Caught between the deadly, dead-end alternatives of imperialism & religious fundamentalism

Written on April 12th, 2015 in politics Comments Off

… only revolution can get us out of this situation – Published on Pambazuka News, April 10, 2015.

Millions of people around the world are burning with outrage under imperialist oppression. Islamic fundamentalism tragically channels this explosive discontent into mindless violence that offers nothing positive. This nightmare will only get worse, unless people fight to take their societies on a radically different path … //

… Today’s repugnant political choices have to be confronted with a plan for radical yet totally realistic social change, based on a scientific analysis of the problems we confront and lessons of previous experiences of revolution. Some examples of core principles for such an approach, taking into account differences between countries, might include:

  • - The revolutionary actions of millions must confront and overcome every kind of reactionary force, dismantling and replacing not only the monarchies and theocracies but also the political systems where parliament and formal equality hide the domination of the capitalists and landowners, and the lives of millions of people throughout the Middle East are subordinated to the accumulation of capital in New York, Paris, London and Frankfurt. A completely different political system must be built that actually enables the masses to transform society, ensures the participation of the masses, encourages a vibrant discussion, values dissent and protects the political and personal rights of the people, including the right to practice any religion or propagate atheism … //
  • … // …
  • … – The liberation of women from patriarchy, male domination and all forms of degradation, oppression and stultification, both “modern” and medieval, has rightfully become one of the sharpest dividing lines in the region and the world. Most of the region’s “leftists” have wasted this enormous potential by trying to avoid conflict with the backwardness common in people’s thinking. The struggle to eliminate the oppression of women needs to be a driving force now and in the long-term transformation of society.
  • - The truth about the socialist revolutions of the 20th century and the liberating experience of a century and a half of revolutionary communism needs to come out. The previously existing socialist states achieved great things in opening up a pathway to different relations among people and were beyond comparison to any existing state today. We need to learn lessons from the shortcomings and errors, as well as those achievements, so as to do even better in the next round of revolutions. A new synthesis of communism has been brought forward by Bob Avakian, which addresses this experience and proposes a clearer idea of communism as a science and a re-envisioned approach to socialist revolution. This new synthesis is increasingly the subject of debate internationally. Revolutionaries in the Middle East, like everywhere else, need to fully engage this as part of carving out a different way forward.

Uncounted millions of youth and others are burning with outrage. Islamic fundamentalism tragically channels that explosive discontent into an outlook and program that offers nothing positive. What we have to offer the youth and those at the bottom of society, and in fact people from throughout society, is a chance to become emancipators of humanity, seeking to transform the globe country by country as part of a world-wide process whose goal is communism, a world where people work and struggle for the common good. Where everyone contributes whatever they can to society and gets back what they need to live a life worthy of human beings. Where there are no more divisions among people in which some rule over and oppress others, robbing them not only of the means to a decent life but also of knowledge and a means for really understanding, and acting to change, the world … //

… (full text).

Links:

California Urban Water Use Restricted While Regulators Give Oil Industry Two More Years To Operate Injection Wells In Protected Groundwater Aquifers, on naked capitalis, by Lambert Strether, April 11, 2015;

Bokoharamization of politics and the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria, on Pambazuka News, by Odomaro Mubangizi, April 10, 2015: The Islamic militant group Boko haram, which has wreaked havoc in parts of Nigeria, influenced the outcome of this year’s presidential election. These terrorists must be eliminated as the first priority of the new administration, along with other urgent scourges such as endemic corruption;

Herr Schäuble’s Foibles: The Eurozone Rebalancing Conundrum, on naked capitalism, by Lambert Strether, April 10, 2015;

Why U.S. Economic Statistics Get More and More Absurd, on Zero Hedge, by Sprott Money, April 7, 2015;

Sie irren, Herr Schäuble, on junge Welt, von Rolf Becker, 23. März 2015: Die nebenstehenden Vorschläge von Karl Heinz Roth zum Wiederaufbau Griechenlands und für ein soziales, demokratisch verfasstes, die ökonomischen Verwerfungen überwindendes Europa, »anschlussfähig für nachkapitalistische Perspektiven«, wird der derzeitige Finanzminister Wolfgang Schäuble ebenso verwerfen wie alle Reparationsforderungen Griechenlands. Die Illusion, Politik unter Missachtung geschichtlicher Voraussetzungen dauerhaft durchsetzen zu können, teilt er mit vielen seinesgleichen …;
Wolfgang Schäuble on en.wikipedia, and on de.wikipedia;

KenFM am Telefon: Willy Wimmer zu Waffenlieferungen der USA in die Ukraine, 28.00 min, von wwwKenFMde am 6. März 2015 auf YouTube hochgeladen … und viele Videos in autoplay; (das Interview als Text);
Webseite: Free21;

A warning from Germany about our new cold war: The West on the wrong path – 9 replies, on The Fabius Maximus’ website, Aug 9, 2014;

… and this:

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