves on behalf of their masters.
Wobblie
14 October 2011
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From Sunday afternoon’s “Your Money” on CNN:
Host (Ali Velshi): “There is a distinction that's being drawn here, Stephen. They are calling themselves the 99%, in contrast to the 1% who control the wealth in this country. It is really drawing class lines. That could be some cause for alarm.”
Editorial writer for Wall Street Journal (Stephen Moore): “Yeah, it’s what I find is most dangerous about the movement.”
Greg
New Hampshire, USA
17 October 2011
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From all the various on-the-ground reports I’ve read from socialist participants across the nation, two organizational systems are at work. The first system wants to create a space—a real, physical space—in which all kinds of things may happen, and where strategy comes from the bottom up. The other system is that of the business unions and the Democratic Party, organizations that have never admitted any kind of bottom-up initiative, and don’t ever intend to.
It seems that everyone “supports” the Occupation now: the Democrats, the business unions, Obama, even George Soros, who knows a good investment when he sees one.
In fact they’re not supporting OWS at all, they merely ride it like the fly that sits on top of the horse in the old Aesop fable, and fantasizes it’s the driver. The crunch will come when the Democrats and unions try to rein in and discipline “their” marchers. It won’t work.
If the liberal elite fails [to] take it over and use it as an organizing base to re-elect Obama and advance the Democratic Party agenda, they’ll abandon the movement and demonize it through their mouthpieces in the media (including the publications referenced by David Walsh above.)
Richard
California USA
17 October 2011
On “Sirte’s fall to usher in mass repression by Libya’s National Transitional Council”
Thanks Chris, and the WSWS in general, for rejecting the fake ‘left’ that supports imperialist re-conquest of Libya.
Solidarity.
Siusaidh
Montreal, Canada
15 October 2011
On “Growing strike wave in Greece”
Reading the above commentary, it becomes blindingly obvious that there is a crying need for a coordination of the strike and opposition wave of the workers and youth. A kind of ‘soviet’ of workers, the jobless and young people to coordinate and move forward the struggle against capitalists and their enablers. This would have the added benefit, and a crucial one, of engendering sense of solidarity, of common interests, and furthermore, to be able to communicate and coordinate internationally, especially within the EU.
As a result of this, or in parallel, sections of the ‘armed body of men’, such as the police and the army, would be inclined to join the popular struggle, as has happened in the past. This then will spell the end of capitalistic mode of production, and Capitalism itself.
The above may be criticised as utopia, but so were the numerous revolutions in the course of human history, some epoch-changing. There can be no doubt, though, that the objective conditions for a social revolution exist now, and have been increasingly so, over the past 40 years.
This letter of PASK is a welcome development; hopefully it will be followed by others.
Mirek
Australia
15 October 2011
On “The world at large and closer to home”
Just stumbled upon this article. I think it is brilliant. I grew up in Toronto and attend the festival most years and I think the right hits the mark on all of the points he makes. Most often Torontonians spend their time shouting to the world about how great their city is. It really is no better than any place else. Someone needs to tell us that once in awhile.
Steve
17 October 2011
On “Hundreds of thousands protest internationally against social inequality”
The level of protest against current socioeconomic malaise in our world is unprecedented. World citizenry minus one per cent is now well aware of the logic of capitalism, i.e. accumulation of wealth in the hands of 1% while making life miserable for the remaining 99%.
This, in my view, is experiential knowledge of the world masses. This month world population will mark the rise to seven billion. Material conditions of life everywhere except for the 1% remain intolerable. Natural disasters in Pakistan, Thailand, Cambodia wreaking havoc in those countries.
National governments in them and International organizations such as UN, WHO and UNICEF have demonstrated their incapacity in the face of escalating crisis. Solution to this predicament, in my view, rest on the shoulders of the international working class. Their internationalized urban based protest needs to be consolidated by occupying their respective workplaces and bringing them under democratic control via opening books of accounts and so on.
Present depicts a dual power situation. On the part of the world’s establishment which is constituted of confronting forces due to striving for grabbing as much as possible of the earth’s resources into the hands of participants in the ruthless and relentless competition, global life has been made unlivable. Libyan war, opposition by China and Russia to any international action to ease sufferings of victims of Bashar in Syria show the world citizenry the nature of the confrontational forces that constitute the world establishment.
Under these circumstances the international working class under the leadership of the ICFI has got to intervene to avoid the repetition of very unfortunate events of the 20th century, i.e. two world wars and numerous localized wars since the conclusion of the second war.
Long live the ICFI.
I.V.
Sri Lanka
10 October 2011