tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post3990254716406737916..comments2024-03-27T09:14:27.496+00:00Comments on All That Is Solid ...: Žižek on This WeekPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-75531220669799219272018-03-14T23:42:16.166+00:002018-03-14T23:42:16.166+00:00Richard,
'The word 'socialist', David...Richard,<br /><br />'The word 'socialist', David, does not mean 'nationalised' or 'state owned'.'<br /><br />I didn't say it did.David Parryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16543341419630019419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-57862724332498976502018-03-14T15:29:20.550+00:002018-03-14T15:29:20.550+00:00The word 'socialist', David, does not mean...The word 'socialist', David, does not mean 'nationalised' or 'state owned'. Do look at Marx, Critique of the Gotha Programme, and at Paresh Chattopadhyay's article: https://libcom.org/library/did-bolshevik-seizure-power-inaugurate-socialist-revolution-marxian-inquiry-paresh-chatt<br />Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05401900846063877172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-39217198299772631052018-03-12T20:56:31.704+00:002018-03-12T20:56:31.704+00:00Chris
How can Venezuela be socialist when most of...Chris<br /><br />How can Venezuela be socialist when most of its economy remains in private hands?David Parryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16543341419630019419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-89611637900956290032018-03-12T19:47:34.702+00:002018-03-12T19:47:34.702+00:00Did you read what he wrote in The Courage of Hopel...Did you read what he wrote in The Courage of Hopelessness about the regressive nature of identity politics and "intersectionality" "activism"? I thought it was very timely.<br /><br /><br />When Brexshit, Putin and the orangeman disappoint their supporters, as they inevitably will, there needs to be someone who will actually attend to the issues around lack of good working-class jobs, graduate un- and underemployment, rents, first-time buyers, jobs, the housing crisis, and the environmental issues that have a real & concrete impact on people's lives rather than a load of old cobblers about their "privilege", a concept meaningless to ex-miners from Ball Green.<br /><br />I welcome Zizek's contributions to this debate & hope you will consider the challenges he lays down in this department.asquithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246701347539264295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-85491976436321115582018-03-12T09:06:14.384+00:002018-03-12T09:06:14.384+00:00Those most keen to define Venezuela are, funnily e...Those most keen to define Venezuela are, funnily enough, the Tories. Do you think they're an authority on such things?Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-35126691404600866532018-03-12T08:51:32.472+00:002018-03-12T08:51:32.472+00:00Socialism has been a disaster for Venezuela so now...Socialism has been a disaster for Venezuela so now we define it as...not socialism.<br />Genius!Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01541127170739215432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-77701109551181129692018-03-10T10:00:25.757+00:002018-03-10T10:00:25.757+00:00It's good to read Zizek's book 'From T...It's good to read Zizek's book 'From Tragedy To Farce'. Here he looks at the problems for the left (in general) following the collapse of the international banking system. He argues that the working class has too much to lose to allow the whole capitalist system to grind to a halt and why they inevitably lurch towards authorative solutions rather than seek radical overhaul. He illustrates this using the collapse of the Italian left following the Red Years and the rise of Mussolini. Sharp and well written. Worth a butchers. Dialectician1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-52920567849889276902018-03-10T09:51:49.219+00:002018-03-10T09:51:49.219+00:00I don't think the pessimism is justified. Rig...I don't think the pessimism is justified. Right-wing populism is not actually triumphant everywhere. Its not just Britain where the apparent victory of the right Cameron/Brexit/May led to Corbynism - though here it required an element of luck with JC getting on the ballot. The victory of Trump, especially given the role of the Clinton/Democratic establishment, gave new life to the grass roots movements that arose with Occupy. That is where the real social momentum in the US currently resides.<br /><br />In France Le Pen lost, but the victory of Macron can't be seen as a victory. However, the important point was again the failure of the SP establishment, and rise of Hamon. But it shows that it does require organisation to move forward. Something similar can be seen in the SPD youth wing. These are the future not the old Stalinoid groups like Die Linke or Melonchon.<br /><br />But, there is another factor. The ability of the working-class to move forward is also determined by the state of the economic cycle. Its clear that the hiatus, caused by the 2008 financial crisis, in the new global long wave boom that started in 1999, is resuming. We have the strongest, synchronised growth in the world economy (90% of which is growing above trend) since before 2008. The US yesterday posted more than 300,000 new jobs for February, way, way above trend, and the EU is growing strongly too.<br /><br />The objective conditions with led to the rise of conservatism between the 1980 and 2000, and which got a new lease of life after 2008, are coming to an end, and that undermines the factors that provided a basis for right-wing nationalism. But the left still needs to take advantage of that change of conditions, and to organise, as well as to tackle head on the bigotry that is utilised by the head of the nationalist snake for its own purposes, and not to accommodate to it.Boffyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08157650969929097569noreply@blogger.com