Still believe in socialism in Rojava?

Submitted by meerov21 on March 18, 2016

"If we get no opening to the outside world, our economy will stay the same, and there will be no development. But we need outside investment. To organize it, the government has passed a law called “open economy” to organize it. Any outside investor would have to respect the economy... We passed a law for it, but up to now we’ve had no investors. They have no access to our country. No one from outside has come and invested here. All the investment is local. The private companies are all local".
(A Presentation by Abdurrahman Hemo, adviser for economic development in Cizîre Canton, Dêrîk)

http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/rojavas-threefold-economy/

Sike

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Sike on March 18, 2016

Well, one could argue that it is the socialist aspirations of the Rojava experiment in Democratic-Confederalism that is keeping potential foreign investors away. However, more likely what is keeping foreign investors away are other factors. First of all, few capitalists are going to be eager to invest money in an active war zone marked by precarious active fronts. Neither are capitalists likely to be eager to invest under the jurisdiction of self-declared autonomous political entity that is not legally recognized as such by any nation on earth, much less so considering the fact that the entity in question is alleged to have ties to a U.S. designated terrorist organization.

If it's goal is to attract foreign investors the PYD is going to have get some legal recognition for it's autonomous program in Rojava and also demonstrate a willingness and ability to enforce laws protecting capitalist investment against any aspirations to the contrary among Rojava's working classes. If foreign investment is their main concern then it would probably also be a prudent move for the PYD to severe ties to the PKK, as well as PJAK, which would basically mean serving ties to the KCK.

Also even these other factors considered the PYD will likely have to wait until Daesh and Nusra are no longer breathing down Rojava's proverbial neck before any foreign capitalist investors are willing to explore the possibilties for investment in Rojava.

Just saying.

Flint

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Flint on March 18, 2016

You don't have to depend on a single quotation from February 25, 2015 that you discovered today. TEV-DEM lays out what role and regulation investment in their cooperatives would mean in this document from February 10, 2016: http://www.pasewan.com/English/Detail.aspx?Jimare=161

They even tell you what a share costs in Syrian pounds.

Sike

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Sike on March 18, 2016

I edited my post and changed the term "pretensions" to "aspirations" in the first sentence because I do think that it is fair to say that Democratic-confederalism does contain socialist aspirations even if they appear to be of a more Social-Democratic then revolutionary nature.

Also, Flint not sure if addressing me or the OP?

Flint

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Flint on March 18, 2016

OP.

Flint

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Flint on March 18, 2016

whirlwind

Socialism in one country?

Well, they have an intermediate goal of four.

mikail firtinaci

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by mikail firtinaci on March 19, 2016

Socialism in one country?

Ethnic democracy in one canton and bombs for the rest of the world.

Sike

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Sike on March 19, 2016

Jacobin magazine has a new article up on their website that makes a good case that the alleged transformation of the PKK from what was once basically a Stalinist cult into a now thoroughly reformed humanistic organization that embraces the precepts of a radical direct democracy may not be quite so sincere as the PKK and it's affiliates in the KCK make it out to be.

mikail firtinaci

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by mikail firtinaci on March 19, 2016

-deleted-

Spikymike

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Spikymike on March 20, 2016

There was also this earlier article by Alex de jong on this site here:
http://libcom.org/history/stalinist-caterpillar-libertarian-butterfly-evolving-ideology-pkk-alex-de-jong

Guerre de Classe

8 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Guerre de Classe on March 21, 2016

whirlwind

Socialism in one country?

They indeed were not much in the 1920s to denounce the imposture of the “socialist paradise”, the myth of the “proletariat’s homeland”, the “big lie” of “socialism in one country”, “the bright future” and “harmonious society”; there were not a lot of Otto Rühle and KAPD to denounce this whole masquerade. Whole convoys of an imposing number of delegations made of intellectuals, journalists, activists, unionists arrived in the USSR to see with their own eyes all this “beauty”, and then returned home to sing this new “revolutionary regime’s” praises.

And then it was China, Albania, Vietnam, Cuba… that served as a model for generations of useful idiots who believed that to simply restore the façade and paint it in red would be enough to remove misery and exploitation. There are none so blind or deaf as those who will not see or hear. There are none so Social Democrat and therefore being in favour of the capitalist order as those who believes that simple reforms (whether “radical” they may appear) are the essence of a revolutionary process that will in fact completely transform the society and the human being on the ruins of the old world, the world of value, commodity, wage labour and money.

... and now "Rojava Revolution" and its democratic confederalism... Let's enjoy!!!