Philosophy and Marxism Today

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Can the Ukraine Mess be solved by Negotiations

“A diplomatic effort would seek to show them that Ukraine and the United States would be open to a negotiated settlement as long as there are no territorial concessions, making the point that it is Russia that refuses to end the war.”

 Ukraine and the United States? Russia is not fighting against the U.S. The settlement will be between Ukraine and Russia and whether or not there will be territorial concessions or not will be decided by Ukraine not the U.S., which should have no role in the negotiations. 
This whole article is about the U.S. and what it wants and the concerns and problems the drove the Russians to undertake the war don’t matter at all. 
And what are they: 1. End NATO’s continuing encroachments on their border, i.e., Ukraine doesn’t join NATO, a hostile military alliance giving NATO a 4 minute window for a nuclear attack preventing a Russian retaliation (nice if you can get it, but the Russians won’t go for it). 2. Recognize Russia’s claim to the Crimea — it’s a done deal so end the sanctions (the West didn’t put sanctions on Israel  for annexing parts of Syria and de facto taking over a third of the West Bank— no double standards). 3. Let the Russian speaking Donbas decide its own future since it was the revocation of the their national rights by the government in Kiev that led to the revolt there that started in 2014. 
These are the issues Russia wants to negotiate about with Ukraine and these issues the U.S maintains are non-negotiable so who is it that “refuses to end the war?”

NYTIMES.COM

Ukraine and the Contest of Global Stamina

The conflict’s long-run trajectory seems increasingly likely to be shaped by whether the United States and its allies can maintain their military, political and financial commitments to holding off Russia.

Comment

Reflections on a "Man-Made" Disaster

Let’s reflect on this disaster: The NYT reports “It is an increasingly common path for a world confronting the deadly consequences of extreme weather brought on by man-made, and irreversible, climate change.”

Yes— man-made but by man operating under the rules and laws of the capitalist economic system. Every added oz. of CO2 and related gases brings us closer to the camel’s back. Here are three recent headlines on man’s response:

Shell sees refining profits nearly tripling, adding $1 billion to its bottom line.

Biden opens the possibility of more offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico

President Biden Looks to Boost Oil Production - Bloomberg.com

It’s not Biden per se but our system. A Republican president would do the same— and that’s the rub, at least for Marxists. We all know what is at issue in the coming elections and we don’t want Republicans to take over— but Democrats are taking us down the same road, only slower. 

Does Marxism have the correct understanding of the solutions to capitalist crises — i.e., socialism. Our movement is not strong enough to have any real influence in the outcome of the duel for supremacy between the Democrats and Republicans- if the Democrats and their allies can’t defeat the Republicans our widow’s mite won’t change a thing. Instead of making fools of ourselves chasing  after Biden’s tail and supporting the monopoly capitalist oligarchs he works for against those who support the Republicans (often the same ones) we should be using the election time opportunities to propagate a proper understanding among the working class of their real position under the capitalist system and why socialism is their movement to embrace. 

That means, simply, forget about the Biden vs whatever Republican dog and pony show of the ruling class and concentrate all our efforts on local organizing and local political struggle to begin building a real working class political base necessary for any Marxist movement. Let’s not hide our unique worldview under a bushel but live up to our vanguard role and proclaim it from the  house tops (‘that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops’). This doesn’t mean not working with others, or insisting that others have to adopt all our views, it only means we work with others but also keep our own flags flying. 

A recent example of this was the Poor Peoples demonstration in Washington  a couple of weeks ago. Marxist groups participated in this popular front activity fully supporting its message and goals and at the same time displayed their own colors and symbols of Marxism. What better way to show that Marxism and  Marxist-Leninist groups can work together with other popular progressive movements and the interchange of ideas can only help the Marxist movement as its move advanced ideology will gradually take root. The vanguard role must be earned not simply proclaimed — out of the ears of the closet and on to the roof!

NYTIMES.COM

Glacier Tragedy Shows Reach of Europe’s New Heat

A collapse at the top of one of Italy’s tallest peaks offered the latest evidence of the deadly threat posed by rising temperatures.

Comment

Ben & Jerry's Does the Right Thing

" Ben & Jerry’s announcement nearly one year ago that it would no longer sell ice cream in “occupied Palestinian territories” is continuing to attract ire, as it finds itself the target of a new lawsuit, an alleged fake-news story and threats of further divestments…..Last week New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued Unilever a final warning saying the state plans to divest its own funds from the company over the Israel decision if it did not take more decisive action against its subsidiary.'---JTA

It's not a Boycott as Ben and Jerry's still sells it products in Israel proper. Refusal to sell its products in illegally occupied territory is a  decision to not profit from doing business in territory illegally controlled by an apartheid regime. Gov. Hochul and the Democratic Party"s support of this fascist occupation of the West Bank and repression of the human rights of the Palestinian people should be condemned by all progressive groups and others committed to the fight against fascism at home and abroad. Shame on Gov. Hochul if she goes through with this.

FORWARD.COM

New York Gov. Hochul gives Unilever final warning before divesting over Ben & Jerry's Israel boycott

Pro-Israel organizations are demanding that New York swiftly follow through on divesting from Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s over policies toward Israel.

Comment

On the Conflict in Ukraine

This was supposed to be a limited action to keep NATO out of Ukraine, defend the rights of the working class and Russian speakers in the Donbas, and remove the neo-Nazi's from their positions in the government and military. Biden has turned it into a proxy war between the US and Russia. Ukraine now has an unlimited supply of advanced weapons at its disposal flowing in from NATO and the US directly. It is doubtful the Russian military is capable of completely defeating the Ukrainians. Russia can take over the Donbas and dig in --the Ukrainians won't be able to drive them out if they are determined to stay. We will have a stalemate. A rational negotiated peace could be worked out acceptable to both sides but US imperialism will try to prolong the conflict as long as possible and will do all it can to prevent such an outcome. All this anti-Putin propaganda (he is no worse than US presidents in misusing his military) is part of the US game plan and an attempt to cover up the imperialist provocations that led the Russian ruling class to attempt this ill advised military assault on Ukraine. Unless Biden can be stopped this war will be intensified and the only winner will be US Imperialism and the two political parties that are its supporters. We need to build a broad popular front based on the working class and including the vast majority of the American people directed against both major capitalist parties and their imperialist policies -- this is the only way to really fight the ongoing drift towards fascism and war in this country.

Friday, October 22, 2021

Human History Gets a Rewrite?

Why does this "rewrite" seem so familiar to those Marxists familiar with the writings of Lewis Henry Morgan (Ancient Society, The League of the Iroquois) Frederick Engels (The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State) and Vere Gordon Childe (Man Makes Himself, What Happened in History) and many other historians, archaeologists and anthropologists in the Marxist tradition. I haven't read the book under discussion but there is nothing in this review that will not sound old hat to those educated in the tradition of Marxist historiography and dialectical and historical materialism. If you have had a throughly conventional bourgeois education, reading this book would probably be helpful, but if it's an American education you probably won't know anything about what they are discussing unless your own curiosity and initiative has led you to study these issues.