i've been a devoted reader of world socialist web site (wsws), since about april 1999. i spent a lot of time digging through the web for political sites during the kosovo intervention by nato.
this site (finally) changed my view on the world to my liking. that means: it gave me, with some further reading, some principles (with which i can agree), on how to interpret world events. and -- no doubt -- made me throw away a lot of misbeliefs. (see SEP candidate explains why she joined the party )
--- elections
curiosity: An exchange with the Australian's Iraq correspondent
quote:
Over the past 50 years, especially, following the experience of two world wars and fascism, all sorts of ideologies, including animal liberation, but also the related positions such as that of the ecology movement, have become fashionable. Based on very one-sided interpretations of Darwinian biology (in areas such as sociobiology and evolutionary psychology), many now deem it unacceptable if not impossible for human society to base itself on such an ability to change the natural and social world.
.... Some have concluded from this the impossibility of developing any rational philosophy at all--the postmodernists. Animal liberationists have concluded that man as a species must be indicted for all the "crimes" of the twentieth century--"crimes"
postmodernism:
(google search revealed:) interesting, that this author is cited w/o explaining well what wsws is.
http://www.islamonline.net/english/views/2002/06/article12.shtml
Quote:
Friedman's assertion makes about as much sense as would a claim that individual elements engage in a "market transaction" when they "exchange" electrons to form a compound.
The fact, that these are reactions at a question from a reader, means that the explanation is for advanced readers, i guess. The author explains better, in that situation.
translation of a quote from "Marxism, History and Socialist Consciousness: a Reply by David North to Alex Steiner and Frank Brenner":
... Let me quote a critical portion of the reply to Brenner and Steiner's document by David North, chairman of the WSWS:
"The recognition that the emergence of the socialist movement has an objective foundation does not diminish the importance of the struggle to develop socialist consciousness. Indeed, the clarification of the objective basis of socialism is itself a critical component of the theoretical education of the working class. But the correct formulation of the socialist movement's pedagogical tasks is possible only within the framework of an understanding that the contradictions of capitalism provide the principal and decisive impulse for the development of revolutionary consciousness.
Il riconoscere, che l'emergere del movimento socialista abbia una fondazione oggettiva (in altre parole = iap - sia dovuto a fatti oggettivi), non diminuisce l'importanza di svilluppare la coscienza socialista. Infatti, gia' il chiarire della base oggettiva del socialismo (fase di organizzazione della societa) e' una componente fondamentale dell'educazione dei lavoratori.
Ma la formulazione dei compiti pedagogici del movimento socialista e' possibile soltanto sulla base di comprensione (??) che le contradizioni del capitalismo diano l'impulso principale e decisivo per lo sviluppo della coscienza rivoluzionaria (iap: voglia di fare la rivoluzione)
"The problem of socialist consciousness presents itself in one manner to those who recognize the latter as the ideal reflection of a real socio-economic process, and in quite another manner to those for whom no such objective and necessary relationship exists between the economic foundations of capitalist society and the formation of social thought.
For the Marxists, the fight for socialist consciousness does not consist of convincing the broad mass of workers to conduct a struggle against capitalism.
Rather, proceeding from a recognition of the inevitability of such struggles, arising out of the objectively exploitative process of surplus-value extraction, intensified by the deepening economic and social crisis of the capitalist system, the Marxist movement strives to develop, within the advanced sections of the working class, a scientific understanding of history as a law-governed process, a knowledge of the capitalist mode of production and the social relations to which it gives rise, and an insight into the real nature of the present crisis and its world-historical implications.
It is a matter of transforming an unconscious historical process into a conscious political movement, of anticipating and preparing for the consequences of the intensification of the world capitalist crisis, of laying bare the logic of events, and formulating, strategically and tactically, the appropriate political response.
"But for those who see no basis for socialism in the objective conditions created by capitalism itself, who have been demoralized by the experience of defeats and setbacks, and who neither understand the nature of the capitalist crisis nor perceive the revolutionary potential of the working class, the problem of transforming consciousness is posed in essentially ideal and even psychological terms. Insofar as there does not exist a real basis for socialist consciousness, the possibility for its development must be sought elsewhere. That is precisely why you, Comrades Brenner and Steiner, believe that `utopia is crucial to a revival of socialist culture'"
("Marxism, History and Socialist Consciousness: a Reply by David North to Alex Steiner and Frank Brenner").
I like to present articles, which i find illuminating, to my friends, who i think have some opinion on the topic.
In these articles, a completely new to me topic is raised; that of Haiti:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/apr2004/chom-a05.shtml -> http://www.marxists.org/archive/morrow-felix/1938/revolution-spain/ and as a curisosity: George Orwell: fought alongside the United Workers ... (http://www.orwelltoday.com/)
A reply to readers' letters on "The New McCarthyism: the witch-hunting of Ward Churchill"
(another nice dissection between wsws and other anti-imperialist movements, reactionary)
Rogovin:
-- part 1
-- part 2
- Congress held in Madrid on 70th anniversary of Spanish Civil War
Novel about POWs wins PEN/Faulkner Award
radio interview of North
Barry Grey
European media publish anti-Muslim cartoons: An ugly and calculated provocation ... A genuine critique of religion can be conducted only on the highest intellectual level, appealing to science and reason--not ignorance and fear.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/mar2006/irco-m08.shtml (letters on US, EU set to refer Iran to the UN Security Council )
quote from 78th Academy Awards: why such a poor showing? (Very nice piece!)
Some will conclude that the population has accepted the administration, the war and all the rest, and throw up their hands. Other left elements may not go so far, but work in quiet desperation, not confident of encountering support. .......
References to ... charitable institutions ... are indicative ... of the political approach to social policy ... in the twenty-first century.
http://archive.muslimuzbekistan.com/eng/ennews/2004/11/ennews09112004_1.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Murray
Italian court considers trial against CIA agents in rendition case
But I don't think he reads it carefully.