books

They Stormed Heaven - Review of John Merriman's Massacre: The Life and Death of the Paris Commune

Ron Briley History News Network
Marx called it "the dictatorship of the proletariat" and its militants those who "stormed heaven." For 76 days in 1871, this first experiment in workers self-government and armed defense against troops of the old order also made costly mistakes leading to its slaughter. The author chronicles not only Commune governance and the role of women as leaders and fighters, but the intricacies of a counter-revolution that sought nothing less than crushing Paris' working class.

More Responses to The Tragedy of Party Communism

Nina Udovicki; Gilberto de Leon; Dynamite Hallinan; Scott T Portside
Previously Portside published Michael Brie's, The Tragedy of Party Communism and responses from three socialist activists - what lessons there may be to draw on, and which to forget. Here are additional responses from Nina Udovicki, Gilberto de Leon, Dynamite Hallinan and Scott Tucker. Those responding see capitalism as a system that needs to be abolished and socialism as an alternative - A socialism that is different from the past, and democratic.

tv

Game of Thrones and the End of Marxist Theory

Sam Kriss Jacobin
A critique of Paul Mason's historical materialist prediction “Can Marxist theory predict the end of ‘Game of Thrones’?” for the upcoming seasons of Game of Thrones.

Responses to The Tragedy of Party Communism

Kurt Stand, David Cohen and Jack Radey Portside
Two weeks ago Portside published an essay by Michael Brie, The Tragedy of Party Communism. Here Kurt Stand, David Cohen and Jack Radey reflect on their participation in the socialist movement, what lessons there may be to draw on, as well as which to forget. For today's and tomorrow's socialists, they see socialism as a system that could be reformed, capitalism a system that needs to be abolished.

tv

Communists for Austerity

John Carl Baker Jacobin
In criticizing capitalism for mass consumption instead of exploitation, The Americans uses Soviet characters to valorize austerity.

Confessions of an Erratic Marxist in the Midst of a Repugnant European Crisis

Yanis Varoufakis Yanis Varoufakis
Yanis Varoufakis is currently the Greek Minister of Finance. In this essay, posted to his website one year ago, he explains why he believes that radicals must work to stabilize the Eurozone on a more equitable basis so as to mimimize human suffering and to provide the time and space to develop a humanist alternative to Corporate Europe. He also describes the influence of Karl Marx on his views and asserts the necessity to embrace -- critically -- Marx's insights.

Brechtomania

Moira Herbst Al Jazeera
Why Marxist playwright Berthold Brecht is theater’s hottest old name

How Gender Changes Piketty's 'Capital in the Twenty-First Century'

Kathleen Geier, Kate Bahn, Joelle Gamble, Zillah Eisenstein The Nation
The Nation blog, The Curve - Where feminism and economics intersect - examined Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century. If economic inequality continues to soar, as Piketty says it will, and inherited wealth plays a growing role in our economy, in what ways does that affect women specifically? And what weaknesses arise in Piketty's own analysis due to the absence of gender and race from his book? Where can we, as feminists, build on Piketty's analysis?

Attack on Piketty’s Capital Gets it Wrong

Mike Konczal; Jennifer Rankin; Chris Giles; Neil Irwin
Piketty's central theme is not that inequality of the ownership of wealth is going to skyrocket. The central theme is that the 1% already owns a lot of the capital stock, and the capital stock is going to get gigantic relative to the rest of the economy. Whatever the weakness this meg-tome and mega-best seller, there is no denying - the rich are getting richer, the poor, poorer. (And Piketty is not a Marxist.)
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