Youths in shorts and flip-flops throwing rocks at cops: Update from Lisbon
Submitted by Steven. on Jan 8 2013 22:20
Report on the struggles against austerity in Portugal, focusing on the street demonstrations and riots which continue to escalate.
In the last few years Portugal has been singled out as the well-behaved student of the IMF and EU, quietly taking note of the teacher’s class while all the others were wreaking havoc. Unlike Greece and other countries, which regularly provide footage of massive demonstrations for the rest of the world to see, in Portugal, besides minor scuffles and folkloric activism, all was well.
Free economy and the strong state: some notes on the state - Werner Bonefeld
Werner Bonefeld argues that the prominent role of the state since the financial crisis of 2008 is not a break with 'neoliberalism', because a free market and a strong state require one another.
Abstract
Marx, Engels, Luxemburg and the return to primitive communism - Mark Kosman
Submitted by ptar on Dec 18 2012 13:24
Marx, Engels and Luxemburg were all keen to return to the egalitarian relations of primitive communism, at a higher level. But how does the egalitarianism of early human societies connect up with Marxism’s prime focus on the rise and decline of capitalism? As capitalism continues to disintegrate, this article looks at the egalitarian origins of money in ancient Greece for clues as to how we might transcend the whole money system.
The stalemate of two economic models - Robert Kurz
In this 2012 article, Robert Kurz discusses the crisis management strategies implemented by the US and Europe, their seemingly paradoxical reversal of roles (neoliberal policies vs. welfare state) and the ineluctable fate they will ultimately share: “Whoever wants to save the financial system has to eliminate demand, and whoever wants to save demand has to ruin the financial system”.
The Stalemate of Two Economic Models - Robert Kurz
The voiceless’s last scream: a suicide a day among the unemployed in Italy
Submitted by Italy Calling on May 23 2012 21:37
In the last few years many suicides in Italy have been strongly linked to the economic crisis and unemployment. 357 people killed themselves in 2009, compared to the 260 of the previous year: a 37.3% growth. 76% of those people had lost their jobs or couldn’t find one due to the crisis, with a smaller percentage of younger people who were looking for their first job.
Employment emerges as one of the general key causes of suicides: 18.4 suicides were recorded every 100.000 unemployed people, against 4.1 among the employed. This confirms the importance of a job as a way to build and improve someone’s life, especially in the male population, which has the highest percentage of suicides in general.
Poland: Bread instead of games!
Submitted by Maria Z. on Apr 26 2012 22:02
In June and July 2012, Poland is going to host Euro2012, the European Football Championship. Coalition of Polish feminist, anarchist and worker activists is mobilising for a protest on 10th of June in Poznan, West Poland, where the first football match will take place.
The organization of the championship was sold to us as an development opportunity for Polish cities. The authorities tried to convince us that due to the championship small business, infrastructure, tourism and sport would develop, and Poland would gain international respect. The blessings from the Euro2012 were compared to those that came with the post-war Marshall plan.
Why can’t anybody say ‘depression’?
Submitted by Joseph Kay on Apr 25 2012 17:42
This is a short blog inspired by the news that the UK is officially in ‘double-dip’ recession (as predicted by pretty much everyone on the left).
So everybody’s taking perverse pleasure in celebrating the return to recession as proof that 'austerity isn’t working'.1 Setting aside the armchair-Keynesianism behin
- 1. This assumes a rapid return to growth is the objective, rather than tearing up the post-war social contract, smashing the remnants of organised labour, privatising everything in sight and getting even more ridiculously minted.
'Stop Vládě' - Union demo in Prague
Submitted by Django on Apr 21 2012 18:37
Over 80,000 people marched and rallied in Prague today in a union-organised demonstration against the government and its austerity program. It took place under the banner of "stop vládě" - "stop the government".
The Czech right-wing coalition government headed by Petr Necas has joined others around Europe in implementing an increasingly harsh program of austerity. The stated objective is to reduce the state deficit from 3.5% to 3%. The Austerity program until now has been praised by global ratings agencies despite hitting domestic consumption and growth.
Burdened with debt reloaded: The politics of devaluation - TPTG
Greek communists TPTG take another detailed look at the impact of austerity measures in the country, the devaluation of capital and the attack on the power of the working class.
In Greece, the initial austerity measures developed into a full blown shock policy of devaluation of capital, which has deepened the recession and increased public debt.
In the region of Šluknov, Czech Republic, 2011: analysis of protests “against the socially excluded” from a class perspective
KPK argue that protests against the "socially excluded" Roma which took place in North Bohemia in 2011 were an expression of the weakness of the working class and stood in the way of the defense of its living needs.
Introduction
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